Just like scientific ideas are created
and updated on a regular basis, superstitions are also being made and revised
every moment. If you own a house which is at least 20 years old, chances are
that it was not built according to the principles of Vastu Shastra. Evidently,
Vastu made an appearance, or rather, a reappearance, during this period as
something the middle class can add to their burgeoning collection of
internalized follies. Practically nobody knew about Vastu till two decades ago,
and no one was the worse for it. Almost all of them follow it now and still no
one is the better for it. So, what is the net result?
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| Position of toilets as per Vastu |
Over this period, proponents of Vastu
weaved a great web of intricate falsehoods to terrify the common man into
submission. Most architects now prepare the layout of the house within Vastu
prescriptions, which would be further vetted by an expert, who will be usually
very simple in his dealings with the clients (“I am only expressing my humble opinion. It is up to you to accept or
reject it with consequences”). Recently, one of my friends bought an
apartment after years of savings and meticulous financial planning. As soon as
his family moved in, a well-dressed gentleman appeared on his doorstep and
introduced himself as a Vastu practitioner. He asked my friend whether it would
be a trouble if he just saw the layout of the rooms for a short while. Being
flush with pride at the ownership of a fine apartment, my friend readily
agreed. The expert examined the rooms and came up with a shocking conclusion
that the toilets are located at the wrong places which may produce negative
energy that can even prove fatal.
The Indian middle class is notoriously
averse to take risks. So, even though my friend was well aware that nothing of
the sort of what the expert had predicted will take place, he opted the path of
least resistance. He changed the position of the water closets so as to face
north instead of east as in the original layout. It cost him as much as Rs.
50,000 considering the difficulties that had to be overcome to run the
re-routed piping. At the end of the day, my friend is happy, but a little wary
about another expert coming along and making a contradictory or supplementary
assessment.
When he narrated this incident to me,
I was a little intrigued. As we all know, Vastu originated several centuries
ago, and how can it specify something as exotic and foreign as a water closet
invented many centuries later? I made some research on the Net and came across
this very informative site www.vastushastraguru.com which explains the aspects a
potential house owner must give due attention to. The following paragraph in
blue colour lists the salient points I collected from the site.
“Toilets and bath rooms are
a major source of negative energy if they are not built as per rules and
guidelines of Vastu. As per Vastu Shastra, the toilets and bathrooms in a home
must be separate and not attached, but since the urban living space is limited,
we may have to use attached bath rooms. The problems generated by non-compliant
toilets are financial issues such as weak finances and loss of money by various
means and health issues like mental tension and stress and frequent – lethal
and minor – accidents. The best and second best positions of toilets are shown
in the diagram. The best location for a toilet or bathroom is the North-West
part of the home. The second best location is the North-East part, and the
South-West part, by excluding the corners. 11 things which you must do is
listed as follows.
1.
Water closet (commode) should preferentially be aligned to
North-South axis in toilet.
2.
Build toilets in West or North-West side of north of a room
depending upon whether toilet is with bedroom or separate.
3.
Toilets can also be constructed on South side.
4.
Place commode inside the toilet in West, South or North-West side
of West.
5.
Fit the pot, in toilet, in such a way that while using the commode
the person never faces East or West.
6.
Construct toilet 1-2 feet higher than ground level.
7.
You can have entrance door of the toilet on East or North wall.
8.
The flooring of toilet should slope towards East or North so that
water drains from these sides.
9.
Store water, taps etc. in East, North or North-East.
10.
Color walls of toilet as desired, but prefer light colors.
11.
Provide a small window in the toilet in East, West or North wall”
Don’t you think
this is just bullshit?
If you don’t, let’s
have a look at what the injunctions of shastras make on ordinary people. The
ancient text Nitya Karma (Daily
Routine) lists a number of rules to be practiced by the Brahmins while
defecating. They are,
1. With water in a brass vessel he should go to a 'place set apart for this purpose' at least a bowshot from his house, and choose a 'clean spot on level ground'.
2. He should avoid the temple compound, the edge of any water body, ploughed field, the vicinity of any sacred tree, as well as thoroughfares and other places frequented by the public.
3. He should not evacuate on a light-coloured soil.
4. He should take care to hang his triple cord over his left ear and to cover his head with his loincloth.
5. He should not relieve himself sitting on the branch of a tree or on a wall.
6. While evacuating he should not look at the sun or the moon, the stars, fire, a Brahmin, a temple, an image, or one of the sacred trees.
7. He should keep perfect silence.
8. He must chew nothing, have nothing in his mouth.
9. He must do what he has to do as quickly as possible, and rise immediately.
10. On rising he should not look back behind his heels.
11. He should then wash his hands and feet.
12. Then, taking the vessel in his right hand, and holding his private parts in his left hand, he should go to the stream to purify himself from the great defilement which he has contracted.
13. Having arrived at the edge of the river or pond where he proposes to wash himself, he should first choose a suitable spot, and should then provide himself with some earth to be used along with water in cleansing himself.
14. He must be careful to provide himself with the proper kind of earth. Earth of the white ant, nest, salty earth, potter's earth etc, are not suitable.
15. Provided with the proper kind of earth, he should approach the water but should not go into it.
16. He should take some water in his vessel, and then go a little distance away and wash his feet and hands again. If he has not a vessel he should dig a little hole in the ground with his hand near the riverside and fill it with water, which he should use in the same way, taking great care that this water shall not leak back into the river.
17. Taking a handful of earth in his left hand, he should pour water on it and rub it well on the dirty part of his body. He should repeat this operation using only half the amount of earth, and so on three times more, the amount of earth being lessened each time.
18. After cleansing himself thus, he will wash each of his hands five times with earth and water, beginning with the left hand. So also his feet.
19. Having thus scoured the different parts of his body with earth and water, he will wash them a second time with water only.
20. After that he will wash his face and rinse his mouth eight times. When he is doing this last act he must take very great care to spit out the water on his left side for, if by carelessness or otherwise, he unfortunately spits it out on the other side, he will assuredly go to hell.
So, this is what
the ancient texts urge men to do, quite expectedly, within the limited
resources available at that time. This is quite sensible, compared to the nonsense
of the Vastu gurus roaming about in our towns and villages.
