Apr 24, 2004 04:27 PM
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(Updated Apr 24, 2004 04:54 PM)
Consider these 2 statements:
Indians observe NEW YEAR on many days under the following names: Gudi Padwa, Onam, Vishu etc.
Indians are confused about their own religions and superstitions. Some make it mandatory to wear?black? on auspicious days, while another lot considers?Black? a sign of bad omen on auspicious days?
These statements may make sense to some, however if you stay in India, you would understand that these are only partially right. The true meaning of these statements have got encapsulated owing to some more?missing information?.
No wonder wise men say, ?Little Knowledge is Dangerous?. Especially, when dealing with ancient inherited traditions, culture or science; you offer yourself a sombre possibility of being exposed to either partial or distorted information. Add to this a prevarication intervention called?Commercialisation? and you are left with unexplained facts thrust on you, mystery Gods or images or symbols and superstitions.
Centuries after it was born, Feng-Shui is going through a similar process in the middle of the 20th century. Like any Victim tormented with the metamorphism process, Feng-Shui also has divided people into 3 categories: a) Believers, b) Skeptics and c) the in-betweens.
Its my attempt in this review to remove the cob-webs surrounding this great Chinese Meta-physical Practice which is a combination of Science, Logic & Maths.
CLASSICAL FENG-SHUI
Lets start like this. Feng-Shui is definitely NOT:
The art of Placement
Interior designing
Placing Good luck objects in your vicinity
Enhancing wealth or enriching life.
GASP! Feng-Shui is not all this? Sure? YES! Get this drilled into your mind.
The Chinese have 5 categories of study in Metaphysics(called Wu Shu). Feng Shui falls under the physiognomy of the living environment. Feng Shui is the art of assessing the quality of life through observations and analysis of a person?s living environment. Called Kan Yu in its juvenile days, Feng-Shui is about Qi(pronounced Chee, meaning Cosmic Energy) and how does one go about harnessing it to attain specific goals in life.
Since Qi is already existing, as a natural phenomenon, it CAN RARELY BE CREATED by man-made decorative items and designs. The other aspect of Feng Shui deals with FORECASTING. The nature of Qi is cyclical and can be ascertained thru suitable formulae and calculations. Genuine advocates of Feng Shui will be able to assess future outcomes based on Qi in a particular living environment. The?Predictive? aspect of Feng Shui is mostly neglected and unknown to many so called phoney practitioners, riding the commercial boat and giving?placement? recommendations to every house-hold.
Its extremely poignant to note that even Feng Shui practitioners who have gained fair amount of popularity around the globe, exhibit such traits in their books which are often misleading and contrary to what they themselves practice. Many of their books are reduced to a list of?useful? or?favourable? recommendations of objects and images that needs to be placed in your backyard. Its now easy to reason why Commercial merchants would have capitalized on this and make easy victims of us.
THE DIFFERENT APPROACHES
Just like in India, say the Hindus have multiple divisions and sub-divisions and each one have their own systems, the Chinese Feng Shui, practiced first during Chou Dynasty(around 200 BC) evolved into 2 main(amongst others) schools: a) San He *and b) *San Yuan presumably during the Tang Dynasty(1500 years ago).
San He deals with the study of Forms & Terrains in the environment and how they influence those living in the vicinity. These forms could be natural? Mountains or rivers or water flow or it could be man-made like buildings or roads etc. In this, the Form, Shape, Design, Direction is normally considered for the analysis.
San Yuan on the other hand deals with Time or the cyclic nature of Qi. The basis being that a property?s influence changes after every 20 years, and hence Qi needs to be revisited, renewed, harnessed periodically. Qi has multiple forms like: Weng Qi(Excellent), Sheng Qi(V Good), Tui Qi(Waning), Si Qi(Died), Sha Qi(very?ve). These Qi forms get?quantified? using maths and formulae so as to harness Qi for the Resident of that property. Genuine practitioners extensively use San Yuan to tell the past, analyse the present and predict the future outcomes.
Its quite evident that these 2 schools might have been at loggerheads with each other?s principles and systems since their inception. However, in the last 100 years, these two schools have been recognized as the basis of Classical Feng Shui and practitioners often put to use both the ideologies in tandem.
And Finally?.
To what extent does Feng Shui impact an individual favourably? Answer is 33% or 1/3rd. Feng Shui has governance only on whats called the Di Qi(Earth Luck or our surrounding forces) The Balance 2/3rd are devoted to Tian Qi(Heaven Luck ie Destiny) and Ren Qi(Man Luck ie our efforts). A genuine practitioner considers only the following 4 things for a Feng Shui audit: Environment(Surroundings), Property(House, Building etc), Resident(You & family), Time(for Qi's cyclic nature).
To Conclude
I have deliberately highlighted bare-minimum technicalities, since this review was a sincere attempt to show case Feng Shui in its true form and spirit - To ensure that people are not swayed by the so called New Age Feng Shui which is but a simplified and commercial interpretation of the Classical ideologies by modern day Feng Shui enthusiasts. After reading this, you should either be a Feng-Shui believer or a non-believer(Its still Ok). The category called in-betweens is what I hope gets depleted rather than surrendering themselves to phoney versions like placing Turtles behind your sitting area, 3 legged Toad for money, Dragon on your left etc
I would ofcourse be glad to answer any more questions you may have on this through Comments or M2M.
NOTE: *Review includes certain excerpts from Joey Hap's Journal, renowned San Yuan Feng Shui Practitioner.
