Reported in the Star (8/4/07), Vasthu Sastra master Mr T. Selva propounded many wise Vasthu Sastra principles to housing developers and real estate experts. He advocated that developers who build according to Vasthu guidelines can make more profit selling fewer houses as residents will buy at a premium price as the staying in such Vasthu Sastra housing schemes can assured them of health, wealth, happiness and peace of mind. 
Some salient points extracted:
Introduction:

1. Vasthu Sastra principles can be applied to encourage harmonious living within housing developments. The ancient science could be incorporated into their site and house designs without compromising on the developers’ profits. 
2. In India, several new housing schemes in Jaipur and Chennai have included Vasthu principles in their projects and have attracted a strong response from house buyers.
3. During the Vedic period (2500BCE-200CE), the Indo-Aryans used Vasthu in town planning to shape settlements into various categories, depending upon the characteristics of the population. 
4. Vasthu was applied not only to residential buildings and temples but also military barracks, marketplaces, ports, administration buildings and palaces. Many of these places have stood the test of time.
5. Vasthu goes beyond architecture: great masters have recorded that its principles encompass the geological, geophysical and, above all, cosmological and celestial aspects. 
6. Most of the Vasthu recommendations can be included in the site plan easily; the biggest challenge for developers would be reducing the number of houses built on certain portions of the land to ensure the designation of amenities are Vasthu friendly. 
7. Incidents of housing schemes that are abandoned half way through construction, landslides and mishaps occurring at the construction stage, and completed houses that prove difficult to sell could be attributed to poor Vasthu practices and builders being insensitive to the environment.

Site Plan:

1. When selecting a site, developers should choose land that is square or rectangular in shape and ensure that the land is higher than or at the same level as the road.  
2. The land should be fertile and the soil colors should be black, pale green, yellow or red. Land infested with ant and worm hills should be avoided. 
3. Having natural bodies of water like a river, lake, pond or waterfall located in the northern and eastern stretch of the land is favorable because this will create tranquility and a pleasant environment. Such features in the western and southern quadrants of the land are inauspicious and residents will fall sick frequently and experience dullness. 
4. Ideally, tall structures like apartments and condominiums should be placed in the southern and western quadrants and the north-eastern area should be allocated for a park, playground, field, swimming pool or manmade lake. 
5. A row of terrace or individual houses should have roads on all four sides.
6. Avoid placing garbage bins in the north-east (spiritual corner) and south-west (prosperity quadrant). Recommended quadrants are north-west and south-east. 
7. Drainage outlets at the site should be located in the north-west and south-east and sewage pond should not be located in the south-west and north-east. 
8. Developers should not build houses at the T-junction because such an inauspicious location will not benefit the dweller owing to the negative flow of energy hitting the house.
9. Any land that faces a T or Y junction should be turned into a playground, garden or park.

House Design:

1. For the interior of the house, the main door should be located in the centre, and all locations are fine except the south-west. 
2. Architects should design the master bedroom so that it spans the southern and western region of the house and place the kitchen in the south-east or north-west. 

There are some differences between Feng Shui & Vasthu Sastra which are as follows:

• Vasthu Sastra is largely dependent on the energy flow among the nine planets whilst Feng Shui considers the planetary forces as the determining factors in the distribution of energy.

• The five basic elements in Feng shui are water,wood,fire earth and metal whilst Vasthu Sastra considers wood and metal as part of earth and includes the additional elements of ether and air.

• As both aim at harmonizing universal energy to ensure harmony, health, wealth and happiness, there are some a few differences and contradiction in the ways both are observed or practiced which are as follows:

      Vasthu discourages rearing of fish ( in an aquarium) whilst Feng shui allows it.

      Vasthu defects cannot be corrected simply by placing a mirror, plants, hanging a picture and other tools but recommends the moving of things within the property to the correct direction and location

The following are some Vasthu Sastra belief relating to animals in particular the dog and cat and insects like ants and bees.

• It’s is interesting to note that dogs are able to find their own sleeping area within the house as they can sensed positive energy area whilst cat love to sleep comfortably in negative energy zones.
• Negative energies are not conducive to human being as they can affect our health. And cats, bees, ants, fir, oak, cherry and peach like to delve in these negative areas

• Hence it is believed that misfortune will befall on residents whose house have been infested with white ants or termites affecting the occupants’ luck and health

• It is also not encourage to buy land which has anthill. Land where ants build homes has negative grid points and should be avoided.

• Also land which has trees be-housing beehives should be avoided. If bees are spotted very frequently in the property area, this indicate negative energy build up.

Vasthu Sastra masters advocate some simple rules on growing of plants which are as follows:

• Planting of curry leaves should be avoided for several reasons: it is harmful to the male children of the house, its wide spreading roots can weaken the foundation of the house and that the leaves attracts a lot of insects.

• Creepers are not encouraged to be grown both indoor or outdoor.If creepers are able to climb on compound walls and roof, the creepers can “suck” all the available good energy of the house & occupants hence disallowing the occupants to grow in health or prosperity

( it’s interesting to note that there is slight difference as Vasthu Sastra discourage the growing of creepers which includes money plant which can grow wild in the garden,etc whilst the Chinese Feng Shu encourages such act so as to bring money into the house )

• However, there are some good plants that should be grown which is tulsi or basil plant, coconut palm, mango, jackfruit and neem for medicinal reasons and other reasons

• Tulsi or basil plant is the best amongst the plant and it should be grown whether indoor or outdoor as it has excellent quality of neutralizing negative energy and spreading a healthy environment in the house. Planting tulsi plant at the doorstep, front or back of the house, it is able to enhance positive energy and purifies the atmosphere, keep mosquitoes away and supplies ample oxygen

• Vastu Sastra discourage the growing of plants that ooze sap.

• Thorny plants is never encourage as it is believe to generate negative energy which is harmful to human beings

• In the north east sector of the house, there should only be potted plants and tall plants need to be avoid as they obstruct the positive morning sun’s ray that come into the house vide the East and Northeast direction. This is in line with Vasthu Sastra’s principle that the NE should be as light or low or not burden with too much things unlike the South West sector.

We have often heard of the Chinese Feng Shui which originated from from China.

Vasthu Sastra for simple understanding is liken to be Indian Feng Shui.

It’s origin is said to be in the Sapatya Veda, a part of the Atharva Veda, one of the four main tenets of ancient Indian literature.

Vasthu  Sastra is consider by Vasthu master to be a science or architecture plus a resulted oriented field to ensure harmony with the universal cosmic force by aligning /synchronizing buildings with nature energies.

Vasthu which is “Vas” meaning habitat and in Sanskrit dictionary “Vast” refers to as the site for construction of a residence. Therefore, the word “Vasthu “ refers both to site on which the buildings are raised and to the buildings themselves.

Therefore do not be surprised that in many countries whether in India, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, many buildings, houses and premises were build in accordance to Vasthu Sastra’s principles