Friday, 22 February 2013

Working Of Vaastu Shastra


How Vaastu Shastra works ?

             Vaastu Shastra works on three principles of design that cover the entire premise. The first one is ‘Bhogadya’, which says that the designed premise must be useful and lend itself to easy application. The second is ‘Sukha Darsha’, in which the designed premise must be aesthetically pleasing. The proportions of the spaces and the material used, in the interiors and exteriors of the building ornamentation, color, sizes of the windows, doors and the rooms and the rhythms of projection and depressions should be beautiful. The third principle is ‘Ramya’, where the designed premise should evoke a feeling of well being in the user.

                In addition, Vastu Shastra is a complicated form of science put together by seventeen sages. There are certain rules that should be followed while building a house or a building. For instance, the building's underground water tank or well should be situated in the North-East direction. However, if the building has an overhead tank then it should be placed in the South-West direction. In addition, more space should be left to the North and the East of the building compound and less on the South and the West. Open space should be kept around the building and if the plot has a road on the East-North directions, it is better for the inhabitants.

            Vaastu Shastra (‘Vastu’- physical environment and ‘Shastra’- knowledge) is one of the traditional Hindu canons of town planning and architecture. These canons are codified in texts such as ‘Manasara Silpa Shastra’ (by Manasara), ‘Mayamatam’ (by Maya), ‘Viswakarma Vastu Shastra’ (by Viswakarma), ‘Samarangana Sutradara’ (by Raja Bhoja), ‘Aparajita Praccha’ (by Viswakarma's son Aparajita) and ‘Shilpa Ratna’. Other treatises such as ‘Agni Purana’ and works by Kautilya and Sukracharya are not popular even though they preceded the previously mentioned documents. Distinction of style exists due to each documents place of origin. ‘Mayamata’ and ‘Mansara Shilpa Shastra’ are considered Dravidian because they are from South India whereas ‘Viswaskarama Vastu Shastra’ is considered Aryan due to its North Indian origin. Vastu Shastra deals with various aspects of designing and building living environments that are in harmony with the physical and metaphysical forces/energies of the Cosmos such as the gravitational, electro-magnetic and supernatural. Building practices based on limited interpretations of these principles are still sustained in specific areas of India.

Movement of Earth
                   In order to understand the underlying scientific aspects of Vastu Shastra, we take into consideration the following principles:
Since the Earth spins from West to East and the North Pole is inclined by 23.5°, the actual North point of the Earth is situated at North-East and South point at South-West. The Cosmic Energy coming from North-East provides positive energy to the structures whereas South-West gives rise to negative energy. Hence, efforts must be made to conserve the positive energy coming from North-East and also to arrest the flow of negative energy arising from the South-West. Thus, by keeping the potential high at North-East and low in the South-West, we can ensure uninterrupted strong flow of positive energy in each and every nook and corner of the structures. This can be accomplished by keeping maximum open spaces and doors in North and East of the plot and the least in the South and West. To keep the level of positive energy high, the height of the building will have to be kept low in the North-East, East and North side as compared to the South-West, South and West Side. This stems the inward flow of negative energy.

Magnetic flow between the poles
           In order to maintain uninterrupted flow in the Earth’s magnetic field, it is essential that no pillars are erected in the middle part of the building and the number of the windows in the North should be double of that in the South, thus ensuring maximum utilization of positive magnetic flow coming from the North. Since Lord ‘Kuber’ is placed in the North it enhances the mental development and one gets strength to take right decisions and achieve prosperity.

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