Understanding and Decoding the Fear Around Vastu Astrology and Vastu share a Common Factor

In a world of increasing social media ‘experts’ or influencers, the subject of Vastu and Astrology is much discussed and spoken about. We sit down with Ridhi Bahl and try to decipher how best to approach this subject to find meaningful solutions. Ridhi’s great grandfather was the head astrologer to the King of Jaipur, and authored over 200 books on astrology and astronomy. Following in his footsteps, Ridhi took to the study and discipline of Astrology and Vastu Shastra at a time in her life when she found herself searching for answers. She was going through a prolonged difficult phase in life that affected her health and overall wellbeing.

She broke away from her corporate job and decided to look deeply into these sciences that were very much a part of her life growing up. Around 2002, “everything that could go wrong in a person’s life was going wrong in my life. I started looking for answers to my problems. And the best possible way I thought was going to an astrologer. I went to everyone I could find! And did all the remedies. Because I wanted a solution. I wanted the answers for all those ‘whys’ that I was struggling with. But nothing worked”. She realized soon enough that this was perhaps not the most logical educated way to go about finding a solution, more so as someone who has a deeper understanding on the subject. She eventually decided to take matters into her own hands and enrolled herself at Bhartiya Vidhya Bhawan under the tutelage of Shri K.N. Rao, a renowned astrologer. She did a 2-year course on Astrology and got the degree of Acharya. Today it has been 18 years of practicing and studying and being a part of various research studies. Catch the highlights of her conversation.

How did you move from astrology to Vastu Shastra?

I started with astrology and I never thought I’d do it professionally. I just did it for my own personal benefit. I wanted to know the answers of those ‘whys’. Overtime, friends got to know, then from them others got to know and slowly the word started spreading. My predictions were also coming true. There were a couple of people who really benefited from the predictions. Then there were people who were taking consultations from me on a regular basis. A relationship developed.

These people would come and say we are buying a house. Why don’t you tell us about that? Why don’t you come and check? And then I said, I don’t do Vastu. They said, no, no, no, we want you only to come. So, then I researched about Vastu and learned what it’s all about. Then I found a great link between Vastu and astrology. They both work on the same principles of five elements, and they both come from the same school of thought, that is from the Vedas. I found Vastu also as logical and scientific as astrology. And so, I decided to study it in-depth and again did a two-year course on it. Again, I am a part of a lot of research on the subject.

To begin with, as starters, can you explain in a simple way what Vastu Shastra is and what is the purpose of it in our lives?

Vastu comes from the Vedas and these are the oldest written scriptures, and they have no religious connection. We all are aware of the five elements, right? Every one of us in this universe is made up of the five elements. Ayurveda, which is also a part of the Vedas talks of vata, kapha, and pitta. Kapha is water, vata is air and pitta is fire. Whenever there is any kind of illness that we have, it is basically an imbalance in any of these elements.

So, the way these elements, that is air, water, fire, earth, and sky have an impact on us, our body, not just we humans, anything on this planet. Similarly, they have an impact on a structure. Now, the structure can be your house, your factory, your office, or your commercial shop.

So, what is Vastu dosh? It is basically an imbalance of any of these elements. The role of the Vastu expert is to try to create a balance so that you get the benefit of all the elements. These elements play a very important role.

I’ll just give you a little brief from a layman’s point of view. Now, what is fire? Fire is action. If there is no fire in a person, the person will not work. He will be very lazy, and will lack ‘fire in the belly’. For example, water makes you calm. When you go on vacations to beaches, how do you feel? You feel relaxed, you feel calm, you feel peaceful. So, you need that calmness also in life. You need that action fire also in life, right? Air is movement. You need that movement. You can’t just be stagnant in life. So, this is how these elements play up in our life. Earth is stability, right? The balance of these elements is what makes a place Vastu compliant. If a structure is imbalanced, it’ll have an impact on the inmates of that place, be it your house, or be it your commercial place.

Often when you consult Vastu experts for a particular house or a plot, there are differing views, doshas and remedies suggested. It can get very confusing. Is Vastu open to interpretation?

Well for that, I would say that is half-baked knowledge. Now, sadly, the thing is in India is that we don’t have any standard accreditations and nobody will go and ask an astrologer or ask the consultant, where have you studied from? What is your qualification? So, they’re picking up knowledge from here and there. And that is why the confusion is being created. So, somebody who’s qualified, who has studied and who has full knowledge, they will not have a difference of opinion. The difference of opinion comes out of half knowledge and sadly, in this subject, that is the worst part. And that is why these sciences have got a bad name, that people who are following it, or people who are practicing it, have no knowledge. Because I can say this with so much assurance, because I’ve been in this field and I meet so many people who are practicing these sciences, and I have half-baked knowledge.

How does someone know that they are in fact consulting with someone who is well qualified?

That’s a very important question. I would tell people that you need to talk to somebody whom you are consulting. Ask his or her qualification. So before seeking anybody’s services, please research first. Secondly, the most important point, don’t go to somebody who tries to create any kind of fear in your mind. Because these sciences have nothing to do with fear. These are just guiding sciences. Thirdly, don’t go to somebody who advises you elaborate pujas or expensive remedies, because that is never a part of Vastu or Astrology. If you read the classical text of these subjects, nowhere the word remedy is mentioned.

You mentioned fear, this I feel is really common. Most cases some element of fear is planted. But to what extent can a Vastu dosha affect someone’s health or work?

Yes, I would say 10 out of 10 times. And that is how they’re able to sell their services.  But firstly, there’s nothing to be scared of. Like any big health issue starts from a small thing only, if we cure it at the very initial stage, we get the right kind of treatment with a good lifestyle. We can prevent it.

Similarly with these sciences also. I’ll go back again to the five-element theory. Vastu is all about the five elements and its balance. For example, if there is more fire element in the house. What happens? The inmates of the house will be more aggressive, they will fight more. They might become more quarrelsome. What will a Vastu consultant do here? He or she will see how to minimize the fire element and how to increase the other elements so that the inmates of that house are not so aggressive. For instance, I go to many places where people say, oh, you know, my kids are very lazy. They don’t get up. They do nothing. They really procrastinate. So that means a water element is dominating that house more. So now tell me again, what is there to be scared about now?

But a person with half knowledge or trying to only market himself will try to scare you. Might say, oh, you know, there are too much fire element in the house, there can be a murder of somebody in the house or somebody can indulge in some killing. See there is a difference in how they’re presenting it.

You also mentioned that if you read the classical text of these subjects, remedies are not mentioned.

Try to understand this and look at these subjects with a very open mind. When these subjects, these sciences were written, that time society was very different from what it is now. Now we are talking about Vastu, which is a science of structures. The way structures were made way back then, it was very different from the way we have been living now and the way the structures are made now. When Vastu was written, there was no concept of apartments or floors. There would be a courtyard in the centre of the house. There would just be one toilet in the house, there would be one kitchen, and these two things would be really in opposite directions.

But nowadays, the way we are living, it’s very different. Now, every room has an attached bathroom. Earlier, the toilet and the bathing area would be separate, but now it is not practically possible. Now they are in one space. If three families are living in a house on three floors, they all have a separate kitchen. So, with changing times we need to bring about some changes in the existing age-old principles. Now this is important. The element theory is the same. But then with changing times and with the research that we do now, it is all about applying those same age-old principles, but in the modern context. And that is where the remedial part comes in. But then again, they are logical and practical remedies. Putting gemstones somewhere or putting a silver wire, these are not remedies to be very honest.

Could you share with us a few essential things to keep in mind – for a residential space.

So, first, please don’t have this thing in your mind that if a property is north facing, northeast facing, it is good and rest, the other direction, property facing is not good. Especially when it comes to the south. So, people have this very strong myth that if it’s a north facing property, it’s very good. It’s not like this. Nowhere in any of the Vastu classic texts, something like this is mentioned, all the directions are equally good. All the directions have certain very good points and certain not so good points. So please don’t limit yourself or get stuck with this. I have seen people, in real estate, in garments and jewellery, if they have a south facing property, they have done wonders. These are just to name a few sectors.

Another thing is that northeast is considered as a very auspicious direction. Now why is it considered so? Because the sun rises in the east and because of the tilt of the earth, the first sunlight, the first sun rays fall in the northeast direction. And the rising sun rays have a lot of health benefits. Therefore, in the classical text of Vastu, the northeast corner is considered as very auspicious and therefore having a toilet in the northeast is not good. If you have a choice, please try and avoid having a toilet in the northeast direction.

Now the third point is not to have a pit in the south or the southeast direction, any of the south directions. It should not be at a lower level, especially if you have a farmhouse, for example. Don’t plan your swimming pool in any of the south directions. So, the south direction always has to be higher, or at least at the ground level.

To what extent are Vastu and Astrology interlinked and how relevant is the date of birth here?

Vastu and Astrology certainly are linked because the element theory that I spoke about has a connection in astrology also. Zodiac signs are divided on the basis of those elements, like Aries of fiery sign. Leo is a fiery sign. Virgo is an earth sign. Even the planets are linked with these elements. So somewhere they’re connected. But when someone asks for the birth details, it is relevant for the head of the family; the bread earner of the family. Astrology is very individual specific while Vastu applies to the entire family.

So, there for certain decisions, for certain things in the family, we take into consideration the horoscope of the head of the family. We try to match things with that person. For example, there’s a family of four, and they want to make a major investment in buying a property. So, they might ask in whose name should we buy a property, then we can check the horoscopes and suggest. Vastu can be done separately but there can be a correlation.

ABOUT

Ridhi Bahl, a Ph.D.in Astrology and Vastu, can be reached for a personal consultation on +919810806998 or visit www.ridhibahl.com to know more.

 

 


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