with help of positive energy present in their houses, places, rather than spending money on extra Vastu Items."
What is ‘Vastu’?
Vaastu Shastra is science. It is an excellent mixing of Science, Philosophy and practical wisdom. Philosophy hence becomes the backbone of Vaastu Shaastra. Human life is governed by the use of reason and argument in seeking truth and reality.
Vaastu Shastra is fundamentally a science that deals with ‘life here’ and not ‘life here after’. It aims at imparting knowledge about ensuring happiness, leading a happy life and surpassing the factor of insecurity or uncertainty and about the unpleasant and unexpected encounters in life.Vaastu Shastra has no relevance to someone who is looking for something beyond which nothing is possible.
The five elements that constitute the human body viz, Fire, Water, Air, Earth and Akasha or Ether were correctly recognized in the Vedic times.These five elements are the mainstay of the Vaastu Shastra. These forces are considered to be originating from a single source but possessing their own unique characteristics. They are within us and we are surrounded by them. It is believed that human body is born out of them and it grows with their support. It lives with them and merges with them finally. These forces treat and affect every human being without being partial irrespective of their caste creed and religion.
It is possible to avail the benefits of these forces in scientific way by studying the nature, properties and their effects on human mind and body. These forces are governed by the laws of Physics and they (these forces) are consistent in their effects. The science of Vaastu is a combination of different methods and techniques to utilize these forces to their optimum level to fulfill all human desires, achieve all aims, aspirations and objectives.
Vaastu Shastra is perhaps India’s greatest contribution to the world humanity and it will always be recognized as a science unsurpassed by any scientific discovery of all times.
The karma theory and vastu shastra
This theory perpetrates that anything good or bad that happens in the life of an individual is the result of the good or bad actions and deeds one commits in the past life. All achievements and the growth, prosperity, success and sufferings one undergoes are unavoidable irrespective of their causes.
Here the karma theory is negating the Vaastu Shastra. Both the theories are hostile to each other. Vaastu Shastra believes that everybody has a right to lead a happy life. Happiness can be achieved by living in a house that is in harmony with the cosmic forces. If the karma theory is to be believed then there is little left in studying this Science. One can build a house as per one’s likings or desires and believe that the happiness has been arrived at from the good actions of the past and that no one can escape the sufferings if one has committed bad deeds in the past life.
Let’s take a close look the karma theory to ascertain its truth.
(After his death a man leaves all his worldly possessions on the earth, man has to die alone. His relatives can accompany him only to his cremation ground only. Only his good and bad actions follow him wherever he goes).
Man takes birth on this earth as the result of his past karma and finishes his journey on this earth when the effects of karma have diminished.
One comes to possess a wife, son, husband or a house as a result of his conscious or intentional acts in the past life. (This means getting a good wife or husband or son or a house or property are all the prizes of one’s good actions in the previous life and the bad ones are the results of evil deeds.
(Bad karma in the previous life results in sufferings and diseases).
Majority of Hindus are the zealous believers of the karma theory and they accept their sufferings as unavoidable occurances. Instead of fighting to achieve their ambitions and aspirations they hold karma responsible for everything.
Is there any truth in this theory?
The religions like Christianity and Islam don’t support this philosophy.
Then it has to be accepted that this theory claims God as someone sitting in heaven who keeps a track of all good and bad human deeds without making any effort to correct them and renders one with rewards and punishments in the next birth.
Extraordinary thought! Let’s examine its meaning.
Why are we not aware that our birth as a human being is extremely precious? We value the things we have bought with our hard earned money but have no respect for anything that we get from the natural resources e.g. air which is a necessity but we think it is available free of cost. On the contrary we are aware of the price we have paid for the house we own or the savings we have. We consider them as our prized possessions.
So if man has to make the best use of the life he is endowed with, he has to value this precious gift of life. The kind of violence and hatred that is rampant around us proves this point further.
Many of us may choose the carefree life like that of a bird even when the bird is not as happy as a human being is.
Moreover there is no proof that the dead are born again. So the theory of salvation from the cycle of birth and death leaves many doubts. How does one know that his or her previous birth was bad and why should one try to escape this cycle? This point is meaningless as no one can recall his or her previous birth.
We are also obsessed with Astrology. It states that human life is predestined and the destiny is determined by the configuration of planets at the birth time. This is same as the karma theory. The line written on the top of the horoscope also seconds this thought that successes and failures are the results of deeds from the previous birth.
The fact that life is perishable scares a man and drives him to temples and sadhus. Nobody knows what can happen tomorrow to us or to our kins. We cannot control our destiny and have the fear of unknown.
It is here that Vaastu Shastra makes its impact. It states that if the house one lives in is constructed according to its principles, one can lead a life free of untoward incidents and it assures one of long life, health and happiness.
In today’s scientific era the wonderful inventions of science have made life easy and science definitely occupies the prime position in our lives but comforts can’t buy peace of mind and we are surely not happier than our forefathers.
Why? The peace and happiness our fore fathers enjoyed is eluding us.
Our forefathers certainly didn’t have to face today’s rat race, their needs were limited and one up-manship did not dominate their lives. They humbly accepted the fact that all that happened happened at the will of God.
Man is helpless and so seeks security from the unknown and in such an attempt he runs to the temples and the God men hoping that they will protect him from mishaps but fate doesn’t spare anybody whether a believer or a non believer. No one can guarantee that devotion can protect man.
It is not surprising that man still believes that God is omnipresent.
The types of happiness are enlisted as:
- Dharma
- Artha
- Kama
- Moksha
Dharma here means rightful.
Artha or money is the basic requirement for fulfilling our desires and to meet the needs of the family life. Man needs money to fulfill the desires of his family members. Man also has social needs and he needs money to fulfill social obligations.
Dharma reiterates that the money should be acquired from rightful sources and not at the cost of other’s miseries.
Karma points to desires. The Artha should be used to fulfill his desires. Man has worldly desires like buying a house, educating children, marrying children as also looking after his family.
Moksha refers to the liberation from the desires after fulfilling them as per the needs. Some Of a man’s desires might manifest first and may create restlessness in him to fulfill it.
Vaastu Shastra does not claim one will become powerful or achieve great finances just because one has built a house according to its principles nor does it promise to make one a gifted or extraordinary person. It is important to understand that the above mentioned factors don’t guarantee peace. Peace eludes many rich and powerful families. Someone who doesn’t possess power or money thinks that they are the pathways to a peaceful and happy life.
It is possible to lead a life full of peace and happiness that can fulfill all the desires and offer freedom from all the sufferings. If Vaastu Shaastra can help one achieves all this then it is the greatest knowledge the humanity has ever acquired.
Our great sages gave us a message that the houses we live in can offer us all these blessings. Nothing can be more scientific or more universal or more valuable than this.
- The fact that the soil selected to construct a house on is, based on a person’s caste creed or color cannot be regarded as correct.
- The selection of auspicious timing, worshipping the foundation stone, placement of the doors and laying the foundation according to the birth star of month is superstition and should be discarded.
- Vaastu Shastra does not support the fact that a house should have the even number of doors and that the number should not end with zero like 10 or 20etc.
The field created in a house that is built as per the laws of Vaastu Shaastra is far more superior to that of the Pyramid or the Oracca or the Geodesic Bulb. In these structures the cosmic energy gets converted into Bio energy and is readily absorbed by the human body living in it. This effect is only at the individual level and not at the family level. For this one has to spend some time in this structure. The effect is observed at the physical level in terms of good health and well being and it does not offer any protection from the unforeseen occurrences and disasters.
Can theVaastu defects be eliminated by religious performances like Homas and Yajnas etc.?
The answer is negative. This is mere wastage of time and money. If our electric mixer is not working, we go to an electrician and not pray to God. It is meaningless to expect such miracles to work.
A tenant says that he is not affected by the effects of Vaastu. Is he correct?
Does the plot on which the house is constructed affect males and females differently?
The answer is yes. The East of North East, positive half of East, positive half of North, West of North West positive half of West, West of Southwest affect male members more and others affect females more. This just a question of the degree to which they are affected but both are vulnerable to this effect. A woman who has a better career is equally vulnerable to the male effects.
Are Vaastu Shaastra and Astrology related to each other?
It is not so .Vaastu Shaastra is generally considered as a branch of Astrology. Usually a mixing up of the facts is done by reading the horoscope and some calculations are done to decide the position of the door, the direction best proffered by the owner etc. Some books show these aspects by taking into account the birth stars of all the members of the family.
Vaastu Shaastra is a science of house structures and their linking. It has a universal approach. No human being can remain unaffected by the happenings with his near and dear ones. Every family is like a company or a business house and has to work as a team and no single person can be the whole and sole of that company.
Determination of ownership is a controversial question, e.g. who is the real owner of a partnership or a public limited company? Actually the question of ownership does not arise in case of structures like that of temples or public sector undertakings etc.