Contrary to what we think or understand, home is not a place where you just live. Understand clearly, home is not the place where you live; it is the way in which you live.
Home is an expansion or extension of your being. That is the concept on which the science of Vastu Shastra is based. This science is a branch of Hindu Vedic Science that explains the ways and methods of how a dwelling should be constructed. It is based on the basic five elements in the Universe. As we all know, the five elements of the universal energy (known as panchabhootas in Sanskrit), are Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether (or Space). All the five elements are nothing but forms of the Existential energy.
In the Hindu scriptural works, the Upanishad, it is said, ‘The whole Universe comes from Energy.’ It comes from the Atman (Existence residing in each individual). From Atman comes Akasha (ether), from Akasha comes Vayu (air), from Vayu comes Agni (fire), from Agni comes Apaha (water) and from Apaha comes Prithvi (Earth). All these five elements are pure energy and not matter, as we think they are.
Only now, scientists have turned towards spirituality for explanations such as this. Einstein once said, ‘What I want to know is God’s thoughts, the rest are mere details!’ Einstein was an intelligent man. Before Einstein, scientists dismissed spiritual people as fools or as people who had lost the faculties of their mind. Scientists are so used to working on the basis of logic that they think of ancient Masters as fools or humbugs. In fact, some of the philosophical books classify strong religious faith, spiritual experiences and consciousness as mental disorders of some kind.
For a long time, the logical world thought of the sages, rishis, as mentally sick people and whose words had no relevance in the modern day-to-day world. Their sayings were ridiculed as superstition or senseless rituals. Ironically, it was after a few statements that Einstein made on spirituality and on God, that the logical scientific world turned towards the Upanishads, ancient Hindu scriptures.
Einstein said, ‘Whatever exists is nothing but pure energy.’ The Upanishads made this statement 5000 years earlier in the first line of the Isa Vasya Upanishad, ‘All matter arose from Energy.’
There is nothing that divides matter and energy. So, whatever exists is, in fact, pure energy. Some of you may ask, ‘How is it that matter becomes energy and energy becomes matter?’ Such questions cannot be answered by science; they can only be answered by the mystics.
When asked this question, Einstein replied, ‘Where science ends, spirituality begins!’ The last word in science which is, ‘Whatever exists is Energy’ is the first word in the Upanishads so many thousands of years ago. The first Veda is the Rig Veda and the first Upanishad is the Isa Vasya Upanishad. The first statement in the Isa Vasya Upanishad is ‘Isa vasyam idam sarvam’ (from this Energy arises all matter). The ‘gross energy’ is matter; the ‘subtle matter’ is energy. All the five elements, Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether, are nothing but energy. In the East, there is a tradition of worshipping these five elements. Spirituality actually started by worshipping these five elements. In the earliest scriptures, from the Veda and Upanishads, there is no mention about Gods or Goddesses! There is no form that is mentioned in the Keno-Upanishad; there is mention only of nature. Nature was considered to be the ‘Doorway to Divinity’.
It is easy to recognize the forms of energy as they manifest in nature. The Earth energy is recognized by the power manifested by stones and volcanoes, as the ever-changing nature of Earth, as the powerful deities that are made out of Earth and installed in temples. Similarly, water energy is manifested in the form of floods, rains and holy rivers. The fire energy is perceived in the form of lightning, heat, fire rituals and so on. The air energy is apparent in the form of cyclones, tornadoes and our very breath. It is easy to comprehend these energies, since they manifest or appear physically. However, it is difficult to understand the ether energy, the fifth form of energy. Ether, or the space energy, is so subtle that one cannot see it, perceive it or feel it. The more subtle the energy, the more powerful it becomes and the more difficult it is to appreciate.
Ancient Masters, therefore, created the science of Vastu, to harness the energy of Space, or the Ether, in the correct and proper way. You would appreciate that man has manufactured many pieces of equipment or instruments to use the energies from the first four elements. For example, he has designed an oven to use the fire energy to cook food and the turbine to produce electricity from the water energy. Similarly, our Masters have designed Vastu Shastra to harness the Space or Ether energy.
Vastu Shastra is the science of the structure of a building. It is a study to use the Space energy effectively within the house. It deals with how effectively we can enclose space inside a building to optimize its effect on the inhabitants of the house.
There are three types of space:
– Space inside the body, called Chitaakasha
– Space surrounding the body, called Kataakasa, in an enclosed space
– Space surrounding the Universe, called Mahaakasha
The Mahaakasha is always energetic and pure. The Kataakasha, although pure, can become impure by one’s thoughts. The Kataakasha has the property to either gain energy or lose energy by one’s thoughts. It acts as if it is a live being. Your house, for instance, is filled with an energy that can easily be contaminated by the thoughts of those who live in it. Therefore, never think of your house as just cement and concrete decorated to your style. It is not just matter; it is a storehouse of energy that has a direct bearing upon your well being. It has the capacity to exchange energy.
Your house is an expression of energy
When we compress water or fluids, it becomes energy (theory of Fluid Mechanics). When we compress air, it becomes energy. It has the capacity to drive many machines (Pneumatics). When we change the shape of a gross material (the Earth energy), such as iron ore, into a rod or a plate, it has its own properties. The same material has different properties when it takes up different shapes. If we make the iron ore into a sphere or a ball, it becomes very strong, dense and powerful. This is the way shape and compression affect matter. Likewise, whenever we change the space inside our homes, the energy changes according to the change in space. This is a very subtle concept and we need to understand this clearly. Once we grasp this concept, we will appreciate the great gift of wisdom that our Masters have given us.
Read more: Don’t Worry, Be Happy by Paramahamsa Nithyananda.
enithyananda 