Health and happiness are not simply by chance. They can be chosen. Applying Vaastu and Feng Shui principles to our lives will create an awareness of the energy that surrounds us, and in the process help us synchronize every vital moment of existence – the key to good health, harmony and success.
Each of the five elements, controlling the universe, is activated when objects that belong to the element group are present. Vaastu and Feng Shui guidelines can be easily used for awakening the forces that influence our lives by choosing, designing and enhancing our space. Identifying the relevant element to activate is a vital part of these sciences.
The best time to check and improve the Vaastu and Feng Shui of your personal space is:
- When you have just moved into a new home or office.
- During change of years and decades.
- When a negative trend is noticed in life.
Feng Shui for Health
The East zone of any home or room represents good health for the inhabitants. If this area has good Feng Shui, the family members will enjoy excellent health and if this corner has bad Feng Shui, family members may face ill-health.
The Wood Element and Its Attributes
The element of the East zone is wood symbolized mainly by plants. Plants are symbolic of very strong and powerful growth since out of the basic five elements, only wood is alive and capable of reproducing itself. Healthy-growing plants that look green, lush, and well-cared for are probably the best symbols to use for stimulating the wood element of the East health corner. This will provide excellent health luck for the residents of the house by activating the intangible forces which are not easily overcome. Though living plants are ideal, realistic-looking silk or attractive artificial plants are also quite effective.
Since wood is produced by water, water is said to be good for its growth.
Wood itself produces fire, so fire will exhaust it.
Wood is destroyed by metal, so metal will be harmful for it.
From the above we know that to strengthen the element of the East, we can use all objects that symbolize both wood and water, but should avoid anything belonging to the metal element. It is important to avoid using dried plants or artificial plants that look dead or have gathered so much dust that they suggest a sad stagnation of energies.
Guidelines for the Bedroom
Irrespective of where the bedroom is actually located in the home, there are certain guidelines that should be strictly observed to safeguard your health. Much of this has to do with ensuring that you are not attacked by what Feng Shui masters refer to as “killing breath” or unfriendly energies, which may bring irritation, illness and depression.
Bedrooms located at the end of a long corridor also cause ill-health because the flow of energy is too strong. The situation becomes worse if the bed is placed in such a way that your feet face the door when you sleep. The ideal way to correct this situation is to change the placement of the bed. Bedrooms should be regularly aired and well-lit to avoid a build-up of bad chi that manifests itself first in illness, and then in other forms of bad luck that follow invariably.
Feng Shui for Career Success
Understanding the nature of career luck requires an examination of the North sector of the room or home.
The Water Element and Its Attributes
The ruling element of the North is water, symbolized by anything liquid, or by water features, such as aquariums, pools, lakes, fountains, waterfalls, etc.
Since water is produced by metal, metal is said to be good for its growth.
Water itself produces wood, so wood is said to reduce it.
Water is destroyed by earth, so earth is said to be harmful for it.
From these attributes, we know that to strengthen the element of the North, we can use any objects or colors or paintings that symbolize both water and metal. Also, we should avoid anything belonging to the earth element.
To energize the water element of the North career zone, one of the best and easiest methods is to use small, artificial water features or any decorative item/ picture that has moving water in it. If the room is very small, an aquarium or fountain might create an imbalance; in this case, all you need is a vase filled with water and flowers or simply a bowl of water in the North zone of the house/office.
However, you should note that while the water corner can be activated effectively to enhance career prospects, this should be confined to your living room, drawing room, study or office only. Fountains and aquariums should never be placed in the bedroom. Feng Shui tradition states that an aquarium that is placed behind your bed may result in theft or robbery.
Water patterns and colors can be aesthetically incorporated into the overall interior design of your living room. The preferred colors of the North sector are black or any shade of blue to reflect the water element. You may also incorporate this color scheme into the wallpaper, drapes and rugs. Alternatively, the North wall itself can be painted in any shade of blue with subdued lightning.
Feng Shui for Relationships
The Southwest corner of any home or room represents romance, love and marriage. If this corner has good Feng Shui, marriage and love aspirations of the residents will be positively energized.
If this corner has bad Feng Shui, poor marriage luck may befall the household, leading to divorce, loneliness, unhappiness, and an almost total absence of marriage opportunities for the children of the family.
The Earth Element and Its Attributes
The element of the Southwest corner is earth, symbolized by crystals, stones, boulders and all things from the ground. Identifying the relevant element to activate is a vital part of the application. It suggests that placing, for instance, a boulder in the Southwest corner of the garden will activate excellent romance and marriage opportunities in the house.
Earth is produced by fire, so fire is said to be good for its sustenance.
Earth itself produces metal, so metal is said to consume it.
Earth is destroyed by wood, so wood is said to be harmful for its growth.
From these attributes we know that to strengthen the element of the Southwest, we can use objects that symbolize both the earth and fire elements, but we should avoid the wood element.
Energizing the Earth Element
One of the best objects used to energize the earth element of the Southwest romance corner is crystal, especially natural quartz crystal dug from the earth.
Crystals
Though other minerals and metals from the earth are also effective, the raw amethyst, quartz or other natural crystals are extremely harmonious with the Southwest sector for creating and attracting positive energies. You can also use artificial lead crystals as paper weights, or good-fortune symbols fashioned out of it and displayed on your table top.
The facets of crystal and cut glass are especially potent when combined with light. Crystal chandeliers are said to attract tremendous good luck. Hung in the Southwest corner of the room, chandeliers bring wonderful romantic and relationship luck. Chandeliers made with faceted crystal balls are beneficial in other corners of a room as well.
When hung in the center of the house, they shower the house with extremely auspicious family luck. This is because the center of any home, the heart of the residence, is also signified by the earth element and should represent the area of maximum energy or chi concentration. For this reason, Feng Shui also warns against locating the kitchen, storage rooms and toilets in the center of a home, as all of these can destroy beneficial chi.
Good Fortune Earth Objects
Large, round decorative earthenware jars and pots are excellent for the Southwest corners of rooms. Place flowers, or, better still, freshly cut flowers inside these jars. Do not display dried or dead flowers or plants as they may lead to the end of a romantic relationship.
The globe is also a wonderful symbol of the earth. This object has been found to be very effective for stimulating the Southwest corner of a room. Place it on a table top and activate it daily by spinning it round. This creates wonderful yang energy that balances the yin of the Southwest corner.
Colors
The earth element is also activated by using earth tones. Curtains, carpets and wallpaper in the Southwest zone should contain predominantly earth colors. You can be as creative as you like when implementing the suggestions here. Paintings of scenic mountains without water are a universally tried and tested effective remedy to activate this corner.
Vaastu for Health
- Avoid cactus, rubber plants, milky plants, and bonsai plants in the house as they add to tension, illness and stunted growth of the children.
- Do not keep the medicine box in the kitchen. You can shift it to the living room or prayer room to remain healthy.
- Any tree facing your main door or window could result in the poor health of family members. Place a Pakua or convex mirror on the outer wall facing that tree.
- Since a kitchen symbolizes the family’s health and wealth, it should be well-lit, welcoming and should appear spacious. The person who cooks in the kitchen should be able to see anyone who enters the kitchen without turning his or her head by more than 45 degrees to avoid cervical problems, leg pain and backache.
Alternatively, you can install a convex mirror in front of that person so that he/she can see what’s going on. - As the health of your home relates directly to your well-being, you should keep your home in the best possible condition. Keep your mirrors clean as dust and dirt reduces the effectiveness of these powerful tools. Try to keep the paint work fresh; repair any leaking taps; and replace any blown bulbs as quickly as possible.
- Keep your windows clean and replace any cracked or broken glass at the earliest as the male progeny is likely to suffer if the right side windows are broken, whereas a left side defective window may cause mental problems for a dependent male member in the family.
Vaastu for Career Success
- If you are planning to buy a new property, try to have a small plot of empty land, such as a playground or park, directly in front of the building. This empty space is termed the auspicious bright hall, where positive energy can settle and accumulate before entering the building.
- Try to avoid being squeezed between two taller buildings. If you are, place a very bright light on the roof of your building and switch it on every night. A residence should be away from cremation grounds, cemetery or even religious and public places.
- If a straight road approaches your building, re-orient the door so that the harmful energies of the road cannot enter your building. Alternately, you can install plenty of lights and big fountains to attract positive energy. Using a suitable Pakua mirror is also very effective in reducing the negative energies in the house. However spearing of the roads from the North or the east at the Northeast corner is an exception to this rule, because it adds to the increase in the area where beneficial infrared rays from the Sun reach the building.
Vaastu for Relationships
- Avoid sleeping on a double bed with two different mattresses. This creates a symbolic separation that could become real.
- Check the door bell sound of your house. If it sounds irritating, family members will be short-tempered. If it sounds dull, energy level of the house will be low. The door bell sound should be soft and pleasing. Check if any marble or tile is broken in your house or office. This could result in a broken relationship with a family member or partner or customers. You can put a carpet to cover the broken tiles as a temporary measure, but replace it immediately.
- Keep Rose Quartz gem stone in the shape of a heart or a bunch of grapes along with a pair of Mandarin ducks in the Southwest corner of your bedroom to enhance love and marriage prospects.
- For the last nine years, I have been receiving feedback about the success of this experiment from thousands of clients across the globe: An effective remedy to energize the Southwest corner, to attract suitable partners for grown-up daughters, is to place colored pebbles in a shallow glass or crystal bowl, fill it with water, float some flowers on top, and place a floating candle in the center.
For best results, change the flowers and water daily and continue this experiment for 43 days. This coming together of elements and lighting the candle each day will attract vital energy to the marriage zone.
Pandit Gopal Sharma: Born in a renowned family of Vedic scholars and spiritual healers, Pt. Gopal Sharma, an engineering graduate from the Delhi College of Engineering, is a luminary in many fields. For over a decade, he has been doing extensive research in ancient sciences like Vaastu, Feng Shui, Pyramid and numerous facets of astrology. A much-awarded person and corporate advisor to leading business houses in India and abroad, he has 37 books on various subjects to his credit. He is the Vice President of All India Federation of Astrologer’s Societies with 120 centers across the globe, and founder President of the Institute of Vaastu & Joyful Living. Pt. Sharma is also the President of Aadi Shankaracharya Vedic Education Society, engaged in the process of establishing an international university near Jaipur in Rajasthan (India), with a mission to impart world-class education in the fields of Vaastu, Vedanta, yoga, astrology and other professional courses. www.panditgopalsharma.com
