Jyotisha, more commonly known as Vedic astrology, is the science of light. It is considered the “eye of the Vedas”. As part of the extensive Vedic healing system, Jyotisha is meant to be studied in correspondence with the other limbs of the Vedas which include Ayurveda and Yoga.
Through countless lifetimes we have passed through many bodies and along the way accumulated a bank account of karmic tallies. A quote from Saravelli, a classic written by a king, says:
“The creator Brahma has written on the foreheads of all living beings their fates which are deciphered by the Jyotishi through their pure insight.”
We can use the word karma in place of fate here. Life is not accidental, and the Vedic birth chart is a reflection of the karma of the soul. Our karmas can be seen by looking at the map of the sky as it was laid out at the exact moment of our birth.
My teacher says that in choosing what we are going to deal with in this lifetime, which happens before we take our body, we’ve in a way written the script and hired the actors. And the actors are the nava grahas, or nine planets. The grahas can be more accurately described as ‘that which seize’. Though way out in the cosmos, they ‘seize’ us at particular times aligned with our karmas and very much impact our life.
Sancita karma is the sum total of our karmic accumulations and prarabdha karmas are those that are poised to fructify in this life. Through Vedic astrology, we can make sense of our past, step into seasonably appropriate behavior based on what karmas are being delivered, and prepare ourselves to have a more graceful future as our karmas continue to unfold.
Even without an in-depth chart reading, we can begin to expand (or for those on a spiritual path, continue to expand) our perspective about the human journey. Through learning the basics of Vedic astrology and coming to understand and connect with the grahas, we experience ourselves as a microcosm of the macrocosm in powerful ways that further our identification with ourselves as eternal spirit rather than as purely physical beings walking through a material existence.
In the Jyotisha Yoga workshop on March 21 and 22, we’ll explore these planetary energies, how they express themselves in our lives, how to begin connecting with them through the practices of Yoga and daily life, and how to use this information in your Yoga teaching to broaden your students understanding of the interconnectedness we have with the greater universe.
Written by KELSEY BRUSNYK