The Great Vedic Astronomy🔗

Man has been deeply fascinated by the Cosmos since the beginning of time. Early cultures worked on understanding the phenomena that happen in the sky; they observed them in order to understand what role the sky played in their lives. From these attempts, the science of astronomy was born.

In this field, the ancient Vedic contribution is well known. The earliest references to astronomy are found in the Ṛg Veda, which are dated 2000 BC. Around 500 BCE, Āryabhaṭa, a great astronomer, presented a system that showed the earth to spin on its axis and considered the motions of the planets with respect to the Sun. He also discovered how the lunar and solar eclipses occur and was the earliest to discover that the orbits of the planets around the Sun are ellipses, just as Copernicus and Galileo concluded a thousand years later. He even determined the diameter of the Earth to be 5,000 yojanas, approximately 36,000 km, which is very close to the actual figure. These traditions related these objects and their movements to natural events such as rain, drought, seasons and tides; they related them to auspicious or inauspicious occurrences on planet Earth. Jyotiṣa, the science of Vedic astrology, took birth out of observations and perceptions based on these astronomical phenomena. The first astronomers were actually Ṛṣis and sages, who understood the sky was a divine happening; they identified celestial objects with energies and Gods and connected astronomy to astrology.

Astrology manifested in the inner vision of the ancient sages and Ṛṣis of India. These yogis and enlightened beings were able to see beyond the realm of names and forms. They could feel and express the subtle reality that exists behind cosmic phenomena. As such, they perceived the primal powers of cosmic intelligence in the planets and stars (the macrocosm), and worshipped the cosmic powers within themselves (the microcosm) as powers of their being.

By concentrating intensely on the Sun and other planets, they understood the movement of the life force in their body, and by meditating on the life force, they also came to understand the movement of the Sun and the planets in the heavens. Through this technique called saṁyama, they could unravel the secrets of the universe. They brought down their understanding into a system of Vedic science, which became known as Jyotiṣa: the science of light.

Parāśara was one such sage. He is known for being the father of Jyotiṣa. He wrote the magnum opus Bṛhat Parāśara Hora Śāstra, which systematically explains the theory of predictive astrology. According to history, he is the grandson of Vaśiṣṭa and also father of Veda Vyāsa, who wrote the great epic Māhābhārata. The depth of his astrological knowledge was so great that one evening while crossing a river in a boat, he casually looked at his favorite stars in heaven and suddenly realized it was an exceptionally auspicious moment. He concluded that if a child were conceived at that moment, he would be an expert in the scriptures. So he told this to the lady rowing the boat and requested that she marry him. She agreed and the son born out of their spiritual union was Veda Vyāsa!

By observing the movements of the celestial bodies through time and space, the science of Vedic Astrology can be applied to each human incarnation to encourage the soul to develop to its fullest potential.

In Paramahamsa Nithyananda's own words:

'The moment the consciousness enters the body, the energy level of the cosmos at the time of birth gets printed in that consciousness. Your inner space gets a print of the cosmic energy level and the position of the nine major energy centers of the solar system.

The astrological planets are not only astronomical, they are energies. A particular energy of push and pull exists between them. The different energy positions clearly decide the cosmic energy level during the time of birth. Based on that, Jyotiṣa will be able to predict the course of life. Understand, not exact incidences because you have freedom. You have freedom to decide whether to sit here or not, to read this or not.

The major course of life- if you will get enlightened or not can be predicted. Principles can be predicted, not policies! Having an idea about your horoscope will give you intelligence and acceptance in your life: intelligence to take decisions and the acceptance to bear the inevitable things. According to me, a seeker should have a basic knowledge about his horoscope.'

Jyotiṣa can help one to read his destiny. But what is actually destiny?

There are only two types of destinies:

The first one is destiny as defined by a dictionary: destiny lived within the boundaries of the ego, with its own expectations, hopes, desires, successes and failures. It is constantly changing. Because it evolves under mind's law, it is mechanical, accidental and coincidental. This 'destiny' is lived in the dimension of the mind, so it has no existential reality in itself. It is nothing more than a reproduction of one's past in the present, which conditions the future in a mechanical way.

The other destiny is existential and ultimate; it is the flowering of consciousness into enlightenment. Understand: the only thing predestined in the scheme of life is that man is meant to evolve to reach enlightenment. The rest is just incidental; it happens for no other reason than to teach and mold the being towards seeking enlightenment. Living enlightenment is all about making conscious choices, free from the unconscious push and pull of the saṁskāras.

The further you wander from your center, the more you lose yourself in your periphery, the more you are subjected to incidents and accidents. Whereas, when you live enlightenment, you are centered, you are within your boundaries, you are aware. You become predestined, because your predestination is to reach enlightenment; your destiny is to become more and more aware. Then you become the agent of your fate, and you move beyond grahas’ influences. This is how you come to terms with your karmas.

For that to happen, a simple understanding of the forces at work in you can help clarity manifest in your daily routine. In addition to this, you can follow a couple of guidelines to keep your body healthy with the science of Āyurveda and raise your energy level with yoga, the use of gemstones, rudrākṣa beads, mantra chanting, and a basic knowledge of your psychological tendencies coupled with the ancient Vedic wisdom expressed by the great enlightened Masters.

All these remedies will bring lucidity about your mental set-up and support for eventually dropping your conditionings, unclutching from your mind and emotions and fostering your intelligence and energy to Live Enlightenment.

The grahas are energy centers, energy fields that planets exert in the universe. Each of the nine main grahas in Vedic astrology has a specific energy field that creates specific effects on our planet Earth. For example, the moon has a strong impact on the movements of the sea and on plant growth; it even influences the mind of human beings. In the same way, the major energy centers produce an effect on living beings and influence their potential at birth, their mental set-up and, therefore, the course of their destiny. In Jyotiṣa, grahas are often referred as the agents of the karmas for which the soul took birth. Human personality and life have their counterparts in the structure of the cosmic physiology, represented by the grahas and the nakṣatras.

There are nine grahas (nine influences or ‘planets’) in our solar system: the Sun (Sūrya), the Moon (Candra), Mars (Mangal), Mercury (Budha), Jupiter (Guru), Venus (Śukra), Saturn (Śani) and two nodes called Rāhu (ascending lunar node) and Ketu (descending lunar node). These represent archetypes. Sūrya, for example, represents consciousness; Candra represents the cosmic mind; Budha represents the cosmic intellect, etc.

Most of the calendars of the world have been set by the Sun’s and Moon’s movements (measuring the day, month and year) and were of great importance for agriculture, because the harvest depended on planting at the correct time of the year. But the Vedic tradition uses a system of 27 nakṣatras to calculate months. The nakṣatra is the constellation in which the moon sits in the heaven at a particular time. In each month, the full moon sits in a particular constellation, and the Vedic month will have this nakṣatra’s name.

Each nakṣatra falls under the rule of one, sometimes two grahas. Each graha is assigned three nakṣatras. For example, if the child is born when the moon sits in Aśvini nakṣatra, his birth star will be Aśvini, and his sign will be Aries (called mesha in Sanskrit), ruled by planet Mars (Mangala). Bharaṇi and Kṛttika, the two next nakṣatras, also fall under the lordship of Aries sign. All three will therefore have similar characteristics and will influence the child’s mind and consciousness at the time of birth, shaping his destiny.

‘I worship Saturn, dark blue in color, who is born before the God of death, the son of the Sun and shadow.’

Dynamic: How we take responsibility, how we focus and discipline our lives

Key Words: Focus, Longevity, control, discipline, patience, endurance, philosophical disposition, temperament, education

Signs: Capricorn/ Aquarius

Color: Black or deep blue

Gender: Masculine

Cakra: Ājñā / Mūlādhāra

Temperament: Tamas (inertia)

Governing deity: Lord Brahma and Yama (the Lord of death)

On the insistence of Śiva, Pārvati fasted for a year to propitiate Viṣṇu so that he would grant her a son. Lord Viṣṇu , after the completion of the sacrifice, announced that he would incarnate himself as her son in every eon. Accordingly, Viṣṇu was born to Pārvati as a charming infant.

This event was celebrated with great enthusiasm and all the gods were invited to take a look at the baby.

However Śani, Saturn, the son of Sūrya, hesitated to look at the baby since he was cursed with the gaze of destruction. Pārvati insisted that he look at the baby, which Śani did.

Immediately the infant's head fell off and flew away. Seeing Śiva and Pārvati grief stricken, Viṣṇu mounted on Garuda, his divine eagle, and rushed to the banks of the Pushpa-Bhadra River, from where he brought back the head of a young elephant.

The head of the elephant was joined with the headless body of Pārvati's son, thus reviving him. The infant was named Gaṇeśa and all the Gods blessed Gaṇeśa and wished Him power and prosperity.

'Saturn has an emaciated and long physique, tawny eyes, big teeth, and is vata in temperament. He is indolent, lame and has coarse hair.'

Symbol: The goat

Element: Air

Ruling Planet: Saturn/Śani

Ayurvedic constitution: Vata

Healing stone: Amethyst

Saturn confers the urge to move from the gross material environment to a spiritual goal. Under its influence, the soul experiences its own greatness but meets endless outer and inner limitations, which produce sufferings as it strives to actualize its potential.

Capricorn symbolizes chastity and purity. Its natives are austere and disciplined, courageous and enduring, like the goat which climbs unstable mountain peaks. They try to find stability in either spiritual or mundane life. The qualities of self-sacrifice and renunciation are developed in them.

In terms of achievement, it can show the best as well as the lowest result in life. It can show a strong ego development or a complete surrender to the divine will. Hard working, persevering, tenacious, they can achieve great things once they welcome their limitations. They often reach their goal late in life. But they can be very narrow in their views, rigid, cut off from their emotions, hard hearted or too intellectual and caught in their senses.

In Capricorn, the individual has to understand his limitations to grow and move towards his destiny: Saturn is the cosmic agent which teaches awareness to its chosen ones, sometimes through harsh lessons. It is also affiliated to Kāla Bhairava, the principle of time in the universe.