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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