What is Vastu Shastra?
Habitation is the basic need of every living being. Man builds houses for his living. Any piece of land and structure built on it is known as 'Vastu'. It has been derived from the word 'Vaas' which means 'to live'. It’s practice started with Vedic period. We can find many references in Vedas, Puranas and other subsequent literature. Our ancient saints have concluded that anything living or non-living in the universe is made up of five basic elements or Panch Maha Bhoot. They are Prithvi (earth), Jal (water), Agni (fire), Vayu (air) and Aakash (space). When these five elements are in harmony in our body, we are healthy and active and when their equilibrium is disturbed one is devitalized or unhealthy. Same is true with our place of living or work. Vaastu shastra is the only science which instructs how to maintain best equilibrium of these five elements in a building and make best use of them to energize mental and physical energies of inhabitants to the maximum extent. In other words vaastu tells us how to make use of these five elements for the maximum convenience, comfort and security keeping them in perfect harmony in our home or place of work so that one should enjoy health, wealth, prosperity and growth. It has many branches like grih-vastu, nagar-vastu, prasad-vastu, devalaya-vastu etc.
EARTH: When we talk about Prithvi, we mean the piece of land on which the structure of our residence or place of work is built or is to be built. It’s the most important element. The points, which are observed while selecting a piece of land are as follows. First of all its facing is seen. For this we must know that there are eight directions. They are East, South-East (SE), South, South West (SW), West, North West (NW), North and North East (NE). Each direction is governed by a specific planet and different provisions are designed in a particular direction according to lord or god of that planet in that direction. Next is geographical location, it’s relative location within a city, atmospheric conditions of that place, quality and consistency of the earth, its surface, inclination of the surface, it’s auspicious and inauspicious-ness, presence of any inauspicious material (Shalya) like bones etc., shape of the plot, area, length and breadth ratio, other structures near it like road, temple, big tree etc. Level of seismic activity is also considered.
WATER: Since ancient times, be it humans or other living beings, they have colonized near water bodies like river, lake, pond well etc. Availability and source of potable water like well, hand pump, boring, piped water supply, direction of the water storage, direction of the flow of used water like sever are some of the main points which are taken care of under it. If the house is in the cold region where snow fall takes place then roof has to be slanting and if it is in the in the region where rain fall is scanty then provisions are made for rain water collection and harvesting.
SUN: Our sole source of maximum free energy is the Sun and role of proper Sunlight has been well established by the modern sciences as well as ancients. Sunlight has three kinds of rays - they are called ultra violet, white light and infrared rays. White light consists of seven colours. These seven colors can be seen in the rainbow after the rain. They are V.I.B.G.Y.O.R or Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red. The rays shorter in wavelength than red light are called infra red rays and longer wavelength than violet rays are called ultra violet rays. Ultra violet rays kills harmful germs and are abundant in the morning light. Infra red rays are harmful and are abundant when the Sun is setting. Main door of the house, ventilation, windows, veranda are planed accordingly to accommodate geological situation and atmospheric conditions to maintain internal heating and cooling.
AIR: We all know that every living being requires fresh air. Its proper circulation and its freshness has to be maintained. In order to have proper ventilation, relative humidity, open space, veranda, height, size and position of ventilators, windows and doors, and height of the roof is decided.
SPACE: Internal space of a building should be utilized in such a manner that it should not obstruct the ventilation and entry of Sun light. Therefore the height of the ground floor, planning upper stories, multiplex, cupboards, other internal fixtures, placement of furniture, bed etc. are decided accordingly.
Eight directions as per Vastu shastra:
- NE or Ishaan Kon (Water): Pooja room, water storage tank, boring, lawn, portico, Drawing room, water supply connection.
- East: Main gate, living room, bathroom, kitchen, guestroom, open space, balcony, Tulsi plant.
- SE or Agni Kon (Fire): Office, fire, toilet, plants, basement, stairs, generator / inverter storeroom, clothes.
- South: Bedroom, room to store heavy articles like machines etc., overhead water tank, big trees, godown, toilet, paying guest / tenant.
- SW or Nairitya Kon (Earth): Arms and ammunition, room to store raw materials, sleeping room, room for father or elder brother, stairs, overhead water storage tank, trees.
- West: Dinning room, septic tank, stairs, water storage tank on the ground, toilet cum bath, drawing room, living room.
- NW or Vaayaya Kon (Air): Cattle and animals, grains storage, kitchen, living room, stairs, medium sized trees.
- North: Treasury, finished material store, reception room, children’s room, recreation and entertainment room, gas plant or connection, swimming pool.
Vaastu Shastra is 5000 years old but since the middle 1990s, there has been a sudden interest in the subject of the vaastu shastra. People seem to have rediscovered a long lost panacea for their ills. All they need to do is to make a few changes to their home or office layout and overnight, they have the health, wealth and happiness which they lacked for so long!
Try buying a home in any city in India without the builder spouting virtues of “Vaastu Shastra” and how his project and flats fulfill vaastu conditions. It is impossible. Over the last decade, vaastu shastra has gained enormous popularity. Vaastu has found takers even among the high and mighty of the land. Corporate chieftains and politicians in power are constantly relocating and redesigning their offices according to vaastu shastra to see if it will improve their financial and political scorecards.
What is this vaastu shastra all about?
Believers in vaastu shastra have a modern name for it – ‘Ancient Wisdom of Architectonics’. There are three levels in which vaastu shastra is applied.
- Firstly, in a basic sense, it means designing architecture of residential, commercial and government buildings and components of a building like rooms, gates, etc on the basis of architectural wisdom contained in ancient Indian lore. The idea is to add to the well being of the occupants.
- Secondly, at a slightly higher level, vaastu covers a lot of architecture related areas in public sphere-town planning, laying out gardens, market places, ports, roads, bridges, gateways, wells, drains, enclosure walls, embankments, just about everything that is built by man.
- Thirdly, at the micro-level of an individual citizen’s daily life, it deals with furniture, tables, beds, wardrobes, mats, lamps, footwear and the like. This list is expanding by the day. For example, vaastu experts now tell you about the right design of the computer table and the ideal location of PC in your home office.
Architects who think vaastu shastra has no scientific basis, their number is dwindling by the day – have two complaints against the vaastu shastra and its modern interpretations. First, they think that by claiming solutions in architecture and interior design for every evil that befalls a human being, vaastu has made architects responsible for things, which lie beyond their control. A brilliant architect of a corporate headquarters may be blamed for the financial misfortune of the company, for which reasons may lie elsewhere. Secondly, the non-believers argue that vaastu shastra leads to creating structures that are out of sync with environment.
You should have a perspective on vaastu shastra before you decide whether to believe in it or not. For that, you need to know a bit about how architectural ideas have evolved in India. Be patient and control your yawns.
Indian history has three distinct architectural epochs in succession the Vedic (or the Hindu) period, the Islamic period and the colonial period. These three epochs are characterized by their respective myths and cultures. In each epoch, structures were constructed that reflected the society at the time.
For instance, the Vedic times were typically characterized by the world of the non-manifest: buildings were generated from magic diagrams called the ‘Vaastu-Purusha-Maddalas’, the root of vaastu Shastra. The advent of Islam about a thousand years ago caused a fundamental shift-from the meta-physical to the sensual and hedonistic-characterized, for example, by the garden as an earthly image of paradise. The arrival and consolidation of power of Europeans in India and the construction of buildings and public spaces on European style coincided with the Age of scientific progress and rationality. This influenced a radical change in paradigms.
Consider this. Intricately designed and complex temple structures, concerned with the mysterious and the metaphysical, are typical creations of the Hindu mind of the ancient times. In contrast, simple rhythms and expansive blank walls and the dominance of white color were attributes of Islamic culture and buildings. The grandeur of power was reflected in the European architecture. Modern architecture in India has imbibed qualities of all these three epochs.
All right. So where do we place vastu shastra in this?
The first, the ancient Indian category, of course. Vastu shastra is based on the effect of the non-manifest on the architecture and your well-being. In ancient India, a lot of people thought that the manifest world was only a part of their existence; there was also the world of the non-manifest that influenced their lives. If you think that views holds good even now, then vaastu shastra is for you.
The science of vastu shastra is indeed one of the oldest and most powerful of our cultural inheritances. All our great rulers for the prosperity and perpetuity of their kingdoms abundantly used vaastu shastra in the earlier periods. Vaastu shastra was also used in town planning and the construction of temples.
Simply stated, vastu helps us to align the energies of our house with that of the environment. It helps us to live in consonance with nature. Most people consult vaastu shastra only when they are in trouble or things are not going right. This attitude is incorrect as vaastu shastra affects the health, wealth and prosperity of the house and it’s inhabitants.
Vaastu says... No marble please...
We see all over the World that temples, churches, mosques, gurudwara & many religious places are made of using marble in their constructions. White Marble is considered to be a holy stone. Vibrations for meditation are of high quality at such places. According to ancient texts use marble is permitted only at the religious places. We can see purity and cleanliness is well maintained at such religious places.
In ancient time king were given the respect as God, hence we see use of marble in palaces constructed for them. In Rajasthan, India you can find many palaces with the use of marble. Nowadays marble is highly used in shopping complexes & residential premises. Research study on selected house using marble flooring shows that people staying in such house have stressful life. The family members were victims of frequent sickness.
In India, you can see white marble is used only at threshold (Dahlij) of the house, which is worshipped daily by the female members of the house. This way marble is considered holy stone for worship only.
If you have marble flooring then walking with footwear on marble floor be avoided. Also footwear not in use should never be left over on the marble flooring. Use of marble in the bed room, bath room and latrine is highly inauspicious. This brings poor luck for the occupants.
White marble can only be used in prayer area of the home.
Vastu shastra In Your Kitchen
The kitchen is an extremely important part of your house and must be given due care and respect. Most of us treat the kitchen only as a place where food is cooked and food stocks are stored. However the ancient percepts of vaastu accord very high significance to the kitchen and it’s placement. It is considered a sacred place, vaastu shastra percepts relating to the Kitchen are as follows:
- The best location for the Kitchen is the Southeast.
- Kitchen located in the North or the East does tend to cause financial troubles.
- The women folk should be facing the East while doing their cooking. This is good for health.
- There should be abundant use of green in the kitchen. For example green granite for flooring or green pictures. This helps improve the appetite of the family members and also promotes peace and harmony in the house.
- If possible, the cooking gas and the washing sink should not be kept very close to each other. The logic being fire and water are not comfortable close to each other.
- The cooking stove should not be visible to the naked eyes from the outside. Hence always shield the kitchen from the outsiders.
- There should be no leaking taps in the kitchen. This affects the money flow.
- Wall Clocks should not be placed on the South and Southwest walls.
- Kitchen is the best place to have your daily meals; but never face South while having your meals it creates stomach disorders, indigestion and other related problems.
Vastu shastra In Your Bedroom
After a whole busy day you expect a complete rest for your body & mind. And bedroom is the place where you get the relief from your stress, workout and other tension. So it becomes very necessary to take utmost care while placing the interiors for your bedroom according to the vaastu shastra percepts. Some general vaastu shastra principles relating to the Bedroom are as follows:
- The master bedroom is the place where the head of the family gets peace and privacy. Thus it is preferred in the Southwest or South since it is considered to be cool place.
- Avoid constructing the master bedroom in the Northeast direction. Southeast is also not recommended for this room.
- While placing mirror in your bedroom see to it that no part of your body is directly visible in the mirror while sleeping. Because that part of your body might face health problems e.g. if your head is visible in the mirror while sleeping it may cause migraine or if your legs are visible then you may face problem such as joints pain, etc.
- Always keep your feet away from the main door, while sleeping it should not face the main door.
- Place the bed in the Southwest of the room but it should not obstruct the door of the room.
- Do not sleep keeping your head towards the north.
- Avoid having bedroom near the drawing room.
- Always keep room well-maintained, along with some scenery. Keep it well-lit and pleasant looking.
- Always sleep with your head towards south.
- See that the bed never touches the wall.
Vastu shastra In Dining Room
- Vaastu shastra says the dining room should be located on the west side of the house, or on the east or north side of the building.
- If the kitchen is on the ground floor, the dining room should not be on an upper floor but should also be located on the ground floor.
- The door leading into the dining room should be on the east, north, or west side of the room. It should not have arches.
- The house’s main entrance door should not face the dining room’s door.
- It is best to face east or west while eating. The head of the family should face east during meals. Other members of the family can face east, north, or west, but it is not advisable to face south.
- As per Vaastu shastra the dining table should not be round or oval but either square or rectangular. It should not fold from the wall or be attached to the wall.
- A sink can be located in the northeast corner of the dining room, or on the north or east sides of the room.
- No toilets should be attached to the dining room.
Vastu shastra In Study Room
- The library or study should be located on the west side of the building, but should not be located in the corners of the house.
- When using a library or study, it is best to sit facing east or north.
- The bookshelves should not be in the northwest or southwest corner.
- Books should be in the east, north, or west sides of the room.
- The door should be two-shuttered and should be located in the northeast, north, or west.
- Windows can be set on the east, north, or west walls.
- The walls should be painted white, sky blue, cream, or light green.
- If one will not sleep in the room, a pyramidal shape (walls sloping inward as they go upward towards the ceiling) will help study and meditation.