-----Original Message----- From: Michael Jansen Jr. [mailto:jansenmc1...@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 1:39 PM To: Michael Jansen Jr. Subject: Final draft of "my" article on MSV
Happy Veterans Day! After many changes, I have finally finished the long version of "my" article on Maharishi Sthapatya Veda at the behest of Global Good News. Please find a copy attached and also included in the text of this message. Dr. Eike Hartmann told me that he really likes it and that, from his side we can go ahead and try to publish it, although I haven't yet heard back from Jonathan Lipman. Please let me know if you have any ideas for a venue. If you have any ideas for improvement of the article, let me know also. Our new MSV website address follows the article. It's a good site. Thanks! -- Yours truly, Michael :) An Ancient Twist to Modern Architecture by Michael Jansen In July of 1986, I boarded a jumbo jet in Washington, D.C. Thirty hours later I stepped out of a time machine in New Delhi, India. It was my first trip to India. Bullocks were plowing the fields right up to the runway. Through a maze of weaving bicycles, scooter rickshaws, honking taxis and camels, I was transported to a beautiful hotel surrounded by exotic gardens. So much of the hotel was open to the gardens that I had the impression of living in them as much as in my room. It was a refreshing and exhilarating experience. I spent only a few days there before moving to Maharishi Nagar, a small town built by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi outside of the city, where I joined a fascinating project that lasted until the end of November. Maharishi was building a community devoted to bringing peace to the world and perfect health to every person. Though I take them for granted now, creating peace and health were new concepts to me back then. I had come to India to learn about these aims and to live in this place — the World Center for Ayurveda [Vedic science of life and longevity], a model community in the midst of gardens where medicinal herbs and flowers are grown. In the serene atmosphere there, I immediately sensed that a unique undertaking had begun, one that everyone would benefit from. World peace and perfect health are not separate issues according to Maharishi: “World peace is just an expression of a healthy world.” To me, that sounds intuitively right. Many green trees make a green forest. Create a peaceful, balanced state in each individual and what reason will anyone have to fight. No healthy mind would want to create war. We only resort to war because we’ve found no better way of resolving conflicts, but we know, based on past experience, that war will only breed more war. At that time, Ayurveda was virtually unknown to the West. Today, conversely, almost everyone in the world very likely knows something about India’s science of life. Another new concept for the western mind, which Maharishi has introduced to the world more recently is Maharishi Sthapatya Veda® [MSV], which goes one step beyond building green; it includes the use of green materials, but takes its concern for healthy living much further, to include the orientation of the buildings to the true directions (cardinal points based on true north), the layout of the building within the property and the rooms within the house, and the mathematical relationships that generated the size of the spaces, the thickness of the walls, etc. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is honored throughout the world for reformulating the ancient Vedic wisdom — including this ancient form of architecture — into a systematic, scientific framework, which has brought the benefits of the Vedic knowledge and Vedic technologies to millions of people throughout the world, therefore, these revived systems bear his name. Maharishi Sthapatya Veda® is something like Ayurveda for buildings. Ayurveda brings balance to the human experience, but we know that everything in our environment affects this experience, so it is not surprising that our homes also play a role in this process. In most non-MSVconstruction, contractors turn up the heat and bake a building before anyone moves in to cure as much of the toxic material as possible, e.g. formaldehyde contained in pressed wood products and toxins in paint, carpet, and carpet pad. Have you moved into a new house recently? If so, you know what I mean. MSV avoids toxic material whenever possible. Maharishi Sthapatya Veda®, sometimes described as a science of the relationship between structure and the natural laws of the universe, considers nature to be all-inclusive, comprising not only the visible, natural world, all aspects of the universe and of the individual, but the harmonizing ability of creation to create a universe that functions in a holistic and orderly way. As an extension of this theory, to bring a building into alignment with these laws creates harmony for the individuals who dwell or work in that structure. What makes Maharishi Sthapatya Veda® architecture unique is that, while most architectural styles have been the products of the philosophical, emotional, religious and political forces of an era, MSV designs, though they may reflect almost any style on the surface, are not fundamentally the product of changing trends or architectural fads; they are based on timeless principles of Natural Law. Hence, these principles are universally valid in all cultures claim proponents. Sthapatya Veda, a part of the Vedic tradition of India, records precise formulas for architectural design and construction of all kinds of buildings — including government buildings, homes, schools and temples — in such a way that these buildings maximize the energy of nature to bring success, good fortune, good health and enlightenment to the occupants of the building. Hence, the arrangement and layout of one’s home have important effects on all areas of one’s life. Maharishi was fond of calling these homes fortune-creating homes. The principle that fullness begets fullness, and wholeness begets wholeness, underlies all of Maharishi Sthapatya Veda® theory. This explains the necessity, according to this architectural system, to first establish the silent center of the building — the Brahmasthan, known as the seat of totality or wholeness. From that Center, the building radiates an influence of wholeness throughout, because its heart or center has first been established as whole. A building built according to Maharishi Sthapatya Veda® emphasizes three key principles: the orientation of the building, room placement, and the proper proportions. These fundamental principles of Maharishi Sthapatya Veda® are primarily based on the position of the sun, the most powerful natural influence on our planet. Of these three, the most important principle of Maharishi Sthapatya Veda is orientation. Aligned with the rising sun, a house with its entrance facing toward the east is considered to be most auspicious. This is because the energy from the sun is greatest and most vital when rising, bringing health and vitality to the family. My mother intuitively knows this; the first thing she does every morning is to open the door on the east side of her house to let the sun shine in. As the sun moves across the sky from east to west, it radiates different qualities of energy which produce influences on different parts of the house. MSV buildings are designed so that the specific activity within each room corresponds to the different qualities of the Sun’s energies during the day: there is an ideal place for the living room, the kitchen, the dining room and the bedrooms, etc. According to this science, of the eight possible directions, only two — east and north — produce auspicious influences. South and west are considered to be least auspicious, and can create problems. Homes with entrances facing west invite lack of creativity and vitality, poverty, anxiety, depression, bad luck and even criminal tendencies. The influences of a south entrance are worse...and non-cardinal directions likewise effect their own sets of woes. ”People do not generally know that the orientation of residential and office buildings contributes a great deal to success and progress in professional life; and health, happiness, and fortune on the individual level.” –Maharishi NOTE: There are many considerations that ultimately determine auspicious and inauspicious influences in the planning and design of a building or community in order to uphold healthy, happy life through the full support of Natural Law: • Layout of entrance with direct orientation to the east or north • Unobstructed view of the rising sun • Brahmasthan or silent center of a building • Open central square with gardens [optional] • Shape and slope of the land • Location of any body of water • Direction of the flow of nearby rivers • Influence of the environment (toxins, noise, funeral homes, etc.) • All roads aligned north/south, east/west • Placement of rooms • Proper location and proportions (based on Vedic measurements) of all buildings and amenities according to Vastu Vidya [knowledge of vastu or Vedic site planning] • Low-density housing • Natural building materials and energy-efficient construction • Adequate flow of fresh air • Generous green space • Solar, wind and other cost-effective, self-sufficient, non-polluting energies [optional] • Sustainable Vedic-organic agriculture for self-sufficiency in growing healthy and wholesome food Architecture can move us to tears with its beauty, astound us with its majesty, warm us with its coziness or alienate us with its coldness or toxicity, but can it actually make us ill, or engender good health? Can it make us smarter, more focused or more successful? Can it boost or sap our energy? Proponents of MSV attest to all of the above. What does modern science have to say about all this? A small group of architects and neuroscientists have recently joined forces to address some of these provocative questions, and to those who believe in the healing power of architecture, that’s a step in the right direction. from “Mind Over Mortar”, Washington Post, by Jeff Turrentine Scientific studies show that neurons in the brain actually fire differently depending the direction one is facing. There are also “place neurons” in the brain that signal the body’s orientation in a room or environment. According to MSV, buildings that face any direction other than due east or due north allow undesirable influences to affect the owner and inhabitants. Recent research has confirmed that our brain is highly sensitive to orientation, position and direction in space. One conclusion that has been drawn is that our inherent sense of direction, orientation and order gets confused when we live in a building with improper orientation, which results in physiological, psychological and behavioral imbalances of all kinds. Reference: Progress in Neurobiology 13 (1979): 419-439; Journal of Neuroscience 15 (1995): 6280-6290; and Processing the Head Direction Cell Signal: A Review and Commentary’, Brain Research Bulletin 40 (1996): 477-486. Patients living in homes with south entrances had significantly poorer health and more financial problems than patients with north or east entrances. This helps to verify the ancient principle that only east and north entrances are beneficial for good health and prosperity. Also, patients who slept with their heads to the north experienced significantly more depression and anxiety than those who slept in beds with a different orientation. This helps to verify the ancient principle of orientation: beds should be orientated toward the east or south. Reference: Journal of Social Behavior and Personality “Can a Building’s Orientation Affect the Quality of Life of the People Within Testing Principles of Maharishi Sthapatya Veda”. Travis, F., Butler, V., Rainforth, M., Alexander, C.N., Khare, R., Lipman, J. The principle of the Meissner Effect from Quantum Physics verifies that the inner coherence and harmony of a system expels disturbing influences. In an ordinary electrical conductor, incoherent, disordered electrons allow penetration by an external magnetic field, whereas, in a superconductor, the coherent collective functioning of the electrons spontaneously excludes an external magnetic field and maintains its impenetrable and orderly status. In the same sense, order, harmony and good fortune are said to be generated by an ideal vastu (orientation and layout of the property) in that the vastu disallows the penetration of any harmful or undesirable influence. Principles of invincibility are not unique to the Meissner Effect; parallel phenomena of invincibility, or a coherent, orderly state can be found in many aspects of the physical and biological sciences. In each case, it is found that the ability of the system to resist disorder is always based on the coherent collective functioning of all its components. In an ordinary city, roads are running in all directions, resulting in the improper or distorted orientation of buildings, which according to MSV, leads to chaos, problems and violation of Natural Law in individual life and in society. In an Ideal City with ideal vastu or ideal orientation of buildings, all roads run north/south, or east/west, creating cross-ventilation and enriching city life with the evolutionary power of Natural Law, which creates an orderly look and feel. The importance of coherence and invincibility through the establishment of an ideal vastu is described in the ancient literature of Sthapatya Veda, which maintains that, by virtue of the internal orderly structure of the vastu, all negative influences must remain at the outskirts of the city, or beyond the vastu demarcation. An example of this was seen during California fires in recent years. Some vastu homes were completely untouched, while everything around them, right up to the vastu fence, was destroyed. In one case, even though the flames were leaping 10 feet into the air, the vastu fence wasn’t even scorched. Vastu Vidya [knowledge] of Maharishi Sthapatya Veda® — details Nature’s own timeless laws of structuring or building which maintain every particle in creation in perfect harmony with everything else. Maharishi Sthapatya Veda® is billed as the world’s most ancient and complete system of architecture and planning. MSV presents a building technology for the first time that is transforming the way people think and feel, with homes and offices that, through their holistic design, create good health, clear thinking, happiness, harmony and good fortune for the family or business. The experiences of those living in MSV houses seem to confirm this concept. People report that they think more clearly and creatively, make better decisions, feel happier and healthier, feel more alert and refreshed, enjoy more restful sleep and experience less stress and greater peace of mind. One owner says, “There is a sense of rightness wherever I am in the house. Regardless of my mood, whenever I walk into my home, I feel energetic and confident.” Another says, “There is nothing like it. We have enjoyed greater comfort and security, greater harmony and greater financial success.” Your home, after all, is the place where you truly want to feel at home. Ultimately this is the biggest draw for living in an MSV home. People are naturally attracted to these designs because they mirror the laws of nature. They feel at home in them because they are an extension of their own inner experience at its highest level. The conversion of an entire community to be in harmony with Natural Law through the principles of Maharishi Sthapatya Veda® can be accomplished in four phases: Phase I - Control the expansion of a city by establishing a master plan with an east-west, north-south grid. Phase II – Construct ideal villages and satellite towns around the city, set in landscaped gardens free from pollution, noise and stress. Phase III – Demolish congested areas in the city center, replacing them with beautiful gardens, parks and fountains. Phase IV – Provide ideal living conditions and amenities, including modern transportation systems. What started out many years ago as a project to create peace through the group practice of Transcendental Meditation® and perfect health through Maharishi Ayurveda® has blossomed over the years into a complete revival of the ancient Vedic traditional systems of India which has grown to encompass all aspects of Vedic knowledge and correspondingly all disciplines of life -- and hopefully will end with the complete revival of the ancient Vedic culture and tradition in India proper, a culture which has been in decay for centuries. In order to achieve maximum benefit from this science, expert advice is recommended. For more information on MSV contact: International Institute of Maharishi Sthapatya Veda Maharishi Vedic University Fax : +31 20 524 1384 Email: HYPERLINK "mailto:vedicarchitect...@maharishi.net vedicarchitect...@maharishi.net Much of the information in this article comes almost verbatim from the article “Maharishi Sthapatya Veda Architecture” by Sally Peden, September, 1998, and from the web sites of Maharishi Global Consturction and Maharishi Sthapatya Veda Contributing editors: Richard Swinehart, Russell Wollman, Denise Darcy, Dr. Lawrence Geeslin, Susie Scharf, Bryan Lee, Tom Sem, Stephen Sufian Steve Van Damme, Ron Wilson and John Briganti Further Information: www.fotunecreatingbuildings.com HYPERLINK "http://www.Vastu.eu"; www.Vastu.eu HYPERLINK "http://www.Vastu.eu"; <http://www.Vastu.eu> HYPERLINK "http://washington.bizjournals.com/vidavee/player.html?dockey=4BE493790078FA 1" http://washington.bizjournals.com/vidavee/player.html?dockey=4BE493790078FA1 CA7B15DD32EF7EFCE&market=washington Monday, April 27, 2009 2000 Tower Oaks Blvd. wins platinum LEED Washington Business Journal - by Tierney Plumb Staff Reporter The Tower Cos.’ flagship building at Tower Oaks in Rockville is officially the first ground-up office building in the Washington region to win a platinum rating by the U.S. Green Building Council. It is the first such building to get the highest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design designation in the area, according to the USGBC. It received the rating under the council’s core and shell 2.0 system.... The 200,000-square-foot commercial Tower Oaks building, co-developed by Lerner Enterprises, was designed by Kishimoto.Gordon.Dalaya PC and features Vedic principles, Indian-inspired architecture designed to create environments that promote physical and spiritual prosperity. The building features 22,000-square-foot floorplates and its daylight-flooded lobby features an onyx freestanding sculpture wall and stainless steel planters. Tenant amenities include a fitness room and organic cafe. Its four-level parking structure has reserved parking for hybrid and low-emission vehicles, and there are 17,000 drought-resistant native plantings of trees, ornamental grasses and flowering bulbs dotting the building’s landscape. Its green features reduce energy consumption by 28 percent and water consumption by 41 percent. The HVAC system is 39 percent more efficient than for typical offices and a four-stage air filtration system circulates 25 percent more outside air than required by code. Eighty percent of all electric equipment is Energy Star-rated, 22 percent of the materials were manufactured within a 500-mile radius and 85 percent of the construction waste was recycled. No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.704 / Virus Database: 270.14.59/2494 - Release Date: 11/11/09 01:40:00
