Vastu Shastra… and the Wheel of Time
BY: ABHAYA MUDRA DASI
Sep 22, 2013 — BLAGOEVGRAD, BULGARIA (SUN) —
An important yet usually overlooked aspect of our daily lives is the environment and arrangement of the house or buildings that we work in or inhabit. Understanding the importance of building structure, directions, location, lay-out and the interaction of energies within the edifice is known as the science of vastu (lit. "building") in Vedic culture. Although an extremely important consideration, the scientific application of vastu is seldom applied in modern construction. Furthermore even when vastu is applied it has a limited potency in Kali Yuga, since the other structures or gardens surrounding the vastu-friendly structure have been built up without due consideration of the subtle science of arrangement.
VASTU SHASTRA IN THE CITY OF DVARAKA
A perfect description of vastu application in an entire city is found in the 10th canto of Shrimad-Bhagavatam. In his elaborate commentary entitled Krishna the Supreme Personality of Godhead, His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada describes the city of Dvaraka in the chapter: "Krishna Erects the Dvaraka Fort." Shrila Prabhupada writes:
"It is stated in the Shrimad-Bhagavatam that this new, well-constructed city, developed within the sea, had regular planned roads, streets and lanes. Not only were there well-planned roads, streets and lanes, but there were well-planned paths and gardens filled with plants known as kalpavrikshas, or desire trees. These desire trees are not like the ordinary trees of the material world; the desire trees are found in the spiritual world. By Krishna's supreme will, everything is possible, so such desire trees were planted in the city of Dvaraka constructed by Krishna. The city was also filled with many palaces and gopuras, or big gates. These gopuras are still found in some of the larger temples. They are very high and constructed with extreme artistic skill. Such palaces and gates held golden water pots (kalashas). These water pots on the gates or in the palaces are considered to be auspicious signs.
Almost all the palaces were skyscrapers. In each and every house there were big pots of gold and silver and grains stocked in underground rooms. And there were many golden water pots within the rooms. The bedrooms were all bedecked with jewels, and the floors were mosaic pavements of marakata jewels (emeralds). The Vishnu Deity, worshiped by the descendants of Yadu, was installed in each house in the city. The residential quarters were so arranged that the different castes, brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaishyas and shudras, had their respective quarters."
Thus through the unbreakable chain of disciplic succession and from the crest jewel of all scriptures, Shrila Prabhupada describes the essence of vastu by repeating the words "well planned." In fact, His Divine Grace not only demonstrates certain general elements of applied vastu, but from the text we can understand vastu's origin in the Supreme Lord Himself, Shri Krishna.
THE VASTU PURUSHA
The principles of vastu are based upon the map of the heavens with due consideration to the directions where the prime demigods who control this cosmos dwell. In the center of that model is the sitting place of Lord Brahma, who is the secondary creator of this universe being inspired to construct the universe on the order of Lord Vishnu. Surrounding Lord Brahma are the cities of eight primary demigods or dig-palas ("controllers of the directions") who rule the eight main directions within the horizontal plane. These empowered demi-gods are all representatives of Lord Krishna. They are:
Indra, king of heaven (East),
Varuna, demi-god of the waters (West),
Kuber, the treasurer of the devatas (North),
Yamajara, the king of the dead (South),
Ishana (Shiva) (Northeast),
Agni, the demi-god of fire (Southeast),
Alakshmi or Nirriti (Southwest) and
Vayu the demi-god of wind (Northwest).
Every house—if properly constructed—attracts the blessings of all of the 300,000 demigods who once overpowered the deity of Vastu Purusha whose origin is explained in the Matsya Purana. The Vastu Purusha appeared as a boy from the sweat of Lord Shiva when he was fighting against the demon Andhakasura. Famished by hunger, this boy began to devour the universe. He was so powerful that he was arrested and held down by the great deities of the universe. Since then his body lies in every house with his head in the northeastern direction and his feet in the southwest. A properly constructed house or building should face the four corners of the world. If through an odd or careless design a building tends to cut one or more body parts of the Vastu Purusha, he becomes disturbed. In his anger he feeds upon the health and good fortune of the residents.
This is not just mythology but can be practically proven. According to Vastu Shastra, when the south west corner of a building is cut this leads to kidney stones. Miscarriage and mental problems arise from a design that cuts out the northeastern direction. Problems in design that relate to the northwest lead to lung diseases. When the southeast corner is severed, anger with the potential for violence and even suicide arise. Eye problems, affliction to the urinary tract and bleeding arise when the north is afflicted by faulty vastu. Malignancy (vrana or cancer) may arise among residents when the eastern direction is harmed in house construction. An improper design on the southern side results in all sorts of health issues. Respiratory problems may follow a cut in the western side of the shape of the property. Stomach and spine problems are created when the center of a house is cluttered.
Astrology is closely connected to Vastu as every direction in the house is also controlled by the nine planets that affect the karmas of the world as seen here:
Sun—East
Venus—Southeast
Mars—South
Saturn—West
Moon—northwest
Mercury—North
Jupiter and Ketu—Northeast
Rectification of defects may be performed either by placing the yantra of the planet or the image of the dig-pal that controls the afflicted direction.
THE KALACHAKRA AND SCIENCE OF DIRECTIONS
The kalachakra or "Wheel of Time" chart in Vedanga Jyotish reflects the cosmic model of the universe. Every individual has his own universal kalachakra model according to his birth chart. All nine planets also take their place in the individual kalachakra chart depending upon which one of the 27 nakshatras they occupy. The central position is given to the Sun. It is necessary to construct the kalachakra around the Sun's position since it is the Sun who determines kala or time by his movement. Of the importance of the Sun in measuring time, Shrila Prabhupada writes in his introduction to Shrimad-Bhagavatam (5.22):
"The Sun-god, who controls the affairs of the entire universe, especially in regard to heat, light, seasonal changes and so on, is considered an expansion of Narayana. He represents the three Vedas—Rig, Yajur and Sama—and therefore he is known as Trayimaya, the form of Lord Narayana. Sometimes the Sun-god is also called Surya Narayana. The Sun-god has expanded himself in twelve divisions, and thus he controls the six seasonal changes and causes winter, summer, rain and so on. Yogis and karmis following the varnashrama institution, who practice hatha or ashtanga-yoga or who perform agnihotra sacrifices, worship Surya Narayana for their own benefit. The demigod Surya is always in touch with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana. Residing in outer space, which is in the middle of the universe, between Bhuloka and Bhuvarloka, the Sun rotates through the time circle of the zodiac, represented by twelve rashis, or signs, and assumes different names according to the sign he is in.* For the moon, every month is divided into two fortnights. Similarly, according to solar calculations, a month is equal to the time the Sun spends in one constellation; two months constitute one season, and there are twelve months in a year. The entire area of the sky is divided into two halves, each representing an ayana, the course traversed by the Sun within a period of six months. The Sun travels sometimes slowly, sometimes swiftly and sometimes at a moderate speed. In this way he travels within the three worlds, consisting of the heavenly planets, the earthly planets and outer space. These orbits are referred to by great learned scholars by the names Samvatsara, Parivatsara, Idavatsara, Anuvatsara and Vatsara."
*For the names and qualities of Surya Narayana in each of the twelve rashis, please refer to the May 2012 issue of The Astrological Newsletter, article (beginning from p. 10) entitled "Lord Surya Narayana: Controller of Time and Destiny" by Abhaya Mudra Dasi (Issue 29, May 2012)
By examining this kalachakra chart based upon the Sun's location, an astrologer can determine certain trends during each particular period or dasha cycle in the life of any individual. Such forecasts of either favorable or unfavorable results rely upon the directions that the planets align within the kalachakra. Planets that fall in the section that is closer to the areas around the southern direction always offer more challenging experiences during their planetary periods. On the other hand, planets that shine to the north and its surrounding directions offer blessings and other good results.
KALA CHAKRA IN THE CHART OF SHRILA PRABHUPADA
Below is Shrila Prabhupada's kalachakra chart. His Divine Grace single-handedly spread the sankirtana movement all over the world during the years of his planetary periods of Mercury and Ketu (according to the 120-year system of planetary cycles called vimshottari dasha). Shrila Prabhupada's Mercury period ended around August 1971. In Shrila Prabhupada's horoscope, exalted Mercury forms bhadra mahapurusha yoga in the 10th house karmastan. Note how in the kalachakra, Budha (Mercury) is powerfully positioned in the eastern direction of spiritual power alongside Sun and Venus. The eastern side of the kalachakra indicates that His Divine Grace has the blessings of the king of heaven lending additional power to the yoga.
Next, Ketu period followed the Budha dasha. In Shrila Prabhupada's chart, Ketu is on the Northeast side of blessings that are given by the grace of Ishana (Shiva). Ketu is positioned in the east alongside the planet of dharma (Jupiter). Ketu sits in the kingly nakshatra of Magha, "the great one."
Kalachakra or "Wheel of Time" chart of Shrila Prabhupada
UNDERSTANDING YOUR KALACHAKRA
When a weak or destructive planet is positioned in any of the eight directions, it is best to avoid a prolonged stay in this particular direction in one's residence. Remaining in those directions in the house or office can promote the effects associated with the weak or harmful planet. On the contrary, the person should spend more time in his favorable directions where good planets dwell. Following these simple guidelines can make a person more content, which for us devotees is another inducement to the practice of bhakti yoga.
As Vedangas, the sciences of jyotish and vastu are meant to help free us from negative effects of past karmas and thus become more inclined to engage in devotional service to Shri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Practicing these sciences for any other goal would contradict their ultimate purpose as adjuncts (angas or "limbs") to bhakti and only implicate the living entity in never-ending karmic reactions. For example as we have seen from the Krishna Book, Dvaraka was perfectly planned according to vastu which helped each fortunate Dvarakavasi to live in Krishna's city in perfect Krishna consciousness. This is the goal of vastu.
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