This analysis in no way assumes that the principles of Feng Shui were applied to build the Taj Mahal. I am applying the principles of Feng Shui to ANALYSE this monument. It is what I call “Inadvertent Feng Shui”, when the rules apply without intent.
Born in 1593, Mumtaz Mahal, wife of Shah Jahan is the world’s most celebrated beauty for only she has a wonder of the world dedicated to her beauty. As the story goes, her beauty captivated her husband when she was a tender 14 years of age, when he spotted her selling bangles in a market place. They married five years later when she was 19 and he was twenty. The next 18 years, Shah Jahan kept his beautiful wife busy while she produced 14 children, but finally, the 14th delivery was her last and took her away from her besotted husband. On her deathbed, she managed to extract four promises from him, that he would build a tribute to her beauty by way of a mausoleum, that he would never re-marry, that he would look after and be kind to all his children and finally that he would visit her tomb each year.
(For Feng Shui enthusiasts, a bit of extra info: both were Gua 4 XUN Guas and that year, the annual star in the FACING of the property was 4)
Now the Taj Mahal is a study of extremes, it was personally very unlucky for the man who built it, but was also responsible for making the monument and the man whom he built it for and his beloved very famous. Shah Jahan was buried alongside in the same mausoleum and therefore we have to account for the fate of his descendants, in the Feng Shui context. Let us not forget that THE ORIGINAL FORM of Feng Shui is for Graveyards.
One has to account for the extremes, what made this monument so famous and why was it so ill fated.
Here we examine the problems:
Problem # 1: The mausoleum faces south and was built in 1631.
Why is that a problem? Well in 1631, the annual 5 yellow was in the North and guess what? The structure sat north. One cannot forget the grief that was caused by the fact that all the hands of the craftsmen were cut off so that they could not repeat their masterful strokes again. There was a lot of pain associated with the construction of this monument and while history glosses over these facts, court gossip reveals a dark side to this period. Beginning construction when you are sitting on a 5 accounts for much of that.
In addition, there was a raging river in the north (see the image) 5 with water especially water in the north- not a very good thing! Especially at the start of the construction period.
On the other hand, 5 is the star of the Emperor, and if one uses it well, one can optimise its power, this is one such example.
Problem # 2: Forms kill first, so when you see the bow shaped water in the rear, the curve of the bow hitting the structure is extremely inauspicious. See the image again.
Problem # 3: It is built on a death and emptiness line. This is common with a lot of Indian Architecture, where the dead north south or east west axis is used, but in Feng Shui, such a degree is known as Primary Death and Emptiness Line. The energy is too strong but still acceptable for tombs as in this case. However, all the tombs that we observed in China were usually on the lines of South 1 or South 3, never South 2 except the ill-fated FORBIDDEN CITY!
Problem # 4: Perfect example of Shar Qi. Look at the waterways in front- this is what we call a SHAR QI in its most perfect version. The water body shoots into the heart of the structure.
How many holes does one need in a bucket for the water to leak out?
Now for the positive aspects:
- 4 point gold: This is very evident and this was the case with all Mughal Architecture, where balance and symmetry are taken for granted.
- Presence of a fabulous Ming Tan with water.
- The San He aspect shows that the entrance is Yin Nian, which is a very important contributory factor.
This is, in essence, the actual representation of Yin and Yang, good and bad in balance.
The outcome was that the bad Feng Shui made sure that there were no more descendants, his own son tortured and imprisoned him and on the flip side, it is one of the Wonders of the World and an architectural benchmark of beauty.
