But no need to fear it

Ignore Vastu at your Peril!

Vastu Shastra is more misunderstood than understood. It is more feared than respected. In my practice as a Vastu expert, I often hear people saying, "Please don't scare us with your analysis".
This fear comes from a lack of proper understanding of what constitutes this science. Unfortunately, the practitioners of Vastu Shastra also feed on this fear either wittingly or otherwise, by not actively disabusing this notion among the common folk. Let the word go out loud and clear: Vastu Shastra is most definitely not something to be afraid of. It is normal for people to fear the unknown, but it is wiser to invest some time to learn about the time-tested principles of Vastu Shastra for blissful living.
Simply put, Man is at the micro level and the Cosmos with all its abundant energies is at the macro level. Vastu (the place where you live) acts as a bridge connecting Man with the Cosmos. These energies are studied in Vastu Shastra as two main streams of energy namely jaivik (organic energy from North direction) and pranik (solar energy from East direction). If a house is built as per the tenets of Vastu Shastra, these streams of energy flow without any impediment in a logarithmic helical form (mandalakar) and contribute to the well-being of the occupants of the house. Thus, a 'good vastu' house tunes one to Nature. It is common knowledge that one who is in tune with Nature experiences the path of least friction and blockage. 
Let us learn now how bad vastu affects us.  The Universe comprises of five great elements (pancha maha bhootas) namely fire, earth, wind, water and space. At the micro level, a house (vastu) also comprises of these 5 elements. Any type of asymmetry of house creates imbalance of these 5 elements.  This imbalance disturbs the mandalakar streaming of energy within the house. This ultimately results in creation of voids in the house and eventual failure of what we may call as the entire energetics of the house. Normally, the residents of such houses face harsh eventualities in life. It could be at physical level, psychological lever or at spiritual level.
In a way, modern architecture is also contributing to defective vastus. Ignorance and a flippant attitude are the main reasons for not incorporating the wisdom of our ancient times. It makes great sense to plan a house that is vastu-compliant with the help of  qualified vastu experts who help you in the proper placement of zones and elements. After all, we pool in all the resources and put our life-money into building a house. Not heeding the provisions of Vastu Shastra will only lead to ill-designed houses with wrong steaming of energies and we are bound by the very natural order of existence to suffer the consequences.
A qualified Vastu Expert is one who not only identifies the defects in the vastu but also offers suitable remedial measures to bring back balance in the lives of people who are living in houses with serious vastu faults. Many a time, such people ignore the possibility of the effects of wrong vastu and bear with the troubles in life without opting for remedies. They fear that the remedies mean structural alterations which may be a financial burden. They are not always aware that remedies include usage of pyramids, crystals, colour, level-difference, stone cladding, flooring, plants, vastu yantras, water bodies etc., and need no structural alterations but deliver excellent results.  Structural alterations are suggested only when there is a total mis-match of zones and elements in a house.
The approach to Vastu remedies is of holistic nature.  It is arrived at many levels - ayurvedic remedies for the physical well-being, yogic remedies for mental well-being , astrological remedies to calm the ill-effects of planetary positions and Vastu remedies for energy rectification.
Some of the people who can greatly benefit from remedial measures of Vastu Shastra are occupants of houses, flats, shop-owners, offices, locked-out factories/ industries, owners of petrol pumps, clinics and hospitals etc.
The focus of all Eastern Sciences is "sarve janah sukhino bhavanthu". After all every one deserves to lead a fruitful and happy life and Vastu Shastra focuses on improving the quality of life one leads.
(To be continued. The author is a trained and qualified Vastu Pandit and can be contacted on 98801 15056 email pai.sudha@yahoo.com.)