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been discovered in different regions of this huge country. Of particular interest to me were the eight-volume Manasara Series and the two-volume set of Mayamata, two of the best historic codifications of vastu.
I immediately enrolled in yoga and meditation classes, determined to get to know the ancient disciplines related to vastu. I spoke with top executives at Shree Baidyanath Ayurved Bhawan, the oldest company producing ayurveda products in India, about this great science that promotes well-being and disease prevention. I sat in on my friend Toshi's singing classes and listened as she and her sister Usha worked hard to learn the parts of a raga (Indian classical music). Their concentration was intense as they struggled to locate the precise vocal melody and control of breath. To ignore or violate the mathematical structure that is built into this intricate system of music (and classical Indian dance) breaches the harmony.
Harmony. Controlled flow of breath. Proper alignment. The Hindu sciences are so interconnected that they share a common vocabulary and emphasis. And vastu seemed to be in the center of it all. After all, what's the point in trying to improve the body and mind if the surrounding environment fails to reinforce these objectives?
I met more vastu believers with a personal story to tell. One young woman admitted that a consultant, on the first visit to her house, figured out that her marriage was in trouble. The consultant said that she and her husband should move from the house where they were living. Once she and her husband moved into their new house, which was vastu-designed, the friction between them subsided and all seemed well.
Sanjay Bindal, the managing director and owner of Modern Industries, heard about vastu in 1989. His fiancé's uncle in Hydrabad had built his entire factory as per vastu. The result? No business problems whatsoever. Bindal, a vastu skeptic, barely listened to the story. In fact, he couldn't add any further details.
But then, near the end of 1994, Bindal's company, which manufactures railway cars and other products in its factory outside New Delhi, was on the brink of the industrial "sick" list. Business had slowed down. Labor problems

 
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