Living the Feng Shui Way
Does Feng Shui Clash With My Religion?
By: Media Management
The most asked question for the millions who wish to bring Feng Shui in their homes is: “Does Feng Shui clashes with my religion?”
Feng Shui Master and scholar Mohan Deep, based in Mumbai, sets your mind at rest in his weekly column posted on Fengshuimiracle.com, his web site.
Says the Master, “Feng Shui may clash with Islam unless the Feng Shui advice is restricted to directions, elements and colors. This will be incomplete advice.
Feng Shui does clash with traditional Islamic beliefs. Though original injunction was not to worship `graven images` which progressed to destruction of icons worshiped by followers of other religions and later restricted displaying any image, portrait, picture, photograph, painting, statues and sculptures in Muslim houses and business places.”
But Feng Shui doesn’t clash with the Christian, the Hindu, the Parsi, the Sikh, the Jain.
He adds, “I do not see any clash between Feng Shui and Christianity. You do not need to do anything that your faith or the Church prohibits. You do not need to worship or even recite any mantra. You do not need to follow any rituals.
“In fact, even the Laughing Buddha needn’t be worshipped. All you need to do is to place it to bring good luck. Much before Feng Shui became popular in the West, Laughing Buddha used to be sold as `Happy Man` in Indian shops.”
Mohan Deep is the only Indian Feng Shui Master who is also a painter of considerable repute. His Feng Shui paintings, in oil as well as crayon, are considered much more potent than the regular Feng Shui cures. “Nor do my Feng Shui paintings clash with any religion except of course Islam which doesn’t permit displaying paintings in the houses.”
Explaining the over-emphasis on the Feng Shui `cures` he says, “In fact, I have observed over the years that Feng Shui has more to do with the harmony of the elements, directions and colors. A bright bulb or a musical wind chime can trigger any sector. A round mirror, placed at just right spot can work like magic. And elements have always been a part of most of the religions. Also, the harmony between Yin and Yang.
The Hindus talk of 5 tattvas (elements)(agni, vayu, jal, aakash, dharti)(fire, air, water, space and earth), Purush (male) and Prakriti (female) (Siva and Shakti) and therefore I do not see any clash between Hinduism and Feng Shui. In fact, as Vaastu Shastra, Feng Shui is an inevitable part of Hinduism. Fire, a masculine element is balanced by water, a feminine element. Hindus worship both each morning with prayers to flowing water and the day's first rays of sunlight.
Zoroastrianism, again, is based on a never-ending battle between good and evil. In their temples they worship Fire. The holy Fire burns eternally. Three thousand years ago the prophet Zoroaster taught his disciples to regard the elements Earth, Fire, and Water as symbols of Ahura Mazda, the supreme Lord of Creation. Parsis do not see any clash between Feng Shui and Zoroastrianism.
Even the Mesopotamian writings dating to about 3000 B.C and even writing in the Babylonian context, elements have figure in a big way. They are called Hudor (water), Gaia (Earth), Hieron "a divine thing", Heile (fire) and Aer (air).
The Greek classical elements too are fire, air, water, and earth. These elements were used by Hippocrates in describing the human body with an association with the four elements: phlegm (water), yellow bile (fire), black bile (earth), and blood (air).
And of course, in Chinese Taoism there is a similar system, which includes metal and wood but excludes air. Different things in nature are associated with the five types. For example, the five major planets were named after the elements: Venus is metal, Jupiter is wood, Mercury is water, Mars is fire and Saturn is earth. Also the Moon represents Yin, the Sun represents Yang. Yin and Yang and the five elements are recurring themes in the I Ching, which is strongly related to Chinese cosmology and astrology.
The four elements (Fire, Water, Wood and Earth) are also known as the four directions of the compass: North, East, South and West.
While Feng Shui is all about the elements and setting right their harmony the figurines, Feng Shui paintings and cures are employed to correct and enhance the impact in different sectors.
http://www.fengshuimiracle.com
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