Nathan Naicker Vedic Astrology

"Our inequality materializes our upper class, vulgarizes our middle class, and brutalizes our lower class.” – Matthew Arnold, English Essayist (1822-1888). It is difficult to find a solution to inequality (with consensus) because every mind perceives inequality differently. To find a real workable solution to inequality therefore wise men have prescribed all with firstly an equanimity within oneself. And they called this state of equilibrium or equanimity Sattva, which naturally is the default state of everything as even the net flux of life is always in equilibrium. This is how Nature is. What disturbs Sattva they called Rajas (restlessness) and Tamas (inertia). To give a simple example; Tamas is not acting when one should, Rajas is not stopping when one should, and Sattva is knowing when to act and equally knowing when to stop. Or rather it may be more proper to say that Rajas creates the perception of change, Tamas creates the perception of no change (or reduces change), and Sa...

In practising reading (and adhoc translating) Sanskrit as part of studying Jyotish, I am reading some astrological traditional texts and contemplating them a bit. Here is a verse from Jātaka Pārijāta describing the effects of Śārada Yoga. स्थ्रिपुत्रबन्धुसुख रूपगुणानुरक्ता  भुपप्रिया गुरुमहीसुरदेव भक्ताः | विध्यविनोद रातिशिल तपोबलाढ्य  जातिः खधर्मनिरत भुवि शारदारव्ये || striputrabhandhusukha rūpaguṇānurakta  bhupapriyā gurumahīsuradeva bhaktāḥ | vidyavinoda ratiśīla tapobalāḍhya  jātiḥ khadharmaniratabhuvi śāradāravye || (Jātaka Pārijāta 7-145) striputrabhandhusukha - happiness of wife, son, kinsmen rūpaguṇānurakta - fond of/possessing beautiful form bhūpapriyā - favored by those who protect beings (ie. rulers) gurumahīsuradeva bhaktāḥ - devoted to (or a devoted) teacher, priest, gods (godlike) vidyavinoda - takes pleasure in knowledge ratiśīla - delightful character tapobalāḍhya - strength from austerity khadharmaniratabhuvi - involved with their whole being in duti...

Vedic tradition holds that Shiva, ever in ecstatic union (yoga), transferred the scientific methods of yoga to seven royal sages, who then spread it. Over time, the methods mutated and became so diverse that no one could discern clearly a single path amidst the mess. Sage Pantañjali collated the methods, systematized them, and wrote them down with both literary erudition and depth of inner experience. His composition is called the Yoga Sutras, and the name of the system of yoga he established became known as Raja Yoga (The Royal Path to Union), in reference to the original royal sages who received such wisdom. Yoga comes from the Sanskrit root word yuj, meaning “to yoke”, “to gather”. That state wherein all the seemingly separate parts of ourselves are united or aligned, is Yoga. Yoga is also the name given to those methods and tools that help us achieve this. Sutra means “thread”. There are many meanings for this word. In Hindu tradition, the first four castes (Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, and...