Vāstu-śāstra for Christian spiritual well-being in St Thomas ancient church architecture of the Malabar Coast (southwest India)

This thesis studies the application of the Vedic architectural wisdom of Vāstu-śāstra for spiritual well-being in three pre-colonial churches of the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church. It also addresses the need for Christian inculturation in church architecture, raised in the Literature Review. The main question is: to what extent can Vāstu-śāstra provide for spiritual well-being, where inculturation is needed, based on the example of three St Thomas churches on the Malabar Coast?

The research explores the transcendental role of Vāstu-śāstra in these churches, how people perceive their form aesthetics and experience spiritual well-being inside them. It follows the transpersonal research method of intuitive inquiry, followed by a hermeneutical cycle. The primary data is gathered through a triangulation formed by six interviews with local Vāstu experts and priests, architectural analysis of the three churches, participant observation and 482 surveys to laypersons. It combines a qualitative and quantitative approach with a statistical questionnaire, ‘SHALOM SWBQ,’ to assess spiritual well-being.

The findings reveal that Vāstu architecture is compatible with Christianity and facilitates Christian spiritual well-being. It was applied to the selected churches, providing spiritual well-being to a great extent while adopting the vernacular architectural style of South India.
The original contribution to knowledge debates the need for inculturation in church architecture, proposing an intercultural architectural approach instead. It brings a formula that synthesizes the main parameters of Vāstu architecture for spiritual well-being in the Malabar Coast. Applying intuitive inquiry to a thesis in sacred architecture and adapting the statistical tool of SHALOM SWBQ to assess spiritual well-being in architecture also contribute to scholarship.