VEDIC PHILOSOPHY
“Jyotish is based on tractates that are more than 5 thousand years old. "Parashara-Hora-Shastra", "Surya-siddhanta", "Garga-samhita", "Bhrigu-sutra" are just a few of them. They were written by such prominent personalities as Parashara Muni, Bhrigu Muni, Garga Muni, Narada Muni and others. These were not ordinary people, but the best universal minds, Maharishis or the great sages.
Their names are found in the pages of the Mahabharata, Srimad Bhagavatam and other Vedic literatures. Their legacy is unique, and the revelations they gave are still supported by modern research. For example, "Surya-siddhanta" describes that the circumference of Brahmanda (Galaxy) is 18712080864000000 yojanas or, according to modern units of calculation, 1600 light years, and the age of the solar system in it is determined in 1956 million years.
In ancient scientific texts on Jyotish, the planet Varuna (Varuna - the god of the sea) is mentioned, the trajectory of its movement is calculated, and its influence on earthquakes and floods is described. Modern scientists however relatively recently, in the middle of the 19th century, discovered a planet that surprisingly matches the ancient description, and named it Neptune.
In their works, which have become classics of Jyotish, the universal sages describe all the wisdom of the great science of concordance - astrology, teaching us to see the relationship between man and the Universe, and also to understand the laws of the universe. For example, in the text "Brihat-Parashara-Hora-Shastra", which is rightfully considered the groundwork of jyotish, Parashara Muni teaches not only how to build and interpret the birth horoscope, but also describes the horoscope of conception and shows how to calculate the life span of a person according to his horoscope.
And the legacy of Bhrigu Muni simply does not fit into the framework of logical perception and our understanding of it borders with mysticism. In the "Bhagavad-Gita", Krishna says: “Among the great sages I am Bhrigu” (10.25), thereby emphasizing his special position. "Bhrigu-samhita" is a grandiose and mystical work that explains the evolution and structure of the universe, as well as the appellation of an extraordinary collection of horoscopes, known to Europeans as the "collection of horoscopes on palm leaves." Five thousand years ago Bhrigu Muni compiled horoscopes of all people who lived, live and will live on Earth! Originally Bhrigu Muni wrote these horoscopes on palm leaves. This collection is quite large and divided into several parts, which are still kept in different states of India. Its guardians are bhrigu-shastri, special brahmana clans, where the ability to calculate and find the desired horoscope in a collection is passed down from generation to generation.
The Vedas describe that the abiding-place of the universal sages are the planets Sapta-rishi - the seven stars of the Big Dipper. It may be no coincidence, that every person who looks at the starry sky, first of all, is looking precisely for these stars, like a student striving for knowledge turns his gaze to a teacher.
THE ORIGIN OF VEDAS
The Vedas are considered as sacred books and have the divine origin. According to the Vedas themselves, they were compiled and systematized 5 thousand years ago by the sage Vyasa-Dev, an incarnation of the Supreme God.
The Vedas describe that God is a Personality, and that he is absolutely beautiful, loving and perfect. The scriptures give this Person's name - Krishna, which means "All-attractive", "Beautiful." The "Bhagavad-Gita", the main philosophical treatise of the Vedas, says: “His beauty is so incomparable and magnificent that even one atom of it can flood the entire universe. Therefore, all living beings are so irresistibly attracted to Him ” (10.11 ).
The Vedas are divine revelations descending from the Absolute Truth, an outpour of knowledge. In the "Bhagavad-Gita", Krishna says, "I am the Vedas, I am the essence of all knowledge." The empirical method of cognizing the world of the Vedas is called "the ascending process of cognition." The Vedas recognize this method as imperfect because it relies on limited senses. The mind with which we evaluate sensory experience is also imperfect. “It is human nature to make mistakes” - this truth is emphasized by the Vedas and it is recommended to turn to the perfect, transcendental Reason. The Vedas say that perfect knowledge descends through a teacher (guru), scriptures (shastras) and association with saints (sadhu-sanga). This process of cognition is called "descending" in the Vedas. Thus, human knowledge is always relative, and knowledge of the Vedas is absolute, since it comes from the Omniscient, from the Absolute Truth.
JYOTISH - LUNAR ASTROLOGY
Vedic astrology is also called "lunar", as it focuses on the position of the Moon (Chandra) in the horoscope. Jyotish astrologers judge by the Moon about a person's karma, his past life, level of consciousness and spiritual experience. Along with the main birth horoscope, they also consider the Chandra Lagna, a horoscope where the zodiac sign, in which the Moon is located, is taken as an ascending sign. In addition, if in India you are asked who you are by your zodiac sign, you should name the sign in which the Moon was at the time of your birth.
All other later astrological traditions can be called "solar", since the sign of birth determined by the Sun. For example, if you were born on May 30th, then you consider Gemini to be your sign, because the Sun was in Gemini. Why is the approach to determining the zodiac sign so different? The answer to this question should be sought in the very definition of who I am.
Jyotish, relying on Vedic philosophy, says that "I" is the atma, the soul, with its own individual spiritual experience, inclinations, attachments and past life skills. The soul is eternal, but the body is born and dies and serves as a temporary home for the soul. With the death of the body, the soul leaves it and receives a new one, just as a person changes old clothes for the new ones. According to the teachings of the Vedas, the material things is a form of consciousness, and it is consciousness that determines the physical body. Consciousness is an inherent property of the soul, and it is capable of evolution and degradation. The Vedas teach that in addition to the physical body (sthula-sharira) there is also a body of consciousness, the so-called "subtle body", or linga-sharira.
Linga Sharira is our constant companion in all incarnations in the material world. Leaving the physical body, the soul remains in the veil of the "subtle" body, and it is this body that determines our next birth. Linga Sharira is an indicator of the development of consciousness, the totality of all our desires, aspirations, skills and affections, and in astrology it is shown by the Moon.
KARMA
The Vedas say that the birth of a person does not happen by chance, but in accordance with his karma, i.e. what kind of life a person's led and what actions he has performed. "Karma" in translation from Sanskrit means "action", "deed". The Vedas teach that any action leads to consequences or, as Newton puts it, "for every action there is a reaction." Karma is the law of causes and effects, actions and their reactions. This is our reality, this is the objective law of the material world. Like the law of gravity, it works regardless of whether we know about it or not.
SPACE ENERGY
The Vedas say that the nature of the material world is trinal and manifests itself as goodness (sattva), passion (rajas) and ignorance (tamas). The qualities of the material world are called in Sanskrit "gunas" - fetters, ropes. The gunas envelop the consciousness of the living being and keep the atma - the soul - in the material world.
The gunas are cosmic energies: tamas is the power of destruction, rajas is the power of creation, sattva is harmonizing and supportive. The gunas are constantly mingling, and their combinations correspond to different types of consciousness.
Gunas are the colors of the Great artist painting the entire Universe. Just as yellow, red and blue create a palette of colours, so sattva, rajas and tamas reflect the diversity of existence.
Everything that surrounds us, as well as all our actions (karma) take place in the gunas. The consequences of actions come to us, coloured by ignorance, passion and goodness. Therefore, we can talk about good (sattvic), mixed (rajasic) and negative (tamasic) karma."
From the book of Indubala "Jyotish, or Vedic astrology."
Jyotish. Vedic Astrology. Elena Starikova.