Questions and Answers
46 questions on Five Elements (Panch Tatva)
In swar vigyan, which element runs the longest in every hour, and how does that relate to land energy?
The earth element (prithvi tatva) has the longest share, 20 of every 60 minutes among the five tatvas of a swar. In the same way, the earth element of the land, its land energy, carries 70 percent of the result in vastu.
From where, and how many, soil samples should be collected from a land?
Take five samples, representing the five elements: one from each of the four corners (vidishas) and one from the Brahmasthan. Take the soil from about 4 inches (4 angul) below the surface.
How should the coconut be held for the toss?
Always with the pointed end upward, just as a person walks with the head up. A coconut has three eyes, a head and a tail, and it is the only fruit in which all five elements are perfectly present.
How is the tatva (element) running in the swar identified?
It needs proper tatva swar training; the element is known from how many angul the breath reaches. It also shows in the mind: steadiness means the earth element, joy the water element, restlessness the air element, anger the fire element and indifference the space element.
Does increasing the energy of the South-East or South-South-East raise the chance of theft, fire or accidents?
No, this idea is wrong and should be removed from the mind. An element's own zone can bear any amount of that element: kitchens burn daily in the South-East, factories run furnaces there day and night, and a plant in Goa melts quartz in its South-East without such problems; high mountains in the South-West only strengthen the earth element there.
Fire is the enemy of water. What can be done if the water source of a house lies in the South?
Remedies for such anti-element placements are taught later, in the remedy classes. First learn each element, its zone, its friends and its enemies; the corrections for a water source in the wrong zone come when the course reaches remedial vastu.
Which vastu should we accept as correct?
Accept only Vedic vastu, and accept a rule only when it is backed by the scriptures (granth); a lot of baseless vastu is going around. The difference shows in the element order: the chakras from throat to base hold space, air, fire, water and earth, and a system that reverses this changes the order of creation itself. India was regarded as the guru of the world for its knowledge, so there is no need to borrow foreign deities such as Fuk Luk Sau or the laughing Buddha for wealth.
Only one friend and one enemy were given for each element. Is that the complete picture?
No. The element relationships are taught in much more detail in interior vastu, including the cases where two elements come together in one place.
What exactly is ivory colour?
Ivory is a very light yellow. Off-white is often called ivory, but do not choose plain off-white; true ivory is a very light shade of yellow. It represents the earth element, which is why ivory floor tiles generate so much energy in a house.
From where to where does the fire element zone extend?
The fire zone covers East-South-East (purvi agneya), South-East (agneya) and South-South-East (dakshini agneya).
In what form does energy exist, and with what is it associated?
Energy, both geopathic and cosmic, exists in the form of the elements. The universe, the body and everything in it are made of the five elements, and there is nothing in the world that does not represent one element or another.
Why is the earth element studied and analysed first?
Because the earth element is the land (geopathic) energy, which plays a 70 percent role in the result of a building. If land energy is zero, even the best orientation and interiors turn a hero into a zero, so the earth element is the strongest element and must be analysed first.
How is air the enemy of the earth element?
Wind erodes rock. Balanced rocks, such as those seen at Jabalpur, got their rounded shape because wind kept striking them and wearing their particles away, so air destroys earth.
Why do even small children argue with their parents nowadays?
Every house used to have ventilators at the top of the walls, which balanced the air element. They have been brought down into the windows, and since the ventilator location changed even a ten-year-old child argues back. Keep the air element balanced with proper doors, windows, top ventilation and cross-ventilation.
The air element of my rented flat is disturbed and I have severe gastric problems. What can I do?
Use green colour and a flag-like pattern: put up a flag (dhwaj) in the North-West and, if possible, open the North-West with a window; this brings at least some balance. Swar vigyan can do still more without expense or demolition.
What flag should be put in the North-West when the air element is disturbed: a green one or a five-element flag?
A five-element (panch tatva) flag.
What should be done for a severe gas problem in the family?
Balance the air element of the house.
Should a moon made of silver be placed in the North-East?
Yes. A silver moon (chandi ka chandrama) in the North-East creates the water element (jal tatva) and gives results.
Can we create the mantras of the vastu devtas ourselves?
Yes. Use the name as Om Shri [devta name] Namah, or the beej syllable of the devta element between Om and Namah, since every devta is made of the five elements. These short mantras are easy for clients and no less effective than the long ones in Samarangan Sutradhar and Vishwakarma Prakash; offering bhog samagri uses a separate mantra.
Is a rooftop water storage tank also counted as the water element?
Yes. Water stored anywhere, including on the roof, represents the water element. But if the tank is built in a square shape, it moves to the earth element, because the square is the earth element's shape, and it becomes an earth combination.
Drainage is listed under the water element. Is a drain line in the water zone negative?
Underground water movement 1.5 to 2.5 feet below the surface is not treated as directional, just as groundwater flows in every direction under the land; it becomes a dosh only when water is drawn up. So the drainage pattern itself is not a dosh. But a drain inspection chamber built at a wrong place and left open causes trouble, and dirty water flowing anti-clockwise has a considerable negative effect.
If the colour of a small area in the earth element zone is changed, or an imbalancing item is kept there, does it affect the whole house?
Yes, it affects the whole house. Just as dirt in one room spreads its smell through the air to the other rooms, an imbalance in one zone spreads to the entire house.
If a person sits in the South-East for long periods, will their nature change?
Yes. Sitting a lot in the South-East, the fire zone, increases aggressiveness and irritation.
Is interior done only for beauty and maximum use of space?
No. Interior is done to use the maximum energy of the universe, balance the five elements, control particular emotions and achieve a particular goal. Every painting, artefact, idol, colour and orientation changes the mind through images (chitra se chitt), so the interior itself can balance the five elements, the nine planets and the three forces of a home, temple or factory.
Which element does the blue colour represent?
As a planet colour, blue belongs to Shani (Saturn); as an element, it represents the water element.