VĀSTU- ŚĀSTRA–a Sustainable Design Methodology

Abstract

The vedic Indian ancestors of ours not only used planning and architecture as a knowledge system to define living spaces, but also created it as a micro representation of the larger cosmos.The designing process incorporated the synergy of human system with the subtle impacts of the environment. This planning and design methodology popularly known as VāstuŚāstra, is a holistic approach to developing an integrated space.Towards achieving this concept, the ancients developed the technique of settlement planning and architectural design. The Śāstra defines the role of a planner / architect as that of ‘Sakṣhi’ – that is, a witness, for the marriage between the site and its owner. It is so said because; the planner / architect have to achieve a harmonious relationship between the site and its owner through the process of ‘architectural design’, at the physical level, mental level (mind) and the psychic level. At the physical level, this is achieved through the right usage of scale. At the mental level, this harmony is achieved by working the right proportion using the Vāstu-Puruṣa Maṇḍala, and at the psychic level, this is achieved by balancing the body energies along with the earth energy grids.