13 July 2012

Almost a continent apart, two Maharishi Vastu architecture communities in Canada have been making great progress.

Salt Spring Island, off the west coast of Vancouver in British Columbia, is the largest collection of Maharishi Vastu homes in Canada. The idea of building a Vastu* community on the island was born over 50 years ago, in 1961, when Maharishi first visited Canada and admired the spectacular views of the surrounding mountainous islands.

Several pieces of land on Salt Spring Island, all of which have a proper orientation according to Maharishi Vastu principles, have been purchased. On one parcel a group of five Vastu homes have been built, ranging in size from a modest 800 square feet (74 square metres) to a grand estate home of 11,000 square feet (1,022 square metres). All the homes were built in the 'West Coast' design using wood and stone found naturally in the local environment. The woods used are maple and cedar, including the most rare of the cedars, called clear cedar.

Mr John Cowhig, who lives in one of the Vastu homes, commented, ''There is a feeling when I am in the house of precision, the kind of precision that you feel . . . when you look at a very refined mechanical instrument . . . like a ship's sextant or an old engineer's slide rule.''

There is an overall improvement in everything in life, he said, and it is an improvement that doesn't wear off.

Another property about to be developed is a large parcel upon which two Vastu guesthouses will be built. The guesthouses will be situated so that the view is not compromised and will be built using, again, the classic West Coast design to create structures that are in harmony with the environment. (read more)