Vastu for home: A gem or a sham?

Be yourself an atheist, believer or an agnostic. By the end of this blog, you are going to agree with me that vastu is something you can’t ignore in your life, because it is underpinned at science.

Before I begin to break down the points for you, let me be frank. I happened to stumble on the news that the Apollo Hospital Group, which is revolutionizing the standards of medical care in India with its chain of attractive private hospitals has incorporated vastu into its design. I thought it seems like a very interesting topic. Maybe I can provide some information about vastu to my readers. Let me go through some books and figure out if it’s worth sharing.

And you know what? I ended up searching for a vastu consultant for my own home near me before I started writing! Trust me, it was an eye opening week for me to enthral unknown pathway of vastu in home that literally changed the way of perceiving the influence of my home in vasthu on my well being.

Vastu, it seemed, went way beyond design, form, utility, durability concepts that define construction of a quintessential building.

So, what is Vasthu in simple words?

Vasthu, a traditional system of design and construction of buildings, is a mixture of strong spiritual philosophy and science which revolves around the concept that everything in the universe is interconnected and interdependent.

A successful Vastu of home also encourages optimum vibrations to thrive and flow within the individual. Sounds familiar anywhere?

Indeed. This is exactly what quantum mechanics stands for. The quantum theory researchers discovered that everything is energy and everything is interconnected through fields.

Vasthu looks carefully at the orientation of physical space so that it reinforces the ancient theories connected to the five primary elements: space, air, fire, water, and earth, which are present in our environment and within each of us. Hold on, are we going back to the superstitious beliefs?

Nope, but to the science behind the concepts.


Sun, for example is a significant factor that determines the orientation of a building. The vedha texts say that Surya is the sun god, who lords over the east and enlightenment.

When we match up this with the science, we come to understand that when natural sunlight hits the skin it triggers the body’s production of vitamin D which is a crucial ingredient for overall health, protects against inflammation, lowers high blood pressure, helps muscles, improves brain function and may even protect against cancer. Also, it helps to make your home energy efficient which is an integral part of a green building.

Diving on to vasthu tips for home,

The first lesson is understanding quadrants.

There are four quadrants.

1. North east

Vastu for house prescribes to situate water resource which can be a stream, pond or well in the east, north, or northeast of a territory, building, or room. This is to promote inspiration in that entire space. Because of the same reason, this quadrant is best for worship.

2. South east

The southeast quadrant of your home is the right area to establish the vasthu kitchen stove and electrical and electronic equipment such as computer and TV.

3. South west

Vastu says to encourage inactivity in the southwest, calling it the best direction in which to store items and information, to perform routine activities, to position heavy furniture. This quadrant is called kannimoola in vastu shastra, which is the best place to keep money and other valuable possessions of yours.

4. North west

Northwest is particularly good if your parties and gatherings tend to run late. This quadrant indicates movement, a characteristic that suits the function of the living room, where people come to visit but don’t stay too long.
Television would be good in the northwest if you can dip into it from time to time.
Communication devices like phone and computer modem often do well being situated in the north western region of a room or structure, for similar reasons.

If there is any disparity popped up in you that contradicted your logic and things I stated above, you are smart. You should read on to clear them out and start afresh. We are going to dive deep.

1. Orientation of the site and home

Vastu exhorts to face the entrance to your property in the north or the east of the northeast corner which creates an open space in the northeast quadrant. An east-facing house receives the benefit of the morning sun and its association with sun who brings us inspiration, enlightenment apart from the health benefits we scoped out earlier. This makes the eastern direction ideal for individuals with a propensity or preference for contemplative or scholarly activities.

2. Shape of the Site and Home

The ideal shape of piece of land and a house is a square or rectangle. The site is irregular in shape, just mark out a square and rectangle on the site and use that as your area for development. The circulation of wind and air can be the possible reason.

3. Flow of Energy

The ideal Vasthu plot would slope to the north and east and rise to the south and the west, since the east is the realm of the sun and enlightenment with an actual barrier (a fence, a rock garden, a cluster of trees, a dense hedge) in the southwest.
If there is a depression or a pool or a pond located in the northeast, which belongs to the element of water, so much the better. I know you want to know the logic, right?

 The presence of a north eastern receptacle draws in the sunlight, which then moves in an arc to the southwest and radiates to the southeast and northwest. A barrier in the southwest, which belongs to the element of earth, helps to hold in the light so that it keeps flowing around the property. A good barrier can be anything heavy and with height.

4. Location of the house on the site

The greatest amount of open land on your site should be left on the east and north, and the house should be set back in the south and west so that your vastu home will receive a greater amount of eastern sun and the positive energy that comes from the northeast.

Any doubt about the positive energy I’m talking about? Then you should definitely pause here and sneak into the concepts of Yoga and the paramount of influence it has had on people who practice Suryanamaskar, a Yogasana which the Yogis practice by paying tribute to Sun.

5. Welcoming door

Ancient Vastu guidelines say that an entrance on the north wall of the northeast quadrant of the building allows the positive energy, which comes from the northeast, to flow into your house. An entrance on the east wall fills your home with inspiration and enlightenment. A southern entrance reminds you of your responsibilities. And a western entrance speaks of the calm of night and is essentially neutral.

Really? How does the position of door matters in the wiring your brain? You asked it right. It’s simple. The interconnection of all elements we figured out in the beginning. Just like your favourite music can sooth your mind, the surrounding conditions such as the flow of air around you which influence your breathing and availability of oxygen to the neuron that involve in decision making. You are picking up the magic in it, right?

6. Interior Layout

Cool! I bet this is the dearest part where your juice of creativity flows seamlessly. Fueling it by vasthu,

I. Enhance positive energies

Because positive energy from Sun, which enters through the northeast, travels in an arc to the southwest of the home, try not to disturb this energy flow. If possible, keep the northeast corner in the home and the northeast corner of each room empty of furniture, at least heavy furniture that can stop the circulation of the energy.

Yup, let’s look into the arrangement of furniture in detail. (If you feel like frowning at the concept of the flow of energy again, first you may have to win over the debate with the scientists who discovered quantum mechanics.

Ii. Furniture Placement

The proper placement of furniture is extremely important to vastu living. First, keep all furniture, such as desks, beds, sofas, bureaus, and chairs, at least four inches from the wall. This gap prevents your own energies from being absorbed into the wall.

Because built-ins, such as cupboards and bookshelves, are incorporated into the wall, consider them part of the wall and just be certain that your desk or chair or any furniture is placed four inches away. More than likely, this gap is already there, so that you can get to these storage areas.

Keep lightweight furniture in the north and the east of the home and in the north and the east of each room or wall-less space that serves a specific function in a one-room studio or loft.

To trap this positive energy inside the home, put your heavy furniture in the south and the west of the home and in the south and west of each room or wall-less space. And, if you can afford it, why not consider elevating the floor in the southwest quadrant of the house or living room?


So, how do you feel now? Even if you can’t incorporate all the factors, do not get discouraged. Aim for Fifty Percent or Better. After all, having it all is an illusion in the universe, right?

Must read: Vastu for home plan- all design tips backed by logic

Let me know your thoughts and doubts in the comments.

Credit: All of the shared information is adopted from two books, mainly from “Vastu Living: Creating a home for the soul” of Kathleen M. Cox, the founder of vastuliving.com and a renowned vasthu consultant for over 20 years in America and “Vastu: Breathing life into space” by Dr. Robert E. Svoboda, (http://www.drsvoboda.com/) another foremost proponent of vastu. Some information was referred from the book Maha Vastu by India vastu shastri Kushdeep Bansal.