Select the right bathroom location with the help of the Vastu Shastra, says KHUSHDEEP BANSAl, and enhance health, family life, love and happiness
Gone are the days when bathroom utilities were few and little choice existed. Gone, too, are the days when the plumbers just put in the relevant fixtures where they pleased. The meaning of ‘relevant bathroom fixtures’ has undergone a sea change, what with televisions, music systems, art and decorative items, and last but not least, carpets and music-mood showers. These modern days have seen the advent of as many ‘designer’ lines of bathroom fixtures as of furniture, cookware, music systems and almost anything else required to make a house stunningly beautiful, drawing admiring gasps from viewers. Utility and looks are synonymous these days.
Now, keeping in mind that the Vastu Shastra has injunctions regarding room and functional placements, what does it say about bathroomsIJ First and foremost, it says that the bathroom is a place of waste disposal. It is symbolic of ‘letting go’ of what represents ‘waste’ in your life and deliberately ‘disposing’ of it. If it is in the right place, it will allow you to have an uncluttered mind, free of unnecessary tensions and burdens. It is as important to let go of things, as it is to hold on to them to have a happy life. It is also important to let go of what is not needed, and here bathroom locations become critical.
Out of the 16 vastu zones, each of which possesses distinct energy and qualities, only three are recommended as bathroom and toilet locations. These are South-Southwest (zone of waste and disposal), East-Southeast (zone of churning) and West-Northwest (zone of depression). The remaining vastu zones have positive characteristics, which are severely compromised if the toilet is located there.
The elemental balance of the five elements (water, fire, air, earth and space) is also critical in ensuring a smooth life. Along with the 16 vastu zones, these elements determine the quality of your life. So, if you do not build your house and align rooms, functions and decoration (colour, material/s used, symbols and artefacts) properly, the basic vastu principles are not being followed. Since vastu principles are based on correct and efficient energy-programming, disregarding them may prove harmful for health, finances, education, interpersonal family relationships and prosperity.
let’s, for example, look at what happens if you build the toilet and bathroom in the Northeast zone. This zone is responsible for your mental clarity. Your ideas, mental stability and mental health are determined by the nature of this zone. The connection with divine energy occurs in this zone. If you build a toilet there, your ideas, health and mental stability are affected. They will get drained and flushed away and disposed of as waste is. lack of ideas and inspiration will make your mind dull. Mental dullness will even affect your health. People in creative fields — writers, designers, painters, among others — will be hard hit. The flow of money is also hampered. Therefore, the entire prospect of spending lakhs of rupees on decorating and designing your bathroom hinges upon whether it will be good for you or not.
Two such case studies will tell you what happens if you do or don’t do certain things in certain zones. There was a politician who had won elections but was not getting any favourable position in spite of his ability and loyalty. After the four-step vastu analysis of his bungalow, it was discovered that one of the many toilets was located in the East zone. It was draining away the positive energy of association by weakening his social connections and networking abilities from his life. That toilet was closed. Within a few months, he became a Cabinet Minister. Another couple had renovated their house as per their ardent desire, but found trouble instead. Their relationship was affected and delay was badly impacting anything they undertook. After consultation, it turned out that their new Southwest toilet was creating all the unrest in their lives. This is the zone of skills and relationships. It was treated by painting a yellow band at the toilet base, and the couple’s relationship was restored to normalcy.
So, if you are planning to make a new bathroom, or renovate the old one, please keep a few things in mind. The 16 vastu zones are locations for different activities. Use the East-Northeast zone for entertainment; it will enhance the fun quotient and refresh you. You can keep the bathroom here but avoid making an attached toilet. The North, West, Northwest, Southeast, East, South-Southeast and South zones are important for career and finances — no toilet should be built there.
Try not to place large mirrors in the bathroom, and if there is a mirror, the frame colour should be favourable to the zone it is in. Also, take care of the fittings and the shapes and colours of the stuff in the bathroom. Avoid putting decorative items unless it is in accord with the vastu zone.
In case there is a toilet in a wrong zone, consult the nearest vastu consultant, and he/she will advise a way out. Treatment in the form of pyramids to colours to metal strips to relocation of activities and items can be easily applied without going into a demolition mode. All in all, be careful while making/renovating your bathroom; its location and contents are of the utmost importance.
The writer is a Delhi-based vastu expert