Diwali, an Indian holiday also known as the festival of lights, is celebrated over several days and marks the beginning of the Hindu new year—and this year the big celebration for this holiday is happening this coming Friday. Lakshmi, the goddess of material and spiritual wealth is honored on this holiday. And, especially at this time, various incarnations of the goddess are often acknowledged by people who follow vastu, an ancient Indian system of building design attuned to nature.
Mayank Barjatya, an architect with a master’s degree in ecology and environment and a vastu consultant in India has studied the spiritual roots of vastu, but he takes a more practical approach to the practice, merging ideas from the ancient system with data gleaned from modern scientific tools as well as ideas from two European organizations that focus on building systems and energy. One is a German-based organization called Bau Biologie, which means “building biology,” the other is a French organization called Acmos-Paris, which is affiliated with the Institute of Complementary Medicine (ICM) of Great Britain, where Mayank earned a certificate in bio-energetics.
Before evaluating the plan of any home, he first tests the personal energy of anyone who will live in the home before offering his analysis. To take these measurements, Mayank uses what is known as a Lecher antenna, which is a device that can detect defective human energy meridians and shifts in human energy fields. These measurements in the human energy field offer him clues as to which parts of a house need correction. According to Mayank, we all receive geopathic energy from the earth and any earth energy imbalance is the major cause of most human illnesses. Using the Lecher antenna, he says he can effectively diagnose the vastu defects in a home without actually visiting the site.
To determine what kind of modifications may need to be made using a vastu/Building Biology approach, he considers the environmental impact on the energy level of three of seven human chakras, or energy centers along the human nervous system identified by Indian rishis several thousand years ago. Here is Mayank’s description of these energy areas and how he quantifies them when they’re normal:
•Cosmic energy, which runs through the meridian from the throat to the head, is normal at 12 lambda, when read by the Lecher antenna. It is used to analyze the impact of the Northeast area of your home, or what vastu experts sometimes call “the gateway to the gods,” on your body.
•Global energy, which runs through the central part of the body, is normal at 15.3 lambda. It is used to measure the impact on the Bramasthan area, or center, of the house, where primordial energy is thought to emerge.
•Telluric energy, which runs through the lower part of the body from the navel to the feet, is normal at 8 lambda. It is used to measure the effect on a human being of the South and West areas of the house, which according to vastu, relate to a person’s responsibilities and relationships.
By measuring human energies, Mayank says he can understand what’s happening in the environment and vise versa. To make the most of each environment for several inhabitants, his vastu recommendations for each person are specifically designed to address his/her energy field. “This Indian building science deals essentially with two energy sources—the solar energy flux and geomagnetic energy flux,” says Mayank. The aim is to control the flow of these energies, or what Indians call prana, by designing houses and rooms in the most harmonious direction and alignment. To understand the directional energy flow, Mayank explains that “geomagnetic energy flows runs north and south and solar energy flows east and west.” If there is an imbalance between the directions or the energy flow, according to Mayank, disharmony among the people residing at that particular habitat will result.
Mayank says vastu is the science of energy balancing, both human and environmental, and both play equal roles in creating harmony. He notes that recommendations for human modifications might include changes in attitude, personality, character, and physical features. Environmental amendments might include changes in structural features, such as breaking walls, relocating rooms, or changing room function. His firm aims to achieve simple solutions to structural issues without disturbing an already built environment and incurring a financial burden caused by renovations.
If you’re interested in learning more about his firm or participating in a 3-day workshop (online courses are also available), visit his Web site.
