Astrology Debunked?

Surely there are people out there that have actually understood the basic tenets of astrology before they decide to debunk it - one would think. Surprisingly instead, most people who do debunk astrology are the ones who have made some random observations about the subject. Being a student of astrology I’m yet to find arguments that intelligibly attack the basic tenets of Vedic astrology.

Dr. Jayaram's article cites a research conducted in 1985 in Berkley where a group of astrologers were tasked with matching horoscopes to character profiles. The outcome of that experiment indicated that the astrologers’ accuracy was only as good as the probability of random selection. While at first this may seem like an experiement most would consider valid proof to denounce astrology, does the experiment really put the accuracy of astrology in question? To me, it definitely casts a shadow over the astrologers’ capability. However, extrapolating that to mean that astrology itself is non-sensical is a stretch. Some of the other folks who argue against astrology seem to jump on the generic quality of "newspaper astrology" and how predictions therein apply to any individual regardless of whether they are Taurean, Piscean or anything else. Yes, something like – “Get a clearance from superiors before embarking on a new project “does sound very profound, and is easy to debunk. However, is that the astrology we are debunking?

What most people fail to understand is that Vedic astrology is much more than just some basic character analysis or prediction. Vedic Astrology is connected to the very fabric of Vedic thought. To denounce Indian/Vedic astrology is to gut ancient Vedic thought and philosophy. So I stand opposed to another swelling public notion that teaching vedic astrology, the knowledge of the Vedic seers, in Indian universities is somehow setting India backwards. If anything the people who learn it will at least have a foundation to bring much needed scientific temperament into the ancient subject of astrology.

Additionally, there is a strong bias among non-astrologers on the process of delineation that astrologers allegedly use to determine a subject’s nature/character, his/her future, etc. Most non-astrologers who are out to refute astrology’s validity think that the so-called astrologers gauge a person’s psyche and/or try to fish for information that the astrologer would then in turn use to make some what accurate predictions. Although, I don’t doubt there are so-called astrologers that do that, my experiences with astrology and astrologers have proved otherwise. As an astrologer myself, fishing for information is very counter productive to accurate predictions. For me, a clean slate with just a person’s date of birth, time of birth and place of birth is what is most effective from a prediction standpoint. I do very poorly when I know the person or when I’m reading my own horoscope for that matter – so the lesser I know my subject the better my prediction.

Although, I’m not advocating that everyone should follow astrology or live their lives by it, it is still valuable to give it a fair chance to see what may come of it. Given that chance, like yoga once shunned but now accepted widely, astrology will become more accessible and more helpful than it currently is.

Dasamsa Basics

Recently, I stumbled on a free lecture by Pt. Sanjay Rath. The topic was Dasamsa (Tenth Division or D-10), a divisional chart that helps dileneate the "Karma" (loosely translated as "profession") a person may choose to engage in and be successful at. Here are a few things that I was able to pick up from his lecture.

Contruction of the Dasamsa/D-10 Chart

As we all know the asterisms/nakshatras that eventually form the Rasis/Signs like Mesha/Aries, Vrishabha/Taurus, etc are laid out around the Earth(360 deg. around us). Since there are 12 signs, each sign is allocated 30 deg. So Mesha/Aries is 30 deg, Vrishabha /Taurusis 30 deg, so on and so forth - very basic. So also we know that every divisional chart is derived from the planetary positions indicated in the Rasi chart.

In order to derive the Dasamsa/D-10 chart Each Rasi/Sign in the main Rasi chart is divided into 10 equal parts of 3 degrees each. So 10 divisions account for the total 30 deg. that every sign is composed of.

As you can see, from the adjacent figure, for male/odd signs, the counting begins from the sign itself. So the first 3 deg of Mesha/Aries, for example, falls in Mesha itself. The second 3 deg. of Mesha falls in Vrishabha/Taurus in the D-10 and so on and so forth. For planets in female/even signs, the counting begins from the 9th house.

Planets in Male signs behave as specific Avatars of Vishnu giving the native the inspiration/life force (as indicated by lagna , the first house) to cross over the river of life - which explains why planets in male signs are determined from the first house. Similarly, planets in Female signs act behave as specific Maha-vidyas giving the native the knowledge (as indicated by the 9th house of Guru) required to cross over the ocean of life - which explains why planets in female signs are determined from the 9th house.

Notice how also there are 10 Avatars of Vishnu (Dasavatar) and the 10 Maha-vidyas (Dasa-mahavidyas) to represent each of the grahas and their placements in either male or female rasis. Another interesting point here is the meaning of Avatar itself. Ava means down or to descend and "tar" means to cross, referring to the diety that descends down to help us cross the ocean of rebirth.

Another interesting point to note is that since there are 10 dasamsas in each sign/rasi, there are a total of 120 dasamsas across the 12 rasis. These 120 dasamsas signifies the 120 years alloted for human life as specified in the vimsottari dasa scheme as well and is indicative of the karma we will engage in throughout our life.

Implications of Graha's/Planet's Position in Rasi and Dasams

As we have noted, for male/odd signs (Mesha/Aries, Mithuna/Gemini, etc) the energy spent is on the self (1st house/lagna). On the other hand, for female/even signs the focus is on dharma/9th house. So obviously the Grahas/Planets placed in Male vs. Female signs have certain implications.

Planet in Male Sign in Both Rasi and Dasamsa – Since male sings provide energy/inspiration, the use the energy will be to one's own benefit onself– Ex. Sun

Planet in Female Sign in Both Rasi and Dasamsa – Since knowledge is what is given, it will always act Dharmically to everyone’s benefit – Ex. Venus

Planet in Male Sign in Rasi and Female Sign in Dasamsa – Will initially start off being self-focussed but will transform to benefit others – Ex. Moon

Planet in Female Sign in Rasi and Male Sign in Dasamsa – Will initially start off being helpful to others, but then will turn to be more self-focussed – Ex. Jupiter

Planet Placement in Specific Yugas

Depending on what Yuga a planet occupies in the Dasamsa, the impact differs.

Grahas/Planets in Satya Yuga Rasis always produce great results and the native will have full knowledge of the planet.
Grahas/Planets in Treta Yuga Rasis will always require a teacher/mentor/guru for the native to gain knowledge of it
Grahas/Planets in Dwapara Yuga Rasis will always require resources/money for the native to gain knowledge of it
Grahas/Planets in Kali Yuga Rasis will always require tremendous effort if the native has to gain knowledge of it.

Conclusion

It was nice to see the connection between the dasavatars, the dasamahavidyas and the dasamsa chart. There are still some questions about placement in rasi and dasamsa and how that makes the native selfish or dharmic. Additionally, it will be great to see what others think about how this relates to the dasamsa dieties as well.

Moksha and the Tara Bija

Om Namo Narayanaya

According to the Vedas, the physically manifested universe is just ½ of a ¼ part of Narayana. This 1/8th part is known as Vasudeva. The other ½ of the ¼ part of Narayana is just unchanging and is composed of the spiritual worlds. The entire manifested universe(vasudeva) (the active 1/8th portion) is further divided into Bhu (Earth), Bhuva (Solar System), and Swarga (rest of the Universe) for human comprehension. Both the active changing material Lokas/Worlds (3 of them) and the four unchanging spiritual realms - Maha, Jana, Tapa and Satya lokha (World) comprises of ¼ of Narayana. The other ¾ths of Narayana is imperceptible to humans. The active elements/Purushas (people, animal, other living beings) in these seven realms of existence are bound with the quality/guna of Sattva (Peaceful, good, right), Rajas (excessive energy, creation, motivated) and/or Tamas (ignorance). Therefore, gaining Moksha means transcending these gunas and thereby departing from the seven planes of existence to infuse into the imperceptible part of Narayana.

So how would one do it (just for the times when you can find nothing else on netflix)? There are many paths – Bakthi (Love), Karma (Duty), Jnana (Knowledge), Yoga, etc, but if by meditation on a mantra, it would be Aum/Om. AUM is a bija mantra (seed) that gives one the power to transcend Rajas (A), Sattva (U), and Tamas (M). AUM is known as the Tara bija as Tarika helps us cross the ocean of life, essentially transcending the Gunas. It is said that off the saptha-rishis (7 sages), Gauthama received the (A) from Brahma to transcend Rajas, Atri-muni received the (U) from Vishnu to transcend Sattva and Baradwaj received the (M) from Shiva to transcend Tamas.

Jyotish: Origin & Principles

om namo baghavate vasudevaya

The principles of Jyotish are well founded in the Vedas. "Karma" or one's actions (what you sow, so shall you reap) forms the fundamental basis of Jyotish. Even a mere thought is said to trigger a cosmic reaction. Hence, human as well as other lives tend to progress through this spiritual journey by taking on physical forms until they realize the absolute reality (the reasons or the process is all too extensive to discuss here). A Jyotishi or Astrologer then is someone who delineates an individual's "Karma Phala" (the fruits of our karma) and provides the individual with the necessary spiritual insight/jyoti (light) to steer them towards the absolute reality/truth. Hence, a true Jyotishi is one who himself/herself is illumined by understanding the absolute reality (which is why this science can't be quantified or tested). In vedic thought, Jyotish is regarded as one of the "anghas" or parts of the Vedas. Jyotish is designated to be the "eyes" of the Vedas (rightfully so). With Jyotish one is able to see everything the Vedas propound - the very truth about our existence.

Jyotish is multi-faceted. "Jathaka" or Horoscopy is one facet of Jyotish that looks at the planetary positions at birth to predict the events in one's life. "Muhurtha" or Electional astrology looks at the quality of time to predict the course of an event started at any specific time. "Prasna" or Horary astrology is another branch that deals exclusively with predicting outcomes of queries. "Nimmitas" or premonitions based on signs/symbols are another way of understanding how events will unfold. "Ganita" or mathematics is yet another branch that deals with the calculations of planetary motions, the reasoning behind these numbers, etc. Finally, "Gola" or study of rounded objects is study of the actual planets themselves and why they revolve/rotate, etc.

It is said that everything emanated from this one basic vibration of "Om" or "Aum." From "Om" the five elemental vibrations emerged representing the five different tattwas (or elements). The five planets represent these five vibrations – Guru/Jupiter for Ether, Sani/Saturn for Air, Mangal/Mars for Fire, Buddha/Mercury for Earth, and Sukra/Venus for Water. Everything is made up of these five different elements in different proportions. The same principles of Jyotish hold true in the science of Ayurveda, the science of Yoga, the art of Indian classical music, the language of Sanskrit and pretty much every other science and art in ancient India. Hence, the absolute understanding of any of these will directly lead to the understanding of the absolute reality/truth.

Some believe that astrology in India came from Babylon, Greece and other such places. However, considering that the principles of Jyotish lies completely in the Vedas it is difficult to believe that it was borrowed from elsewhere and retro-fitted into Vedic thought, the other way seems more plausible. Why? In the case of Jyotish, be it the dilineation of "karma-phala" on the basis of Karma, or the understanding of the Kalachakra we see jyotish as completly interwoven into the fabric of vedic thought and the knowledge of both emanating from the single source of truth. Whereas in the case of western astrology, it's clear to see the bifurcation of astrology and philosophy, indicating perhaps one of these (astrology or philosophy) was retrofitted into the other.