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Vedic Astrology is a profoundly Philosophical & Quantitative Study of ‘The Movement
of Life’, in the field of our Individual Human Experience:
While Vedic/Hindu astrology employs planetary positions to understand the
dynamics of ‘the movement of life’; it has nothing to do with planetary motions
per se, and certainly, it would be completely erroneous to hold that ‘the
planets rule our lives’, when Isvara alone has dominion over them. While
Vedic/Hindu astronomy studied the motions of the celestial bodies, Vedic/Hindu
astrology had nothing to do with the motions of the physical planets per se. From
the point of view of Vedic/Hindu astrology then, the object of its study is rather
the ‘mysterious movement of life’, in the lives of individuals. As the ,Vedic
society had a through and through spiritual outlook, this was naturally inherited
by their astrology as well, which became one of the intellectual and spiritual pursuits
in that ancient society.
According to those highly perceptive founding fathers, who were the Rishis
[Sages]; throughout nature ‘all movement’, wherever it was observed in nature, had
to only reflect the rhythms or ‘the moods of Isvara’. Thus for them, both
the orderly movement of the planets as observed from this Earth station, as well
as the rhythm of ‘the mysterious movement of life’ itself, on planet Earth - both
had to be governed by the self-same changing ‘moods of Isvara’. One movement was
found to be predictable, namely the movement of the planets, whereas the other movement
of life, say in an individual’s life, seemed to be ‘mysterious’ and unpredictable.Vedic
astrology is an Isvara-centered system of learning [Jyotir Vidya], in which the
foundational principle is that every life-event in the life of any individual, has
to have a one - to - one mapping or correspondence with planetary positions on the
natural zodiac. By calibrating the various life-events in a given individual’s life
with the changing planetary positions on the zodiac, one begins to see ‘the significance
of the planetary positions’ within the context of a human life. Both movements are
the same in the highest sense; in that they are reflective of the changing ‘moods’
or the rhythms of Isvara. This is the most important principle of ancient astrology,
whether it belonged to China, Mesopotamia, Arabia, Egypt or to the Vedic civilization.
Three Fruits of Vedic Astrology
[1] Predictions of coming life-events.
[2] Insights & wisdom into human life.
[3] Averting a ‘bad-fate’ through Remedial Measures.
Astronomy studies the motions of the planets and other celestial objects moving
on the zodiacal belt, whereas astrology with its passion for philosophical profundity
and the resolution of the enigmas and paradoxes in human life; studies the structure
of human destiny, and sees it arising from the structure of time itself. We are
usually under the strong impression that the best fruits of Vedic astrology
are the predictions: when disease may strike, when losses may come to us, when we
may go abroad, when a marriage may be made or broken, when we may be honoured and
when we may possibly die, or suffer some humiliation, or lose in a litigation, etc.
However, predictions are not the only desirable fruits of Vedic astrology.
Even more valuable than the predictions are the philosophical fruits, such as insights
into life and wisdom; for the Vedic astrologer can determine in a given life,
when hard times come and when the time is fertile for a certain kind of activity.
When a certain action may meet with success and when it may result only in failure
and on the basis of such insights and judgements, Vedic astrologers will
be able to tell us, whether it will be prudent to act at a certain time, whether
it will be propitious to commence the construction of a house, or whether some big
suffering is in store for us, etc. Thus Vedic astrology has always been well known
for predictive knowledge undergoing a metamorphosis into insights, wisdom and a
deeper understanding of life. Nor are these insights & wisdom, all that there
is to Vedic astrology.
The Third Fruit: Astrological Remedial Measures & their Power:
There are the very potent Remedial Measures of Vedic astrology, which are
in almost all cases, fully capable of alleviating the miseries to the extent of
80 to 90% [Ref 7, Pg 16]. Thus this Hindu Vidya does not make a doomsday
prediction and leave us in the lurch, completely vulnerable to the onslaughts of
a ‘bad-fate’. No! On the other hand, it teaches you how to raise ‘the low energies’
of the planets in your natal horoscope, either through special kinds of worship
of the Hindu Devatas [Deities] corresponding to the Navagrahas; or
through a special empowerment of planetary energies [Kavach]; or even through
Pariharas [Remedial Measures] for gradually nullifying the afflictions in
a horoscope, etc. Or it suggests some methods to overcome a bad-affliction in the
chart well in advance and in this way, teaches the individual how to get more out
of life, through the intensifying of his intelligent effort in accordance with the
detailed prescriptions of the Remedial Measures given to us by the Vedic Rishis.
Thus we may say, Vedic astrology not only gives predictions and warns us
about coming events; it also helps us to greatly soften ‘the blows of fate’ and
to overcome ‘karmic-obstacles’ in life through intelligent effort, centred
round the Hindu Devatas, either on the physical plane or on the higher devotional
and astral planes. A doctor prescribes medicines, which are expected to change the
ill-health of the body, while a Vedicastrologer will ask us to enter into
an intelligent effort on a daily basis, which may be in the nature of a small but
heartfelt charity or which may be in the form of a devotional worship of a certain
Devata which stands for the energy of one of the weak Navagrahas [nine
planets] in our horoscope.
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