VEDIC ASTROLOGY: MY VIEW
P R E A M B L E
This is a collection of articles on vedic astrology that were ALL written by me in installments over the last few years and intermittently revised and upgraded. Some of these were earlier uploaded online on various information services, such as Compuserve, GEnie, QLink as separate files. Much addition and expansion has gone into it over years. Portions of this document have been published elsewhere (Ascendant Magazine and newsletters such as Rising Star (Mensa Astrology SIG), Aspects (SAfrica Astro Assoc, etc.), however, I retain all publishing/distribution rights over these. This enables me to place my work here without any conflict or interference.
ABOUT ME: Hello. Jyotish has been in my life now, for some 30 years. In the last several years, I have served Jyotish as a professional reader, teacher, online resource, section leader in electronic newage services, writer, etc. Being for the most part, self-taught (with the help of many books, ancient and contemporary and through the patient tolerance displayed by willing friends who did not mind my incessant prying into their lives as I looked at their charts!), I cannot claim to be a dyed-in-the-wool follower of any traditional astrological path. I have primarily studied the Parashari system of Jyotish, but I have seen no reason not to include a study of the the principles laid out in the nadi grinthas (var. granthas, grunthas). I have been helped immensely by studying what is popularly known as the Krishnamurthi Paddhati of stellar astrology. The last, in particular, really revealed the true meaning and mode of operation of the vedic lunar progression, i.e., Vimshottari Dasha. Lest someone misunderstand, I do not use Krishnamurthi's ayanamsha or Placidian cusps as originally recommended by him, and followed by staunch followers of Krishnamurthi, though!
Vedic astrology can be likened to an ocean. It has been around this globe long enough to have become one! The more one looks into it, the more one finds techniques, some clearly laid out, others not so lucid and a few merely hinted at. The plethora is mind-boggling. For the seeker who revels in novelty, there is plenty that is offered in jyotish, and yet, as one goes through life, looking at charts, one after the other, some of the techniques seem to work better in one's hands and tend to get used more.
Unlike popular 'warnings', jyotish does not require one to cram to ones memory thousands of combinations or intricate mathematical techniques (though the opportunity and temptation definitely exists!). It is based on a very simple basic logic which, I have attempted to share with others through files, courses, discussions. articles, and conversations. Some tune into this readily, others eventually come around!
An astrologer hailing from India on arriving in North America is faced with several buzz-words describing the system of astrology that he follows. Hindu astrology, vedic astrology, Jyotish (this one he is familiar with!). Of these, although originally proposed by the great astrologer of this century, Dr. B.V. Raman, while he introduced and began teaching vedic astrology in U.S.A. years ago, hindu astrology is of course a misnomer. Hinduism is a religion and although it has influenced indian astrology, particularly by adding the emphasis on reincarnation, past-life experiences and the karma/dharma angle, the two could be dealt separately. The term vedic astrology refers to its origin in the vedas, four epic tomes allegedly written thousands of years ago and centuries apart and which embody the verbal and other records of the growing Aryan culture in India, including astrological principles. Jyotish or Jyotir-vidya (Jyoti=light, vidya=knowledge or study) literally means the study of light, or the illuminated (heavenly bodies) and therefore includes astronomy and astrology. Many now believe that the story of the Aryan invasion told to us is not something that is entirely true! The plot thickens!!
Another thing our hypothetical astrologer friend from India faces on crossing the oceans is an exotic and mysterious veil that seems to surround the topic of indian astrology in the west, enhanced by the disjointed bits and pieces of information available regarding its mode of operation. The entire body of ancient original literature on indian astrology that was originally passed on from generation to generation through 'oral-tradition' and subsequently recorded mostly on palmyra leaves, some of which is still available to a few in an untranslated form, in the form of sanskrit verses ranging from easily understood basic common-sense facts to poignant, often terse and sometimes ornate passages with many possible interpretations (explaining the differences existing between some of the translations and transliterations). Many modern students find these compendia of combinations and facts enormously taxing on their memory and give up. Compounding this is the possibility that ancients texts, though generally attributed to the originator, could have been altered by followers over centuries for a number of reasons. To render things even more difficult, most of the text is unaccompanied by example horoscopes and the pithy texts certainly do not make for easy reading or easy translations, for that matter! India had always been invaded by foreign cultures and there had always been an attempt on the part of the bearers of 'knowledge' to codify and to make it as inaccessible as possible.
Unfortunately, many traditional and somewhat fundamentalist astrologers like to give the impression that vedic astrology is extremely difficult to learn and they themselves continue to follow original recommendations to the letter, often resulting in the use of difficult, time-consuming, mathematically intricate techniques where simpler methods might have worked more efficiently. Let us not forget that portions of ancient texts might actually reflect casual musings of the old masters (most of the times, their disciples were merely recording information in a log and these were mostly transcripts of information transmitted from teacher to student and hence subject to the receiver's attention span and intellectual capabilities) and I believe this is one of the reasons why one comes across divergent and antagonistic opinions between certain matters in the ancient texts. One can see these in some of the strengths (balas) calculations, in the different areas prescribed for moolatrikonas, certain considerations in ashtakavargas, etc.
Indian astrologers have traditionally looked at house division in a rather casual manner. Only two methods, namely equal house division (each house 30 degrees wide with the rising degree forming the mid-point of the house, often referred to as a candle in the middle of a room throwing light equally all around it) and Sripati paddhati (similar to Porphyrii's house division) are generally followed. However, a majority of texts do not specifically recommend or even mention either method. Some in fact recommend using the whole sign regardless of the rising degree. It is understandable that this would make us computer-toting astrologers of today very uneasy, but step back and think for a moment! House divisions are really attempts to build a mathematically-precise ordered structure based on a foundation of an arbitrary, nebulous division of the zodiac into 12 signs. Borrowing a concept from Krishnamurthi, think of a planet (loosely including the luminaries and nodes) as a light bulb and the sign it is in as a reflector or filter of a certain spectral characteristic. If mars is in pisces, it would express its effects in a certain way regardless of where in pisces sign it is. We can perhaps simplify matters by NOT imposing an artificial (though intellectually more satisfying, I admit) house-division over it.
In Parashari vedic astrology a very important consideration is given to yogas, planetary combinations in a horoscope (conjunctions, oppositions, mutual receptions etc.) and most of these pertain to lords of specific houses. For instance, conjunction of the lords of 9th and 10th houses in the 10th house bestows a regal (Raja) yoga. We must take this to mean the 9th and 10th signs from the ascending sign and not 'houses' by equal or any other divisional system. In delineation of yogas, the whole-sign house system works well and that is what is followed by most indian astrologers. Similarly, when applying the vimshottari dasha system the sign-as-a-house rulership of planets prevails. This is not to say that bhava divisions are not of any significance! Indeed they might be of significance in showing the strength of an effect and are used in the shadbala determinations, such as kendra bala. Perhaps, the bhava position also reveals the tendencies in a chart to make an effort, to move and exert free-will. This is a thought which has not been completely tested, hence must be taken as something to test and research about.
It might appear that it should have been very easy to figure out what works and discard that which does not and quickly reaching some form of a consensus about the astrological rules that stick. However, astrological delineations are generally multifactorial taking place in a branched logic design at multiple levels and rarely 'cut and dry'. There are not many absolute combinations or factors which directly and with unwavering accuracy serve as definite portents or indications. Moreover, not many astrologers really have the wherewithal in terms of time, resources, knowledge to carry out a watertight unbiased research study all the time. So we all do what we can, bit by bit, and we include and test what other astrologers recommend and stick with what works. Quick and dirty this might sound to the purist, but real life is 'earthy'! "Use it or lose it" seems to be the valid driving principle! There are many many grey areas and thorny issues that still exist in Jyotish. This makes it a very interesting system with plenty of opportunities and areas for doing research.
Over the years, mulling over and messing around with all of this often leads to the realization of the fact that Jyotish, the vedic system of astrology is frugal in its data-requirement and easy as pie! A lot of information can be gleaned about a person or a venture by just knowing the ascending sign and sign positions of the planets. Even timing can be attempted in a crunch by using transits (with some caveats and limited expectations obviously). However, for really accurate timing and detailed analysis one has to take into account the vimshottari dashas and that is where accurate longitudes become necessary. Firstly, the accurate position of the moon is needed for determining the exact balance of the first dasha (by proportional motion), and the accurate positions of the others for determining their sign, star and asterismal-sub (the angular derivative of a dasha subperiod, the star being the angular derivative of the temporal dasha period; the arcs and time periods are mutually interconvertible, see chapter on dashas).
We also require accurate longitudes for constructing divisional or harmonic charts and for determining planetary strengths. This is where we are likely to run into a lot of emotions! Many astrologers love to present their system as infinitely more complicated than it need be. They would talk of scores of divisional charts (splitting the zodiac down to about 12 minute slices) and complex ashtakavarga (a very interesting point-system where planets contribute certain points to each house) calculations, and intricate longevity calculations etc.
This neat, extremely complex and professional-looking package which is potentially very powerful, often rests on very shaky legs, operationally! Most birth-times are recorded imprecisely! Surprising as it may sound, birth times appearing in hospital records and birth certificates can be off by at least a few minutes and occasionally by as much as half an hour if not more. Carelessness, lack of astrological-awareness in the recorders of time, a super-busy medical team, a lazy watch and above all the UNCERTAINTY IN REACHING AN AGGREEMENT REGARDING THE MOST APPROPRIATE MOMENT DURING THE BIRTH PROCESS ITSELF WHICH REPRESENTS THE MOST VALID EPOCH! All those meticulously calculated divisional charts and vimshottari dasha micro periods calculated down to hours and minutes and even house cusps for that matter are immediately rendered less than useful if the birth time itself is not accurate to begin with!! Ancient vedic texts mention that in Kaliyuga (the last of the four phases of creation/destruction, that happens to be currently operating), the moment of the delivery of the entire body of the child and its contacting the earth (bhumi-patanam) must be taken as the birth epoch. Well, these days the child usually lands in a receiving blanket in a tray or into the gloved hands of the medical attendant. There goes our only hope of finding the true moment of birth! Well those ancient sages were people with foresight. They knew that we "moderns" would try our best to botch up their system, so they outlined a very interesting system of birth time rectification by using which one can pinpoint and rectify most birth times easily. This is based on the element (tattwa, based on the time of sunrise and many other factors).
Another epoch that is favored by many astrologers is the moment when the newborn takes its first birth, often presenting itself as a 'cry'. If we reflect for a moment, an infant, as long as it is within its mother's womb, surrounded by the bag of waters, it is receiving all the physical substances through the placenta. Nutrients, some immune-factors, hormones, drugs and medicinals, chemicals, good and bad and even gases like oxygen! At that stage, it is a product of the true divine breath. As soon as it is born, it breathes air directly and receives, in addition to the substances, such as oxygen and other chemicals in the air, the vital substance, often known as prana and which is truly a vital energy! If we look at the situation from a physical perspective, the biological membranes that form the blood-placenta and placenta-fetal circulation barriers are not unregulated and can only let physical substances of a certain size, charge and solubility pass through. They generally cannot pass energy as such. The human fetus, therefore, experiences the vital energy of earth, the prana, only after it is born and is independent. That first intake of prana, the first cry is perhaps the true moment of birth!
Even after this has been resolved, there exists the niggling 'little' problem of ayanamsha or precessional correction. There are literally dozens of recommended values for this correction (ranging from a few minutes to several degrees apart). The longitudes of planets (and consequently, the dashas, ascending degrees, sometimes even signs in cuspal births, and certainly all the finer harmonic divisions) would vary significantly depending on whose drum one marches to! Further compounding the misery is the fact that it is often possible to attribute an effect to more than one specific factors or combinations. At this point if we step back and ponder over all these variables we would realize, to our horror, that these would constitute a researcher's nightmare if one were to try and sort out things, particularly because of the multiple explanations possible for justifying any given effect (yes, even when aided by the mighty computer).
It is not surprising therefore that most practical indian astrologers do not think that it is efficient to calculate or consider all those numerous charts and vargas. If one were to follow articles in indian astrological magazines, this would become readily apparent. I hope readers are not getting the impression that divisional charts and ashtakavargas etc. are totally unnecessary. They ARE useful and improve the accuracy and depth of a reading provided the birth time on which they are based, is accurate, and the precessional correction is, as well. Without that, it would be like using a high-precision super accurate aiming device mounted on a wobbly tripod!
In my experience, using birth times rectified by the method referred to above (or using horary charts which are ideally suited for individuals with unknown birth times), whole sign as the house method, Lahiri's precessional correction coupled with use of the lunar (savana) 360 day year leads to very good results. Obviously, some might like to experiment with other values and techniques but for those who would rather not, the above recommendation might be satisfactory. Also, something that I heartily recommend is doing semi-blind analyses. The astrologer should only work with epochs, with as little direct contact as possible with the client. My biggest confidence-builder was a period during which I delineated charts strictly-by-mail without any direct contact with the subject working only from the birthdata. In a typical consulting situation, it becomes very difficult to avoid non-astrological biases which can modify the readings.
One often wonders about the basis for using sidereal zodiac and not including the trans-saturnine planets. One comes across several references to the "drik ganit" (variant, drig ganit) or 'math of the visible' entities. If one were to look at the sky, one would immediately note that the sidereal or constellational zodiac is the one that is directly visible. A planet in sidereal libra would appear in the zone of the sky against the visible libra constellation. The tropical signs are not linked to the visible constellations (beginners please note). Similarly, saturn is the farthest planet that is visible to the naked eye (at least some of the times). Anything beyond that was not taken into consideration by the earlier vedic astrologers. The very long periodicities of the trans-saturnines, extending longer than the normal life-span of an individual is another thing that perhaps sets them apart from the other planets that have been included in Jyotish. However, in all fairness, we must realize that Jyotish does take into account numerous invisible points, such as the lunar nodes, mandi, gulika, dhooma, vyatipata etc. The brave might wish to cautiously experiment with the trans-saturnines, fully realizing that they are completely in unchartered waters! They will have to figure out the rulerships, exaltations, debilities, friendship/enmity, benefic/malefic and other attributes in order to be able to apply the principles of jyotish to these 'new' elements!