At GEP 2016, Founder Swami Isa presented several proposals to achieve habitat harmony, including legislation for environment and building construction.
Swami Isa challenged the modern definition of ‘habitat’ as being merely about housing and construction. For a truly harmonious habitat, he said, society needs to consider all aspects that influence the human life, from education, to healthcare, to economy, to technology, to agriculture, to governance. “Our proposals in these areas have been covered in the previous sessions of the Global Energy Parliament and they must be constantly worked on if we are going to achieve real sustainable habitat.”
After achieving more positive energy and a sustainability in these areas, we can look at how urban spaces, roads, and construction of homes create harmony.
Another challenge to the status quo presented by Swami Isa included the common materials used in eco-friendly building or green housing. “It is very good for the human being to have organic matter, or at least natural materials, for their living space, as the energy field of natural materials is most similar to the human energy field. But how long can you continue to use earth, stone, granite, sand—not to mention steel and cement?” It is only trees which have the capacity to be renewed, Swami Isa said, unless there is other biomass made available. If we plant enough hardwood trees today, then in 20 or 30 years our building needs will be met. By contrast, he says, “How long would it take for you to create new red earth, new granite?”
Therefore Swami Isa proposes that for each new building constructed, 80% should be made of silicon-coated wood, and for each 5 cents of land proposed to be built upon, 2 hardwood trees would need to be planted in order to gain permission for starting construction.
In addition, all city and national roads and highways in developing countries should adopt a standard approach to using hardwood trees for coolness and beautification, with shrubs and flowering plants in between. Even in developed countries, there is a lack of appreciation for hardwood trees and their usefulness in construction with longevity.
There should also be a standard model used by engineers, along roads and highways, to make underground passages for sewage, rainwater harvesting, drinking water, power and communications, made invisible to the eye but easy to maintain.
City and national planners need to adopt a much longer view if they are going to build for harmony and for the human beings that are populating. A minimum of 1000 years foresight in planning is necessary, and this is easy to do when we have a good understanding of the energy flow that is required.
Planning a habitat should “be enriched with the logical and scientific concepts to provide balanced and appropriate living conditions,” writes Swami Isa in his proposal. “The body of the human being seems to be endowed with an inbuilt mechanism to safeguard his or her wellbeing. In the same manner, the Earth has in its structure, the ingrained factors to maintain its rhythm and harmony. Man’s inventions, when applied in everyday life, should not disrupt this rhythm. Every object has a particular shape and the energy flow of the object depends on its shape.”
In a house, for example, the shape of the building influences the human being’s energy flow, and the best type of building is one shaped like a pyramid.
In a city, the centre should be for the secretariat/government, with its outer part devoted for places of worship, outside that for schools and residence, and the perimeter for factories and waste treatment, etc. This keeps the energy flow that is appropriate for each part of the city from interfering with others.
