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As stated earlier,
Vaastu is a part of Yajur Veda. The ‘Vedas’ are
the sacred scriptures of Hindus and there are four Vedas called
Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda.
Although, no specific dates are available, the Vedas appear
to have come into existence between 4000 and 2000 B.C. A section
of Yajur Veda called Sthapatha Vidya or the art of building,
deals with construction of buildings. A person who was an
expert in the art of building and gave advice on it was called
Sthapathi.
There are thirty two books on the subject written between
3000 B.C. and 600 A.D. by various authors. All these books
are in Sanskrit, the ancient Indian language of the scholars.
These books deal in detail with the construction and importance
of placements of various utilities.
It should however be acknowledged that there is not much evidence
to support that the science expounded in these books was popular
and was practiced throughout the length and breadth of the
country in olden days.
Various temples that were attacked and destroyed by invaders
like Mohd. Ghazni, Mohd. Ghori and others, prove that Vaastu
was not practiced faithfully even in temple architecture of
the times.
It is reasonable to assume that it was the builders who first
noticed that the shape of the building has had an effect on
the health and prosperity of inhabitants. In fact, the first
book credited to Vishwakarma mentioned earlier gives credence
to this point of view as he belongs to the class of builders.
The second book of the ancient times called Maya Mata goes
in the name of its author Maya, the architect of those times.
It is however intriguing, why then this subject did not gain
popularity that it deserved.
One of the reasons could be that the structures in olden days
had to be basically built by stones and mud, as no other construction
material was available. This was a costly exercise involving
substantial labor and only the royalty could afford it. Thus
the texts like Maya Mata deals extensively with Palaces, Forts,
Chariots and Marriage-halls, etc. Secondly, communication
in those days would have been a deterrent in spreading this
knowledge far and wide. And lastly, the scholars wrote these
texts in Sanskrit and it is likely that they did not make
any effort to educate the public on the subject.
Unfortunately, for India, invasion by outsiders was a common
occurrence. India first went under Sultanates and then the
Mogul Rule, which was succeeded by the British. During this
period, when instruments to spread knowledge developed on
the lines of the cultural influence of the rulers of the day,
the knowledge about Vaastu remained hidden.
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ASTROLOGY, RITUALS AND VAASTU: |
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One common feature of some
of the ancient books is a mix up of Astrology with Vaastu.
Vaastu is basically a pure science of structures and it discusses
the energy field that develops because of the shape of structure
and the way the doors and windows are placed. Slowly, Astrology
also made forays to Vaastu. An attempt was made to interpret
the plot onastrological matrix. See the
following figure
Figure showing a lot viewed on an astrological matrix.
Every plot was divided into nine parts on its length and breadth
side. Each part was supposed to be controlled by a planet.
According to Indian Astrology, Sun is considered a planet
and Moon is also considered another planet. Two other imaginary
planets, Rahu and Kethu are also included, thus making the
total number to nine.
The nine divisions were believed to be under the influence
of one planet each, namely, Sun, Moon, Mercury Venus, Mars,
Jupiter, Saturn, Rahu and Kethu. The exits and the entrance
were determined based on the position occupied by a particular
planet in the plot. As you can see in this matrix, each cardinal
direction occupies 5/9th of the length on the side. The corner
directions were 2/9th the length.
I will be explaining in the later chapters why this matrix
is wrong when we study the way energy interacts in a building
or plot. You will then be able to appreciate why following
this matrix could only lead to problems.
Over a course of time, further aberrations took place. The
owner’s horoscope was also brought into picture. Depending
upon his birth-star, indications were given as to where the
main door should come, what type of plot would suit etc. The
suitability of a plot for a person was supposedly determined
by some mathematical calculations. These are called as ‘Aaya’s.
An Aaya was determined by taking an arbitrary unit of measurement,
like the person’s arm length, who wanted to buy the
plot. ‘Aaya’ was then calculated in a specific
way to determine whether the plot suited him or not. The unit
of measurement was also not uniform in all cases. While some
used the length of a person’s arm, others used a unit,
which was the length from a person’s ear to the ground.
Still others used the distance between the tip of the little
finger and the thumb as a unit. All this made the subject
simply confusing and difficult to follow.
Another controversial factor was also taken into consideration
in those times. It was believed that the suitability of a
plot should be decided on the basis of the color of the earth
of the plot and the caste to which the prospective buyer belonged.
Thus a plot with red earth was considered good for people
of a particular caste and the lot with black earth fitted
the people of a different caste. Caste system was very much
imposing in those times and probably the caste factor was
also included in Vaastu considering the influence of caste
on the society.
Some of the books also tried to analyze the characteristics
of the plot based on the shape or appearance. Here again shapes
of plots which resembled a cow’s face (Gomukha), were
considered good, whereas shapes resembling a tiger’s
face (Vyagramukha) were considered bad.
It is interesting to speculate as to how astrology made its
foray into Vaastu. Most of the ancient kings in India were
fans of astrologers and astrologers enjoyed a great amount
of respect in those days. Nothing was planned without the
consultation of the royal astrologer, be it a coronation or
a war. Since the knowledge of Vaastu originated from builders
who belonged to a lower class and were not represented in
the royal ministry, they had to seek necessarily the help
of the astrologers to popularise the findings. Probably, it
was during this time, the astrologers modified the subject
so that everything can be interpreted astrologically. Importance
to various rituals was given during construction. The rituals
were to be performed at various stages such as at the time
of starting excavation, laying of foundation stone, keeping
doorframes and after completion of construction. There is
thus evidence to believe that astrology imposed itself on
Vaastu and did not allow it to grow on its own.
Perhaps all these contradictory approaches resulted in pushing
Vaastu to obscurity.
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VAASTU IN MODERN INDIA |
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Vaastu was almost forgotten till the
latter part of 20th Century. During this time there was
tremendous improvement in the technology of construction.
The construction materials underwent a sea change and altered
the way buildings were designed and built.
Permanent residences as we know
today started coming up without the help of stones, which
was till then the main building material. The discovery
of mortar, bricks and cement as well as reinforced cement
concrete changed the building scenario of the entire world.
It was now possible with the help of these materials to
build structures, which could last easily for a century
and beyond and could house several generations. When such
buildings started coming up in India in the early part of
the last century, Vaastu was completely unheard of. The
buildings were designed and built keeping in mind the contemporary
architecture.
The main considerations in these designs were security,
lighting, ventilation and aesthetics. The building activity,
which started at a furious pace, brought the best out of
architects who produced magnificent buildings with a blend
of ancient and modern architecture. These houses which were
mostly in colonial style were really pleasant dwellings
with plenty of lung space reserved for gardening around
the house. The houses reflected both taste and serenity.
However, as Vaastu was unheard of, none of the buildings
were designed keeping the Vaastu norms in mind.
It is not that all houses were against Vaastu. Even if one
were not aware of the rules of Vaastu, the house might well
conform to the norms of Vaastu by sheer chance. I have seen
that almost 25% of the houses all over India built during
this period did conform to Vaastu although neither the owners
nor the architects were aware of this factor. Nor was it
their intention to build according to Vaastu guidelines.
These houses serve as important
eye openers and a study of these houses shows how effectively
Vaastu could change a family’s health and fortunes.
Even in case of industries and business establishments,
no Vaastu norms were followed, as people were simply unaware
of its existence. The situation continued till eighties.
Only in the eighties, some industrialists in south India
who were incurring losses in their business and who were
at their wits end, took the help of Vaastu to modify their
industrial buildings after exhausting all pragmatic approaches.
The spectacular about turn in their fortune as a result
of incorporating modifications on the lines of Vaastu norms
and their open confession of the fact paved the way for
rebirth of Vaastu.
All of a sudden, people started showing great interest in
the subject, which had changed the fortunes of several industrialists.
Ancient books were dug out and the media, newspapers and
magazines helped the subject to become hot in nineties.
Almost all TV channels featured interviews with several
knowledgeable persons on Vaastu. Books started appearing
in almost all Indian languages.
All this does not mean that Vaastu had a hurdle-free entry.
The architects were least happy with the developments. They
thought that the rules made no sense but simply came in
the way of putting their best to their work. Even people
were confused and they were unable to decide whether the
whole thing was a hoax or whether indeed there was some
substance in it.
This uncertainty in the mind of people continued, but here
and there, people started modifying their homes, business
establishments and industries. In most of the cases, they
found that the expenditure incurred on such modifications
was worth the trouble and the benefits were considerable
both from the point of view of happiness at home and prosperity
in business. It was the positive endorsement of such people
that increased the credibility of Vaastu and helped it to
gain acceptance by and large.
In a very short span of ten years, Vaastu has become a household
word in India, despite stiff resistance from the architects
in the beginning. Today, all over India, Vaastu is practiced
generally and there is no architect in India who has not
heard of this subject or who refuses a client’s request
to design the house as per Vaastu. All these have become
possible because of the simple fact that Vaastu works.
We should appreciate that any concept, unless it has an
underlying truth to support, will die a natural death. No
amount of publicity or any other form of artificial props
will be able to keep alive any idea, if it does not work.
One must confess here that none
interested in Vaastu theory could gain by promoting it.
In fact, there was neither promotion nor propaganda for
Vaastu nor was there any effort made by any society or individual
to make Vaastu popular. On the contrary, there was opposition
from architects, rationalists and those who called themselves
scientifically attuned, to discourage the growth of Vaastu.
However, Vaastu has produced results in the last ten years
that have silenced the critics and skeptics and Vaastu has
won for itself a respected place in the Indian building
industry.
Today in India, no one questions the intelligence behind
designing the houses or industries as per Vaastu. Even multi-million
dollar industries in India are now being planned to suit
Vaastu norms. Studies made by various financial corporations
have shown that the industries that went sick were mostly
the ones that functioned from the buildings defying the
Vaastu norms. If anything the last ten years has reinforced
the belief of Indians as never before, in Vaastu and Vaastu
has carved for itself a permanent place in India.
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