ENVIRONMENT

1. ENVIRONMENT

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

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

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

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

6. 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?

7. Choosing the environment we want to live in is an important feature. • The environment sets the trend for our lives. • Haven’t you noticed that most of the rich live in the same areas and the same goes for the under privileged too.

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

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

10. 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?

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

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

15. 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.

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

17. 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.

18. 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.

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

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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 world’s important capitals have a famous river bisecting them. • Water bodies are considered as cavities below the ground and are light in weight.

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

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. 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. TREES

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

28. 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.

29. 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.

30. 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.

31. 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.

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

33. 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.

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

35. 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

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

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

38. 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.

39. Keep away from public places

40. 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 roads

41. 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.

42. 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.

43. 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.

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

45. 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. 2 roads

46. In three road plots the entrance should be kept only in the middle road, regardless of any direction 3 roads

47. Four road plots are great, but offer best results only if it is used for public purposes 4roads

48. 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.

49. 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.

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