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What is Vastu Shastra

Posted by sudhirmangla July 19, 2008

Vastu Sastra, also spelled Vaastu Shastra(Sanskrit vastu “site, building, house” and sastra “treatise, instruction”) is one of the traditional Hindu canons of town planning and architecture.

Vaastu Shastra deals with various aspects of designing and building living environments that are in harmony with the physical and metaphysical forces. Building practices based on limited interpretations of these principles are still sustained in parts of India. Though Vastu is conceptually similar to Feng Shui in that it also tries to harmonize the flow of energy (Also called life-force, and Prana in Sanskrit, similar to Chi in Chinese) through the house, it differs in the details, such as the exact directions in which various objects, rooms, materials etc are to be placed.

Terminology

All places of dwelling are termed Vastu however the actual physical manifestation of the dwelling is called Vaastu (the vrddhi, vastu). Both terms are from the root vas “to dwell, live, stay, abide” (cognate with the English past tense was).

There are four categories of Vaastu-

* The earth/ site- Bhoomi, the principal dwelling place on which everything else rests
* The structures on the earth - Prasada
* Movable objects (vehicles) - Yaana
* Furniture- Sayana

As these categories suggest, the principles of Vaastu Shastra extend from the macro level to the micro level- site selection, site planning and orientation, zoning and disposition of rooms, proportional relationships between the various parts of buildings and the character of buildings.

Components of Vaastu Shastra

Vaastu is an ancient Vedic science of layout planning of buildings that is said to be influencing peace and prosperity of the inhabitants. Vaastu science deals with the management of cosmic energy in Building & Structures. Believers do not treat it as an ancient myth[citation needed].

In modern times, the knowledge of house building technology has grown so vast, that it has been branched off into special fields such as architecture, engineering and Interior decoration. Architecture deals with the Internal comfort and external beauty, Civil engineering deals with the structural stability but Vaastu provides with the knowledge to be adopted in building a house so as to make the native happy, healthy and prosperous. Vaastu principles are applicable to individual residential houses , industry, educational institutions, commercial complexes , theaters, hospitals, churches, etc.. If colonies, villages and cities are planned on its principles , it is said that they will all be very prosperous. To understand Vaastu all one needs is a little knowledge about Astronomy. We know that our earth, while moving around the sun, continues to spin on its own axis with a tilt of 23.5 degrees. While spinning, the earth moves from West to East. You will observe that car is designed in such a way that its front part is kept lower than the rear part, to enable it to overcome the wind resistance when in speed. Similarly the nose part of the plane and rocket are kept tapering forward. Since our earth is moving from West to East, if your building is lower on the East and higher on the West, only then it will be able to withstand the resistance of winds easily and get filled with positive energy from North-East, leading to peace and prosperity of the inhabitants. Thus a clear understanding of the principles of science can help you to delve into the true meaning of Vastu Shastra and reap its benefits. Rejecting Vaastu science summarily may result in your being subjected to harmful effects unknowingly for the whole of your life.

It is common sight to see one industry or business house flourishing while another similarly planned unit run into problems. When in trouble we find it easy to blame the luck but have we ever paused to ponder that it might be the structure and their placement in the factory that might be responsible for the troubles. Does it sound unbelievable? May be, but then it is a time tested fact that when industries are constructed observing the principles of Vaastu , there is peace and prosperity, while those breaking these tenets find themselves forced into unwanted troubles and miseries.

Basics of Vastu: The five elements

Vaastu is the science of direction and architecture that combines all the five elements of nature and balances them with the man and the material. Vaastu Shastra is creating a congenial settings or a place to live or work, in most scientific way taking advantages of the benefits bestowed by the five elements called “Paancha Maha Bhootas” of the nature thereby paving the way for enhanced health, wealth, prosperity and happiness in an enlightened environment.

The world comprises five basic elements, also known as the Paanchbhootas. They are Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Space. Out of the nine planets, our planet has life because of the presence of these five elements.

EARTH (Bhumi):- Earth, the third planet in order from the sun, is a big magnet with North and South poles as centers of attractions. Its magnetic field and gravitational force has considerable effects on everything on the Earth, living and non-living.

WATER (Jala) :- This is represented by rain ,river ,sea and is in the form of liquid , solid(ice) and gas (steam , cloud ) . It forms part of every plant and animal. Our blood is nothing but water with haemoglobin and oxygen.

AIR (Vayu):- As a life supporting element, air is very powerful life source. Human physical comfort values are directly and sensitively dependent on correct humidity, air flow, temperature of air, air pressure, air composition and its content.

FIRE (Agni):- It represents light and heat without which the life will extinct. All the days and nights, seasons, energy, enthusiasm, passion, vigour is because of light and heat only.

SPACE (Aakasha):- It is the shelter provider to all the above elements.

There is an invisible and constant relation between all the five elements. Thus, the man can improve his conditions by properly designing his buildings by understanding the effectiveness of these five natural forces.

Vaastu Purusha Mandala

The Vaastu Purusha Mandala is an indispensable part of Vaastu Shastra and constitutes the mathematical and diagrammatic basis for generating design. Purusha refers to energy, power, soul or cosmic man. Mandala is the generic name for any plan/ chart, which represents the cosmos metaphysically/ symbolically, a microcosm of the universe.

In Hindu cosmology the surface of the earth is represented as a square, the most fundamental of all Hindu forms. The earth is represented as four cornered with reference to the horizon’s relationship with sunrise and sunset, the North and South direction. It is called Chaturbhuji- four cornered- and represented in the symbolic form of the Prithvi Mandala. The astrological charts or horoscopes(Rasi, Navamsa, etc.,) also represent in a square plan the ecliptic- the positions of the sun, moon, planets and zodiacal constellations with reference to a specific person’s place and time of birth.

The Vaastu Purusha Mandala is a specific type of mandala used in Vaastu Shastra. It is the metaphysical plan of a building/temple/site that incorporates the course of the heavenly bodies and supernatural forces.

The legend of the Vaastu Purusha is related thus. Once a formless being blocked the heaven from the earth and Brahma with many other Gods trapped him to the ground. This incident is depicted graphically in the Vaastu Purusha Mandala with portions allocated hierarchically to each God based on the contributions and positions in performing this act. Brahma occupied the central portion - the Brahmasthana- and other Gods were distributed around in a concentric pattern. There are 45 Gods in all including 32 outer Gods.

The principal Gods/ presiding deities of each direction (called the ashtadikpalar) are:

* Northeast- Eeshanya- Ruled by Lord of all quarters or Eeshwara Siva (Religions,Luck and Faith)
* East- Aditya- Ruled by Sun God - Aditya (Seeing the world)
* Southeast- Agni- Ruled by Lord of Fire - Agni (Energy Generating)
* South- Yama- Ruled by Lord of Death - Yama (Damaging)
* Southwest- Pitru/Nairutya, Nairuthi- Ruled by ancestors (History)
* West- Varuna- Ruled by Lord of water (Physical)
* Northwest- Vayu- ruled by Lord Of Winds (Advertisement)
* North- Kubera- Ruled by Lord of Wealth (Finance)
* Center- Brahma- Ruled by Lord/Creator of the Universe (Desire)

The Vaastu Purusha is the presiding deity of any site. Usually he is depicted as lying on it with the head in the Northeast and the legs in the Southwest but he keeps changing his position throughout the year.

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One Response to “What is Vastu Shastra”

  1. whatnwhen.in on July 20th, 2008 12:54 pm

    What is Vastu Shastra…

    Vastu Sastra, also spelled Vaastu Shastra(Sanskrit vastu “site, building, house” and sastra “treatise, instruction”) is one of the traditional Hindu canons of town planning and architecture. Vaastu Shastra deals with various aspects of designing an…

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