Sthapatya Veda Effect On Crime and Mental Health
Sthapatya Veda Effect On Crime and Mental Health
and the promotion of cohesiveness in the social sphere (Ivy, 1999). More
new buildings are emphasizing natural materials, good ventilation, and
daylight instead of artificial lighting (Ivy, 1999). The governments in
Germany and the Netherlands have established standards of “intelligent”
buildings that place stringent regulations on ventilation, daylight and
energy consumption (Bevington & Rosenfeld, 1990). These regulations
promote more economically and socially viable architectural practice
(Barreneche, 1996).
Sthapatya Veda, a holistic science of architecture from the Vedic
tradition in India,1 expands the definition and range of architecture and
design beyond recommendations for using natural building materials
and ecologically sound design and construction. It includes consider-
ation of the connection of the functioning of the individual with the
functioning of the larger environment (Bonshek, 2001; Fergusson,
Bonshek, Norman, & Norman, 1990). The principle texts of Sthapatya
Veda, the Manasara and Mayamata (Acharya, 1995; Dagens, 1994), are
held to unfold the relationship between individual and “cosmic” intelli-
gence (Nader, 1995). Maharishi Sthapatya Veda constitutes the recent
revival of the ancient system of architecture, as inspired and guided by
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 1998). Maharishi
Sthapatya Veda is part of a comprehensive framework of classical Vedic
knowledge that includes health care and other disciplines related to
articulating standards and means for promoting an optimal quality of life
(Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 1994).
An important design principle in Maharishi Sthapatya Veda is to
align buildings with the earth’s magnetic field (north/south) and the
movement of the sun (east/west). This principle is based on the under-
standing that as the sun follows a path from east to west (due to the west-
east rotation of the earth), it generates different qualities of intensity of
light (Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 1998). Maharishi Sthapatya Veda recom-
mends that the entrance of a building should face east—the direction of
the rising sun. When the house is oriented to the east, a favorable, life-
supporting influence is predicted to occur. Other design principles cover:
• the placement of the rooms within a built structure, i.e. kitchen,
study, or bedrooms,
• the proportions of the building, i.e. the wall thickness or ceiling
heights,
• the slope of the land or site,
• the shape of the land,
• the location of bodies of water, and
• the proper orientation of the head for sleep (to the east).
Travis et al. BUILDING ORIENTATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE 551
EXPERIMENT 1:
DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF BURGLARIES
IN FAIRFIELD, IOWA
Incidences of burglaries are one objective measure of problems in
life. This study observed the relation of burglaries over $200 in Fairfield,
Iowa and the orientation of the entrances of the burglarized homes.
Method
Participants and Procedure
All burglaries over $200 in Fairfield, Iowa were recorded from the
crime section of the local newspaper from April 1995 to April 1998. One
hundred incidents of crime were recorded in this three-year period. The
address of each incident was noted. After the 100 incidents were tallied,
the researchers traveled to each location and assessed the orientation of
the main entrance to the home. Fairfield is built on a grid that is within 7
degrees of the true north/south grid. Consequently, 95% of the entrances
were unambiguously facing one of the four cardinal directions. Burglar-
ies in these 95 homes with clearly defined entrances were included in the
analysis.
Results
The burglaries were summed within each of the four cardinal
directions. The results are presented in Figure 1. The four bars are the
summed burglaries in each of the four cardinal directions. As seen in this
figure, homes that have a south entrance had 75% more burglaries than
homes with other orientations.
A chi square goodness-of-fit tested whether this observed pattern
differed significantly from a chance distribution of events (equal number
of burglaries in homes with entrances facing either of the four cardinal
directions). This test revealed that the observed pattern differed signifi-
cantly from chance (χ 2 = 199, p < .01).
The homes burglarized were dispersed throughout the city. They did
not appear to cluster into specific areas.
Travis et al. BUILDING ORIENTATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE 553
40 –
30 –
TOTAL BURLGLRIES
20 –
10 –
0– | | | |
East North West South
ORIENTATION OF THE HOMES’ ENTRANCES
EXPERIMENT 2:
RELATION AMONG A BUILDING’S ORIENTATION,
DIRECTION OF SLEEP AND QUALITY OF LIFE VARIABLES
The second experiment compared several characteristics of the par-
ticipants’ current homes and their direction of sleep with emotional health,
physical health, family coherence, and progress and success in life.
Method
Participants and Procedure
On arrival for a regular visit with their family physician at a private
Family Practice in Ottumwa, Iowa, participants were asked whether they
would like to complete a questionnaire of the characteristics of their
homes, and of their quality of life. Participants were reimbursed $5.00
554 MAHARISHI VEDIC SCIENCE AND ITS APPLICATIONS
Results
The means for mental health and financial stability scores are
presented in Figures 2 and 3. Figure 2 presents mental health and
financial stability scores categorized by orientation of the building’s
Travis et al. BUILDING ORIENTATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE 555
4–
TOTAL SCORES
3–
2–
1–
0– | | | |
N, NE E S, SE, SW W, NW
ORIENTATION OF THE HOMES’ ENTRANCES
5–
MENTAL HEALTH INVENTORY SCORES
4–
3–
2–
1–
0– | | |
N, NE, NW E S, SE, SW, W
DIRECTION OF SLEEP
GENERAL DISCUSSION
These preliminary findings support the predictions in Maharishi
Sthapatya Veda that a building’s orientation and the direction of sleep
significantly affects the quality of life of people in those buildings.
Consideration of Alternative Hypotheses
The first experiment included all burglaries reported in a three-year
period in Fairfield. The crime data were public data reported in the local
newspaper, and were collected without knowledge of the orientation of
the homes. Therefore participant and experimenter effects would not
account for these data. In addition, since Fairfield is built on a Jeffersonian
grid, the entrances of the homes are fairly equally distributed among the
four cardinal directions, and they are oriented fairly unambiguously in
one of the four cardinal directions. Thus, the higher proportion of crime
in homes having south entrances would reflect a difference in number of
homes with entrances facing the four cardinal directions. Finally, the
Travis et al. BUILDING ORIENTATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE 557
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