Demystifying Vastu and how Fengshui looks at it
By Hari Shankar Gupta
Vastu for many revolves around some thumb rules. Generally,
these rules are followed religiously popularly known as
Saptapadi of Vastu. I beg to differ. During my 23 years of
practice, I have come across houses, offices and factories not
following these rules doing very good, whereas many who spent
a fortune to make their premises vastu-friendly languishing. Here
I will take a few such myths and will try to clear the air about
them.
First of all, I would like to say that every single property or flat
or office is unique. The direction, the date of the completion of
building, the date and time of grihpravesh, the landscape
(buildings, roads, waterbodies etc. in the vicinity), the people
living in it – everything that you take into consideration is
unique. So how can one apply thumb rules to all the properties in
such complex and varied situations? Let me also clarify – when
we say south entry we mean we are entering into the house from
south facing north.
Myth: Northeast entrance to the house is the most auspicious entry for
any home.
In classical books of Vastu, the clear indication of auspicious
gate locations is given. Take a look at the Paramshayika Pada
Vinyash given below. The main sections of North East i.e.
section 32, 1 and 2 are not at all considered. Windows and
openness in the NE section is advocated.
According to Fengshui, like Vastu – entry can be from any
direction. However, the calculation of the exact location is done
on the basis of the date of construction of building /move in date
and the exact compass degrees denoting the orientation of the
house.
Myth: Entrance to the house from West is inauspicious.
If we look at the grid, sector 20, 21 are on the west and are
recommended as one of the best entry points. The planetary Lord
of West is Saturn and a deep rooted fear of Lord Shani is behind
this myth.
N
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 1
24 43 2
44 33 34
23 42 3
22 4
W 21 41 45 35 5 E
20 6
19 36 7
40 39 38
18 37 8
17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9
S
Myth: South entrance is considered unlucky for the owner.
The grid itself is self-explanatory. Sector 11 and 12 are in the
south and are thought to be the best for entry. South is said to be
the abode of Yama, the Lord of Death. The fear of death led the
people belief it is bad. We have forgotten that Yama is also
known as Dharmaraj and South represents Dharma and Moksha.
Fengshui doesn’t object to a south entry. In northern hemisphere,
during winter south lets in the sun light.
Myth: One should not have a deep hole or a well in the south-west
direction.
A pond, a well, a bore-well or a low area in south-west is a big
No-No as per Vastu. This is an established thumb rule however
as I said that every property is unique. I have come across many
properties with this so-called defect and prospering. A very
famous textile shop in Burdwan District with entry from North
East has a deep well inside the shop in exactly South West. The
retail shop has the highest sale in all stand-alone textile shops in
West Bengal.
Fengshui looks at it from different angle. One school of Fengshui
calculates energy pattern of a space according the date of move-
in/construction and exact orientation as per compass. If the
energy pattern permits, the presence of water or lower ground
makes it auspicious.
Myth: Kitchen should only be in the south-east section of one’s home.
The name Agni Kone of South East is behind this myth.
Moreover, kitchen is not only stove, we need abundant water too
for cooling and drinking. It is ok if you have a kitchen in SE of
your house. But again East with abundant sunlight is not ruled
out and North West is also considered as a secondary direction.
North West represents element Vayu as per Vastu and Vayu is
helpful in keeping the fire burning. Even North/South is also
acceptable. North represents water i.e. cold energy and fire in this
zone will keep us warmer.
Fengshui, supports the above logic.
Myth: Toilet in the northeast corner is a complete no.
It sure is. If you divide the plan of the house in sectors orienting
it to exact Magnetic North, in 50% cases you will find that due to
deviation the area which the owner believed to be NE is actually
falling either in Northern or Eastern sector. The problem was
more psychological than real.
Actually, in ancient India and China, the concept of toilets inside
the house was not there. So the manuscripts are silent on this
subject. However, the concept that NE is best for worship room
and meditation, the toilets in this zone should be avoided as they
are considered dirty per se.
Myth: Empty spaces under your flat bring bad luck
Most high-rise buildings today have stilts or underground
parking and they cannot be avoided. If you look at these spaces,
they have columns, beams, floor and roof – only walls on the
four sides are missing. And they are not empty either instead are
used for parking. The basement has the walls too.
Fengshui says that the basement or other such spaces should have
activity going on and should not be left as dark and closed spaces
which then attracts negative energy.
Myth: There should not be a Peepal tree in the vicinity of one’s home.
The presence of the tree in open space such as in a housing
society proves no harm. The main concern is the spreading roots
of Peepal, Banyan and similar trees which may harm the
foundation of the building or boundary wall.
Myth: South and West of your house or flat should be closed.
We, in Kolkata, always look for a South open flat and the Bay of
Bengal is in the South. In summer, cool sea breeze keeps the
house cool and airy. Vastu is basically allowing air and sunlight
to enter the house freely. In winter, south lets in the much needed
sunlight to warm us.
In Mumbai, west open flats and properties are in high demand
and carry a premium price tag. Arabian Sea is on the west of the
city and brings cool breeze – the much desired oxygen to the
house.
Fengshui, looks for the presence of water body in the landscape
and treats it as a major factor in auditing any property.
Myth: North and East should always be open.
There is no question that the sunlight enters the house from East.
But does it really! In winter, the sunlight mostly comes from
South / South East and in summers from North /North East. The
reason is that we are in northern hemisphere exactly on the
Tropic of Cancer.
In northern region, like Delhi, in winter cold air comes from
North and people living in a north open property shiver due to
extra cold. West /North West open properties in Delhi are open
to sandy storms from adjoining desert during summer.
The auspiciousness has more to do with the climatology and
topography of the place.
Myth: South and West should be heavy.
When Vastu speaks about South and West being heavy, it
actually talks about the ground level or floor level. It is not
talking about loading the floor to make it heavy. Floor sloping
towards East and/or North is norm.
Myth: Puja Ghar should be in North East only.
Again the age old million dollar question arises – which is the
direction in which God is not present. It does not matter, in
which direction your puja ghar is. Puja ghar is a place where you
invoke the God and His divine cosmic energies. So we try to
avoid South East and south being hot zones. However for fierce
Gods and Goddesses there is no binding. If we talk of meditation
room, it sure helps if one can meditate in North East sector of the
house.
Fengshui believes the North East to be the gate to higher realms
or other higher dimensions. Having puja ghar or meditation
room to well connect to the your higher self is all but ok.
In today’s world of sky-scraping buildings, it is impossible to
recreate the principles of Vastu in the exact form as they are laid
down in the ancient manuscripts. However using Vastu
Principles and Fengshui theories of balancing five elements
brings a balanced aura to the inner space of our most heaven on
earth i.e. our home.
