The gardens, lawns and trees of a building provide beauty and happiness to its residents. Greenery at any building e.g. house, temple, office, school, hospital and hotel etc. looks good to the eyes and gives happiness. Trees and plants purify surroundings, keep us healthy, happy and provide lively environment.

There are various accreditations for trees and plants in the Indian society e.g. pipal tree is the residence of thirty million gods and goddesses, only pipal tree librates oxygen at night, ghosts live on the banyan tree, fruit bearing trees inside the boundary wall of a house are inauspicious, a climber near the house is inauspicious and money plant in the house is auspicious. Today’s Vaastu consultants also force on these accreditations.

Animals and trees co-exist. We require oxygen to live. It purifies our blood. That’s why we inhale oxygen and exhale toxic carbon dioxide. The trees inhale this toxic carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen. Trees use the carbon dioxide, exhaled by us, to prepare their food. This whole process is of mutual cooperation. Human beings cannot live without trees and vice versa. Both are complimentary to each other.

Scientifically trees and plants exhale oxygen and inhale carbon dioxide during daytime in the photosynthesis. In the night the process is reversed. They significantly take part in the purification too. They absorb toxic gases e.g. sulphur dioxide from the environment and evolve oxygen. Pipal and banyan trees are not exceptions to this.

The piped and banyan trees are dense with broad leaves. These broad leaves require a lot of water for photosynthesis. The roots of these trees spread underground to quite a long distance in search of water. And during this course they weaken the foundation of the building in their way. They break the walls of the same. These trees are quite big above the ground level too. If somebody hides on these trees he cannot be spotted easily. Thieves and dacoits in the old times would hide in these trees in the evening time and carry out their criminal activities in the night.

The dense nature of these trees creates an impression that ghosts live on them. Many wild birds stay on these trees e.g. owl and hawk. These birds make some terrible sounds. This creates furor in the mind of villagers. They usually do not go near these trees after sunset.

It is due to these reasons that the presence of these trees is not supposed to be an auspicious. But in order to make the benefits of these trees available to common people, generally they are planted in the premises of the temples. These trees are worshipped due to the assumption that gods and goddesses live on them.

Peepal and banyan trees are more advantageous to the health as compared to other trees. Help of the religion has been taken to discourage people from cutting them. Many other plants and trees which were advantageous were made auspicious e.g. basil plant, myrobalan tree and neem tree etc. Some other trees, which were not advantageous were termed as inauspicious e.g. cactus, berry and acacia tree. To make these things believable many hypothetical stories were created.

For example myrobalan fruit is full of vitamin and to make this fruit easily available in the market and discourage people from cutting its trees a day was fixed in the year as “Aanvala Navami” for its worship. As per the religious books, eating beneath this tree on this day with family is auspicious.

A religious instruction was issued to grow the basil plant in the courtyard of the house. People worship it. This plant purifies the surroundings. Taking the leaves of this plant with milk or tea or chewing them as such is advantageous. Basil leaves’ tea cures bad cold in the children. It has many other wonderful medicinal applications.

Fruit bearing trees in the courtyard are termed inauspicious. It is due to the fact that the children throw stones on these trees for fruits, which could damage the building and somebody could be hurt. Sometimes the children climb on these trees and fall down and get their hands and legs broken. The neighbours ask for the fruits from the owner and disturb him. Due to these reasons only they are termed inauspicious. That’s why in many old Vaastu books and Vishwakarma Prakash the fruit bearing trees have been termed as inauspicious for children.

These days Vastu consultants suggest cutting fruit bearing trees and without going into the scientific details they term them inauspicious. Indiscriminate cutting of the trees does not make a building auspicious but it disturbs the environment. When illiterate people occupy supremacy of any shaastra, it becomes hypocrisy and it has happened with “Vaastushaastra” too.

Plants should be grown in proper direction. Always take precaution to grow small plants in the east, north and northeast zone. These do not obstruct vital morning sun rays and we get vitamin A and D uninterrupted. The big trees should be planted in the west, south and south-west zone so as to save us from harmful afternoon sun rays.

It has been observed that many buildings and public places look grand and lively at the time of their construction but after only 20-25 years become old and broken. The residents of such buildings are also troubled. The reason behind it may be big trees in the north, east and north-east zone of them. At the time of the construction, trees are small and do not obstruct the vital morning sun rays. But with the pessage of time they become big and start obstructing the morning sun rays. This decreases the positive energy of the house and increases the negative energy. The troubles of the residents also increase in the same proportion. With the proper guidance of a Vaastu consultant if the plants are grown in proper direction then the residents may become happy and prosperous.

A climber is also termed inauspicious around the house, because it goes up clockwise on the walls. Taking its help many reptiles such as snakes etc. enter the house and create problems for the residents. Only money pi ant climber is termed auspicious, as it does not require soil and sunlight. It can be grown in an utensil.

The trees emitting milk are also termed inauspicious near the house, because milk of most of them is poisonous. It is harmful for the eyes and sometimes it can make a person blind.

Bear in mind that no plant should be inside the bedroom as these release carbon dioxide in the night, which affects the health of the occupants.