We
cannot separate ourselves from the rest of the universe. Our bodies are
composed mostly of salt water, like the ocean, and we respond to the
moon just like the ocean does, with internal tides. Through our
light-sensitive glandular system we respond to the sun, transforming
according to the season and according to the biological rhythms of
night and day, sunrise and sunset. It only makes sense that we in some
way interact in a very intimate way with the planets in our solar
system.
Internationally respected neurologist
Tony Nader, M.D., Ph.D., beautifully describes an internal "solar
system" within each of us - the basal ganglia beneath the brain, with
the thalamus corresponding to the sun, the hypothalamus to the moon,
and the other ganglia corresponding to their respective planets. We
have within us the planetary microcosm of our solar system macrocosm.
There is a Vedic saying: "As is the universe so is the individual."
Light and probably other forces from the planets affect us through this
anatomical and functional neural system.
So how do Vedic
astrologers, or Jyotishis, predict the tendencies of time? Everything
in nature develops in a sequence. If you know any point within that
sequence, you can predict what follows. A Jyotish chart is like a
snapshot of the cosmos taken from our place of birth at the moment we
take our first breath. The particular part of the cosmic dance which is
our life unfolds in time from that specific point. It is |
encoded in our DNA and it is
illustrated by the cosmos. As is the inside, so is the outside.
A Jyotish pundit might explain metaphorically that
Nature is like an archer. When you are conceived, Nature pulls back on
the arrow. When you are born, the arrow is shot, and as you live the
arrow travels towards a particular target with the potential to hit a
catastrophic event. Jyotish can predict how the "winds of time" can
blow on the arrow - up, down, or to one side, so that its negative
trajectories are smoothed out.
How can you alter the
negatives in your Jyotish astrology chart? Sometimes just having
knowledge of your easy and difficult periods is useful. Sometimes bad
things happen, and it's good to know that you are in a period where
life's a bit rough for a while. Jyotish describes a dasha
system in which specific periods in your life are governed by different
planets in a set sequence. Where you start on that sequence depends on
which of the 27 constellations or nakshatras our
moon is located in at your birth time.
You can pacify the
negatives in your chart with regular practice of Vedic meditation,
which allows you to transcend space and time - in other words, to
transcend your own chart.
Your Jyotish chart
can assist you in choosing work and relationships that are most in
accord with natural law (your correct dharma - those activities and
relationships which are most fulfilling and evolutionary for you). |
By wearing specific
precious gem stones, usually on rings or necklaces and set so that the
stones have direct contact with your skin, you can concentrate or
amplify the light from a specific planet to bring about the direct
desired effect on your physiology.
Creation first
manifests itself in time through certain vibrational sequences, going
from the unmanifest to the manifest in all of its diversity. Your body
is made out of those same Vedic sequences of vibration. When you are
ill or suffering, some of those sequences are off. Yagyas are
ceremonial performances by Vedic pundits of specific Vedic sounds which
can reset those initial vibrations and bring your life back into
harmony.
Does this mean that
your future is predestined - that you have no free will? Not really.
Jyotish can only predict the tendencies of time. If you know the
tendencies of time, then you can deal with problems in a very specific
and individualized way to modify your destiny.
Dr. John Peterson is a
board certified family practice physician with 15 years' experience
practicing Ayurvedic medicine in Muncie. For more information call
765/286-5087.
Branches
November/December 1999
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