Though based on similar philosophies, Feng Shui and Vastu Shastra adopt different means of operation. The former uses water, air, metal, fire and wood elements, while the latter includes water, air, earth, space, and fire. The differences could be attributed to the difference in their places of origin. In a Feng shui living room a north facing entrance is considered inappropriate, while Vastu shastra considers an east or north facing entrance as auspicious.
Similar to Feng shui living rooms, Vastu Shastra rooms also have presence of bright paintings especially of sun rise and waterfalls. Feng shui encourages the use of metal and earth element colors such as white, silver, light yellow, gold, light brown, and gray in the living room area. Vastu Shastra recommends use of similar lighter shades in the room. Both concepts encourage bright lighting for tapping positive energy. Removal of clutter in a living room is given equal importance in both concepts. Maps are an integral part of both concepts. Vastu Shastra uses ‘Vastu Purusha Mandala’, which facilitates in studying the flow of positive energy. On the other hand, the Ba- gua map in Feng shui is an indicator of aspects such as prosperity, wealth, travel, health among others in a building.
However, designs in Vastu Shastra have a stronger mathematical base and accurate measuring systems. In contrast, Feng shui techniques are not derived from logical calculations, are subjective and not often explained by experts. In contrast to Vastu Shastra, Feng shui does not believe in uniformly categorizing directions as good or bad for all individuals or buildings. It believes that the advantages and disadvantages of a direction vary from each individual and building. Also, Feng Shui concentrates on tapping solar energy, while Vastu Shastra designs also focus on capturing positive energy from other planets as well.
