The benefits of the Maharishi Sthapatya Vedic (MSV) architecture

Why MSV?

Houses built according to ancient architectural principles (MVS) to promote health and happiness.

The houses built by Vastu Building we’d want you to feel exceptionally good in them.

Advantages of the MSV architecture

This is the property of this house that may very well have the biggest effect on the quality of life, but it’s also the most difficult to explain.

Vastu houses are built according to an ancient form of architecture that promotes health and happiness of the inhabitants.

You don’t have to believe in any of this, in fact, we’d expect you not to. It doesn’t matter. Using this form of architecture increases slightly the cost of the house as an additional Maharishi Sthapatya Vedic architect, besides the classical one, is involved into the design phase.

So if you will experience any of the benefits that are listed below, then this will be an added benefit.

Sthapatya Veda (or Vastu) is one of the oldest systems of architecture in the world. It is a part of the larger collection. This form of architecture is mainly based on specific formulas related to orientation proportion and room layout (see more detail below). It is not tied to any specific architectural style, and can, in fact be combined with any style. These formulas have gone through thousands of years of interpretations (Feng Shui is one such interpretations), until about 30 years ago, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of the Transcendental Meditation organisation, and considered one of the greatest experts on Vedic Knowledge alive, spent several years restoring this system in its purity. To distinguish this system from other interpretations this is now called Maharishi Sthapatya Veda (MSV).

Since then over € 500 million worth of houses and office buildings have been built worldwide using this system, and inhabitants do seem to clearly notice the effects, though we’ll come back to this after we discuss the principles of MSV.

Principles of MSV

1. Orientation

The first principle of orientation of MSV is that houses should be built perfectly of the cardinal directions.

The principle behind this is that we live in a grid of energy lines. There are magnetic energy lines going from the North pole to the South pole, and while we feel we are standing still, we are actually constantly moving at roughly 1000 miles per hour due to the earth’s rotation. This creates energy lines that go from east to west.

Recently it was discovered that every cell in our body has a kind of built in compass. We have a natural sense of direction, according to this grid of energy lines we live in. If we then live in a house that deviates from this grid of natural directions, it creates a feeling of discomfort and disharmony. This feeling is subtle probably even largely subconscious and people usually won’t notice it, (though they often do notice an effect of feeling good if they enter a properly oriented MSV house, even if they can’t explain why), but in the long term, if they are being exposed to this disharmonious influence 24/7, year after year, it will influence their health and happiness according to the ancient vedic scriptures.

The second principle of orientation according to MSV states that the main entrance of the house should be on either the east or the north side of the house. This is explained according to the influence of the sun, which influences life on earth more than anything else. When the sun rises in the east, it has an awakening (positive) energy. When it is in the south it has a burning (negative) energy, and when it is in the west it has a going-to-sleep lethargic energy. So MSV states that either we should preferably invite the East energy into our house through our front door, or otherwise the energy from the north, but west and especially south entrances should be avoided.

2. Proportion

There are specific proportions in nature which appear to be more harmonious or creating a pleasing quality than others. The “Golden Ratio” is probably the most famous of them, though the Vedic Texts describe others as well. MSV houses are built according to these proportions.

A well-known formula is the golden ratio (1.618 to 1) which is found everywhere in nature, from the proportion of the limbs of our bodies to each other(as famously outlined in Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man) to the arrangement of parts of plants in nature such as leaves and branches along the stems of plants and of veins in leaves. The Golden ratio is known to have pleasing qualities when it is used in art, which is why artist throughout time have used it, and it is often used in ancient architecture, like in the Patheon in Greece or the pyramids in Egypt.

The complex formulas used to calculate the interrelated length, width and height of the house as a whole, as well as all the rooms in the house individually are designed according to harmonious proportions. The ancient Vedic texts claim, it will have a pleasing effect on life as a whole, a positive effect on health, happiness and success of the inhabitant.

3. Room layout

The layout of rooms in the house according to MSV is again designed based on the different qualities of the sun during the day. When the sun is in the south, for example, it has a burning, destructive energy, which is bad as a main entrance, but the ideal location to have the dining room, as it will promote digestion of food. Likewise the bedrooms are ideally placed on the west side, etc.

Do people notice an effect? The research says yes

These principles may appear far-fetched to some, but the people who moved into a house built according to MSV principles do seem to clearly notice an effect. 147 people who moved into an MSV house replied to a survey asking them if they noticed a change in quality of life compared to living in their previous house.

• 92% reported an improved comfort of home
• 90% reported an improved overall quality of life
• 78% reported improved family relationships
• 85% reported less stress
• 60% reported better sleep
• 80% report an improved mental health
• 92% report more success in life
• 88% reported that their children are happier.

This is only a preliminary research with promising results, rather than a solid scientific study, which should be confirmed by far more research in the future.

While we can’t force people to build houses according to these principles, and it might not always be practical (the plot of land and local building codes might not allow you to build a properly oriented house, for example) from our side, Vastu Building will only build houses according to MSV to create nourishing and prosperous influences on its inhabitants.