|
|
|
|
|
|
It was at this point that I also saw beyond the stacks of books, files, and tools of the trade that defined Sudesh's office. I realized that I was in a room that followed vastu guidelines. Wherever the room's construction was not in order, Sudesh had placed a tiny symbol to correct the defect. The symbol was a spiraling swastika, a Vedic symbol of well-being and auspiciousness that was cynically and successfully corrupted by Hitler. The Sanskrit word even means well-being. I knew that there was no way this maligned symbol could be reused in the West, where emotional associations are still so powerful; but in India, this old symbol maintained its original potency and was ingrained in the Hindu culture. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The approximately twelve-foot by twelve-foot room was modest, yet it was rich in tranquility. The room was too small to create an obvious empty center space, which is important in vastu, but it was therea tiny bit of emptiness between my feet and the legs of Sudesh's desk. The heaviest load in the office, a built-in cupboard stuffed with more books and files, was properly placed in the room's southwest. And Sudesh faced east, the direction of enlightenment, when he worked at his deskthe same direction that I faced when I slowly waded through my stack of Vedic books. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
On top of Sudesh's computer, which was about a foot away from his desk, sat a small carving of the Laughing Buddha with his arms thrust joyfully into the air. Buddha appeared to be keeping an eye on Sudesh and his visitors. This particular Buddha was an apt symbol for a man who clearly enjoyed life. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sudesh asked me hard questions that subtly reinforced his belief, one shared by Professor Chhaya, that to understand vastu, I had to understand its link to other Hindu disciplines. I also had to understand the core philosophy that supports each disciplinethe philosophy of the Vedas and especially, the Upanisads. By the time Sudesh decided that he trusted me, a strange foreigner with an unlikely mission, I also knew that he was the appropriate person to teach me about vastu. It was such a quirk of fatenot unusual in India. A neighbor, one that I had never met when we lived up the road from one another, had agreed to help me on the quest that not only brought me back to India, but a block away from my old home in Saket. |
|
|
|
|
|