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DHARMA Initiative
From Lostpedia
The DHARMA (Department of Heuristics And Research on Material Applications) Initiative was a scientific research project that had a large presence on the Island during the 1970s and 1980s. It is represented by variations of an octagonal logo that appear on most of its products and stations.
Most information on the project is derived from the Swan Orientation film and the ARG The Lost Experience. The former detailed some of the project's aims and a brief history, while the latter expanded greatly on this, particularly with regards to the company which funded the Initiative, the Hanso Foundation.
The DHARMA Initiative in large part ended after the Purge, an event that saw the death of almost all of its members on the Island at the hands of Benjamin Linus and "the Hostiles". Indeed, The Lost Experience confirmed that the Hanso Foundation cut the DHARMA Initiative's funding in 1987. However, 2008 has seen an attempt to reconstitute the project, with advertisements seeking volunteers for the Dharma Initiative Recruiting Project. The Project was canceled, however, due to financial concerns.
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History
Project aims
According to various orientation films, the Initiative was founded in 1970 by Gerald and Karen DeGroot, two doctoral candidates at the University of Michigan. It was or still is financially backed by Danish industrialist and munitions magnate Alvar Hanso and his Hanso Foundation. The alleged purpose of the Initiative, according to the Swan Orientation film, was to create "a large-scale communal research compound where scientists and free-thinkers from around the globe could pursue research in meteorology, psychology, parapsychology, zoology, electromagnetism, and Utopian social-" (static).
The Barracks video also said that the mission of the Initiative on the Island was to study its unique properties for the betterment of mankind and advancement of world peace.
The Sri Lanka Video of The Lost Experience appears to build on the last statement, explaining that the DHARMA Initiative was part of a project begun in response to the Valenzetti Equation commissioned by the UN in 1967, a mathematical formula that reportedly predicts the amount of time until the extinction of mankind. The purpose of the DHARMA Initiative on the Island was to use scientific research to manipulate the environment in order to change any one of the core factors of the Valenzetti Equation which, in turn, would change the Equation's result and thus change mankind's destiny. They were also interested in researching the unique properties on the Island found nowhere else in the world, again for the betterment of humanity.
The Purge
The DHARMA Initiative fought an armed conflict on the Island with a group they called the Hostiles for many years. The reasons for the conflict have not been revealed, though Horace Goodspeed stated that the Hostiles were natives to the Island, implying that a conflict could have arisen from DHARMA moving into their territory or intruding on the Island.
Regardless of the cause, the conflict ended in December 1992 with an event known as the Purge. The Hostiles launched a toxic gas attack on the Barracks and possibly other locations that killed nearly all the staff of the Initiative on the Island. Some members of the Initiative, including Benjamin Linus, survived the attack by joining the Hostiles. The inhabitants of the Swan survived by being sealed in the station. The bodies of the DHARMA Initiative members were piled into a mass grave in the jungle. The Hostiles, along with the several members of the DHARMA Initiative who joined them prior to the Purge, survive today as the Others.
The Swan station remained under the control of the DHARMA Initiative until 2004. Supplies were dropped on a regular basis to the station but replacements for the crew stopped arriving on the Island at some point before 2001.
The last known working member of the Initiative on the Island was Kelvin Inman. He arrived on the Island at some point after 1992 and was sealed in the Swan station. He was left alone by the Others and seemed to be unaware of the Purge. Inman died in 2004.
Aftermath
Hugh McIntyre of the Hanso Foundation said in an interview as part of The Lost Experience that the DHARMA Initiative's funding was cut in 1987. Thomas Mittelwerk also claimed in the Sri Lanka video, "we all know what happened—the DHARMA Initiative failed." In the Official Lost Podcasts, executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse also make frequent references to DHARMA's fall as a "collapse", explaining that the polar bears escaped from their cages during the collapse, for example.
However, the truth of when the Intiative collapsed or if indeed it did at all is uncertain due to the events of the Purge, which reportedly occurred five years after the date quoted by Hugh McIntyre. Furthermore, in the Sri Lanka Video, it is shown that even in 2006 similar work on the Valenzetti Equation is being conducted, suggesting the project is still active in some new incarnation by Thomas Mittelwerk. It has also been shown that the Swan station received supplies with DHARMA Initiative-branded food and necessities up to at least December 2004, and that Kelvin Inman joined the DHARMA Initiative after the Gulf War in 1991, both indicating that the Initiative did not end its operations in 1987 as McIntyre stated. Operatives of Charles Widmore on the freighter also appear well-informed about the DHARMA Initiative and its stations (including the secret purposes of the Tempest and the Orchid).
In the Dharma Initiative Recruiting Project, unknown benefactors attempt to restart the Initiative but fail due to constrains by the 2008 financial crisis. The "Project" consisted of a series of tests that dealt with different areas of expertise. The tests measured various skills of recruits, and official Volunteer Assessment Dossiers were sent out to recruits on November 18th. The "Project" was unable to continue spending due to the financial crisis, and sold the Dharma Initiative to the T.V. show Lost. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse started a new website called Dharmaspecialaccess.com that gives recruits exclusive information on upcoming Lost info.
The name
The word DHARMA was revealed to be an backronymin the Official Lost Podcast. Later in the ARG The Lost Experience, through the clues of Rachel Blake (known as the hacker Persephone at that time), players were directed to play a memory game available at the Hanso Foundation's website. Gradually the acronym was revealed and upon reaching level 42, the full acronym DHARMA was revealed as being "Department of Heuristics And Research on Material Applications". The acronym was later confirmed by Alvar Hanso in the Sri Lanka Video and in an ABC press release [1].
Little is known what the actual explanation behind the name is, although a heuristic is a particular technique of directing one's attention in learning, discovery, or problem-solving.[2] Also, in the Sri Lanka Video, Alvar Hanso (standing in front of the DHARMA acronym) says "it also stands for the one true way", a reference to the word's meaning in Sanskrit (see below).
DHARMA Initiative stations
The DHARMA Initiative conducted its research and activities on the Island through a series of stations. They all have (or have had) power (from an unknown source) and a water supply as well as various kinds of equipment (e.g. machinery, living quarters, computers, medical equipment, etc). Each facility also has its own octagon-shaped logo, utilizing a different symbol to designate which station items or personnel correspond to.
It is known from the orientation films that there were at least six stations at the time they were filmed in 1980, with the Swan station shown as "3 of 6", for instance. However, a total of nine different stations have already been visited on the show, suggesting that either additional stations and films were made after 1980, and/or that an unknown number of stations did not include "Orientation" films (possibly ones kept secret from general DHARMA staff). Other stations to be identified with numbers include the Pearl as number 5, and the Orchid as number 6. The Flame was also referred to as number 4 on the blast door map, though this may not be accurate. Furthermore, in the feature "Secrets of the Hatch" on the Lost: the Complete Second Season DVD, it is said that the Arrow is the first station. This may be mistaken information, however, because the Swan was referred to as being the second (making it possibly just a reference to the order in which they were discovered by the Losties and Tailies).
Discovered stations
Note that some of the stations have names related in some way to the stories of Apollo in Greek Mythology. Apollo was born on the island of Delos which at the time floated freely in the ocean and was difficult to reach because of swirling tides surrounding it.
| Logo | Name | Number | Purpose | Possible reference |
| The Arrow | Unknown | Mathematics? Restocking/Storing Supplies, and Staging area. | Apollo was the god of archery. |
| The Staff | Unknown | Medical Research Facility. | The Caduceus staff originally belonged to Hermes, a figure sometimes associated with Apollo. Apollo was a god of healing (and of plagues). |
| The Swan | 3 of 6 | Electromagnetic Research and Containment. | Swans are sacred to Apollo, Zeus assumed the shape of a swan when he raped and impregnated Leta, Apollo's mother. Swans encircled Apollo when he was born on an Island. |
| The Flame | 4 of 6 | Communication Technology Facility. | Apollo was the sun god. |
| The Pearl | 5 of 6 | Psychological Research and Observation Facility. | Hindus associate the pearl with the moon. Artemis, twin sister to Apollo, is the moon goddess. Could also be a literary reference to "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck. |
| The Orchid | 6 of 6 | Space Time Travel Facility. Disguised as a botanical station. | Possibly references the station's greenhouse exterior. |
| The Hydra | Unknown | Zoological Research Facility. | Guardian of the Underworld (like Cerberus). Apollo sent a crow to fetch water, and blamed the Hydra as an excuse for not fulfilling the task. |
| The Looking Glass | Unknown | Underwater Submarine Guidance Facility, Radio Jammer. | Most likely a literary reference to Lewis Carrol's sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland titled Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. |
| The Tempest | Unknown | Power Source Facility, toxic gas Development. | Possibly a reference to William Shakespeare's play The Tempest, which takes place on a mysterious desert island. The wave symbol could signify the ship that was wrecked on the island due to Prospero's magic. |
Other stations
"The Door" was presumed to be the Hatch to another station, but when opened by Sayid in "Live Together, Die Alone" it was revealed to be a facade covering a rocky wall.
There should also be a meteorological station; since meteorology is listed among DHARMA's main research areas in the Swan orientation film, and notations on the blast door map reveal a potential location.
One station (The one marked as C3) is said to have light industrial equipment, according to the blast door map. Leading Radzinsky or Kelvin to believe it was possibly a manufacturing facility.
It is believed that there is a electrical/power station somewhere on the Island.
Other stations were also marked on the blast door map, including "C3?", "C4?", and a seventh station which was crossed out. It may not have been built, it may be abandoned, or might have been destroyed, or might be the presumed station the Door. It may also have been crossed out because they were not sure it existed, explained by the "Unknown!" notation above it. Elsewhere on the map is the text "Alleged location of aborted #7.
A possible listening station/cryptography research/communications analysis facility may also exist, according to the blast door map.
The yet-unseen Temple is represented on Ben's map by a DHARMA logo. However this is insufficient to conclude that the Temple was build by DHARMA or was indeed a station.
Orientation films
To instruct its members, the DHARMA Initiative created several orientation films. Known films are:
- The Barracks video - An introductory video that new members of the Initiative were shown upon reaching the Island. Marvin Candle explained the purpose of the Initiative and security protocols for the Barracks.
- The Swan Orientation film - Instructing the Swan station's inhabitants about the protocol, supposedly as a consequence of an unspecified incident. The film includes a short history of the Initiative.
- The Pearl Orientation video - Instructing the Pearl station inhabitants on monitoring other stations.
- Outtakes of the Orchid Orientation film - Introduced as a teaser for Season 4 at San Diego Comic-Con 2007.
- The Psychology Test Orientation Video - A series of flashing images shown revealed in The Lost Experience.
- The video filmed in the Sri Lanka Video - Dated 1975, provides a broader history and overview of DHARMA.
DHARMA logos and personnel
The DHARMA initiative is represented by a series of distinct 8-sided logos. These octagon-shaped logos used by the Initiative appear on many items and are seen in the various DHARMA Initiative stations on the Island. DHARMA members also wear uniforms embossed with the logos, and this can also designates which station they belong to. Notable members of the Initiative include Marvin Candle and Horace Goodspeed, who both wore uniforms connecting them to particular DHARMA stations.
The logos are all based on an octagonal design incorporating eight trigrams surrounding a central symbol. The central symbol is unique for each station. The design of the logo was derived from a Chinese concept known as "Bagua"; the trigrams are all inverted (inside-to-outside) from their normal "Later Heaven" order.
Cultural references to "Dharma" and the DHARMA logo
In Sanskrit, the word Dharma means "moral duty", literally translating as "to hold" a person to his/her purpose.
In Eastern religion, Dharma means Natural Law or Reality, or the "Way of The Higher Truths" By this, it stands as the principle or law that orders the universe, individual conduct in conformity to this principle, and the essential function or nature of a thing.
In Hinduism, Dharma refers to individual obligation with respect to caste, social custom, civil law, and sacred law. Meanwhile, in Buddhism, it stands for the body of teaching expounded by the Buddha, and therefore the knowledge of or duty to undertake conduct set forth by the Buddha as a way to enlightenment. In addition, it is one of the basic, minute elements from which all things are made. It also refers to the Path of the Teaching, the journey of the student that ends ultimately in the alleviation of suffering and/or the undoing of karma. Finally, it also references ultimate reality, the realization that the most fundamental element of the universe is happiness, bliss, or Nirvana.
Surrounding the logo are 8 trigrams which are derived from belief in Bagua. Under chinese legend, the 8 trigrams were represented to the Yellow Emperor in 3000 BC by heaven, each symbol allocated to a particular plane of existence, a family member, an element etc... and grouped into both Ying and Yang. Cross multiplication of the 8 trigrams yields the I-Ching which is an old method of divination in which coins or sticks are randomly shaken to produce lines making up the trigram. The I-Ching is then used to interpret the meaning of the combination of trigrams.
References in popular culture
Main article: Outside references to Lost
- In the October 19, 2006 episode of NBC's The Office, Dwight asks Ryan, "What is the DHARMA Initiative?"
- In the sixth chapter of Half Life 2: Episode Two, Gordon Freeman can see a corridor behind a gas tank next to Uriah the vortigaunt, where the Swan's numbers input terminal can be seen opposite a concrete wall bearing a DHARMA logo with an unknown symbol (actually is the White Forest symbol, the rebel base where the game concludes).
- At the beginning of Cloverfield there is a Dharma initiative symbol on the video of the night of the Monster Attack of New York.
Trivia
- During DJ Dan's 7/05 podcast, a listener by the name of Anthony called in saying that in the 70s his grandmother joined what he thought was a cult. He said that the cult was called the "KARMA Imperative", although he probably meant to say the DHARMA Initiative but simply misspoke the name. According to Anthony's story, his grandmother joined the "KARMA Imperative" while attending the University of Michigan and was taken to an unknown location in the South Pacific and was never seen again, declared dead.
- In DJ Dan's First Live Podcast of August 11, 2006, Dan identified Keith Strutter as the guitarist and founder of Geronimo Jackson, and noted that Strutter's previous band was called the Karma Imperative.
- Dharma & Greg was an American television situation comedy broadcast between 1997 and 2002 on ABC.
- Capitalization: Since DHARMA is an acronym (source: The Lost Experience), its proper spelling is in all capital letters. However the canonical exceptions using "normal caps" have been the welcome sign at the submarine arrival dock in "The Man Behind the Curtain", as well as ABC press release for that episode that lists the three characters, Dharma Welcomer, Dharma Rep. 1 and Dharma Rep. 2.
- The backs of the Official Jigsaw Puzzles revealed that the "D.I.H.G." notations on the blast door map stands for DHARMA Initiative Hanso Group.
Unanswered questions
| Unanswered questions |
|---|
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- For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: DHARMA Initiative/Theories
- How did the DHARMA Initiative find the Island?
- Why have DHARMA food drops continued after the Purge?
- Were any DHARMA employees ever allowed to leave the Island?
- Why did DHARMA study the particular fields that it did?
- How many stations, and other facilities did the Initiative build?
- Is DHARMA connected to Oceanic Airlines?
- Why did DHARMA drill in the Earth? (The supposed cause of the "electromagnetic leak" mentioned in Access Granted)
- Why cant DHARMA coexist with the island´s original inhabitants?
- Did DHARMA know about the smoke monster?
- Why did they label all their food, and other supplies with the Swan station logo?
See also
- Hanso Foundation
- DHARMA Initiative films
- Dharma Initiative Recruiting Project
- List of DHARMA Initiative members
- DHARMA logos
- DHARMA Initiative stations
- The Purge
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| "Adam & Eve" • Black Rock • DHARMA • The Monster • The Numbers • The Island • Sickness • Four-toed statue • Whispers • Quarantine | ||||||
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executives | Alvar Hanso • Thomas Mittelwerk • Hugh McIntyre • Peter Thompson | |||
| Board of Directors | Jacob Vanderfield • Liddy Wales • Lawrence Peck • Dick Cheever • Bill Flood • Sam Hicks | |||
| Projects | DHARMA Initiative • MFI • WWP DP • MHA • ERI • IGA • LEP • EOI | |||
| Associates | Global Welfare Consortium • Widmore Corporation • Paik Heavy Industries | |||
