Counter View on Vaastu

 

Vaastu shashtra principles seem to be an interpretation of those who learnt it. When teachers explain a subject students will interpret it differently. Likewise those who learnt vaastu shashtra must have interpreted it differently. The basics of architecture are geometry. Ancient gurus might have taught geometry, architecture and everything superstitiously. The only difference is now we learn everything scientifically. Every superstition has a scientific reason too. If you think properly you can understand that some beliefs are meaningless. Vaastu purusha mandala, the earth which is a globe is shown as a square platform. Vaastu purusha is believed to be lying on the entire earth with his head in the north east and legs in the southwest. Another belief is that vaastu purusha is lying from east to west and changing position throughout the year. If so, how come a separate vaastu purusha occupies every piece of plot and every foundation of the houses? If vaastu purusha occupies the entire earth a fraction of his body will not be there in a plot or a house. Vaastu experts themselves have different opinions. When some say there is planetary influence in vaastu others say it doesn’t have. And some say vaastu flaws can be corrected by placing crystals, yantras, etc. Others say the flaws cannot be corrected by these things. They should observe and study things instead of going by superstition. These vaastu gurus make their own rules and instill wrong notions and fear in people’s brain. What they preach themselves cannot practice. They distort the geometry and make the houses inconvenient. They make architects and designers do what is not possible. Architects will get confused by the advice of the vaastu gurus and people will have fear to live in such houses which are not vaastu compliant. People seem to be more vaastu conscious these days because of these vaastu preachers. If only they understood it is geometry and it can be done how it is possible to do. It is like solving jigsaw puzzles. We arrange rooms in a geometrical design and construct the walls. Thus we will have a geometrical structure as our shelter. If the geometry is not done properly house will not be comfortable. I believe geometry defects are vaastu defects. Our aim is to make a shelter. It should be safe and comforatable and we decorate it with our creative sense to look good. Houses were built with the materials available then and how it is possible to build. If we build houses according to vaastu principles there will be only one design and the same type houses. That’s why houses of poor families are seen same type in our village. According to the culture, tradition and family profession houses were built before. Exterior designs of the houses vary from state to state and countries to countries. Architecture is evolving as everything else with ages and with the materials available. Only large houses can be built according to the vaastu principles. So vaastu is meant for the rich. Small houses and flats cannot be totally vaastu compliant. Even if you do penance standing on one leg you are not going to achieve it. These vaastu principles nullify our creative sense. Some vaastu principles that they advise are ridiculous and impractical. I believe only in geometry, not in vaastu. But I follow certain rules when I design.