US Mag on Vastu-Enlightened Design

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principles known as Sthapathya Ved—one of 40 Vedic bodies of knowledge dating

back to 2500 B.C. and addressing a range of topics from the arts to the

sciences. Sthapathya Ved, which some say lent concepts to the Chinese feng

shui, dictates the precise layout, orientation, and dimensions—down to 1/16 of

an inch—for a building that is aligned most closely with the laws of nature,

and thereby maximizes the well-being of its inhabitants. Currently in the

planning stages is the first Sthapathya Ved home in New York. The house will be

built on four acres in Bedford Hills by Elizabeth and Hollis Taggart, who are

currently renting in Bedford, and who have constructed two other Sthapathya Ved

homes, one in Boone, N.C., and one on Kiawah Island, S.C. What convinced them to

build a Sthapathya Ved house here, says Ms. Taggart, a writer, was

their seven-year-old son, Lincoln. "After we'd been in our rental for seven

months, he told me, 'I love this house, but I don't feel as protected here,'

she says. "That was last February. We started looking for land in March." Terry

and Bernard Nevas learned of Sthapathya Ved through their over 30 years of

meditation and involvement with Transcendental Meditation. They are the

directors of the Maharishi Enlightenment Center of Mid-Fairfield County,

currently located in their home, where they teach meditation. They built their

house in collaboration with Neil Hauck, of Neil Hauck Architects, LLC, in

Darien, Conn., and a Sthapathya Ved architectural consultant in Iowa

responsible for ensuring that the design conformed to Vedic principles.

The homeowners, directors of the Maharishi Enlightenment Center of

Mid-Fairfield County, say of their home, "It all feels right."Sthapathya Ved

buildings have been constructed across the globe in an assortment of styles,

including log cabins, Swiss chalets, and stone villas. The Taggart home, says

Ms. Taggart, blends "the best of American architecture." The Nevas residence is

a hybrid, says Hauck, of "colonial and Connecticut farmhouse with classical

Italianate influences." But regardless of size, form, or location, all such

homes have common elements. One is a fence surrounding the structure; the

Nevases' is white picket. "The vastu fence delineates an area around the house

that is protected," says Mr. Nevas. "Its placement is determined

mathematically." Atop the house are five conical finials—kalashes, in

Sanskrit—positioned where sections of the roof intersect.

Their role, Mr. Nevas explains, is to connect the individual to the cosmos, and

he adds, he and Ms. Nevas have experienced their power. While constructing

another Sthapathya Ved home in North Carolina a decade ago, they made regular

visits to monitor its progress. "At one point," Mr. Nevas says, "we arrived at

night. It hadn't been long since our last visit, and not much had been done,

but something was different. We felt peaceful and energized, but we didn't know

why. The next morning, we saw that the kalash had been placed on the roof."

On a side table stands a portrait of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of

transcendental meditation and the homeowners'

teacher.Another feature of a Vedic home is its Brahmasthan, the exact center,

again measured mathematically and sized in proportion to the rest of the house.

"The Brahmasthan is the center of lively silence that supports everything else

in the house," says Ms. Nevas. Within the Nevases' Brahmasthan sits a table

holding an ornate floral arrangement. The area surrounding it is demarcated by

four floor-to-ceiling columns, and the Brahmasthan itself extends to the roof,

where it is bordered by windows on all sides. "Nothing travels through the

Brahmasthan," says Ms. Nevas. "It is a space that is unused." The Nevases'

front door is well used, however, because it faces east in what was determined

to be the most auspicious place to enter the house. According to Vedic

principles, the orientation of the entrance governs an array of influences.

East, the most advantageous direction, promotes enlightenment and fulfillment,

while south, the least

desirable, brings destruction and loss. If an east-facing entryway is

impossible, north is an acceptable alternative. Mr. Hauck notes that, although

he would normally have centered the Nevases' door, Vedic calculations required

that it be shifted off-center. ENLIGHTENED DESIGN Vedic architecture employs

ancient design principles to promote peace and well-being. BY SUSAN HODARA,

PHOTOS BY LINDA BELL HALL (Page 2 of 2) The placement of rooms and the

orientation of some of the furnishings also follow Sthapathya Ved wisdom. The

kitchen is in the southeast corner, "where the warmth of the sun kindles

digestive qualities," Ms. Nevas says. Sinks face north and stoves face east.

"In India, much of Vedic knowledge has been lost," she notes, "but people still

know to put their stoves against the east wall."

10px" cellSpacing="0" cellPadding="0" align="right" border="0"> Natural

materials, including vegetable-dyed, nontoxic wool rugs, are used in the living

room, as in every room.The dining room is on the south side, where, Ms. Nevas

continues, "the rays of the midday sun are good for the metabolism." While it

is ideal to face east while eating, she acknowledges, "it would be pretty

unsociable if everybody always faced east," and adds that she sits opposite her

husband when they dine. Mr. Nevas's office is in the southwest corner ("where

the man's office should be," Ms. Nevas says), with a corner desk facing east

and north. A meditation room, a feature in all Sthapathya Ved homes, is off the

entryway on the northeast side; it is, she says, "for quiet

purposes—meditation, praying, doing yoga." Upstairs, the master bedroom faces

southwest ("to catch the setting sun"). The children's bedrooms follow dictates

for male and female child: south side and north side, respectively. All beds are

positioned so sleepers lie with their heads to the east. Even the bathroom

abides by the Veda, with toilet and sink facing north. The master bedroom

faces southwest to catch the setting sun.An important aspect of Sthapathya Ved

is the use of natural materials, which affected numerous choices throughout the

Nevases' house. They heat and cool their home with a geothermal system that uses

an electric pump to draw in

subterranean water. The walls are six inches thick and insulated with cellulose

instead of fiberglass. (A renewable-energy expert advised them that solar power

was not an appropriate option for their location, as they would have to rely

heavily on backup sources). The wood floors have a water-based finish. Wall

coverings are made from natural grasses and cloth applied with nontoxic paste;

walls that are painted use low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint. Tiles

are ceramic; furniture fibers are cotton, linen, or silk; rugs are

vegetable-dyed, nontoxic wool. The beds are made in organic cotton sheets and

wool mattress pads. An organic lawn-care service cares for the garden. The

bottom line, the Nevases avow, is that their quality of life has been enhanced.

"We followed the requirements to a T," Ms. Nevas says. "It all feels right." The

Nevases are not alone in acclaiming the benefits of Sthapathya Ved. Houseguests,

Ms. Nevas says, "come for a

day and stay for a week." Ms. Taggart notes that since moving to her

non–Sthapathya Ved rental, "I don't have the same vitality as I did in Boone.

Fatigue is harder to flush out." In Boone, she continues, "I'd never

experienced such a flow with my writing. When we moved to Bedford, it kind of

dried up." Hauck agrees that the design of the Nevas house brings positive

influences to the family, but says, "My personal belief is that it works two

ways. The Nevases are peaceful, intelligent, and enlightened, and they in turn

charge their house with positive energy. There is a constant cycling, similar

to the process of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.The whole

basis of Vedic architectural principles is to create as healthy an environment

as possible," he continues, "starting with the individual room,

extending to the individual building, and aiming toward the construction of

ideal towns and cities. These priorities are quite different from those for

most buildings being built today, where the driving forces tend to be style,

function, or profit." Mr. Nevas illuminates those priorities further:

"Maharishi has stated that the reason world peace cannot be attained, despite

ongoing efforts for so many centuries, is that people are living in homes that

create unpeaceful individuals. That is why it is so important that more people

live in Sthapathya Ved houses. Basically, this is a massive reconstruction

program to create world peace." Until that is accomplished, those like the

Nevases and the Taggarts are pursuing personal peace. "The body houses our

faculties and our souls," says Ms. Taggart. "The house houses our bodies. There

is great potential for the home to serve its inhabitants more than we know. "Day

and night, it adds up," she continues. "If you know

it's available, and you can provide it to your family—that's what life's about."

To tour the Nevas house, call (203) 227-7590 or e-mail

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