Why Live in Vāstu?
Ayurveda, the Science of Life, is a gift of the creator to help us live in bliss and avoid suffering. It is but one piece of the vast Vedic literature, which is a storehouse of total knowledge—covering all aspects of relative and cosmic life. The Vedic literature includes principles of architecture, called Vāstu (or Sthāpatya Ved), which give detailed knowledge for establishing human habitations that optimize connection to Nature for health, happiness and good fortune.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi corrected the modern understanding of the Vedas and higher states of consciousness. He strongly recommended that everyone practice Transcendental Meditation, follow Ayurvedic principles, and live in Vāstu.
His argument was compelling:
Success and fortune is all influenced by Vāstu. If Vāstu is wrong, then the intellect, thinking and speaking will all be influenced accordingly and will not promote evolution. The whole fortune gets blocked.
Vāstu is like a guard on the door. It simply will not allow any damage. It is that intelligence of nature which is protective on one side and promotional to all positivity on the other.
He also suggested that one should leave an improperly designed home as if it was on fire and take refuge in Vāstu. Considering that a home may be one’s largest asset, abandoning it is not often a practical option. Moreover, widespread appreciation of the value of Vāstu would cause prices of non-Vāstu homes to drop precipitously. But you get the idea.
My Journey to a Vāstu Home
Despite my intentions, I waited 20 years for the opportunity to own a Vāstu home. Even once the time seemed right, the process of finding land, selling my home and getting to a suitable time to begin construction has gone slowly. Here’s the story in a nutshell.
A Prolonged Search for Land
In April 2015, after a prolonged search with the help of my realtor, Marika La Sorsa, I finally found suitable property just west of Chapel Hill, NC. Henry Dearborn, a well-respected Vāstu architect from Fairfield, IA did the site verification assessment. I completed the purchase in July.
Helped by Fortunate Connections
Along the way, I had the good fortune to find Alois Callemyn, an experienced surveyor with knowledge of Vāstu (http://www.aloiscallemynpls.com/). When he fully understood what I was trying to accomplish, Alois connected me with Vernon Little of Iron Eagle Builders (http://ironeaglebuilders.com). True to his prediction, Vernon proved to be the right contractor for the job. His experience was invaluable in the process of working with Henry to develop construction drawings from a home design obtained from Maharishi Vastu Architecture.
Later that year on November 19 at about 7:15 AM in the dark of a thunderstorm, guided by headlamp and flashlights, in the company of Vernon, my daughter and a dear friend, I initiated the ground-breaking ceremony. Afterwards, we celebrated briefly at tailgate with herbal tea and Lebanese treats.
Delayed for the Sale of My Former Home
Still, it took until March 2017 to close the sale of my Connecticut home and relocate to North Carolina. Finally, at the auspicious time of 12:18 on August 8, 2017, I placed the cornerstone for what will become my new home/office. The excavation contractor poured concrete for the footings a short time later.
I’ll be sharing photos and stories as the construction progresses. You can learn more about Vāstu principles at: https://qatoqi.com/ayurveda/vastu.htm.
Subscribe to my RSS feed to follow my posts.