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During the next few months, I thought repeatedly about vastu's ability to provide inner peace, tranquility, and a positive connection to one's place. The pace of city life felt far too fast. I felt as if I had lost control over my time and my life. Everyone I knew complained about the conflicting demands that pulled at them every day: demands at work, demands at home. |
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I began to think about the possible value of vastu in the West. Maybe we, too, needed to make a home for the soul, or atma, as it is called in Hinduism. Maybe if we considered the needs of the soul in our home or workspace, we would have a shot at inner peace. This sacred part of me certainly needed some nurturing and attention. I was not doing well in New York City. |
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All these thoughts reshaped into one phrase: learn about vastu. Learn how to turn a soulless space into a sacred place so that we in the West could achieve the positive results that everyone raved about in New Delhi. I visited the great libraries of New York City, but they offered little illumination on vastu. I failed to find any English versions of the ancient texts on this science that I knew had been translated over the years. |
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To succeed in my mission, I realized that I had to return to New Delhi. This city was so dear to my heart that I was also certain my own healing process would conclude while I was there. So a little more than a year after I had landed in New York City, I packed my bags and returned to my adopted homeland of India. |
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I was amazed to find upon my return that vastu's resurgence had really picked up speed, at least in the northern and central parts of India. Throughout most of southern India, vastu has always been an active part of the culture. I'd never noticed its presence because New Delhi was my former base as a journalist. And, while I traveled extensively, people in the south never mentioned vastu to me. It was so assimilated into their lives that they didn't think it required an explanation. It would be like a Westerner explaining the use of silverware at a meal; it's just a part of life. |
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But everywhere I looked in New Delhi I saw evidence of vastu. Huge real-estate advertisements in newspapers announced residential complexes and townships, and BASED ON VASTU was printed in bold, capital letters. The |
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