VAASTU SHASTRA

1. All of you must have heard about the termite, but how many of us know
that this small creature is a master architect. While the external temperature
varies between 3 & 420 C this creature maintains the temperature inside its
nest within 10 of 310 C, irrespective of the season and time of the day. Man and
his modern science use expensive air conditioning equipment and lots of
electricity to achieve the same. How does the little termite achieve what the
mighty man has a lot of problem achieving? That is by understanding nature,
its working and getting in harmony with it. Harmony with nature is the key
word.

2. If I ask you what is the ultimate aim in life. After considering all the
options you will arrive at the solitary answer `Happiness’. You may find
pleasure in pretty girls, but they may give you heartbreaks. You may get
satisfaction out of a good meal of tandoori chicken but true happiness would
come only if you are at peace with yourself. Only if you are in complete
harmony with your body, soul and the environment. The house we live in
forms an important part of this environment. The shelter is our most elaborate
defence against hostile elements. Our ancestors were masters in this art and
science of finding harmony and one of the means was through the houses we
live in. This art and science is Vaastu Shastra. Vaastu Shastra is an ancient
Indian Science of structures which capitalises on the concept of prosperity. It
prescribes layouts and construction techniques and links these directly to a
person’s health and happiness. In the next 25 mts or so I shall make an
endeavour to give you a brief idea about Vaastu Shastra.

3. My talk shall be covered under the following heads :-

(a) What is Shastra, Vaastu and Vaastu Shastra

(b) Basic Principles of Vaastu Shastra.
(c) Steps in construction of a house.
(d) Vaastu Purusha Mandala
(e) Model House .
(f) Tenets of Vaastu.
(g) Case study
(h) Limitations of Vaastu
(j) Questions.

What is Shastra, Vaastu and Vaastu Shastra

4. Shastra. Shastra is the science of a certain field of knowledge or

activity. For example, Arth Shastra is the science of governance. These
shastras are part of vedic literature, whose time & place of origin has not yet
been satisfactorily established. These shastra’s covered various topics like
`Paak Shastra’ which relates to cooking, Durg Shastra – Fortbuilding, Nagar
Shilpa Shastra- Town Planning, Nauka Shastra about building boats and hold
you breath even Vimaan Shastra which talks of construction of aeroplanes. I
think the LCA project engineers should be made to study this shastra.
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5. Vaastu. Vaastu is derived from the word Vastu which means object.
Vaastu essentially means prakriti or nature which has five elements. These five
elements are also called the Panch Bhoots. These are :-

(a) Aakash - Space – The forces are transmitted through waves.

(b) Vaayu – Air – The forces are manifested in waves and feel.
(c) Agni – Fire – The forces are in waves, touch / feel and taste.
(d) Jala – Water – The forces are in waves, touch, form, taste and
quality & virtue.
(e) Bhoomi – Earth – The forces are in waves, touch form, taste,
quality and virtue.

There is an invisible but constant interaction between these elements.

They along with the sun form the basis of Vaastu Shastra.

6. Vaastu Shastra. Vaastu Shastra, the art and science of designing and
constructing building finds its origin in stapatya veda, which is a part of
atharva veda, the last of the Vedas. It essentially is the art of correct setting
whereby one can place himself in such a manner so as to absorb the maximum
benefits of the Panch Bhoots and the influence of magnetic fields around him.
Vaastu Shastra is a mixture of science, art, astronomy, astrology and mystic
cosmic doctrine. Though it deals with building for Gods as well as humans,for
the part of this presentation we will restrict ourselves to humans only.

Basic Principles of Vaastu Shastra.

7. Having learnt about Shastras and Vaastu let us now understand some
basic principles and elements on which Vaastu Shastra is based. Let us start
with the reason of origin of life on this earth. The sun.

8. Surya – Sun. Along with the `Panch Bhoots’ sun forms an important
element. Sun as the provider of life has been worshipped in various
civilisations. The most powerful mantra the Gayatri Mantra is also devoted to
the Sun God. It is amazing that our learned sages not only knew of the seven
colours in the visual spectrum but also knew of their varying wavelengths and
had named them according to the wavelengths. The seven horses you see on
the chariot of sun god whenever depicted in pictures are these seven colours of
the spectrum. Due to the sun, east assumes great significance. Those of you
who are early risers would have noticed that there is a perceptible lightening of
the sky well before the sun actually rises. This is the time when the eastern
and northern side of the house is awash in ultraviolet rays . These UV rays are
considered healthy and germ killing as our latest water purification gadgets like
the aqua guard also profess. Thus the most auspicious activities of the house
like cooking, meditation and pooja are carried out facing east. The sunrays of
dawn to early morning emit more light and less heat, hence the best. The main
door to the North East is considered the best and so is the water storage.
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9. As the sun travels across the sky it becomes brighter and hotter. The UV
element reduces and the infrared element increases. This is harmful for
humans thus a need to have high walls and tall trees in the west. This IR is
also harmful for insects and helps in bio-degradation; therefore the toilet
should be located to the southwest or northwest preferably separated from the
main building. Vaastu advocates a courtyard in the centre of every house.
This is good not only from the light and airiness point of view but also helps in
sanitizing the insides of a house by three-dimensional ventilation.

10. Phases of Sun. Then there are two phases of sun. First is the
Uttarayan, when the sun is in Northern hemisphere from 14 Jan to 15 Jul.
This phase is considered auspicious for important functions like marriage and
grihapravesh. Even death is considered auspicious in Uttarayan and it is
believed that learned Bhisma Pitamaha of Mahabharat waited on his bed of
arrows for Uttarayan to commence to breathe his last. The other phase is
Dakshinayan.

11. Directions. We are all aware of the four cardinal directions. East –
West – North – South or Poorva, Paschim, Uttar and Dakshin. Each of these is
further subdivided into Northeast, Southeast, Northwest and Southwest. And
like the sub-sub paras of MSD these directions are further sub-sub divided.
Each of these directions have their own characteristics and understanding
them is a fundamental constant of Vaastu Shastra.

12. Magnetic Field. Another important aspect considered while formulating

Vaastu is the magnetic field of the earth, which has significant influence on the
human life. The human body itself acts like a magnet with the head, which is
the heaviest and most important part of the body as the North Pole. We all
know like poles repel, thus it is important to sleep with the head pointed away
from North to prevent disturbed sleep, tensions and problems in blood
circulation.

13. Gravitational Forces acting on a Man. An atom with its electrons,

protons and neutrons is the smallest constituent of all physical matter, from
the tiniest grain of rice to the earth and the mighty sun and stars. All these
physical matter obey similar laws of gravitation. These matter while following
the physical laws also influence each other. Earth travelling in its orbit around
the sun produces a disturbance in the gravitational field of the sun and this
disturbance is propagated in the form of waves. All physical matter produce
similar effects. A human being himself a composition of atoms also gets
affected by these physical matter surrounding him. From the instant of his
conception to his ultimate destruction man cannot ignore these celestial waves
and their influence.
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Steps in Construction of a House

14. Having seen the guiding factors of Vaastu let us move on to building a
house as per Vaastu Principles. I shall cover the basic guidelines only. As per
Vaastu, the living place is composed of four elements which are :-

(a) Bhumi – Earth or land where the abode is located.

(b) Prasada – The building, compound wall and other
structures.
(c) Yaana – Vehicles like chariot, cart, ship, aeroplane and
their parking places within the bhumi.
(d) Shavana – The resting places and articles like bed, table,
chairs and cupboard etc.

15. Selection of site. To construct a house the first step involved is

selection of the plot of land. The site of a proposed house is a fixed form and it
radiates its own positive as well as negative energies depending upon its shape,
proportion, direction and location of roads around it. As a rule check out the
following: -

(a) Soil. Should be solid, rich, brown and with no anthills.

(b) Location. Not adjacent to college, school or an Ashram. A small
plot should not have tall trees. Should not be in South or West of high
ground so as not to obstruct the Northern and Eastern sides. The plot
ideally should be sloping northeastwards.
(c) Shape. Square is the best, rectangle next with ratio not more
than 1:2 with E-W side bigger.
(d) Angles. All four corners 900 best. Southwest may be less than
90 and Northwest more then 900.
0

(e) Roads. Should be leading directly into the house from E – NE

or W – NW. Best if there is a road on all four sides and sloping
downwards towards North east. Otherwise the road should be on N or
S or E.

16. Vaastu Purusha Mandala. Once the plot has been identified it is
important to determine the character of the plot. This is done through Vaastu
Purusha Mandala, which is the intellectual foundation of the building. The
ideal time for constructing a building, its orientation and its shape are
ascertained on the magic diagram of Vaastu Mandala. Here North is attributed
to Kuber, the god of wealth, South to Yama, the god of death. East to Surya,
the god of light and life and West to Varuna, god of wind. The centre is always
reserved for lord of cosmos – Brahma. The horoscope of the head of the house
along with the present position of constellations superimposed on the direction
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diagram determines the gods and deities that reside on the plot. Here it is
important to understand that gods in most of the cases are nothing but the
names given to different energy fields. Accordingly depending upon which
energy fields is strong and which is weak and what are energy fields needed to
be present, place is allotted to each type of room like kitchen, bedroom etc.
This Vaastu Purush is to be worshipped on three occasions.

(a) Adi – The beginning, during foundation stone laying.

(b) Madhya – The middle, fixing of maindoor.
(c) Antya – The end, during Grahapravesh.

17. Proportionate Measurement. Once, the shape and format of rooms are
decided next is their Maana or proportionate measurements. The
characteristics of a house are determined by its overall dimensions. Some of
these shapes are :-

(a) Shaantika. Peaceful – height equal to breadth 1:1

(b) Paushtika. Strong, eminent, rich, complete. height 1:25 times the
width 1:25:1
(c) Jayeda. Joy giving 1:5 :1
(d) Serva Kaamika. Good in every way 1:75:1
(e) Adbhuta. Marvellous 2 :1

18. From all this it would seem that for constructing a house as per the
tenets of Vaastu one has to consult not only an architect but also a pandit who
can read horoscope and also a Vaastu shastri. In ancient times, however, the
architect was himself supposed to do all these activities.

Model House

19. Having read about principle and basic steps while constructing a house
lets now build a house as per the principles of vaastu.

20. As shown the house is facing East with the road running N-S. The main
door is to the NE, Kitchen is in the SE, Master Bedroom in the SW, Second
Bedroom in NW, Pooja Room in the NE, Dining hall & Sitting Room in SE,
Water Reservoir inNE, Store Room in NW, Toilet & Bathroom in SW, Study
Room in NE, Sewage in NW.

21. Lets now analyse this house .

(a) Main Entrance Door NE - Very Good

(b) Kitchen SE - Excellent
(c) Master Bed Room SW - Good
(d) Second Bed Room NW - Medium
(e) Pooja Room NE - Excellent
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(f) Dining Hall & sitting Room SE - Very Good

(g) Water resorvoir NE - Excellent
(h) Store Room NW - Good
(j) Toilet / Bathroom SW - Good
(k) Study Room NE - Excellent
(l) Sewage NW - Good

Tenets of Living in a House

22. So much so for building a dream house. But most of us would be taking
a shorter way out and prefer to buy a ready made house. If the house we are
living in does not follow the tenets of Vaastu, never mind. Thinking about the
negative aspects of the house, will only bring worries. What needs to be done is
to fill up your flower vase with whatever flowers that may be available and
decorate your house.

23. Like wise whenever possible follow the tenets of Vaastu for which here is
a ready reckoner: -

(a) Pooja Room - This room should preferably be to the NE or ENE

and on the ground floor. The deity should face west while the worshipper
face East.
(b) Bed Room - Should be towards S & SW. If more bedrooms
are required, they should be located in E /NE / SE.
(c) Bed - Your head should be facing South or E but never
North.
(d) Bathroom - Located E / N side of house.
(e) Toilets - Never in NE. Should be towards SW / NW away
from house.
(f) Kitchen - Towards SE. The platform should be towards
East so that one faces East while cooking.
(g) Study Room- One should be facing E/ N.
(h) Staircase - It should lead from E to W or N to S and not vice
versa.
(j) Water Storage - The overhead tank should be towards SW / S
and the underwater tank towards NE.
(k) Main Door - Located towards NNE, ENE or WNW.
(l) Compound wall - Should be high in S & W & low in North & East.
Similarly no trees or tall structures should be in N & E.

24. Case Study. After having learnt about basic principles and
guidelines of Vaastu Shastra let us now do a practical case study of our own
camp. Is our camp Vaastu perfect? let us find out.
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25. I shall cover the study as shown on the slide :-

(a) Station Commanders residence.

(b) Officers mess complex.
(c) Officers residential complex.

26. Station Commanders residence. First, let us have a look at the

station house. Its orientation and entrance is in the northeast, which is
considered excellent from Vaastu point of view. Then the sitting room that is
oriented in the northeast direction hence moderate as per Vaastu. the dining
hall is also in the northeast, which is good. The bedroom is in the southwest,
which is moderate, and the toilet being in the southwest is very good. The
overhead water tank is located at the right place that is in the southwest. As a
whole, this house is Vaastu perfect.

27. Officers mess complex. The entrance to the officer’s mess is in the
northeast, which is considered excellent . The dining hall in the northwest is
not very good as per Vaastu principles however, the sitting room being to the
southeast is very good. The toilet once again is ideally constructed in the
southwest. Though the kitchen is not Vaastu perfect, being to the west. This is
rectified by having a window towards the east. Overall the mess is an average
structure as per the Vaastu principles.

28. Officers residential complex. First off all lets take a look at the down
trodden …I mean the JJ colony. It’s orientation and the entrance being on the
northeast is excellent. The toilets being in the southwest is once again very
good as per the Vaastu principles. No wonders the inmates of this colony are
so happy and prosperous. Now looking at the senior citizens residential
complex. Its orientation and entrance being on the southeast is moderate as
per Vaastu. The toilets being in the northwest are good as per Vaastu. Lastly,
the posh colony has the orientation of southwest, which does not conform to
Vaastu principles so are the toilets which are facing northeast. I will not cover
the orientation of the beds and the study tables and leave it to the individuals
to analyse and rectify. Keeping in mind the limitations and the constraints the
camp is an average construction as per Vaastu.

Limitations Of Vaastu

29. Many examples could be cited to show that Vaastu, if followed in

constructing one’s house, office or business place, one could be happy &
prosperous. A question arises whether one can achieve everything in life by
simply living in a house built as per Vaastu. The answer is NO, because Vaastu
has its own limitations. Just because one has a house as per Vaastu one
cannot become successful. A person may get benefits as per the degree of
perfection in following Vaastu. If one can satisfy 70 – 75% of Vaastu, he should
be very happy. Constructing a house following Vaastu principles cent percent is
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not possible . Hence one has to work with the available resources and
construct the house to suit one’s requirement under the given circumstances.

Conclusion

30. When travelling in a vehicle a good road contributes towards reaching

the destination easily. If the road is rough it will be a bumpy drive & one may
or may not reach the destination safely on time. In either case the cause of
moving towards the destination is the vehicle & not the road. Yet the road is
important. Vaastu is like the road & the vehicle is our Karma or Actions.
Vaastu facilitates in making your journey smooth.