Busting some Vaastu myths – N-E direction isn’t particularly good

Sanjay Mittal

After two decades as an engineering consultant in the construction and real estate market, I have concluded that many buyers have become obsessed with only one aspect before buying — Is the property North-East facing? In fact, brokers have even simplified it further. The property is termed either seedhi facing (NE face) or Ulti facing, that is, any direction other than North-East. In this article, I wish to correct this erroneous perception, since the application of true spirituality means respecting the Almighty’s entire creation—the Universe. All directions are blessed by the creator and can give you good Vaastu with the help of proper designing.

In accordance with our scriptures, we worship wind (Vayu Devta), the sun (Surya Devta) and water (Varuna Devta). All these revered forces of Nature come to us from all directions. A true architect will recognise this and aim to give their benefits to your house, irrespective of the direction of the front face of your house.

As says RigVeda verse 1.89.1 Aano bhadra krtavo yantu vishwatah’ (let noble thoughts come to me from all directions.)

I recommend that Vaastu consultants consider the all-embracing aspect of Nature before giving any drastic instructions to their clients. The ancient texts on building science give a lot of flexibility to the designer to get the best use of space. Let us examine how every direction enjoys the blessings of natural forces.

Hindus, since ancient times, have worshiped all forces of Nature. Lord Hanuman is called Pavanputra (son of wind). The sacred wind flows to us from all directions. Varuna is venerated as the lord of the sky and seas. And is not the sky all around us?  Oceans, rivers and other water bodies are present in all directions. In our country, they are in the south, south-east and south-west of the land mass. Besides, the major rivers, originating from different sources, are found to be flowing in different directions. Thus, once cannot be prejudiced against any particular direction or directions.

Consider Shiva, the lord of the universe. How can you limit his presence and assume that his sacred influence is restricted to only one particular direction? How wrong is this?

Let me rebut the popular notions with a few examples:

South-West is damned as the worst direction for a property. However, in reality, it is as blessed as any other direction. As an example, in Delhi’s premier market of Connaught Place, the properties in outer circle, facing East and with a wider front (shermukha), are commercially less successful than the inner circle properties which may be South- or West- facing and also happen to have a disadvantage of a narrower front (gaumukha). Other factors related to property, like parking space, ease of pedestrian movement, etc. count more in getting higher footfall.

Properties in the inner circle of CP do better business than those in the outer circle

On a larger geographical plane, the southern and western parts of India, that is, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat are prosperous states, contributing 50 per cent of our central tax revenue. So, South facing or South-West facing lands and properties cannot be all that bad!

Here is the spiritual understanding to get the best out of your home and office:

Surya (also known as Aditya) is the Sun god. He is the creator of our universe and the source of all life on the planet. He is supreme. Surya brings light and warmth to the world. In North and North-East facing properties and apartments, sunlight may come only for a very short time in the morning. You should compensate for this by having more windows in the South, East and West sides of your house. This will ensure that ample sunlight comes to bring you cheer and blessings. Big, high windows in the bedroom will ensure that you become an early riser, who gets up as the first rays of sunlight bathe the city. Sunlight will also kill the germs in the room. Good Vaastu can also be attained by thoughtful architectural designing — so that you get the sunlight, yet don’t feel not too much heat in summer or feel too cold in winter, inside the house.

Home interiors, too, like flooring material, curtains, double glazing of glass windows have an important role to play.

Sunlight streaming into houses from any direction will also give the residents an opportunity to grow outdoor and indoor plants, adding more oxygen to their life. Many people neglect this, leading to bad Vaastu for the property. People with apartments and properties facing East or South are blessed as they get ample sunlight throughout the day. Having lived in many properties facing the South East, I can personally vouch that gardens flourish the best in these directions.

Tulsi, curry patta, basil, aloevera, areca palms and lemongrass are some good, must have plants for proper Vaastu vibes. You may need to use your south and south-east corners of your property to make these blossoms.

Plants are good for oxygen in your house and give good Vaastu

The ultimate prayer to Lord Surya is using solar power for electricity and hot water geysers. To gain good Vaastu, use it as much as possible in your home and office.

Vayu Devta is the father of Lord Hanuman, the lord of vayu or air and wind.

Cross ventilation in your house and office is an apt prayer to Vayu Devta and to pavan putra. Do your best to achieve this. If you are constructing a property or hunting for an apartment, look for cross ventilation seriously. This will keep the insides of the house airy, healthy and germ-free.

Good Vaastu is achieved by the architect and engineer in making sure that the entire interior of the house gets good air circulation, yet is protected from very warm summer winds or the biting air of winter. Appropriate balcony and parapet design, and window materials should be chosen carefully.

The central core of the house, which at times, becomes the informal lobby area deserves special attention to attain good air circulation. Avoid heavy furniture here. Cross ventilation has to be taken care of here and try to get in natural light if possible.  Pleasant yellow or white lights in this area can do wonders and bring in cheerful vibes as well as a feel of culture.

Lord Varuna: Your property should be a prayer to the God of Jal or water. He is a life-giver and your own body is composed of at least 60 oer cent of water.  Keep your water sources clean. Place your kitchen and washrooms where there is ample opportunity of getting the sun.

Ideally, utensil washing areas in kitchens should be next to a window.

Do ensure that you save water as much as possible through rain water harvesting and fixing leaking taps. Then, adopting water saving techniques is also very useful. The blessings of Varuna will always be with you when you implement these simple steps.  There is nothing like watching the monsoon clouds from your house or experiencing the rain on your lawn or balcony, however, to prevent damage out of seepage, we need to have the right design and construction for the water to drain out completely.

Next, there is no holy text diktat or logic of placing a water body or tank only in a certain direction. Real prayers and blessings follow if you respect Varuna, Surya, Vayu Deva. The ancient texts give wide flexibility to the designer to make best use of space and get the natural elements in to promote unity of your property with the Cosmos.

11th century statue of Varuna in a temple

Our forefathers devised their wisdom from Rig Veda, which says noble thoughts should come from all directions. So let us follow this beautiful and profoundly wise philosophy and respect all directions, North or South, East or West.

Lord Shiva represents energy. Your property should be a source of positive energy. How can you get it?  In the next article in this series, I will discuss that aspect.

The author is an engineer from the Delhi College of Engineering (now DTU).  He is a builder and has written two books. The second one, 2040:The battle for life, is slated to be released by the 2021-end.  He spends considerable time researching about gravity biomechanics along with his team and runs a fitness company, mygravitymyfitness.com. He can be contacted at [email protected]