INTRODUCTION
• Vastu Sastra
is the
ancient
Indian
science of
buildings.
• Ever since the evolution
imparted intelligence to
life, creatures have been
seeking to build homes.
• Homes gave protection to
the inmates from the
vagaries of nature. It
offered protection during
weak times like sleep.
More so it offered a place
to store the assets for the
sake of harsher times.
• Man’s homes, unlike other creatures has
undergone a transformation too. Starting from
caves five thousand years ago it has transited
through huts, tiled houses and is now in the form
of skyscrapers piercing the skies.
• Man initially looked for only safety and comfort in
the houses that he built. But, gradually it was
noted that the building affected his health- both
physical and mental.
• And then astoundingly man noticed that his luck
was being altered by aspects of the building.
This was acutely noted when he made
alterations in the building. Every construction
change was followed by a spurt of good or bad
luck.
• It was then decided
that the houses had a
bearing on the luck
and fortunes of the
inmates.
• The house that man
shapes has the
powers to shape his
fortune.
• Unlike other construction
sciences, which talk mainly about
material and architectural
aspects, Vastu also talks about
the social and behavioral changes
one can expect to happen in their
lives by living in certain types of
houses.
• It has been noticed that people with
similar problems live in similar houses.
• Likewise successful people live in
houses comparable in several aspects.
• Will you be happy in a
house?
• Will you prosper?
• Will your children
succeed in their
studies and careers?
• Or will your
experience in a
building be bitter?
• Will it lead to sorrows
and sickness?
• Or will it cause in your
business, losses and
lethargy?
The house you live
in, might give the
answers.
• Some ancient habitation sciences believe
you can influence events in your life by
redesigning the home or office.
• For the last two decades thousands of
people have benefited by utilising these
ancient principles in their modern lives.
• The house
could be
the key to
your
success.
Is vastu a true science?
• Today’s world can be divided
as roughly two sections.
•
• Those who believe in invisible
energies and those who don’t.
• The rationalist approach that
the scientists approve of is
that what affects you must
be visible.
• Scientists feel that perfect explanations
are needed to back up theories. Today’s
materialistic world would just not take
cognizance of what can’t be seen or
analytically measured.
• They disregarded the realm of emotions
and energies that are not seen by the eye.
The importance was given to those things
that had weight. The rapid progress of the
newer sciences in the last century has
caused this.
• The ancient civilisations however believed
that “Just because it can’t be seen,
doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist!”
• Modern science has just discovered that
gravity, radiowave, Electro magnetic fields,
ultra Sonics, and infra reds rays affect us.
• And all these are invisible.
• Sciences of the past were not developed
in labs but were observatory in nature.
WHAT IS AN OBSERVATORY
SCIENCE?
• If the skies are
cloudy, you decide
not to wash the
clothes that day.
• You do not consult the meteorologist to
find out the relative humidity, wind speed
or whether the clouds in the sky are
cumulous or nimbus.
• And yet you do not switch on the washing
machine.
• This is the observatory science.
• Based on past experiences and reactions
to the occurring events people behave.
• This characteristic of humankind is
primarily responsible for the survival of the
species.
• Man would have gone the way of the
dinosaur if he did not have this keen sense
of observation.
• The caveman knew
the lion would eat him
but he could eat the
deer.
• He knew that some
berries were
poisonous and some
tasty.
• He knew not to live in
the locales of heavy
rainfall and storms.
• Once he got into agriculture he
observed that certain plants
came well in certain tracts of
land. He linked his knowledge
of seasons with that of
agricultural aspects and
succeeded in growing crops
for himself.
• He certainly did not have the
qualified scientist with postdoctoral research to help him
out on these matters.
OBSERVATORY SCIENCES
TODAY
• Many of medical
treatments are based
on observation too.
• For a fever you do not
take a blood test.
• You pop in a
Paracetomol in your
mouth the moment
you feel feverish.
• Infact even science
depends on observation.
• Great things come out of
observing mundane
things. Gravitational laws
were discovered by
observing falling apples.
• Steam engines by
watching vessels on
stoves
• When man’s keen sense of
observation was turned towards
architecture it was obvious a science
would emerge.
• Every civilisation that lasted for long
had ample time to formulate such an
observatory inhabitation science.
• Vastu Sastra could be termed an
observatory science.
• When hundreds of people having the
same type of troubles have similarities in
their homes too does it not give rise to a
hypothesis?
• What if bedrooms of childless couples look
alike?
• What if the kitchens of people with ulcers
look alike?
• What if many sick factories look alike?
• Vastu Sastra was devised by people who
observed homes of problem-ridden
people.
• The proponents of the science observed
common architectural aspects of such
homes and tabulated them.
• As a next step, they started looking out for
similarly built homes and predicting the
social problems there.
• But people have been using this science
without knowing the basics too.
• even you perhaps….
VASTU AND INTUITION
• Even people who don’t believe in Vastu
Sastra have some intuitive leanings
towards it.
• Doesn’t everybody have a lucky room or corner?
• Do people not intuitively adjust their desk
positions according to past experiences?
• Do they not have favourite colours?
• Don’t some houses make you happy and some
irritated. Some homes are calm and welcoming.
Some will make you want to flee? Does not
every house emit a sort of energy?
• And almost everybody
asks a realtor showing
them a property for rent
or purchase:
• “What happened to the
guys living here before?”
• This is not plain
inquisitiveness. This is an
expression of their sub
conscious that warns
them that what happened
to the previous guy was
bound to repeat to them.
• It is observed that
couples fight more and
children cry a lot in rooms
with a bad Vastu
arrangement.
• Even pets seem happier
when houses are
modified by these ancient
principles. All this
happens due to an
undercurrent of energies.
• Some houses are
uninhabited
regardless of
proximity and comfort
and are soon even
termed as haunted
houses.
•It seems every home
has an energy of its
own, so unique that it
is like a signature.
HABITATION SCIENCES OF THE
WORLD
• Vastu is not an isolated science. Several
cultures all over the world have similar
sciences.
• The Chinese have
Feng Shui, which is a
science of
inhabitation.
Translated as wind
and water the science
deals on different
types of energies
within the house and
their influence on the
inhabitants.
• The Egyptians pyramids
which predates all other
building sciences. The
Egyptians without the aid
of any major mechanical
aid including vehicles
with wheels
accomplished the
construction mainly for
the energy harness
system that they thought
their kings needed after
their death.
• The Far Eastern
cultures as in Bali
have a systematic
science called space
clearing. They use
rituals, incense,
sound and smoke to
clear stagnant
energies.
• Even primitive societies
had some aspects.
Through out the world the
ancient people feared
corners of the rooms and
houses. It was here that
they knew energy
stagnated just like
cobwebs. The Eskimos,
red Indians and the
Mongols built circular
homes, which had no
corners.
Evolution of the science
• In the past, Vastu Sastra was incorporated
in the building by the stone mason himself.
The secrets of the science were by word
of mouth transferred from one generation
of builders to another.
• A total transfer was possible because it
was usually the sons who inherited the
business in India’s organised system of
division of labour by castes.
• The local masons knew how to build the
houses by simple designs, which were of
great utility given the local living conditions
as well as a good energetic balance
within. The background was not training or
education in its principles but pure rustic
wisdom and intuition.
• In the past it was common to have people
of several generations living in the same
house, even over centuries.
• This formed an excellent case study.
• People living in the same type of houses
must have similar experiences in life, if the
principles of habitation sciences worked.
• The science stood vindicated.
• It was easy to observe their common
lifestyles, luck in different aspects as well
as health and wealth.
• . For example some houses might have
flourished or some might have suffered in
poverty. Others might have had only male
children being born or others might have
gone childless.
• Also a small group of artisans and builders
catered to a large area and their
architectural styles were predictable and
same. Thus when they built similar
houses, the people who lived them were
found to have common experiences
• Gifted people like sages
and saints could tabulate
common social features
of construction designs.
They spent most of their
lifetimes visiting places
and observing homes and
forts. Then they wrote
several volumes of text
on their interpretations.
• Vastu Sastra owes its origin and
development to several sages like
Manasara and texts like the Brahit
Samhita.
• They noted the history of even cities
and towns in relation to natural features
like hills and rivers. They observed
cities withering away because a river
changed its course.
• They saw some cities being looted and
ransacked by invaders while others
resisted intrusions successfully.
• Also people observed that the moment
major structural changes took place in
home things went haywire.
• Soon, they could predict the future of the
householders based on the design of their
house.
• They did not know why such things
happened and ascribed the aspects of this
science to religion and occult features.
• This science was followed on a daily basis
till the onset of the 20th century when the
structure of the buildings changed
abruptly.
• When the shape of the houses changed
abruptly the local mason who knew this
science was baffled. In a generation the
science was almost lost and for a period
upto the 70s remained so.
• And then those who took up this science
as a hobby superimposed the rules of the
past on the changing architecture.
• They could position overhead tanks on the
roof, sumps and septic tanks on the
outskirts, toilets within the house
according to the ancient rules.
• But what experts feel today is that Vastu is
an observatory science.
• By observing the lives of people in the
same or similar houses proponents of the
science have documented the results one
could expect for a type of construction or
positioning of a room.
• This ability of people to pair their
problems with their homes has helped
this science to re- emerge.
VASTU TODAY
• The question that arises in every mind is
• Can a science formulated a few
thousand years back be effective
today?
• Yes it can if is based on sound principles.
• But hasn’t the structure changed?
• Yes, indeed.
• Materials are different, facilities are
different and so are shapes and sizes.
• The one factor that
has changed the
structure of the
habitation is
electricity.
• With electric current, water can be pumped from very
deep bore wells to the top of the house. Hence toilets
could come inside the building.
• The light and ventilation aspect is taken care of by
bulbs and fans and that has removed the need for
courtyards in the middle of the house.
• Such technology has enabled man to reach for the sky
build multi story homes and flat roofs.
• But still the underlying principles of shapes sizes and
placements help us to superimpose the rules of Vastu
in today’s buildings.
• Not that there are not hassles.
• The homes of the earlier days were so similar that
the science could be formulated. But today’s
houses are so different from each other.
• The houses of history were well apart and the
energetic influence of one family on its neighbour’s
was limited. But today homes are crowded.
• In the past there were
rarely double storied
homes. Now the homes
reach into the clouds.
Vastu was a science
based on the land’s effect
on its residents. How
would the effects differ
when people started
living high above it?
Would the effects differ
from a ground floor
resident and those living
in the seventeenth floor?
• The other modern things
of the present that could
affect the energies are
• Power plants and
factories. These spew
pollution and alter the
Electro magnetic fields,
which will surely alter the
energy fields that cause
Vastu effects.
• Electricity within the house in
concealed wiring inside the
walls would be causing electric
and magnetic fields, which
could upset moods and
thoughts. Even human nerves
send messages by micro
electricity and the high voltage
current in wires would certainly
affect the thought process.
• The same problem is caused
by cell phone towers and radio
waves in the proximity
• Drainage pipes and
sewerage within the
floors in proximity to
life operations would
pollute energy fields.
• Newer materials used
in paints and
construction.
Chemical usage in
construction materials
would alter the
energetic
configuration in a
home.
• Vastu is not just a predictive discipline.
• It is an applied science, which enables
man to live in harmony with his
environment.
• Vastu surely is not a stagnant science. Being an
observatory science it just tabulates the social
effects of structural defects. The science has
undergone a transition parallel to the
transformation of the buildings.
• The main reason for the durability of Vastu is
that it is not an occult science. It is based on
sound scientific principles like weight and
gravity.
• Vastu can thus adapt
itself to any type of
house and predict the
possible outcomes of
living there.
• The house is just like
a puzzle to be
unraveled. It is also a
mirror, which reflects
the lives of the
people. So powerful is
this science that it
reveals to its inmates
things they don’t
know about
themselves.
• A true science transcends time. It
exists even if people do not know about
it. Before Newton discovered gravity
people were not floating it the air. They
were still being attracted to the ground
by the force of the earth. Likewise just
because anything is not wholly
explained does not mean it does not
exist. It is just waiting to be proved.
WHAT DOES
BAD VASTU CAUSE?
• Illnesses ranging from small
to major ones could occur if
corresponding Vastu errors
are present in the house.
• Arguments and unpalatable
happenings could sour the
relationships within the
home
• One could get overwhelmed by work and
be assaulted by inefficiency
• one could also suffer from serious
economic problems when bad Vastu
prevails. Perpetual shortfalls of cash could
become an everyday problem.
WHAT DOES GOOD VASTU
GIVE?
• Good Vastu causes peace
and amity at home with
better relationships.
• Good Vastu features let
you relax and enjoy life
better
• Positive features allow blooming
of hidden talents and throws up
opportunities for their success
• The offices with Vastu allow
employees to work at best
efficiency.
THEORY
•
Any science should have a set of
rules, which holds good in any
situation.
• The aspects should be universal
and should hold good under close
observation.
• But science is an
evolving experience
• The aspect that the
earth was globular
was totally proven
only when man made
spacecraft. Till then
for three hundred
years, it was only a
hypothesis.
• On the other hand the
observatory sciences have a
different set of rules altogether.
• In observatory sciences, there
is just a hypothesis.
• For example it will rain if the
sky is overcast. Or it will rain in
a particular season. More often
than not the result obeys the
hypothesis.
• It may not rain all the time the
sky is overcast and rainy
seasons may fail, but then
more often than not it happens
as predicted.
• .
• Though an observatory science Vastu has a set of rules
that has to be followed.
• The Law Of Weights is the primary rule in Vastu. Most of
Vastu principles can be explained with this rule.
• There are low weight areas and high weight areas. The
Vastu effects occur due to the placement of weights in
different areas.
• Other than that there are a list of rules one has to obey
for good results. This list is ever growing as newer things
are being observed
VASTU AND DIRECTIONS
• Vastu is a science
oriented on the
directional location of
a place.
• The direction
indicates the relative
positioning of things.
How do you determine the direction
of a place?
• The simplest way is to look for
the sunrise and determine the
east. When you face the rising
sun to your left is the north and
to your right is the south. To
your back is the west.
• But how accurate is this mode
of determining directions
accurate.
• Note: the sun migrates north
and south every year and only
on two days in a year called
equinoxes rises exactly in the
east.
• The better method to
find the direction is
using a compass. The
compass has a
magnetized needle,
which turns towards
north. The other
directions are then
determined.
• It has to be accepted in
all honesty that the
compass was not used by
ancient Vastu Sastris.
The Chinese had the
knowledge of the
compass and were using
it for their needs. The
Indians however
depended on the sun but
giving an allowance for its
migratory habits.
• It is always believed that
cities oriented towards
the cardinal directions are
lucky.
• The fact is most cities
with a history of a
hundred yeas or more
without major calamities
are oriented to the
directions. Most roads in
these towns would run
parallel to the compass
directions.
• There are some
cities, which are not.
These have incredible
ups and unimaginable
downs in their history.
Some cities rocked by
riots and earthquakes
constantly are found
cross.
• A little tilt of the
directions is okay.
• One has to find out in
which direction the
road serving the plot
exists. Stand inside
the compound, face
the road and take a
compass reading.
• If the road is in the
east, the plot is
considered east
facing.
• If in the south then it
is considered south
facing.
• Finding the bearings is essential in a
Vastu forecast, as the science is highly
direction specific and direction
sensitive.
While using the compass……….
• Stay away from metallic objects, concrete
pillars and beams
• Do not wear jewelry or watches or hold a
cell phone on the hand that is holding the
compass.
• Readings could be flawed if you make
these mistakes
THE LAW OF WEIGHTS
• The basic principles of
Vastu can be explained
by law of weights.
• Some parts of a space
can bear and enjoy heavy
weights.
• Some parts of a space
cannot bear any weights.
• Placing a heavy thing in a
low weight area causes
trouble and likewise
keeping a heavy weight
area light also causes
adversity.
• Weight is always not in the true sense and
may be symbolic
• Balancing the weights within a space is
the fundamental of Vastu Sastra.
• The north east corner
of the space ought to
be the lightest
• The southwest corner
of a space ought to
be the heaviest.
• The other parts of the
space should be in
between depending
on their distance from
these two corners.
• Generally the eastern
and northern sides of
a space should be
kept light
• The western and
southern sides of the
space should be kept
heavy.
WHAT IS HEAVY AND WHAT
IS NOT?
• All sub soil water
bodies like the well or
water sump are
considered very light.
Similarly basements
and cellars too are
considered light.
HEIGHTS AND WEIGHTS
• IN MANY CASES THERE IS A
RELATION BETWEEN HEIGHT AND
WEIGHT
• Taller walls, taller trees and taller buildings
are considered to be heavier.
• Generally higher things are considered to
be heavier than their shorter counterparts.
• In case of a sloped
roof, the higher end
heavier than the lower
end for more materiel
is use to build it and
hold it up.
• In a building the higher
parts are heavier as they
possess more matter.
The highest point on the
terrace is the location
with maximum weight.
(Look out for the
staircase headroom or
over head water tank)
• In a staircase the
higher end (what you
climb towards) is the
heaviest.
SYMBOLIC WEIGHTS
• WEIGHT CANNOT BE CONSIDERED
LITERALLY ESPECIALLY WHIL
ANAKYSING ACTIVITIES
• The boss of a company or the head of a
division is symbolically the heaviest
person in a unit. Hence he should sit to the
south or western direction of everybody.
• In a house the marital activities are
considered symbolically heavier than
knowledge gathering activities. Hence
couples in wedlock should use the
southern and western rooms.
• Money making and planning for
commercial activities should be placed
along west and south walls, whereas
prayer and other activities should be
placed along north and east walls.
OTHER ASPECTS
• Other than the principle of weights some
other factors are taken into consideration.
• HEAT
• Heat, electric current and
fire are energies too.
They have a capacity to
upset the energy flow
within the house.
Electricity is also
considered a hot energy
and machinery using it
emit electromagnetic
energy.
• The south east of any
enclosed space is
ideal for the hot
equipment. Similarly
even northwest is
compatible to heat.
Anywhere else this
could cause hassles.
• This includes stoves,
electric appliances,
and electricity
transmission
equipment like
transformers.
• CLEANLINESS
• Some areas have to
be maintained very
clean.
• Litter, clutter, toilets
and drainage should
be avoided in the
northeast. Even
brooms and mops
should not be in the
north east corner of a
space.
• The northeast is
considered almost a
holy place and it is
recommended that
the puja and prayer
rooms be kept there.
Neighbourhood
•
What is in the
neighbourhood
counts. If the
neighbour does a job
that does not emit
good energies and
vibrations, the house
might suffer inspite of
good internal design.
•
Neighbourhood
•
Public places have a
habit of drawing out
energy too.
• Fast moving and
noisy traffic or
polluted industrial
areas too disrupt the
energy of a place.
Symbolism
• Displaying things that remind one of
negative happenings like weapons,
masks, scenes of battlefield, stuffed
animals are all bad energies.
ZONES OF THE SPACE
• Any space enclosed by a demarcation can
be subdivided as zones.
• Each zone has its own attributes, physical,
energetic and also affects certain parts of
the human body and psyche.
• There are methods of dividing the plot into
as many as 81 squares, but dividing a plot
into 4 zones is sufficient.
• Each zone will have one corner of the
space and is believed to exhibit the
properties of one natural force
• . Rooms and activities have to be allotted
according to the nature of the area and
subdivision helps.
•
•
•
•
Four zones are
NORTH WEST- VAYU
NORTH EAST- EESANYA
SOUTH WEST- NAIRU
SOUTH EAST- AGNI
THE NORTH EAST
• Called as the Eesanya
and is the entry point of
energy.
• Needs to be very light
and clean.
• Ideal for puja rooms and
study as well as
expansive rooms such as
living rooms.
• Ideal for placing east and
north facing doors.
• Human nature; religion
and education.
ZONE
THE NORTH EAST
• Controls prosperity
and future of the
family as it is the
entry point for energy.
Avoid toilets and
kitchens here, in
buildings. Avoid tall
trees in the garden.
ZONE
THE SOUTH EAST ZONE
• Called as the Agni and is the
point of heat energy.
• Needs to have hot equipment
such as stoves.
• In factories this space could
have boilers or generators.
• Ideal for kitchens, electrical
equipment and power
connections. Ideal for placing
south facing doors.
• Human nature; family
relationship.
THE SOUTH EAST ZONE
• Controls waste
expenditure. Loans,
litigation, medical
expenses.
• Avoid bedrooms and
office rooms here, in
buildings.
• Avoid water bodies in
the garden.
THE NORTH WEST ZONE
• Called as the Vayu. It is
the point of wind energy,
which indicates
communication and
interaction
• Ideal for kitchens, guest
rooms and toilets.
• Ideal for placing west
facing doors.
• Human nature; social
interaction and disputes.
THE NORTH WEST ZONE
• Controls confusions,
litigation. Good place
for
toilets
and
kitchens
here,
in
buildings.
• Avoid adult bedrooms
but one may keep
children
bedrooms
here.
• Shrubs are good here
in the garden.
THE SOUTH WEST ZONE
• Called as the Nairu. It is
the point of heaviness,
which indicates
weightage in society.
• Ideal for bed rooms and
cash lockers.
• A very bad spot for
placing south or west
facing doors.
• Human nature; wealth,
status and respect
THE SOUTH WEST ZONE
• Controls safety and
status. Good place
for master bedrooms
in buildings. Avoid
kitchens and toilets.
• Avoid water bodies
and depressions. Tall
trees are good here in
the garden.
UCHAM AND NEECHAM
• Perhaps the toughest job
in Vastu Sastra is the
correct placement of
doors and gates.
• These openings cannot
be placed just anywhere
in the wall and will have
to follow the weight
principle.
• Ucham areas are good
ones to place doors and
Neecham areas are bad
to place them.
• A piece of wall
• is always considered
• heavier than a door.
• As we have seen earlier the eastern side
and the northern sides have to be light.
• Hence the wall in which the door is to be
placed has to be divided as two parts.
Depending on the position the wall could
be divided as western and eastern halves
or northern and southern halves.
• The door should, as the lighter part, be
placed in northern or eastern halves only.
• NORTH FACING
DOOR
• Divide the north wall
as two halves and
place opening in the
eastern half.
• EAST FACING
DOOR
• Divide the eastern
wall as two halves
and place the opening
in the northern half.
• SOUTH FACING
DOOR
• Divide the south wall
as two halves and
place opening in the
eastern half.
• WEST FACING
DOOR
• Divide the Western
Wall as two halves
and place the opening
in the northern half.
• If you note well, the openings are either in the
northeast or directly facing it.
TO SUMMARISE
• The best openings are
…. .
• In the northern façade
the north east
• In the eastern façade
the north east
• In the southern façade
the south east
• In the western façade
the north west
• Openings in the centre
are also good