Vedic astrology originates from the writings of the ancient sages.
Vedic astrology originates from the writings of the ancient sages. Brighu, Jaimini, and Parashara are the most prominent authors of Vedic astrology and established the three main branches. I am an astrology student in the line of Brighu. I have been learning from my teacher Arya Brighu for four years with weekly classes.
Maharishi Brighu is the author of the Brighu Samhita, Jaimini is the author of the Jaimini sutras, and Parashara is the author of the Parashara Hora Sastra. It is debatable whether or not these scriptures are still original or if some parts have been lost or changed. Other notable authors in Vedic astrology include Varahamihira, who lived in the 6th century CE and wrote the Brihat Samhita, and Mantreswara, who lived in the 13th century CE and wrote the Phaladeepika.
The Vedic understanding of life
Being part of The Vedic heritage, Vedic astrology is intimately intertwined with the cosmology, spirituality, and theistic understanding of the Vaishnava culture of the Vedas. As an outsider to the Vedic culture, one may think that they are worshipping many gods, but in fact, it is unmistakably clear that there is one supreme controller known as Vishnu or Krishna. His external, material energy is manifesting the world we live in, and all the innumerable living entities embodied as humans, animals, plans, and the ruling demigods are individual parts and parcels of that one supreme entity. The influence of time and the laws of karma are always under the complete control of that one supreme being.
Astrology is the science of how the beings incarnated on earth are controlled by the will of the supreme through the agency of the planets and stars.
The Bhagavad-gītā (3.27) says,
prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate
All our actions and activities are, in truth, not done by us but are carried out by material energy, which has various qualities. But, we human beings are under the conception that we are the doers. That is because we are bewildered by false identification. We think we are men or women. We identify with a particular country and believe we are Indian, American, or Swiss. We identify with a specific profession and think we are teachers, doctors, or construction workers. But all these are false egos, given temporarily by material nature.
This is what the Bhagavad-gītā informs us. Because we are not in soul consciousness but body consciousness, we consider everything we do and everything that happens to us to be under our control. But The Vedas teach us that we are not in control, but higher authorities are. We are not the body, but we are the eternal soul. The body is given by the material nature and is entirely controlled by the material nature. We, as consciousness, sit in this machine and witness have is happening. Due to poor spiritual education, we fully identify with the vehicle we are sitting in and neglect our eternal self.
The heavens containing the planets and stars are the residents of these higher beings that control our life as agents of the supreme. Therefore, it is possible for an astrologer, who has learned the science of interpreting these celestial influences, can tell in which boundaries The Human experience of the native will play out.
Vedic science
There is a fundamental difference between Vedic science, of which Vedic astrology is part and modern science. Modern science, by definition, only accepts as truth, which the gross senses can perceive. Artificial devices expanding the limitation of our eyes, ears, nose, sense of touch, and taste are still within the boundary of gross matter. By definition, modern science does not believe in the mind or spirit. The mind, intelligence, and, ultimately, the soul are subtle in nature and beyond the perception of the senses and can also not be measured. The understanding of modern science is based on sense perception only.
In contrast to that, Vedic science is based on revelation. More precisely, it is mentioned as sound, which means a sound that descends from the realm of God to us through disciplic succession. These are two entirely opposite approaches. Modern science is ascending, which means that we are trying to understand the world through the power of the material senses. Various Vedic knowledge is descending from higher authorities to us through an interrupted chain of masters and their students.
I would argue that by mere trial and error, the very sophisticated rules and techniques of astrology could never be ascertained. Instead, if too much of our deliberation enters our astrological practice, its power and accuracy will be diluted. Vedic astrology is a science that is received from higher authorities, such as Bhrigu and Parashara.
Consciousness is above matter.
Another fundamental difference between modern science and Vedic science is that modern science considers that life is based on matter. Modern science is trying to prove that life and its symptoms merely result from a complicated combination of gross matter. In Vedic science, on the contrary, everything is based on consciousness. Life is not a cause of matter; rather, matter is derived from consciousness. Life comes from life.
In the Vedic conception of the world, behind every phenomenon, there is a consciousness that rules over it. Therefore, Vedic astrology always mentions ruling deities. Behind the planets, there is a higher dimensional personality that rules over the energies of that planet. Behind each star is a consciousness, or in other words, an individual personality, a god, that controls the star’s energy.
In this way, the reality we experience in this human form of life is created, maintained, and under constant change. This is what is behind the matrix in which our consciousness is bound up.
Vedic astrology, the eye of the Veda
Vedic astrology this meant to help us to understand our position, our duty in life, and how we can achieve the ultimate goal of life without much hardship.
The achievement of this ultimate goal of life and the very vivid description of it is the very purpose of the whole Vedic literature. It is revealed knowledge coming down to us from above, guiding us, showing us our eternal identity beyond the outer coverings of the body and material mind. Vedic Astrology is part of this revelation. Seriously practised, it can make our life meaningful, easier and joyful.
By the Vedic revelation, following the paradigms of the Vedic science, we can have a comprehensive understanding of what this universe is, what is our place in it, why our human form of life is very special, and why we should not be worried about current events understanding well how they fit into the bigger pictures of eternal time.
This is a summary of the topics that you can expect from vedicspirituality.com
In the following blogs, we will dive deeper into each topic.
- The Heavens rule life on earth
- Astrology from parampara
- Consciousness is above matter
- God and Gods
- Importance of Human form of life based on the Bhagavad Gita
- Vedic cosmology based on Srimad Bhagavatam
- Vedic Time
