Ancient philosophies that define space structure like the principles of Ancient Greek architecture, Feng Shui and ancient geometry are not a religion. But their principles are identified in certain religions around the world that still retain customs that derive from the past. Which are the elements that connect these two, where do they still live and exist and how can we change our lives if we listen to the old ways?
I wanted to write about the ancient architecture that is effective in the different destinations around the world and its relation to the respective religion of each place because it is a way to understand better the relation between our Home and our body and how this knowledge can be used to better our lives.
I will begin with Bali, a small island of Indonesia, next to the big island of Java and a dear destination of mine.
The current prevailing #religion in #Bali is a combination. Combining results from residents of the neighboring island of Java, Hindus, and Buddhists, who relocated to Bali looking for a new home; or conquered occasionally Bali with attacks; and existing natives of the island, who were possessed by animistic beliefs. The result is the current Hindu religion of Bali and the current architecture.
The basic principle of Hindu Dharma, as it is called means the order of the Cosmos (Dharma). In this order, there are three layers. The upper layer is heaven, the dwelling of God and God, the next lower layer is the man (human), and the lowest layer is hell, demons and the spirit of man which is punished due to a bad life on Earth. Perhaps this order reminds us of something in our Western ways…
The pre-existence of native Balinese, adds to the faith one more aspect; the different manifestations of this one God, because as a Balinese man said to me, "it is not enough to believe in this only one God". The manifestations of God are placed also at the middle level and this belief actually gives life to the deities of nature, such as the God of the #Volcano and #Fire, God of the #Sea, etc. And isn't this familiar with our mythologies? (Greek, Scandinavian…)
This triple structure (God, man, spirit) is also the structure of the body (head, body, and legs). This is what the Ancient Greeks first contemplated in their philosophy and architecture, that our home- #oikos -is essentially our body and that it needs to be cherished, loved, and structured like our body. The triple structure of the temples which are plentiful outside of each home is not only in Bali but in most sacred spaces around the world. Until recently, the structure of each house had this same principle. On the upper level, where the one God dwells, was the roof, at the middle level resides man and at the down floor, the spirit is lurking to eat or punish.
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Today in Bali the houses are consisted of a ground floor, slightly above the level of the street, as the street is considered as the low level now, and of the roof. All houses are grouped into courtyards, as their philosophy is to never be alone without one another. Inside every yard (House), stand small buildings with no doors where essentially lives the whole family. The family is the parents and sons with brides and their children (the woman follows her husband). In the courtyard stand the sites of temples (Sanggah), which are columns structured again in three levels and are placed always at the northwest ( #NW ). The column-temples can be plenty, but one is very important and is dedicated to the God of #Sun and the ancestors of the family. This column-#temple is needed to bring good fortune to the family and in their souls. For this reason, the grandparents live and always spend their time on the north ( #N ) side of the yard, next to the temples. This is symbolically important because they consider that the day they will die is close and so they are closer to the spirits.
Column-temples are filled daily with offers (rice and petals) to the one God and his manifestations, while the floor in the level of the street, also gets an offer to soothe the spirit and make it stay calm and harmless. Outside the courtyard-Home, there is also a column-temple structured in the same principle.
The food preparation area is one for all the houses in the courtyard and is located southwest ( #SW ). The food is a collective work and is particularly important as it is offered to God (rice in petals).
We can see that the #compass, typically occurs in the culture of Bali and this culture is directly related to today's religion. Here, religion and ancient architecture is just a way of life.
Of course, my description of the religion is very poor as many pages are required to understand these rich religious traditions and beliefs. But even so, we can see the connection between the structure of the House, the Home, the #Oikos as the ancient Greeks call it, which is defined by the elements of nature, the magnetism of the Earth (orientation) and the structure of our body where the #head equals God, trunk equals life, and legs equal gravity and handling life on Earth along with learning, and religion.
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*Danai Fassouli is a writer, self-development and feng shui consultant and healer traveling around the world with the sole purpose to decode the ancient sacred truths and use them for her personal development as well as to spread them to all women that want to work for their own health of the mind, body, and soul. Contact Danai for consultation here.
*The articles are purely informative and do not replace the nutritionist; doctor and/or the psychologist and generally any specialist in physical and mental health.