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The Earth's Daily Rotation |
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The deities that reside on the four sides of the border of the vastu purusha mandala play a specific role in the earth's daily rotation. The gods residing on the border from the northeast to the southwest bring light to our worlda light that alters during the course of each day. The gods residing on the borders from the southwest to the northeast carry our world through its period of darkness. Each deity on the border reflects a distinct aspect of the solar and lunar course, which regulates so much of our earthly existence. These deities also remind us of the cycles related to time, which control our existence and the existence of the universe itself. |
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The dualities and the placement of the deities and elements on the vastu purusha mandala also convey the importance of rhythm in vastu. The division and intended use of the squares in the design process accentuate the concept of rhythm: rhythm that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye; rhythm that symbolically reinforces the physical realities of the universetime, the day, the seasons, the ongoing principles of the cosmos. They are all examples of rhythm. |
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Rhythm reinforces the philosophy Of the Vedic texts and specifically the theory that is attached to the endless cycles of creation, preservation, and finally destruction, which allows for the creative process to begin again. All matter is bound by a beginning and absolute end to its physical existence. It is part of a rhythmical process that cannot be altered. |
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To create rhythm in any of the arts, including architecture, requires an understanding of order and proportion. The practice of vastu calls upon an ancient system that uses measures such as the tala (the size of a typical human palm or face), the pada (the length of a typical adult foot), the angula (the thickness of the first joint of the adult middle finger). Measurement, order, and proportion also exist in the vastu purusha mandala. Like music, a |
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