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This Unique Tradition in Home Design Creates Harmony, Clarity, and Health
Within the past three years, there has been an explosion of new buildings in Fairfield, Iowa, many of which are grand beyond the usual expectations of a small midwestern town of 10,000 inhabitants. They are constructed according to a traditional science of building and design known as Maharishi Sthapatya Veda (stuh-POT-yuh VAY-duh) architecture. Some of the more spectacular examples are The Raj Health Resort, the Katie Ram and Amy Ram buildings, the USA Global Link international headquarters, and several majestic mansions cropping up all over town.
There are also a number of more modest MSV residences, too, from all-natural log homes to charming contry cottages. And although there are now more MSV structures in Fairfield than any other city in the world, national interest is growing as well. From Bainbridge Island, Washington, to Gainesville, Florida, nearly 50 more MSV homes and commercial buildings have been built or are currently under construction.
Those who live and work in these structures swear to their beneficial effects--things like greater energy, improved health, and increased wealth.
How MSV is Unique
What makes Maharishi Sthapatya Veda (MSV) architecture unique? Cooper Norman, of Prairie Architects, has been designing and building homes for 20 years. He says that, until now, architectural styles have been the products of the philosophical, emotional, religious, and political forces of an era. Architectural geniuses like Louis Kahn and others merged their own creativity with these cultural forces in their designs. For instance, Frank Gehry's new Guggenheim Museum in Spain is a stunningly beautiful late-20th century statement about architecture and art. Its construction, however, is a political statement of the Spanish Basques, who commissioned the museum to be built in their largest city as an assertion of their presence and importance in Spain.
But MSV architecture is different. Proponents say that their designs are not the product of changing trends in architecture but are based on timeless principles of natural law. The Sthapatya Veda, a part of the Vedic literature of India, records the precise formulas and rules for construction of all kinds of buildings--homes, schools, government buildings, temples--in such a way that the buildings maximize the energy of nature and bring success, good fortune, good health, and enlightenment to the occupants of the building.
The Three Main Principles
MSV architecture emphasizes three key principles: right direction, right placement of rooms, and right proportion. According to this knowledge, the entrance to the home should face east. This is because the energy from the sun is greatest and most vital when rising and brings health and vitality to the family. As the sun moves across the sky from east to west, it radiates different qualities of energy, which produce influences on different part of the house. In Sthapatya Veda, buildings are designed so that these energies correspond to the specific activities within the different rooms. For example, there is an ideal place for the living room, the kitchen, the dining room, and the bedrooms.
Those who advocate MSV architecture maintain that houses and offices not built in accord with the three fundamental principles of direction, placement, and proportion can create problems. Dr. Eike Hartman, Department Head of Sthapatya Veda Architecture for Maharishi Vedic University, says that lack of knowledge of the laws of nature and their application to the designs of our buildings and cities influences every area of our lives. "Today people do not know that many misfortunes and even diseases arise from lack of proper orientation of the building they live and work in, and from fundamental violations of natural law inherent in their design, or vastu."
Why Orientation is Important
Scientific studies show that neurons in the brain actually fire differently depending on what direction one is facing. There are also "place neurons" in the brain that signal the body's orientation in a room or environment. According to MSV, buildings that face any direction other than due east or due north allow negative influences to affect the owner and inhabitants. The experts on MSV estimate that in every city on earth, about 75 percent of all the buildings have inauspicious orientations.
Doug Greenfield, President of Maharishi Global Construction, says that MSV presents for the first time a building technology that will transform the way people think and feel, with homes and offices that by their mere design create good health, clear thinking, happiness, harmony, and good fortune for the family or business. Greenfield feels that these principles will revolutionize the building industry.
The experiences of those living in MSV houses seem to confirm this notion. People report that they think more clearly and creatively, make better decisions, feel happier and healthier, feel more alert and refreshed, enjoy more restful sleep, and experience less stress and greater peace of mind.
Michael Dimick, who has enjoyed his MSV home for the past three years, says, "There is a sense of rightness wherever you are in the house. . . . Regardless of my mood, whenever I walk into my home, I feel energetic and confident."
International financial advisor and investor Bruce Hauptman says of his MSV home, "There is nothing like it. We have enjoyed greater comfort and security, greater harmony, and greater financial success."
Home, after all, is the place where you want to feel truly "at home." Greenfield feels that ultimately this is the biggest draw for living in a MSV home. "People are naturally attracted to these designs because they mirror the laws of nature. They feel at home in them."
