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bedroom had become the master bedroom. The former master bedroom now belonged to a son; and the daughter took over her brothers bedroom.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Vastu," said my friend. "It's an ancient Hindu science. It creates harmony in the house." She looked at me with her coy smile. "Come, have tea." She led me into the lounge, one of the few rooms that had retained its former identity.
Vastu. Yet another puzzling Hindu concept to file in my mind. I discovered soon after I first went to India in 1985 that no matter how much I learned about the Hindu culture, there was always something important that I still needed to know. Hinduism is as multifaceted as the Koh-i-noor diamond.
Some of my friends have a puja (prayer) room. In the early morning the room fills with the delicate odor of incense and the sound of clanging bells as the family priest or a family member chants Sanskrit prayers and rotates a flame from burning oil, which acknowledges the sacred deity in the small shrine as a symbol of the light of truth. Fresh petals float in a bowl of rosewater and delicate sweets on a tiny silver dish are offered up to the god or goddess who is so carefully enshrined.
Just as many friends, however, never perform a daily puja in the home. But their personal behavior still reflects their faith, such as the traditional namaste greeting with palms together and fingers held upright in front of the hearta blessing that honors the divine that resides within the soul. Ritual actions are in evidence throughout the day, and are so ingrained that Hindus perform them spontaneously.
For two years I continued to meet people at New Delhi parties and events who had done their home "as per vastu"the popular phrase of the initiated. Or they'd done their luxurious "getaway" farmhouse just outside the capital or a fancy old British bungalow, rented flat, factory, or office.
During these same two years, I got a peek at the theories behind this science by listening to what people had to say about vastu. Vastu, it seemed, went way beyond design, form, utility, durabilityconcepts that define architecture. It rose up from a base that molded together spirituality and

 
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