Vastu Shastra: Size, Shape, Orientation and Location in Vastu

By www.kanippayyur.com

Vastu: Size, Shape, Orientation and Location in Vastu

To define a vastu, Vastuvidya specifies 4 factors: size, shape, orientation and location.

Size :

The size of a vastu is defined by its dimensions. Anthropometric dimensions are used in Vastuvidya. The basic unit is vyama, the span between the tips of middle fingers when both arms are stretched to the sides. In a standard person this is equal to his height (kaya). Octal subdivisions are used to define the sub-units. One-eighth vyama is a pada and one-eighth pada is an angula. In addition to the anthropometric dimensions (purusapramana), the grain size was also used to define the dimensions as is natural in the agricultural community. The width of barley (yavodara) was used as a standard dimension and was called yava. The two systems were connected by the relation, 8 yava = 1 angula. Successive octal subdivisions of yava yield tila, liksa, romagra, radhadhuli and paramanu (table 01).

Table 01. Octal system of Measurement.

To account for the difference in human proportions due to ethnic differences, three types of angula are proposed:

6 yava = 1 athamangula

7 yava = 1 madhyamangula

8 yava = 1 uttamangula

Uttamngula of 8 yava is taken as the standard.

The standardised value of angula in metric system will be 3 cm. Therefore, 1 pada = 8 angula = 24 cm and 1 vyama = 64 angula = 192 cm. One yava will then be equal to 3.75 mm and one tila will be 0.47 mm. For practical use in the field a measure called hasta equal to 24 angula is defined. This is equal to the length of arm from the shoulder. Several hastas were used with measures of 25, 26, 27, 28,29, 30 and 31 angula, but the hasta of 24 angula length called kisku is universally adopted. The other hastas are used for special purposes. One half of hasta i.e. 12 angula is called vitasti and one eighth hasta = 3 angula is called parva. Hasta, vitasti and parva are practical units.

For larger measurements, a unit called danda is used. One danda is the perimeter of a square of side 1 hasta and therefore, equal to 4 hasta. Eight danda makes one rajju and 1000 rajju is one yojana.

Courtesy to http://www.kanippayyur.com

Designers draw on ancient Indian science of vastu for inspiration 

Jura Koncius, The Washington Post

A Washington, D.C., living room planned by vastu designer Kathleen Cox aims to harmonize the elements of earth, water, air, fire and space with the home. Vastu is an ancient Indian theory of architecture.

NEW YORK -- As interior design gurus go, Kathleen Cox is no Martha Stewart. She scorns symmetry, which she says is static and blocks the flow of energy. Her modest apartment in midtown Manhattan has a lived-in look, with warm sunlight filtering onto cozy, earth-toned furniture. Her eclectic collection of art, which includes a large, framed portrait of the Dalai Lama, a cluster of family photos and a statue of the elephant-headed god Ganesh, seems closer to what one might find at a flea market than on a showroom floor. 

Her design philosophy, her apartment seems to say, is not about perfection. 

That is because she has organized her living space according to vastu, the ancient Indian science of architecture and design based on the Vedic philosophy that we are all imperfect.

"It's the only design system that uses the human body as the guiding force," she said. "Just as the body is the temple of the home, the home should be the temple to the body. Vastu is not about perfection -- it's about creating a space that's as healthy for you as you can make it." 

Once a sacred, oral tradition taught only to priests and sincere spiritual seekers, vastu has now made its way into the homes of the chic and famous. Cox designed supermodel Christy Turlington's New York loft and plans to use the science in designing spas in California. She has been invited to speak at a major design convention in Baltimore this spring and just finished designing an inn in Toronto. 

But convincing people of the benefits of vastu, which seeks to harmonize the home with the five basic elements of earth, water, air, fire and space, proved difficult at first. 

"My challenge was to find the vocabulary that allowed people to connect to what I was talking about," she said, adding that at first, she had to beg people to come to her lectures. That's no longer the case, said Cox, who has made a name for herself by marketing vastu as "yoga for the home." 

"People are hungry to reaffirm their spirituality, and there's something about vastu that resonates with that," she said. 

There is evidence that the trend is catching on. In 2000, when Cox wrote Vastu Living: Creating a Home for Your Soul (Marlow & Co.), it was the first book of its kind in the United States. Two years later, when she completed The Power of Vastu Living, there were 27 other works on vastu, and today, there are more than 500 books on vastu listed on Amazon.com. 

And as the numbers of consultants and adherents grow, vastu in America is taking on a flavor of its own. 

Jet Magat, 29, discovered vastu when his fiance asked him to redecorate the house. Magat, a spa promoter who lives near Palm Springs, Calif., found Cox's book while browsing through feng shui books, a similar Chinese philosophy used to balance and harness competing energy forces. Following the book's advice, he relocated his bed and desk and created a tranquil northeast zone. 

"My life has really changed since I moved my furniture," he said. "Everything I was doing in the house was a chore -- there was no joy in it. Now I see my house as an extension of myself." Magat is now spreading the word among his friends -- and doing free vastu consultations, he said. 

As a cousin, and, some believe, an ancestor, to the Chinese art of feng shui, vastu is thought to date back more than 3,000 years to Vedic civilization and provides guidelines for the structure of houses, temples and even whole cities. The Sanskrit word vastu literally means home, dwelling, or a site. 

Vastu principles became visible in the architecture of Hindu temples around the eighth century and are undergoing a renaissance in India today, said Vasu Narayanan, a professor of Vedic studies at the University of Florida. 

"As with everything else in Hinduism, this science developed within the context of religion and has continued to evolve," said Narayanan, who will begin teaching vastu as part of her Hinduism course. 

While the resurgence of vastu in India has spawned weekly vastu television shows and a barrage of self-help books, in America, vastu is being tailored to suit its new Western clientele and shedding many of its ritualistic and devotional aspects, said Juliet Pegrum, author of The Vastu Home (Ulysses Press). Some of the overtly Hindu aspects of vastu, like its assignment of particular deities to different corners of one's house and its relationship to Vedic astrology, have been dropped, she said. 

"It's not so important to have Hindu deities in a Western home. You can use symbols that are meaningful to you," said Pegrum, who added that she does encourage clients to create a "zone of tranquility." 

But while many proponents of vastu say it is less rigid and more personalized than feng shui, most agree that in vastu, location is everything. For example, the accumulation of clutter in the northeast corner of a room can impede concentration, since that direction marks the site of the mythical being Purusha's head. Working with your back to the door can induce feelings of insecurity. And sleeping in the north, where air and water reside, can cause restlessness. 

The ideal vastu home is square and aligned with the cardinal directions, reflecting the Vedic concept of the universe. The center of the house should remain empty to honor the sacred center, or abode of the god Brahma, while the southeast is connected with Agni, the god of fire, making it an ideal locale for a kitchen in a home or sacrificial fire