JYOTiSH SHASTRA
PRABHASANA PARAMPARA
– By Acharya Sethumadhavanji
The credit of opening up
human minds to the magnificence and immense potentialities hidden in the
cosmos, goes to Indian Seers It is they
who through their extraordinarily deep meditations brought out the mystery
behind the unimaginably immense cosmos with its infinite astral bodies and cosmic phenomena which influence
humans. Before the Western philosophers and scientists woke up to the reality
of the immensity of the Universe, our
Indian Rishis were far ahead with their knowledge about the physical nature of
the celestial bodies, Mother earth, including the baffling relationship that
exists between human and the cosmic bodies.
We had been planning for a
long time to invite a truly scientifically minded scholar to explain the
wonderful Shastra of Astronomy with its essential ingredient of Astrology-
directly related to human lives.
The first lecture in the
series- Astrology as a Science- took place on 9th June, Saturday from 4p.m.to 6p.m. The speaker Acharya Sethumadhavanji from Tirupati University, is a very
learned scholar who is currently working on his thesis on Astrology. The talk
was devoted to the introduction of the topic and for more than two hours the
audience sat and listened spell bound. Some of the points are presented in the ensuing
summary of his lecture.
Talking on Jyotisha the
speaker categorized it into four- Vaidica Kala Jyotisha, Siddhanta Kala
Jyotisha, Samhita Kala Jyotisha and Modern Jyotisha as we know it. While the
earlier ones are more ‘Spiritual’, the present day Jyotisha has more of
‘Tamoguna’. During Vedic period the great seers had an open mind regarding
Jyotisha.There was no scope of dispute or criticism. The earlier proponents
were mostly rishis like Vyasa, Parashara, Sovanam, Yavvanam and others who were
great rishis who had no inclination towards worldly affairs. Jyotish Shastra
was referred to as the ‘Vedas Chakshu, ‘eyes of Veda’
Jyotisha itself can be divided
into Skanda trayam – Prapancha or cosmic analysis, Bhautic , Worldly or
Nature’s analysis and lastly, One’s inner self analysis
Speaking about the importance of jyotisha, the
speaker said in India, each and every festival in
temples or otherwise is decided by the planetary star positions. All our temple
utsavas are thus identified with some astronomical sign or event. Utsavas are
meant to elevate the human mind to a higher level of consciousness.
Jyotisha’s approved
text is Surya Siddhanta which is available only in Sanskrit. One of the chapters
of Surya Siddhanta deals with ‘Jyotish Upanishad’,and provides an interesting conversation
between mind and Brahma. In answer to the question on diversity, is the
revelation that the earth is ‘golakar’ (global), so there is an unavoidable
diversity in everything. This is probably the first statement about the global nature of earth-1000 of years before the West catches up with the idea.
(The word jyothisha refers to cosmic intelligence or
consciousness). Coming to Jyotisha he emphasized that the ultimate aim of
Jyotisha is to take man to liberation. It is the science of unfoldment of one’s
‘Karmaphala’. The position of ‘Guru’ in one’s horoscope provides clues as to
the spiritual status of the person. In Jyotisha lies the keys to unlock the
treasures hidden in a being and to decode their meaning and possibilities.
Jyotisha can provide an unmistakably analytical study of one’s life.
Speaking of the role of Jyotisha in marriage, the
speaker first gave the true meaning of the word ‘vivaha’ – as the carrier of
the most auspicious. Marriage is the reflection of the union of
Prakriti and Purusha- cosmic mother and father. To make marriage wholesome and
fulfilling 25 linkups are to be scrutinized so that there is perfect physical,
mental, intellectual and spiritual balancing between the man and the woman. If
there is clear ideological understanding and unconditional love, there is no
need for jyothisham to step
in.
(more in the next)in.
