Jyotish is vedic astrology. It’s not just about predicting the future. It’s about learning about life and human beings, and how to relieve ourselves of karma! It offers solutions.
The karmendriya (from Sankhya philosophy) – five organs of action – are the only ways to make karma.
Karma (action) is ruled by Shani (Saturn)
We wouldn’t be on earth without it – both good and bad chains, but still chains. The planets hold our karmas, to be delivered to us during our life. The events of our lives are all there – we have to live them out, unless we change it. Our personalities are based on our karmas. Reincarnation continues until the karma bank is empty.
It can be at all levels: individual, family, societal, cultural, national and global.
By practicing yoga, we get more free will, but even that is capped by our karmas. Every event in our life is a chance to work out karma. Even dreams have it!
Antaḥkaraṇa
The citta is our harddrive, where everything is stored. It records everything that happens, thoughts, and that information will remain there forever. Our lives are destined to live out our karma unless you do yoga, which is more powerful. With yoga you can change everything. This is all in the citta. If we want to change our life, we must work with the citta.
In our manas (mind) thoughts take place, emotions occur. This is where we communicate with each other. If there are citta vrttis, they distort the information, the thoughts. Yoga means you have to calm your mind, your manas.
The buddhi (intellect) is what makes decisions. In most decisions made, you are wrong due to manas being in charge rather than buddhi.
Ahankara is what produces the feeling of “me”, a separate piece from the rest of the universe. This is the cause of all human suffering – desires and aversions.
Desire is what ultimately creates karma. There are deposits and credits made to the karma bank:
Positive Karmas
doing good deeds, but they are done for the results.
Negative Karmas
Doing selfish deeds, for the results, they are for “me” (or my family, or my community, or my country – without regard to the entire universe.)
Neutral Karmas
Doing activities with awareness for the sake of doing them, with no attachment to the results. These tend to be things that the universe needs, or things that you do as a dedication to the universe.
Some of the different types:
PRARABHDA KARMA
- Those karmas presently being expressed and exhausted through this birth. Karmas activated in this life in the subtle body
- Destiny – it’s created by us, maybe even when we weren’t human
AGAMA KARMA
- New karmas being created during this birth. They can be positive or negative.
SANCHITA KARMA
- Karmas that are waiting to be fulfilled in future births. The citta is the storehouse of karma, in the causal body.
Working with Karma
The law of karma as it exists in the bible:
“For whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” – Galatians 6:7
There are 2 ways to reduce the negative effects:
- Selfless service – doing things just because they need to be done, without attachment to their fruits. The universe will kindly ask you for deeds to be done. We can think of this as Dharma, or right action.
- Meditation and Self-reflection – this is a great way to clean up karmas and move past the fluctuations that come when karmas fruit.