Commonly Asked Questions and Answers About Vedic Astrology

1. What is Vedic Astrology?
2. What are the four goals of life according to the Vedas?
3. What is "karma" and how does it relate to Vedic Astrology?
4. What is different about Vedic Astrology from the Western (Tropical) Astrology approach?
5. What are planetary periods (Dasa/bhukti cycles)?
6. What can be done to alleviate pain, suffering, and difficult stressors which accompany rough periods in life?

1. What is Vedic Astrology?

Vedic Astrology was developed over 5000 years ago in ancient India and provides a sacred body of knowledge and divine wisdom which reveals each individual's life purpose. The main goal of Vedic Astrology is to offer a deeper level of awareness and understanding about all aspects of a person's life. This system of Indian Astrology is also known as "Hindu Astrology" or "Jyotish" which is the Sanskrit term meaning, "the science of light." Jyotish comes to us through the Vedas which are the sacred texts of Hinduism, and Vedic Astrology is considered to be the "eyes of the Vedas" since one can see the past, present and future through this great predictive art and science. The vedic astrological chart may be viewed as a picture of the soul's past, present and future potential, with an emphasis on spiritual growth and meeting one's true dharma (purpose) along the pathway to enlightenment. Based on the sidereal zodiac, Vedic Astrology accurately reveals your soul's destiny, and is particularly unique in its ability to predict future trends and events in each person's life.

2. What are the four goals of life according to the Vedas?

1. Dharma, finding one's true purpose in life, often refers to one's vocation (but not necessarily). Dharma indicates an individual's direction in life, which path he or she has to walk to fulfill one's destiny or higher purpose in this lifetime. Dharma means "principle or law" and relates to our need for recognition and honor in life.
2. Artha, wealth, refers to acquiring material goods to help achieve one's dharma, not just for the sake of possession or satisfying hedonistic desires. "Artha" literally means "achievement of goals" and describes the person's relationship to the physical world and materialism.
3. Kama, desire, refers to our need for enjoyment, motivation to action, and to find happiness within the sphere of living. Kama indicates one's abililty to have experiences in life which are fulfilling, pleasurable and perceptive of the beauty that exists in life (including nature, relationship, aesthetics and other dimensions of human experience). Without desire, we have no drive, direction or will to pursue our dharma.
4. Moksha, enlightenment, refers to attaining true liberation since it is the work of self-realization. Moksha refers to the knowledge which produces a state of freedom and non-attachment to the material world and the desire nature. The goal is to be free from the limitations of the external world and to achieve an internal state of balance and harmony which is independent of worldly outcomes or desires.

Essentially, the highest goal in life, according to the Vedic philosophy is Moksha. However, the other three aims in life are considered steps or phases toward achieving the ultimate goal of liberation. It is important to determine the focus of an individual within the astrological chart, in terms of which combination among the four goals are emphasized (e.g. to which area of life does the person seem to have a stronger orientation and where is he or she actually functioning?). Over time, an individual will likely shift in orientation as he or she grows spiritually and enters into new Dasa (major planetary cycle) periods.

3. What is "karma" and how does it relate to Vedic Astrology?

Karma is central to Hinduism and in the reading of a vedic astrological chart. Karma means that whatever actions an individual has undertaken both in this lifetime and in previous lives', he or she will experience the results of those actions in the present or later. Essentially, karma is part of a cosmic law which states that whatever efforts a person puts out to the world, (including his or her interactions with others) these efforts will be returned to that person for better or worse, depending on the attitude and behavior that the person originally expressed. It is a concept that is linked to reincarnation. We are constantly creating new karmas through our current actions and reaping the benefits of past karmas, as well as paying the price for actions of the past. The vedic astrological chart reveals one's strengths and weaknesses (talents and blindspots) and the chart is read as a compendium of karmas which were created from previous births and show where the person currently needs to do some remedial work in this lifetime in order to transcend maladaptive patterns, and to evolve and grow to higher levels.

Each person can work specifically on resolving weak areas of the personality and can work toward elevating and expanding inherent talents and abilities. The vedic astrological chart serves as a guide to recognizing these strengths and weaknesses and offers a map for optimizing appropriate timing for such actions. Personal desire, motivation and willingness to work at elevating oneself are essential for personal growth. The chart also depicts one's past karma, such that there will be some limitations and challenges which the person will experience in this lifetime (within a band width or range). However, it also imparts the view that there are choices, responses and opportunities to experience which will optimally promote greater soul growth and development over the lifetime. The chart describes where the emphasis is, but the person still has do the personal work him or herself!

4. What is different about Vedic Astrology from the Western (Tropical) Astrology approach?

While there are many critical differences in the chart calculation (use of the sidereal zodiac vs. the tropical zodiac), and method for interpretation of astrological charts between the vedic (eastern) and tropical (western) systems of astrology, they both offer important information for the individual. Essentially, the charts are calculated from the vantage point of two different zodiacs.

The vedic approach uses the sidereal zodiac which positions the planets in the observed fixed constellations (stars) as they actually appear in the sky. In contrast, western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, which uses the seasonal shifts (sun's position relative to the earth) to determine planetary positions, rather than the observable constellations. Thus, there is approximately a 24 degree difference between the two zodiacs and this causes the signs of the planets to change between the two astrological systems. Thus, for an individual who may be born with Sun in Aries in the western astrological system , his Sun would likely move back to Pisces in the eastern vedic astrological system if you subtract 24 degrees from the tropical Sun's sign position. This subtraction factor is applied for all of the planetary positions.

Note that there are different rules for assessing planets across the two systems, different methods for considering planetary aspects, and some different meanings assigned to the planets and houses. Moreover, the use of nakshatras (27 constellations rather than 12) are also integrated into the chart analysis, along with assessing other divisional charts (aside from the main natal chart) which fine-tune predictions.

Vedic astrology uniquely incorporates a highly accurate system of predicting an individual's salient life trends and life cycles known as "Dasa/bhukti" (major and minor) life cycles. Each major and minor life cycle corresponds to a particular area of focus within each stage of life, and is determined specifically from a person's particular date and time of birth. Understanding your Dasa/Bhukti cycles will help you prepare for future situations and phases of your life. Difficult periods may be examined from a broader perspective, as lessons to be mastered. Opportunities are highlighted based on these particular life cycles. Awareness of these planetary cycles help a person to optimize his or her inherent talents and abilities and specifically direct efforts toward particular goals at the most auspicious time.

5. What are planetary periods (Dasa/bhukti cycles)?

The planetary periods are the life cycles which an individual experiences over time and are based specifically upon the planet which is dominating that individual's life at a point in time. In vedic astrology, these planetary periods become the basis for the predictions which are presented. By examining the planetary periods, one can ascertain where the focus of one's life energies should be, where there will be changes, challenges, growth and development within that period of the life. The strength of a planetary period is based upon the strength or weakness of the pertinent planets in the birth chart, and which aspects, yogas and other factors are influencing the particular planets involved. The essential energies of the planets of a particular planetary period are experienced by the individual, for better or worse. The Dasa (major) planet is viewed as the prominent planetary energy which a person experiences at a given time in his or her life and lasts from 6 years to as long as 20 years, depending on the particular Dasa planet itself. This planet will signify the overall focus of an individual's life for a relatively long period of time, while he or she is experiencing that planet's effects.

The Bhukti, or minor planetary period refers to the sub-planetary cycle which is of much shorter duration than the Dasa planetary cycle. The Bhukti planet fine tunes the life experiences during the major Dasa cycle. All planetary periods present an opportunity for the soul to learn, develop and evolve even under difficult times. The planetary periods represent the major and minor life shifts, which are prominent during changes of planetary periods and subperiods. During these transitions, a person may undergo profound physical, psychological, spiritual, emotional, relationship, and material changes, again for better or worse, depending on the qualities of the planet involved and its condition in the main birth chart and in additional divisional charts which are considered in the vedic system.

6. What can be done to alleviate pain, suffering, and difficult stressors which accompany rough periods in life?

There are several remedial measures which may be prescribed, depending on the particular personality, level of maturity of the soul, particular constitution and particular issues which the person is confronting during a specific period. Some individuals need to confront these difficulties directly and work with the challenges, move through them and past them. Others may require emotional, physical and/or social support to accept and resolve these difficulties. From the perspective of Vedic Astrology, there are also remedial measures which may be utilized to enhance weak planetary energies.

Each planet has a specific affect on a particular area of life, and the planets must be assessed for each individual. Specifically, these remedial measures include the proper wearing of certain prescribed gemstones which correspond to specific planetary energies, having a yagya performed, chanting of mantras, color therapy, the use of prayer and developing oneself spiritually and attaining higher knowledge. Charitable efforts, dietary and lifestyle changes, as well as psychological interventions may also be employed to facilitate healing and easing the burden of difficult Dasa/Bhukti life cycles.

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