The twentieth century has seen the discarding of many traditional practices, beliefs and ideas. Out of a wide host of subjects that have either been forgotten or disowned because the modern mind considers it shameful, one of the areas of contention the world over has been that of religious belief and ritualistic practices.
Many gory and often meaningless rituals that are carried out in the name of faith are indeed difficult for the rational mind to digest. But at the same time an unexamined dismissal of all belief and ritual as being evil is again a double bind, a fact which has been realized rather late by many countries. The life energy of people and groupings are gathered from a celebrative and interactive link with the natural system. When all celebration also falls into the category of blind belief then we are tampering with the spontaneous impulses of a people towards the awesome nature of reality. Whatever scientific explanation may be given, who can ever watch untouched the early morning sunrise over the ocean? Or the flight of birds through the silent dusk sky? Poetry, beauty, love and sensuousness are all deeply linked with primal rhythms and natural vibrations. Hence to celebrate with water and flowers, to dance with the wind and to sing with the birds are all deeply ingrained in collective behaviour.
The Vastu Shastras are full of ritualistic data that pertain to the relationship of a person to the earth (bhoomi) or with the energies (vastu devata) or to the trees (vana mahotsavam, vana muhurtam). To understand the right time to plant, to sow, to build, to reap and to expand businesses are all part of the Vastu Shastras. Many important functions such as the following have been pointed out in the texts.
Vastu Muhurtam: After referring to the Panchangam or Indian calendar, the right time is chosen to inaugurate the site and to propitiate the energies. The time chosen is when the Vastu Purusha is awake and therefore capable of participating in the ceremony in a powerful manner. The Vastu Purusha is awake during eight months of the year and asleep in the other four. Eight months of wakefulness - Mesha, Vrishabha, Kataka, Simha, Tula, Vrichika, Makara, Kumbha. Four months of sleep - Dhanur, Mina, Mithuna, Kanya.
Bhoomi Puja: Usually this puja is carried out at the same time as vastu muhurtam. A small 64-part diagram denoting the manduka padam and the Vastu Purusha within it is marked in the NE part of the property using different seeds and colouring substances. To each of the devas of this mandala chants and offerings are made. It is also common to makje a test pit in the NE in which the first bricks or stones are placed during bhoomi puja. An effigy of the Vastu Purusha is made in straw and burnt. This is to ward off evil spirits. It is recommended that this ritual be carried out in the morning.
Garbhanyasa: This is a ritual carried out to bring alive the building and its spaces. It is recommended that this ritual be carried out in the evening or night after the building has been completed and it is ready for occupation. For the ritual a specific location is picked and a small cavity is dug out into which a box made of copper or silver is placed. It may have nine or twenty-five compartments which is a mandala form known as peetha padam (nine), upapeetha padam (twenty-five). In the compartment facing east, offerings to Surya and Indira are made in silver and gold, in the south to Yama and Simha in iron and gold, in the west to Varuna in silver, in the north to Soma in silver and similarly to all the other directions. Nine grains, nine gems, minerals and herbs are placed in the box. The bottom of the cavity or pit should have earth from different places. First stones or bricks are placed and over these the box is placed. This is then covered with a wooden lid and placed in the cavity. The cavity is filled up amidst chanting and prayer. This box or casket is held to be the source of life and movement. By placing it with its offerings to the energies, the building comes alive. Garbha means the womb, hence this is the womb or life-defining ritual. The ritual may be carried out in the centre or brahmasthana, or in the north, west, east, south, on one side of the central axis (to the right facing from the outside).
Griha Pravesham: In residences, the final action of purifying and making ready the space for occupation is called Griha Pravesham. The planets and the devas are propitiated, Vinayaka invoked, the space sprinkled with holy water and sanctified with the sacred Vedic ritual. After this ceremony, the inhabitants may move into the built space and start their new lives.
With all these rituals, the tradition has helped people understand the intrinsic and extraordinary relationship they share with their physical and spiritual environment. There is no connection with organized religion in any of the rituals, they take on analmost tribal character in the offering of energy back to the earthy systems.
