Questions and Answers
30 questions on Construction Vastu
What does water level mean in Vastu?
Water level means that a surface lies at one equal level throughout, perfectly flat, as shown by the bubble of a spirit level. The plinth beam, main door threshold, bed, toilet seat, tijori, study table and machines should all be at water level so that the gravitational force acts correctly. A spirit level is easy to buy and is also available on mobile phones; a practical demonstration is given in the next class.
How do we find the angle and composition of the sun rays falling on a house in each season?
This is taught while preparing maps: for summer, the rainy season and winter, the particular angle at which the rays strike and their composition are worked out, so that openings and walls can be planned for the maximum benefit without demolition.
Should all the rooms of a house, apart from the bathroom, be at the same level?
Yes, all rooms should be at one level. A slope toward the North-East causes no problem, because the earth itself is tilted about 23.4 degrees toward the North-East and following nature counts as level; a slope in any other direction causes trouble.
Many people build the North-East part of the floor about a foot lower. Is that right?
Yes, lowering the floor level in the North-East causes no problem.
Which bricks should not be used in construction?
Fly ash bricks, the grey, cement-coloured bricks made from ash, which are now widely used, for example throughout a large medical college project of about 1000 flats. They create a large Vastu defect, because Vastu lies in the material as well as in the direction.
What is a plinth beam?
It is the structure built below road level when a house is first dug out: the foundation, also called neev, bunyaad or daasa. The plot's shape is read from it.
Some people deliberately build the house with the North-East extended. Does that increase the energy?
Yes. Extending the North-East of the land from the foundation enlarges the place of its devta, who is pleased just as a person is with a bigger room, and it does not bring a South-East negative. But what truly counts as an extended North-East is taught later, because many people extend it the wrong way, for example from the East toward the North-East, and harm themselves.
How is the shape of a plot or building determined?
From the foundation: the outline of the foundation and plinth beam of the outermost walls, joining all the corners into a square, rectangle or other form. The geopathic current under the ground runs in that shape, so projections above ground do not change it, while an irregular foundation stays irregular even if right angles are built above it.
If the Brahmasthan is kept open on the ground floor, should the same area be kept open on every upper floor?
Keeping it open on all floors is excellent. If that is not possible, a double height open at the Brahmasthan, for example about 20 ft, still balances the space element even if it is closed above. A survey found that houses with a double height at the Brahmasthan had more happiness and peace.
Why do even small children argue with their parents nowadays?
Every house used to have ventilators at the top of the walls, which balanced the air element. They have been brought down into the windows, and since the ventilator location changed even a ten-year-old child argues back. Keep the air element balanced with proper doors, windows, top ventilation and cross-ventilation.
If the first floor is fully built and the second floor only half built, which area is taken when zoning the second floor?
Only the area that is actually built on that floor.
Does the centre taken from the boundary wall also decide where on the plot to construct?
Where to construct is taught later; for example, on a North-facing plot the building is placed in the South and West part. The pishach bhoomi is always left open on all sides. People abroad leave space all around and keep large backyards and live prosperously, while many people here leave no space at all for energy to come in.
Are the water supply lines coming into the house counted as water bodies?
No. Water lines reach every zone anyway through washrooms and taps, and lines inside the ground do not have much effect. Only dirty water lines matter, which is why they should run clockwise.
Like a well, should a furnace (bhatti) also not be closed without the permission of Agni devta?
Yes, a carelessly closed bhatti can ruin a whole generation. Dig out the soil all around it and throw it away, and only then close it.
Why did builders in earlier times leave the plinth for one season after the garbh vinyas?
After the digging and the garbh vinyas, the plinth beam was raised and then left for one season, about three months. The secret was to let the sun, the moon, the 27 nakshatras and the 9 planets fully work on the land whose devtas had been worshipped, so that the soil became charged and energised before building went on.
If only part of a plot is to be built, where are the devtas marked?
If construction covers only part of the plot with space left all around, the 45 devtas are allocated on the whole plot and their places are selected on it.
Should the paishachik, manushya, dev and brahma zones be marked on the plot or on the constructed area?
Take the centre of the constructed area and mark the pads from it; part of the paishachik ring may fall just outside the house. For a new building, do the zoning of the whole plot for the boundary wall gate, and the zoning of the constructed area to mark E3 or E4 for the main door of the house.
Why has not a single stone of the Khajuraho temples moved in over a thousand years?
No cement or adhesive was used: male stones were joined into female stones, an example of the physical property of materials. The temples were also oriented so that the sun's rays fall first at the deity's feet and, as the sun reaches the South-East, at another deity's feet.
What does floor-to-slab height on the slide mean?
It is the height from the floor up to the ceiling (slab) of the room.
The waste water of the whole house goes out from the North. Does that have an effect?
If it goes out deep underground there is no bad effect. If it runs about 9 inches below the surface, the effect is very large. At about one and a half feet deep there is no bad effect.
Why are the South-West walls made thick and the South-West kept high?
The South-West is the location of Rahu and Ketu, and the West belongs to Saturn. Thick, high walls keep the influence of Rahu-Ketu and Saturn from becoming excessive, which is why the South-West is never kept low.
Is it right to use bricks stamped with a swastik?
No. The swastik and Om are the most sacred symbols, and a swastik generates about 10 lakh bovis of energy; when such bricks end up in toilets and floors, people walk and relieve themselves on it, and the same amount of negative energy is generated in the house, harming all work. In one case a family built a whole house of swastik bricks, and within three months of griha pravesh three members died in an accident and another later died of a heart attack. Recommend plain burnt clay bricks (fly ash bricks are not good either); where swastik bricks are already laid, spray gomutra (cow urine) on them before plastering.
How are male and female bricks identified, and why does it matter?
When struck, one brick gives a khan sound and the other a jhan sound: one is male and the other female, like plus and minus. Bricks and stones laid by joining male with female hold each other and never let go, which is why buildings 2,000 years old still stand as they are.
Why did old buildings joined with lime last for thousands of years?
Their mortar was lime (chuna) made by burning limestone, which formed hydrated calcium carbonate and captured the full energy, so many such buildings still stand after thousands of years. Cement replaced it, but its life is only about 75 years and no manufacturer guarantees it beyond 100 years. Lime also absorbs negativity, which is why whole houses were once whitewashed with it.
Don't termites attack mud walls?
Not because they are mud: termites attack wood and cement walls as well. Termites come wherever negativity settles, and injecting mercury into the ground keeps them away. Mud is the strongest adhesive, and a room built with mud in place of cement mortar, especially in the North-East, holds the most energy and removes many North-East doshas.