Was Taj Mahal inspired by Vastu?

June 24, 2018

Shah Jahan's mother was a Rajput, so was his grandmother, and Rajasthan was the citadel of Vastu architecture. The people who built it could not have been impervious to its influence. Let's look at some of the facts.

It has river Yamuna flowing in its north, coming from west to east. It's an excellent location from the Vastu viewpoint. Water in east and north directions is considered excellent. Moreover its flow dictates that ground on the west must be higher than the east. No wonder it has name and fame. Taj Mahal is one of the wonders of the world and India's main tourist attractions.

They say a Vastu structure should be square. Taj Mahal is not only square, but its height is also equal to its width. This could not have happened, if the people who designed it had been unaware of Vastu.

There's another feature, which suggests Vastu influence on Taj Mahal. If you look at it from top, there are three distinct shapes visible, a square, an octagon, and a circle. The floor is square; the minarets give it an octagonal shape, while its dome the circular shape. These three shapes represent the holy trinity in ancient Hindu architecture. The square stands for birth, the octagon for preservation and circle stands for death.

They say Taj Mahal brought ill luck to the builder, for Shah Jahan was imprisoned by Aurangzeb. Shah Jahan was imprisoned after he tried to build a black Taj Mahal, which he intended to join with the marble structure. It was doomed as it had water on the southern side.

Taj Mahal is a distinctly Mughal building. Shall we say it's exterior is Persian, it's soul is Indian?

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Do you keep old bills in your pocket?

People put things in their pockets inadvertently, least realizing that it may be damaging to them. But certain things are bad Vastu, and attract negative energy. Never keep these things in your pocket.

Never keep in your pocket a torn or damaged wallet. This attracts negative energy and you can lose money.

The old bills belong in your file, never in your pocket. These attract negative energy.

Don't keep scribbled notes with addresses, phone numbers and secret password in your pocket. Apart from being bad Vastu, it is a security hazard. As soon as possible, these should be taken down in proper files.

Some people have the habit of keeping photos of dead people in pockets out of mistaken sense love or respect. Dead people belong to the southern walls of your home or in photo albums. Never keep them in your pocket. You don't want negative energies in your life.

Never keep curled up or damaged notes in your pocket. If necessary, carry them in a separate bag or different wallet, but never in your pocket. These will unnecessarily damage your relationship with other people.

Don't keep half eaten or uneaten snacks in your pocket. Apart from that it will get spoilt and soil the pocket, it is bad Vastu.

Never keep medicines in your pocket for these promote ill health. If necessary, keep them in a separate bag.

Don't keep sharp things like nail clippers, scissors and knives etc. in your pocket. Again, apart from being bad Vastu, it's a safety hazard in your pocket. It can cut your pockets or hands if put inadvertently.

Threads, beads and other religious symbols either should be properly worn or kept at home. Instead of doing anything good to you, such things definitely create bad Vastu and attract negativity in your life.

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Thinking of buying a plot?

Congratulations! You can have your house built as per Vastu norms. Please make sure that it is correct shape and size. Let us see what is an ideal plot.

·      An ideal Vastu plot is square.

·      The length and breadth of the built up area is as per Vastu guidelines.

·      It is square to the cardinal directions.

·      It is lower in northeast direction and higher in southwest direction.

·      The southeast and northwest are of equal height.

·      There is water source in north or east side, but make sure it is not cutting the line coming from southwest and extending in northeast.

·      There is a hill or high rise building in the southwest side.

·      There is nothing in front of northeast.

·      The plot should not be near a religious place, cemetery or hospital.

·      The plot should not be on a perpendicular road.

·      Plots of lower income people should not surround it.

·      The plot should be on fertile land, it should not be barren.

These points are for the area where house is to be built. If theThe plot can be of any size or shape.

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Where should the toilet be?

The toilet, as distinct from the wash room, causes lot  of problems, because strictly speaking it should not be in the house. In olden days, or even today in rural India, there were no toilets in the house. Men and women used to go out side in the fields to ease themselves. But in the present day, toilets are a necessary part of the house.

Why should they not be in house? For obvious reasons. The excreta is dirty and emits foul smell. Now that modern age has taken care of these things, they have come to be accepted in the house. But the question comes where to place them?

North east is most holy place in entire house. It is called Ishaan corner, the place where shiv resides. How can you have toilet here? Symbolically, it is the place where Vastu devta's head is. How can you keep something dirty near it's head? Scientifically, lot of positive energies come in from the northeast, and these should  not be defiled. If you have a toilet in the northeast, you and your family members will have health problems, you may suffer financial losses, your children may not study. In short your life will be a series of problems. You don't want that, do you?

East is the place of sunrise. It is also the place, where lord Indra and other gods resides. You can not defile this place. Scienctifically, the morning sun rays come in from east. You don't want to block its path with filth. How ever a bathroom is permitted here. Sun rays filtered with water is a good combination, especially for the eyes. But no toilet.

South east is the corner of Agni dev. Technically, this place should be Ok, for heat of the fire can dry up the foul smell and it's source. But we use plenty of water to clean up, and fire and water don't go together. The sun is at its peak and emits ultra violet rays, which when mixed with excreta makes a deadly combination. If you have a toilet in this corner, you and your family members suffer ill health.

Northwest corner is Vayu kone, the place of high winds. Strong winds come into the house from this direction. You can imagine what can happen if you have a toilet in this corner. You and other people staying in the house don't enjoy a good reputation and it is difficult to enlist the support of good persons.

The toilet or anything should not be in the centre of the house for that is the brahmasthan, the seat of lord Brahma. If you take the religious angle further, the Vastu Purush's stomach is here and you don't put any weight there. Scienctifically speaking, its the centre of gravity, a very high energy area. That is why it used to be left open, where children used to play.

Where should the toilets be? In the area south of south east corner, south, southwest and west. These are the areas best suited to have a toilet. Or I should say least bad areas. For windows and exhaust fans will be in the two walls which are supposed to be closed, so that positive energies don't go out. Overall, these are the two directions most suitable for a washroom.

Do you love carpets?

It is good to see doormats or carpets in every house. They add beauty. But these can be a source of problems in your home, if not done as per Vastu norms.

Please make sure that colours and designs on these don't resemble any god or their symbol. It is not good to have foot-mats having religious symbols like 'OM', lotus flower or 'shubh laabh'. If you do this goddess Lakshmi become annoyed with you and you can never get wealth. Similarly symbols of Ganesh Ji make him unhappy, and you will never find peace in the house. If symbols are bad, pictures of the gods and goddesses are worse.

Similarly carpets lying in the house are definitely image builder. But make sure their colours are not yellow or red. These colours have religious significance and these should not come under our feet. The colour should not be black either, but with patterns it is OK.

Floors should be shining, if you want prosperity in your home. If there is crack or a spot, a good carpet can hide this defect. But make sure carpets these are not frayed or torn. Otherwise this itself can be Vastu defect. Carpets and doormats should not be, as far as possible, artificial. These are OK if there is no alternative. The carpets should be made with pure wool and doormats with jute. These have great power to absorb negative energy from the environment.

If you have carpets and doormats don't forget to have them dry cleaned properly, otherwise these become store house of dirt and attract negative energy. Every month or remove them and beat them with a rod. Also remove your rugs periodically, and clean the area.  There should not be any dirt under the rug or mat.

 

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