ENVIRONMENT

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ENVIRONMENT
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• The surroundings of the house is what determines
  the kind and quantum of energy that the plot
  would receive.

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• What is around the perimeter of our plot will
  affect the energy within because it has to cross
  them before entering the plot.

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• It is just like a breeze passing through a
  scented garden before reaching you.
• What if it is a garbage dump or ditch?

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• A palatial bungalow built in the midst of a slum
  would just not fit in energetically.

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• Residents have little or no control over their
  environment.
• One may re arrange a plot or redesign a building
  but what can they do about a road or a hill?

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• Choosing the environment we want to live in is an
  important feature.
• The environment sets the trend for our lives.
• Havent you noticed that most of the rich live in
  the same areas and the same goes for the under
  privileged too.

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• There are three features that constitute an
  environment
• Geographical features
• Suburbs
• Roads

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• Nature has its own way of expressing good
  energies.
• One can look for symptoms of good or bad energies
  before purchasing the plot.

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• If the neighbourhood is already built up, look
  out for symptoms in you neighbours. Are they
  prosperous, do a lot of children play in the
  roads, is the area bright and smelling good? Are
  people busy?

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• If there are no buildings to look for, examine
  the lands.
• Lands which are always wet or having puddles are
  bad for living.
• If water seeps from the ground it is a bad
  symptom.
• Land with large cracks are bad too.
• Lands with rocks or pebbles on the surface are
  bad for energy.
• Generally barren land with no natural greenery
  brings unhappiness. Lands where anthills, termite
  hills or snake hills are present are bad for
  living.

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• Level lands are always better for living. Sloped
  lands as well as those with eroded surfaces are
  energy deficient.
• Lands which are too high or too depressed in
  comparison to the environment are bad.

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• Living land is one where flora flourish. Dead
  land has only desert plants living or not even
  that.
• Good Vastu would have flowering plants in the
  vicinity. Birds with colourful feathers in habit
  the area. Choosing a living land is important.

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• PHYSICAL FEATURES
• Natural features of an area influence a house and
  its inhabitants. Physical features can easily be
  classified by the law of weights.

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• Hills and raised spaces are obviously heavy,
  rivers and ponds as well as depressed spaces are
  light. Hills could be obstructions and rivers
  ducts for energy flow.

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• Physical features are geographical elements. They
  are older and larger than many man made
  structures and are very powerful.

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HILLS

• Hills should not be very close to the plot.
• Rocks are not good energetically for people and
  hilly areas have a lot of rocks in the vicinity.
  

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• A little distance from the hills are okay and the
  distance to be maintained is measured by the
  shadow of the hill. People generally should not
  live in the shadow of the hill.

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• A hill should also not be the first thing one
  sees on opening a door or a gate.

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• If the hills are in a distance they are ideal in
  the south and west directions of the plot.
• Hills on the north and East Side of the plot are
  extremely bad.

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WATER BODIES

• Rivers and streams flow from higher levels to
  lower level. Thus they serve as indicators of the
  levels of a place.
• Also as all the rainwater in the vicinity flows
  towards a water body, all land slopes towards the
  river too.

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• Habitat sciences take into account the mobility
  of water. Moving water conveys energy to a place
  faster than other natural forces. Remember, the
  greatest of civilisations in the world had been
  founded in river valleys. They believed that not
  only was it convenient but also added to their
  power. Even today, most of the worlds important
  capitals have a famous river bisecting them.
• Water bodies are considered as cavities below the
  ground and are light in weight.

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• Water bodies are excellent in the north and the
  east of the plot.
• They are bad in the south and west.

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• Water bodies can be divided as two. Stagnant and
  flowing. Whereas the stagnant water is a constant
  influence, in the case of the moving water the
  direction of flow is always important.
• The direction towards which water flows is always
  lower and the flow should be towards the east or
  north.
• Rivers are best with their water flow towards the
  north east.
• Stagnant water like ponds and lakes are good
  along the northeast corner and may extend towards
  the east and northern sides.

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• Dirty water and ditches as well as cesspools and
  sewers, are lower levels but do not offer the
  same quality of results along the northeast. .
  The north east corner of the plot is supposed to
  be clean and pure and ever rivers with higher
  percentages of sewerage start giving negative
  results.

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TREES

• Trees are heavy objects and are preferred along
  the south and west boundaries. A tree in the
  exterior which blocks the northeast could cause
  hindrance to the inmates.

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• Tall trees are best outside the west and southern
  boundaries of the plot.

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• LIGHT
• The light falling inside the plot is highly
  controlled by tall objects in the vicinity.
• Tall trees outside the plot may cast shadows
  within. So may buildings of neighbours.

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• A house should not remain in constant shade. A
  shaded house tires the inmates and makes them
  susceptible to diseases and losses.
• However the western and southern sides need to be
  more shady than the north and east. The north
  east corner should get some sunlight daily to add
  to the prosperity of the plot.

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NEIGHBOURHOOD.

• The neighbourhood consists of man made
  structures. Even plot size and shapes are
  controlled by roads that man charts out.
• The effect of the elements of the neighbourhood
  can be decided by two things- Location and
  utility.

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• Buildings and structures because of their
  comparative size and height could affect the
  building.
• It is good to live in a neighbourhood with
  buildings of comparative sizes. It is not good to
  live in a small plot sandwiched between.

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• Similarly it is not good to stay in a small
  building sandwiched between two tall ones.

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• However when buildings are only slightly taller
  it is better to have the taller buildings in the
  south and west of the plot.
• Tall buildings and structures because of their
  height are bad in the north and the east of the
  home. They could be beneficial in the south and
  the west directions.

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• A bar or a wine shop adjacent to the plot is bad.
  It will cause instable energies.

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• A meat shop, a butcher or an abattoir next to the
  house or proximal in the distance is bad. Death
  and dying energies are bad in the vicinity

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• A gambling den or a horse race centre very near
  the house is bad. They add instability to
  financial matters.

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• Graveyards and crematoria in the vicinity of the
  home are bad. Mental imbalance is the result.

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• Even seemingly positive places such as temples,
  banks and schools are bad nearby. These suck out
  the energy from the area and the permanent
  residents suffer from lack of it.

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• Keep away from public places

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roads

• ROADS
• Any pathway which is used for common usage is
  termed a road. The road is one important feature
  that determines the Vastu power of a plot.
• Roads and streets serve as conduits for energy to
  the plot. They also determine in which way the
  plots and houses are oriented.
• The nature of the road is an important factor in
  determining the stability of a plot

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• The roads should be parallel to the cardinal
  directions and not cross to them.
• Only when this happens will the plot be parallel
  to directions and obey the laws of Vastu.

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• The roads will have to be assessed on their
  directions, width, height, and gradients.
• While choosing a new plot knowledge of the Vastu
  details on the roads would be a great help.

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height

• A road should not be higher than the plot or
  building floor. Energy moves above the level of
  the plot if traffic moves at a higher level than
  the floor. Hence the place would be energy
  starved.
• If your driveway or path from the gate is sloping
  downwards you will know that the road is higher.

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Number of roads

• There could be upto four roads for a plot
• Amongst the single road plots those facing north
  and east are excellent.

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2 roads

• Amongst the two road plots which normally occur
  in corners the plot with the combination of north
  and east roads is the best. But care has to be
  taken that the corner of the plot is intact.
• The full benefits of these better plots is
  possible only when coupled with good design of
  building.

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3 roads

• In three road plots the entrance should be kept
  only in the middle road, regardless of any
  direction

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4roads

• Four road plots are great, but offer best results
  only if it is used for public purposes

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gradient

• The higher end of the gradient is considered
  heavier and the lower end as lighter.
• Hence using the weight principle a slope towards
  the north or east is good for the plots.

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width

• If the roads are wider it is better for the plots
  on it. Wider roads offer a smoother flow of
  energy. Narrow roads encourage crime.

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• There should not be a fly over adjacent to the
  plot.

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Dead end/ blind end

• If the road that serves a house ends at a plot
  then the house is termed a blind end or a dead
  end. In effect the road physically stops at the
  gate of the house.
• This is a bad phenomenon.
• Energy has a one way traffic and gets stagnated
  within the plot. This causes stagnation in career
  and investments. Money gets locked up in needless
  avenues.

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• Buildings on the sides of blind ends do not
  suffer this effect.
• Buildings on the sides of blind ends closed in
  south or west directions are very lucky

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• The most feared of Vastu phenomenon is a street
  banging into the plot from across the road.

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• The plot may have a single main road serving it.

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• From the other side of the road a perpendicular
  road may join the main road.
• The perpendicular road may be straight to the
  plot.

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• This plot is said to be hit by a spearing street.

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• This feared occurrence was felt in all cultures.
• It was called kuthu ( punch in Tamil), shoola(
  spear in Hindi) and as a poison arrow in Chinese.
• The perpendicular road channelises a great amount
  of energy within the plot. It serves as a conduit
  for energy, which may be good or bad depending on
  the location it strikes on the plots boundary.

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• Spears in the middle of any façade is good.

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• For determining the quality of the rest of the
  spears one has to use the Ucham Neecham
  principles, which is also used for placing doors.
• Spears on eastern or northern halves of facades
  turn out to be good for the inmates.
• Spears on western or southern halves of facades
  turn out to be bad for the inmates.

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GOOD SPEARS

• To be a beneficial spear
• A spear on the northern side should strike the
  north east
• A spear on the eastern side should strike the
  north east
• A spear on the southern side should strike the
  south east
• A spear on the western side should strike the
  north west

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BAD SPEARS

• To be a harmful spear
• A spear on the northern side should strike the
  north west
• A spear on the eastern side should strike the
  south east
• A spear on the southern side should strike the
  south west
• A spear on the western side should strike the
  south west

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• The bad varieties of street spears have to
  treated with great care and attention.
• ITS BETTER TO GET A VASTU EXPERT TO HANDLE A BAD
  STREET SPEAR

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The plot
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THE PLOT

• The plot is the land on which we build the
  building. It is the base for the constructed
  structure and would definitely influence the
  activities in the building.

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• Like the basis the soil offers a growing plant,
  the earth nurtures the building. We know that
  Vastu is dependent on earth energies and so the
  plot, which is the earth component of the home,
  is important.

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• The environment of many houses could be same but
  the individual differences in each house starts
  cropping up in plots.
• Unlike the environment a lot of features can be
  controlled in a plot. However proper plot
  selection is important too.

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• Just as in agriculture the plot has to nurture
  lives in a home too.

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• The nature of the soil, the shape of the plot,
  man made structures like compound walls and
  gates, water bodies as the well and the garden
  features are all components of the plot.

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• Man does not use the building alone. He uses the
  land component also to park his car or draw his
  water. More importantly He even uses it to cross,
  to reach his house.

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SHAPE OF THE PLOT

• Vastu Sastra believes in balanced shapes.
  Rectangles the science feels is the best shape to
  have for a plot or a residence.
• Since it is felt that all four corners are vital
  in determining the different aspects in a mans
  life, a rectangle offers a complete life for
  people living within.

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• Odd plots that include circles, triangles and
  trapeziums are bad.

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• Distortions in rectangles too could be bad. For
  example when some corner of a plot is chopped or
  truncated by the corporation (termed as a
  mandatory splay) problems take off.

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• There are different ways in which a rectangle
  could be distorted.

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• The space could out grow the rectangle in some
  point. Such outgrowths are harmful in all
  directions except the northeast where alone they
  are beneficial.

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• A squarish growth is easy to identify. It would
  be a piece of land jutting out in some corner.
  The plot is said to have extended in the location
  this extra piece of land is.

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• An angular growth is slightly tougher to
  identify.
• If opposite sides of the rectangular plot do not
  have equal lengths then the plot would have grown
  angularly

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• The other way to find out is by going to a corner
  and looking out for an angle in the wall. In
  longer lengths the cross is easier to identify.

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• Open space is considered light and so an angular
  extention in the north east is welcome.

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• an extention on any the other side is bad.

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SLOPES IN THE LAND

• Perfectly level land is non existent.
• A slope is always provided by nature or
  architects in a plot.

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• While applying the law of weights in a slope the
  higher land imposes more weight than the lower
  land.
• Hence it is important to understand the natural
  slopes within a plot and level it as necessary.
• The southern and western sides should be higher
  in land levels.

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• The plot could be divided as two triangles, the
  moon triangle and the sun triangle. The moon half
  should always be higher than the sun half.

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• The land should slope from the southwest corner
  (highest) to wards the north eastern corner
  (lowest) with all other parts having levels
  proportional to their distance from these two
  corners.

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• The ideal situation would be when rainwater
  falling in the southwest corner should exit from
  the north east corner.

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Where does rain water exit from your plot?

• That place would be the lowest in a few years
  time. It would be because running rainwater
  erodes the soil.
• In case you have a north or east-facing plot, it
  would be beneficial for the correct sides would
  get lowered. In case you have a south or
  west-facing plot you may do two things
• Slope the land towards your north east collect
  the rain water there and send it by sub soil
  piping outside.
• Or
• You may pave or cement up the south or west in
  the plot which prevents erosion.

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• A slope towards the centre of the plot is very
  bad too.

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• Depressions in the plot
• Other than a general slope land may have
  depressions or mounds. Generally lands with
  random ups and downs are bad.
• However if the depressions are grouped together
  than it is best to have them in the north or east
  for they are below the ground and hence
  considered light.
• The mounds have to be in the south and west for
  they are above the ground and hence considered
  heavy.

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THE SOIL

• The soil is an indicator of the energies
  prevailing in a plot. So true is the fact that
  the ancient texts even classified soil as living
  and dead.

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• The flora on a land is not only an indicator of
  the fertility but also the energies in the plot.
• Vegetation should be lush and the plot should
  look green from a distance. Natural vegetation
  should not be thorny

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• The living soil was one where vegetation thrived
  and had a good water supply.
• The dead soil was usually a problem land where
  vegetation was sparse.

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• There should not be rocks on the surface or just
  below it. Jagged rocks which are exposed in the
  plot indicate very bad energies. There should
  also not be pebbles on the surface. Rounded rocks
  or boulders indicate deflected energies.

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• There should not be too many holes or crevices on
  the surface land should be level to a certain
  extent and not have too many ups and downs. Soil
  should not have cracks and neither should it look
  eroded

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• Water should neither stagnate in the plot nor
  should the land look always look wet
• Water should not spout up from the surface with
  bubbles during rainy season

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• The colour of the soil should not be different
  from the black brown range. Soil should not be
  whitish which indicates salts
• Soils do have their inherent smell and any foul
  smelling soil is bad for living.

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• COMPOUND WALLS
• Compound walls determine the shape of the plot.
  Walls also ensure that energies do not leak from
  the inhabited area.
• It is often believed that a plot gains strength
  only after the perimeter walls have been
  constructed.

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• The law of weights have to be applied in case of
  compound walls too.
• The northern and eastern walls would have to be
  less heavy than their opposite sides.

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• So eastern compound should be thinner and shorter
  than the western compound
• The northern compound should be thinner and
  shorter than the southern compound.

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• Fences are not effective as walls in prevention
  of energy leaks. The test for an energy leak is
  to know if the neighbours rain water or
  effluents flow inside the plot or vice versa

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• Compound walls should not be truncated or curved
  in the northeast and southwest corners.

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• Compound walls should also not develop cracks
  which are indicative of leaking energy.

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GATE

• The gate is the entry point for humans and energy
  from the road into the plot. Gates should not be
  too high or heavy
• Do not have more than three gates in a side as
  one of them would definitely open up in a
  negative place.

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• The gate should open inside the plot only. Gates
  opening outside serve as a drain of energy.
• Sliding gates are okay but not as good as swing
  gates. The gate should move towards west or
  south.

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POSITIONING THE GATES

• The gates should be placed using the weight
  principle.
• A gate is considered lighter than walls.
• Hence the gate should be placed in the northern
  or eastern half of a wall.

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• For a north or south-facing gate place it in the
  eastern half

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• For an east or west-facing gate place it in the
  northern half

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SPACE

• It is best if you can go around the house
  unhindered by buildings

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• In some cases due to the paucity of space the
  main building has to be attached to a perimeter
  wall.
• In that case the law of weights has to be
  applied. The building may be linked to the west
  or south walls. Attaching it to the north or east
  compound wall will invite trouble.

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• Keep the corners of the plot free from buildings.
  If the corners are open to sky it promises
  prosperity. The southwest corner can be closed
  with a building but under several conditions.

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• When a building does not occupy the whole space
  of a plot, it is obvious that there is open space
  on its sides. The distribution of this space is
  important in Vastu design for once the building
  is in place not much can be done about it.
• The space being lighter than the building has to
  be correctly placed using the law of weights.

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• The northern and eastern parts should have more
  space than their opposite sides.
• The building should be farther from the north
  compound wall than the south wall.
• The building should be farther from the east
  compound wall than the west wall.

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• The ideal situation to provide excellent space
  features would be to have the building in the
  south west quadrant.

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• WATER BODIES
• Water accumulates in depressions and lower areas.
  The north and east should be depressed for best
  Vastu effects. If water stagnates there it is
  beneficial and water is just the indicator for
  floor level.

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• There are two man made subsoil water bodies in
  the plot.
• One is the well (open or bore)
• The other is the underground storage sump.
• The obvious location for these is low weight
  areas of north and east.

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• Under ground water bodies are perhaps the most
  powerful of the Vastu features. The well in the
  wrong place cannot be balanced by anything else.
  Great care has to be taken in placing the wells.

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• The well should be in the open area with sunlight
  falling on it. The well should not be placed
  under a building for it will mean locking up your
  resources.

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• Take care to place the sub soil water body in the
  north east quadrant. Anywhere else it will cause
  trouble, the maximum being given by a well in the
  southwest quadrant.

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• The wells parapet wall should be circular in
  shape.

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THE GARDEN
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• THE GARDEN
• The garden is a different from other parts of the
  home for two reasons. It is alive and it is
  growing.

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• Whereas being alive creates energy the constantly
  growing aspect of plants means it adds weight to
  the place it is planted in.

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• A garden is pleasing to the eye and
  psychologically serves as a feel good factor.

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• In fact there are some modern methods to cure
  physical and psychological ailments using flower
  remedies.

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• There are several factors to be taken in
  consideration before planning a Vastu garden.
• Weight of the plant
• Nature of plant

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• WEIGHTS
• The tree is heavy and the grass is light. Shrubs
  and herbs weigh in between.
• .

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• Heavier plants like trees should be planted along
  the south and west walls. The northeast should
  have a lawn and east and north should have herbs
  and shrubs.

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• NATURE OF PLANTS
• Avoid spiny plants in the garden as they cause
  anger and frustration.
• Do not have plants that yield a milky latex when
  broken.

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• Encourage fruit and flower yielding plants They
  help in fructifying of your efforts.

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• Do not grow plants that are natives of deserts
  like cactus. They cause anger

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• MAINTENANCE
• If you cant maintain it, dont have a garden. It
  could do more harm than good.
• Whereas a well maintained garden replenishes the
  energy that inmates use up. A badly kept garden
  sucks up the residual energy of the house too.

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• Water, weed and nurture the gardens well and they
  will nourish the energy within the house.

131

• Dont let the wilted plants or dead branches
  remain. Attention on a daily basis helps.

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• However, do not change the natural shape of
  plants. Topiary may look good but every plant has
  a shape suited to the energies prevailing around
  it. Changing it would alter the flow.

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• Dont over water the garden for it should not be
  wet perpetually nor should water stagnate as
  puddles.

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• Ensure that no litter or organic matter remains
  in the northeast. It helps to maintain the north
  east clean.

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• OTHER RULES
• No trees should be touching the main house. Trees
  to be well away from constructed areas.
• .

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• Trees should be equally spaced and even in
  number. Then it would be ensured that weight
  would approximately increase at the same rate in
  all areas

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• Plants along the north and east compound walls
  should not grow beyond the wall height. They will
  restrict the flow of energies.
• .

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• No trees should be placed opposite doors or
  gates. This shoola is a negative feature for
  inmates.

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• Fountains and ponds should be placed in the north
  and east.

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• Rock gardens should be placed in the south and
  west of the garden.

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• Pots within a house should also follow the weight
  rule and should be avoided in the north and east.