Vaastu - embrace it or thrash it?

Is Vaastu good for us? Well, we may say that we no longer believe in old traditional ways. Many of us might be worshippers of the modern technology. But before generalizing, it is better we take a closer look at what vaastu really is.

Vaastu is a science which makes us feel better in our environment. It does not guarantee that it will get rid of all the problems in our life, but what it can do is that it can reduce the stress levels of an individual. Naturally, if the stress levels are lowered, people feel better and there is a sense of well-being in the neighbourhood.

Everyone is a part of the environment that surrounds them. All the elements have varied influence on a person, though the level of influence varies. Elements like air, water, sunlight and other living beings can have a positive or a negative impact on a person. It's a time-tested method and a valuable gift from our ancestors. Unfortunately, many people do not understand its importance. It is more relevant in the modern life as many people are highly stressed. At a given location, vaastu explains would would be the best combination of all the elements that would make you feel more comfortable.

Why are East facing sites more expensive?
It is said that in South India, it is advisable to have more doors and windows of a house facing East. The advantages are that in the morning, the sunlight brightens up the interiors and keeps our pupils wide open so that we are fully awake. The sunlight also kills germs and bacteria that may have built colonies overnight. Winds blow in the east-west direction in South India. Hence if more doors and windows are in the east west direction, there will be easy and natural circulation of air in the house. Foul odour would not stagnate and thus, we would have a
fresh day.

Vaastu is similar to the Chinese Feng-Shui. Every culture has its own version of Vaastu that suits their needs. Also, it may not be appropriate to apply the same principles of vaastu at all locations. Environmental conditions vary from place to place. For example, Red-Indians always built their huts facing south. This is because in North America, it is unlikely that warm winds would blow from the north.

Vaastu is much more than this. It details the exact placement of cookware, water storage, the rooms, etc. It may not be pragmatic to follow all the aspects of vaastu, but we can definitely follow it in the broader sense.

What's in a name?

A name is not just a serial number or primary key associated with any product or person. The first name signifies the characteristics or behaviorof a person. Imagine that you are going to meet a person but you have never seen him/her before. You just have the name of that person. Wouldn't you create a vague picture of him/her in your mind before you meet? Exactly!

Unfortunately we don't get to choose our name at birth. Its our parents who name us years before we know what we are. Someone with the name "Harishchandra" might be a habitual liar, "Anamika" is still a name, "Vivek" may be pretty dumb, "Prashanth" may be ill-tempered! Ultimately, our name reflects our parents' imagination of what they wanted us to grow up to be. All the names I have heard so far are positive names, i.e., they signify one or more good qualities of a person. You have heard of the name Sajjan, but have you heard Durjan in real life? (Don't think about Ambrish Puri in Karan Arjun!) Many names are synonyms to Gods, mythological characters and historical legends, who have only good qualities. Such names too fall under the positive names category. Fortunately all parents name their children with the positive names and many people are happy with their names.

We all realize what we really are after teenage. Everyone should get a chance to express what they are through their name. It would be great if we have a system where we have an option to change our name at around the age of 18-22 when we get our Driver's License and the process should not be as tedious as it is now - get an affidavit, swear in front of a notery, publish public notices in 2 leading newspapers, etc. One should be known by a "minor" name during childhood and teenage, and a "Major" name for the rest of the lifetime.

If Chanakya did not fair well in studies and turned out to be an outstanding archer by the time he was 18, he may wish to rename himself as Arjun instead. Well, no comments for names like Dolly, Tom, Cody, Koti, etc.

Frankly, I wouldn't change my name even if I had an option! Would you?