VASTU, The architectural design of your house—3rd in the series

“Home Sweet Home” -- the place where you want to return to after a long tiring day. How a house is constructed is very important. When you buy, construct or live in your house it is very important that you should have positive thoughts and vibrations. Home is the place where the spirit of those who live resides. To make your home a truly auspicious, constantly inspiring and lifting your spirits, you need to enhance positive and block negative energies. It is my endeavor to help you select your house where you prosper, grow and be happy. 
 

Your house should be in harmony with laws of Nature. The Stapatya Veda that comes from the Atharva Veda, which is one of the four Vedas, gives great importance to different aspects of house and building construction to be lucky and favorable. There is a mythological story that when Lord Brahma, a Hindu demigod, empowered by God to create world, was creating a multitude of auspicious and inauspicious beings at the beginning of the creation. 

While so engaged, Lord Brahma and the demigods attempted to create the aura, but instead a formless demon named Vastu purush appeared.  Vastu purush was the manifestation of unrestrained chaotic energy. This chaotic energy, demon, needed to be contained since he was threatening to wreak havoc throughout the universe. Lord Brahma and the demigods devised a plan to stop him. They threw him to Earth and sat on him. Being pinned down in this way, with Lord Brahma in the middle and many exalted demigods and sages surrounding him, the Vastu purush was completely purified.  In a very philosophical note, as per the teachings of the Vedas, both the body and the house are our temporary temples or dwelling place; therefore we should utilize our time in this sphere to attain the eternal realm where everything is completely auspicious. That’s how Vastu Shastra, the ancient architectural design, originated.                   

The house you buy should not only give you protection from heat, cold, wind etc but should also give protection from subtle negative influences and attract auspicious energies to help maintain and increase your general well-being, prosperity, and wisdom. 

When you go to buy a house take a compass with you to help you locate the four directions-- East, South, North and West. The rising and setting of the sun can also give you a very good sense of direction. The Sun rises from the east and sets in the west. Keep your face towards the sun (east) and spread your arms like a bird. The right arm would mean south direction and left arm would mean west direction and of course your back is towards west. East, North or Northeast facing houses are considered to be the best for living.  Why? Simply, because the East or North, Northeast facing houses allow the benefic rays of Sun to enter. Sunrays are considered to be most benefic it brings vitality and prosperity that is why in olden days and even now Sun is worshipped in Hindu and many cultures. It provides prosperity, wealth and health to the worshipper. Hence your house should be east, north or northeast facing. I never recommend south-facing house, which according to my astrological analysis brings loses, clashes and conflicts among the people living in the house.

After selecting the direction of your house carefully take into accounts its shape, size, proportion, extensions if any, slope of the house, etc. the special emphasize should also be given to its surroundings too.  The house should never be near school or burial ground. Also there should never be any obstructions near the house that is no huge and big trees near the entrance or big pits. The house should not be at the dead end of the road. It is generally considered to be highly inauspicious and may bring obstruction in your work. If you are buying an apartment you may not have much choice for changes but you should consider the shape of the plot on which the apartment is built and direction of the main door. As far as possible basements should be avoided, living underground basically defies the basic nature of human beings and also you do not get benefic sunrays. I always look at nature to give me answers and you too can follow the same rule, look at the nature for answers. My attempt is to provide you guidelines to buy a house that is free of destructive radiation, structures and is in complete harmony with the cosmic forces. This in turn harmonizes with the basic five elements - space, air, fire, water and earth. The walls of the basement contain high humidity due to the moisture present in the soil and there is not much ventilation and fresh air to breathe in. So you may suffer from ill health which directly/indirectly affects your career, finances and also relationships. 

After the direction next importance should be given to the planning of the building. The placements of various rooms, halls, water tanks, toilets, pantry, kitchen etc are given due importance. Each direction of your house, as per ancient belief, is owned by a planet and the concerned planet regulates that direction according to its inherent nature, Sun rises in the east so east direction becomes magnetized and it ensures protection and regulates cosmic energy. More vacant space in east direction is favorable. Place of worship is also considered favorable in this corner of the house. North direction is related with the inflow of finances so keep your money (safes and vaults) in this corner or you can have your garden or keep green plants in this direction. As per Vastu, in the Northeast of all buildings lays the head of the Vastu purush and it is therefore very inauspicious to have a toilet in the Northeast direction. Water storage should be in the northeast direction. Car parking area/toilet in the Northwest direction is benefic. Kitchen involves fire element so provide a kitchen in the Southeast portion of your house and if it is not possible than shift kitchen platform to Southeast corner of the kitchen. South direction, as I have mentioned earlier, is not considered very auspicious so keep heavy furniture items, heavy indoor pots of plants, cupboards, etc. You can keep indoor plants in the North direction (growth) but never cactus. Provide a store in the West or Northwest direction for luck. Sleeping or studying under have heavy beams in rooms brings mental tensions and anxieties and hence should be avoided. 

A building or a house constructed according as per Vastu norms mitigates bad effects. If a house or a building is already constructed and is probably not as per   the norms of Vastu shastra than it is not necessary to go for reconstruction but Vastu remedies (rearrangements) can be applied and to some extent malefic effects are reduced. After all as we say in medicine surgery is always the last option….Vastu is very helpful and sometimes work like magic!!!!