Shastra Dictionary

Vastu Shastra

Vastu Shastra is an ancient science energy flow throughout the house/office/factory that allows inflow of fresh air and natural light that promotes health, wealth, peace and happiness.

The most ancient science of architecture that goes back to the Vedic ages, it is composed of specific rules and regulations, set down by sages of those times, that an architect / builder / owner was expected to religiously follow to avoid coming under negative or evil influences. Today, it is looked upon as a highly evolved, comprehensive building philosophy in which directions and shapes are the most vital aspects of designing.

Right from the selection of site to correct slope of land down to the shape of the building, this oldest form of architecture covers nearly every aspect of construction. Not only for houses but temples, palaces, forts, offices...just about every possible form of construction. Often providing relief if not cures to physical or emotional problems simply by relocating an entrance, window or room.

Some of the important points made therein are:

• Directional Alignment
• Shape Of The Site
• Slope Of The Land Surface
• Impact of Gates At Various Locations
• Brahmasthan (Central Zone of the Building)
• The Staircase
• Inner Planning of a House
• Inner Planning of an Office
• Internal Planning of any Industrial Building

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The Staircase

·  Should be in the western or northern side of the building.

·  Turnings should be in the clockwise direction.

On reaching the upper floor, the facing should be towards south or east.

See also: Vastu Shastra

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Brahmasthan (Central Zone of the Building)

·  Should be free from any obstruction in the form of a wall, pillar and beam.

There should not be any fixture, toilet, lift or staircase etc. in this area.

See also: Vastu Shastra

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Inner Planning of a House

·  The oven should ideally be in the south-east zone.

·  Toilets should not be in the north-eastern, central and south-western zones.

·  The most south-western location is the ideal position for your master bedroom.

·  Position the boy's room in the northern or eastern side while the girl's and guest room are to be in the north-western parts.

• Place the beds in southerly or easterly direction.

1. Kitchen fire should be in the South -East and should never be at the North-East, Centre and the south west zones.

2. Toilets should not be provided at the North-East, Center and the South-West zones

3. Master bedroom should be in or nearest to the South-west Zones

4. Boys' Rooms should be in the North and/or East Zones

5. Girls and Guest rooms should be in the North - West zones.

6. Head Seat of the Bed should be in the South or the East Direction

7. Facing of the W/C should be towards the north or West Direction

See also: Vastu Shastra

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Shape Of The Site

Symmetrical shapes like square or rectangular, circular & hexagonal promote overall growth, increases mental capabilities and generates prosperity.

Asymmetrical shapes like oval, triangular, parallelogram, star & trident are deemed inauspicious.

SHAPE & EFFECTS

Rectangular = Overall Growth

Hexagonal = Prosperity

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shastra

Revealed scripture, or an authorized textbook in any subject.

(See also: shastra , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Shastra:

Shastra. Compendium or collection of knowledge.

(See also: Shastra , Tantra, Tantra Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Slope Of The Land Surface

The surface should be elevated towards the southern and western sides and should be lower in northern and eastern sides for overall growth and prosperity.

The Land should be elevated towards south and west sides and it should be lower in NORTH and EAST sides for over all growth and happiness.

If the land is:

HIGH IN NORTH OR EAST

LOW IN SOUTH-EAST

LOW IN SOUTH

LOW IN SOUTH-WEST

LOW IN WEST

LOW IN NORTH-WEST

LOW IN CENTRE,

It can have adverse effects.

See also: Vastu Shastra

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shastra: (Sanskrit) "Sacred text; teaching."

1)    Any religious or philosophical treatise, or body of writings.

2)    A department of knowledge, a science; e.g., the Dharma Shastras on religious law, Artha Shastras on politics.

(See also: Shastra , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Manava Dharma Shastra - is the ancient code of law of, or by Manu.

(See also: Manava Dharma Shastra , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Impact of Gates At Various Locations

Eastern Side: The third and fourth gate promote prosperity.

Southern Side: The twelfth gate enhances growth.

Western Side: The twentieth and twenty-first gates stimulate financial growth.

Northern Side: The twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth gates promote happiness, financial growth and overall gain respectively.

Of all the positions of the gates the positions that are favourable are in the

EASTERN SIDE

3. Prosperity

4. Govt Favour

SOUTH SIDE

11. Meanness

12. Prosperity, Human Growth

WEST SIDE

20. Financial and Human Growth

21. Financial and Human Growth

NORTH SIDE

27. Happiness

28. Financial and human Growth

29. All types of Gains

All the other placements of the gates prove to be unfavourable.

See also: Vastu Shastra

(See also: Vastu Shastra , Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Dictionary, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

A dictionary Of Commonly Used Sanskrit terms. From Dadhicha to Kutichaka.

Please note that all words in grey, like "yoga", "enlightenment" or "kundalini" are hyperlinked to archives further explaining the term. At the corresponding archive you will also find articles related to the term.

mysticism: Spirituality; the pursuit of direct spiritual or religious experience. Spiritual discipline aimed at union or communion with Ultimate Reality or God through deep meditation or trance-like contemplation. From the Greek mystikos, "of mysteries."

Characterized by the belief that Truth transcends intellectual processes and must be attained through transcendent means.

See: mysticism, occultism, clairaudient, clairvoyance, psychic, trance.psychic abilities, siddhi.

(See also: Mysticism , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Buddhahood

(Jpn.: bukkai)

The state of awakening that a Buddha has attained. The ultimate goal of Buddhist practice and the highest of the Ten Worlds. The word enlightenment is often used synonymously with Buddhahood. Buddhahood is regarded as a state of perfect freedom, in which one is awakened to the eternal and ultimate truth that is the reality of all things. This supreme state of life is characterized by boundless wisdom and infinite compassion. The Lotus Sutra reveals that Buddhahood is a potential in the lives of all beings.

See: attainment of Buddhahood

(See also: Buddhahood , Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment Dictionary)

cupping (cupping method, cupping therapy; called the horn method in ancient China): Variable method akin to moxabustion.

The practitioner may use a cup made of glass, metal, or wood (notably bamboo) and burn alcohol, alcohol-soaked cotton wool, herbs, paper, or a taper therein. Before or after the burning is complete, the practitioner applies the cup upside-down to a relatively flat body surface and leaves it in this position for five to ten minutes. Results include erythema (reddening of the skin due to capillary expansion), edema (excessive fluid accumulation in tissue spaces), and ecchymoses (purple discoloration of the skin due to rupture of blood vessels).

The above description relates to fire cupping (the fire cupping method), which has several forms. Other forms of cupping include the acupuncture cupping method, the air pumping cupping method, and the water cupping method.

(See also: Cupping , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Chinese System of Food Cures: Anthology of dietary prescriptions set forth by Henry C. Lu, Ph.D. The appropriateness of specific foods for particular symptoms, conditions, and diseases is based on three classes of food attributes: flavor, energy, and movement.

The system associates flavors - pungent, sweet, sour, bitter, and salty - with different internal organs. Energies - cold, hot, warm, cool, and neutral - determine the ultimate effect of ingesting specific foods. Movement refers to the tendency of different foods to move in different directions in the body: outward, inward, upward, or downward.

(See also: Chinese System of Food Cures , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Foot Reflexology: An ancient cousin of acupuncture. It involves pressing reflex areas on the feet. Its principle is that these areas correspond to organs and systems of the body. Foot Reflexology really cleanses the mind and body and revitalizes energy. A common theory of reflexology holds that massaging certain areas of the feet restores health by breaking up and dispersing crystals.

(See also: Foot Reflexology , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

chakra healing (chakra balancing, chakra energy balancing, chakra therapy, chakra work): Subject of The ABCs of Chakra Therapy: A Workbook (Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1998). chakra healing is any means of energy clearing that focuses on or has been geared to chakras, including aromatherapy, hatha yoga, reflexology, and visualization (see creative visualization).

(See also: Chakra healing , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Chinese medicine (Traditional Chinese Medicine, TCM): Ancient holistic system whose basics include herbology, nutrition, and the concepts of acupuncture meridians, the Five Elements (Five Phases), and yin and yang.

Traditional Chinese Medicine theory posits both Organs (the Triple Burner, for example) and Substances (such as Shen, or Spirit) for which scientific evidence is absent. Variations and hybrids of Chinese medicine include Korean medicine, Tibetan medicine, and Vietnamese traditional medicine.

Chinese medicine probably originated about 2,000 years ago, but it became dogmatic and stagnated for centuries; overall its development has been slow. It probably stems from shamanism. The basis of Chinese medicine is Taoism, a religion according to which spirits (shen) inhabit the human body and take care of its functions. The foundational text of Chinese medicine - known as the Classic of Internal Medicine, the Huangdi Neijing, the Inner Classic, the Inner Classic of the Yellow Emperor, the Neiching, the Nei Jing, The Yellow Emperor's Classic, The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, and the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon - was completed by the first century C.E.

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Seicho-No-Ie (SNI): Supradenominational truth movement founded in 1930 in Japan by Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi (b. 1893), author of The Role of Mind in Cancer (1965) and The Truth of Life, a series of twenty books. Spiritual healing is a major component of Seicho-No-Ie, which combines Christianity and Buddhism.

In a nutshell, the principle of Seicho-No-Ie healing is that illness does not exist in Reality (the true spiritual world at the core of the phenomenal world) and that it is a false appearance. Seicho-No-Ie literally means House of Growth.

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