Vastu Shastra

Dear Prabhus: Hare Krishna. All glories to Srila Prabhupada An excellent article on this appeared in Hinduism Today (http://www.hinduismtoday.kauai.hi.us/Resources/Seva.html. Some excerpts follow and I will send you the whole separately. A contact was also listed: Deepak Bakshi, 303 West Kirkwood Avenue, Fairfield, Iowa, 52556, USA Building a House, Rishi-Style The vastu-purusha mandala is a blueprint of the form assumed by existence, also of the laws governing the cosmos as applied to all beings and all existence itself. It illustrates how, according to ancient texts, Brahma forced the undefined purusha, or cosmic man, into a geometric form. In the same way, the architect brings disordered existence into conformity with the basic laws that govern it. This can only be achieved by making each monument, from the hermit's retreat to the layout of a city, follow exactly the magic diagram of the mandala. Firstly, a sthapati would ask you for your birth time and place. This gives your jyotisha, or astrological chart. From this, all details of the dimensions and precise placement of the different elements of the home are determined by applying the jyotisha to the vastu-purusha mandala. The foremost concern is harmony between individual, building and the natural cosmic order. Structural matters are the last considerations. Integral to it is the orientation to the cardinal points. Some basics are: 1) The entrance faces the east. A southern entrance is avoided as it is said that Lord Yama, the God of death, lives there. 2) The kitchen is best placed in the south-east corner-most exposed to the sun's energy. This is said to increase the appetite and quality of digestion. 3) The bedroom is placed in the north, furthest from the energetic sun-side. 4) The central place of the house, called brahmastan, should be unobstructed by columns or walls. The flow of energy focuses here first, then radiates to the various other parts of the home. The vastu-purusha mandala can be applied in a similar way to the development of the entire property in terms of placement of the buildings, driveway, garden, utilities, etc. Hope this meets your query. pradeep (Text COM:1180562) -----------------------------------------