LESSONS 1-2-3

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Dear and Respected Gurus, Learned Scholars,

In the following is assignments for lessons 1,2 and 3.

With very best wishes, and my respects.

Sabri.

 

LESSON 1

 

1- Explaining the seasons;

 

The earth and all the planets revolve around the sun more or less on

the same plane (e.g. very close to being on the same plane) which is

called the ecliptic. The earth is also revolving around its own axis.

But this axis is not perpandicular to the ecliptic, e.g. tilted to a

small extent. The orientation of this axis of the earth with respect

to the sun is fixed in the earths revolution around the sun, e.g. it

always points to the same direction. So at one specific point of the

earths rotation around the sun, called the summer solstice, the north

pole is nearest the sun, and the south pole is farthest away from the

sun. Likewise on the exact opposite point on its orbit, the point

called the winter solstice is reached by the earth where this time

the south pole is nearest the sun, and the north pole is farthest

away from the sun.

 

Let's take the winter solstice (Dec.23), here the north pole is

inclined farthest away from the sun, so geometry will dictate that if

we choose a point on the northern hemisphere, somewhere like Paris,

the duration of the day will be smaller than the duration of the

night. This is simply because the sun always illuminates only one

half the earth that is exactly looking at the sun. If the earth were

revolving around an axis perpandicular to the ecliptic, then all

points on the earth would have equal duration of night and day. But

when we incline the axis of the earth, we see that the part of the

earth that is illuminated is still half of the earth, while the

location of Paris makes such a inclined circle that, more time is

spent in darkness (night) than light (day).

 

Since the sun only gives energy, heats a certain point on the earth

during daytime, and if the day duration is lesser than the night,

this means that this point (Paris) is heated less compared to the

exact opposite; summer solictice, where everything is just the

opposite. Hence a relatively cooler season is generated which we call

the winter in the northern hemisphere.

 

Also when it is winter solstice, and the winter season prevails in

the northern hemisphere, the exact opposite is the case in the

southern hemisphere, implying that now it is summer in the southern

hemisphere.

 

There is a further reason to the fact that the weather is cold during

winter in the northern hemisphere. This is associated with the degree

that the suns rays make with the earths surface. During the winter

solstice, the north pole hence the northern hemisphere is tilted most

away from the sun, hence the suns rays are most inclined to the

surface of the earth, e.g. at Paris (technically the same amount of

area when inclined receive less light of the sun, hence less energy).

The sun heats the earth most when its rays fall perpendicular to the

earths surface, hence when inclined most, the heating effect is the

least, hence the cold season. Also when the suns rays are inclined to

the earths surface, the rays travel through more of the atmosphere

which filters and takes out the heating effect/energy of the sun.

 

At points of the earth around the sun, called the equinoxes, the

duration of night and day for points all over the earth is equal.

These points are 90 degrees away from the solstice points, where the

distance of the north pole to the sun is equal to that of the south

pole. These points are associated with the spring and autumn, the two

other seasons in addition to winter and summer.

 

On the equator, e.g. on the line seperating the northern and southern

hemispheres, the day and night durations are always the same, since

such a point is not affected by the inclination of the earths axis.

Hence seasons as such are not created on the equator.

 

2- Certain days of the year when the Sun does not rise or set above

certain parts of the earth.

 

As a continuation of the above description; let's again consider the

winter solstice, where the north pole is inclined farthest away from

the sun. At this point when we look at what is happening at the north

pole, we can see that it is always left in darkness during the day,

simply because the earths axis is tilted away from the sun. Likewise

at the south pole, it is continuous daytime, because it is tilted

towards the sun. This means that at the north pole during winter

solstice, the sun does not rise at all, and at the south pole it does

not set. If we advance from the north pole towards the equator, still

at the time of winter solstice, we will find a point where the sun

rises for just a short duration above the horizon. Likewise for the

south pole the sun will just set for a brief duration. Also it should

be noted that at such a situation the suns movement at the skies will

be as if traversing the horizon, e.g. it will appear to be moving

almost parallel to the horizon, it will rise just a little bit and

set again after some time. For this reason although the night will be

very long, it will not be in total darkness due to deflection of the

rays of sun through the atmosphere.

 

3- Two classes of luminuous bodies in the skies as explained by Shri

Maharishi Parashara.

 

In the skies there are two types of luminous (e.g. giving light)

bodies. One type is the stars or astherisms, or groups of stars

called nakshatras, which are fixed in space. Stars have their own

light, and are illuminated thus. The second type of luminuous bodies

are the Grahas/Planets who are moving around the sun together with

the earth, hence they are not fixed/stationary. Except for the Sun

who is a star Himself, the other Grahas receive their light from the

Sun, they are not self illuminating. In addition to the 7 grahas

Surya, Chandra, Mangal, Budha, Guru, Shukra and Shani, Vedic

Astrology / Jyotish takes into consideration two more points in the

skies which are called the ascending and descending nodes, these

shadowy Grahas who have no physical body, hence can not be seen, are

called Rahu and Kethu.

 

There are even more planets revolving around the sun, e.g. Uranus,

Pluto, Neptune etc. but some of the ancient Vedantique Texts on

Jyotish according to some interpreters state that the 9 Grahas, The

Navagraha is enough to explain everything going on, on the earth.

 

When the skies are observed, it will be seen that as the days advance

the Grahas will be moving on the eclyptic, a little above or belove

it (maximum 9 degrees) the band therin created being called the

zodiac. And this movement will be observed and measured against the

fixed Nakshatras again found on the Zodiac.

 

Also practially, the stars will be seen to be flickering in light,

since their light is coming from very far away, e.g. lightyears away,

while the Grahas will be seen (when they can be seen with the naked

eye) as giving steady non-flickering light.

 

4- Explain astronomical observation in relation to own chart

 

Here I choose to examine another persons chart for better practice,

since I am quite familar with my own.

 

This chart has Gemini/Mithun rising, with the following Graha

positions;

Rahu in Virgo, Kanya 4th. house,

Guru, Shani in Sagitarius, Dhanu 7th. house,

Mangal, Chandra in Capricorn, Makara 8th.house,

Budha, Shukra in Aquarius, Kumbha 9th.house

Surya, Kethu in Pisces, Meena 10th. house.

 

Date of birth is March 22, and time is 10:22 AM

 

Since Gemini is the rising sign, e.g. the sign that was rising on the

eastern horizon, Sagitarius was the sign that was setting at the same

time. These signs make up the first and seventh houses of the chart.

 

>From Gemini to Sagitarius we have the Grahas that are below the

horizon, e.g. at the other side of the earth, in this case, it is

only Rahu. And from Sagitarius to Gemini we have the Grahas that are

up in the skies, e.g. Sani, Guru, Chandra, Mangal, Budha, Shukra,

Surya and Kethu. So all the Grahas except for Rahu were visible,

above the horizon, at the time of birth of the native (Rahu and Kethu

are not visible in any case).

 

Sagitarius is the sign that was setting, in which we find Guru and

Shani. But we notice that the rising sign is 00:04 degrees while the

degree of Guru is 9 and that of Shani is 24. Since Sagitarius has set

only for 00:04 degrees this means Guru and Shani were still above the

horizon about to set.

 

 

Surya is in the tenth house, showing, the sun was directly above.

This actually can not exactly be the case, since the time of birth is

only 10:22. But this is explained by the fact that the degrees of

lagna is only 00:04 degrees, e.g. just rising, and the degree of

Surya is only 8 degrees. If the rising sign degree would be 15

degrees (half of the sign) and the Sun was posited in the middle of

the 10th.house, then we would say that the sun would be directly

above, e.g. the time would be close to 12:00, noon. But for 00:04

degrees rising, and 8 degrees for Surya we can calculate that the sun

was 7:54 degrees below/before its zenith, highest point in the skies

at the time.

 

Also we see that Chandra is in Capricorn whereas Surya is in Pisces.

We know that all the Grahas except Rahu and Ketu, generally (except

for retrograde times) revolve counterclockwise on the chart (north

indian style) e.g. they go along the Rashis, from Aries to Taurus

etc. Surya and Chandra as well as the nodes Rahu and Ketu do not go

retrograde (going backwards as opposed to their usual motion), while

Chandra is moving faster than Surya. E.g. surya makes one complete

revolution of the zodiac in one solar year, when Chandra makes

approximately (a little more than) 12 revolutions equalling 12 lunar

months. So we can say that Chandra was approaching Surya, was in

Krishna Pakshe, Dark Fortnight, the dark half of the moon cycle,

nearing His travel towards new moon, Amavasya.

 

Birthdate is very close to vernal equinoxe (Mar 21) hence we can say

that the duration of day and night at this time was about equal, with

day duration just a little bit longer than the night duration.

 

The birthplace was in Greece; longitude being 25E25, e.g. 25 degrees

east of Greenwich, and lattitude being 41N08 e.g. the place is in the

northern hemisphere.

 

The Suns cycle for March 22 is Uttarayana, since the degree of the

Sun declination from the celestial equator is going from positive to

negative, e.g. from below the celestial equator to above, going from

winter to summer. At the summer solstice the cycle will shift from

Uttarayana to Dakshinayana.

 

With my deep respects to the excellent Gurus and learned scholars of

SJC.

 

Sabri.

 

 

LESSON 2

 

1- Define the role of God in your life.

 

God is the creator, that Supreme Being who has created everything,

including all mankind. An ordinary person can not perceive God, or

how He has created the creation, or how He is ruling everything in

His creation. But the enlightened sages, with their clear

comprehension and perception have realized the hidden truth beyond

what we see, that which is hidden from us. So their role is to

enlighten mankind as to the hidden truths about God, His creation and

life in creation.

 

Through the words of enlightened Sages we know about God. So, as they

teach us, everyting in creation is evolving, the animate, even the

inanimate things in creation. Everything in creation is evolving

towards higher states in the path of evolution. For man this means

higher states of happiness, and eventually the state of God-

realization. Man evolves through birth after birth, in time he gets

more and more mature, gets to know about the secrets of life, and

gets to know what God expects out of him.

 

Man is that supreme form of life, superior to all other animate

things in creation e.g. animals, plants etc. in the meaning that man

has freedom of choice about how to behave. He eighter does good or

bad, and reaps the consequences of his deeds over time, sometimes

this coming back of what we call karma is spread over lifetimes. In

comparison, animals do not have free-will, they are bound to live

their life according to their own pattern which is fixed.

 

God is all-mighty, and all-merciful, in that He has given to us

guidance and light in different forms and means as to how to lead our

lives in the way He expects it, which is the way that will lead us to

higher states of evolution and happiness.

 

These rules of conduct, this guidance is available in the scriptures.

So even if we can not perceive God directly, and can not communicate

with him directly, we can turn towards the Sages who explain and

teach us the scriptures where we learn and find the expectance of God

from us.

 

So for me, God is That who provides the supreme guidance in life, and

He guides through the Sages and their teaching.

 

One should well be aware that nothing is happening in this world by

mere chance. Nothing is going on by itself. God is everywhere, His

will is behind every happening. So actually we are in constant

communication with Him even though we may not be fully aware of this.

 

So one should be God-fearing, and should strive to do his best, in

the best manner he knows about what God is expecting out of Him.

 

This is how I understand God, and how I try to live my life

accordingly.

 

2- What have you done in the past year to come closer to God

 

-I am a regular meditator.

-I pray to God regularly.

-I do my best to lead a sattwic life.

-I chant some parts of the Vedas that has been thought to me.

-I do my best to be good, helpful to others, and try not to comit any

sin.

-At many occasions I stop to think about what should be the right

conduct of behaviour regarding a specific issue.

-On a regular basis, I try to share the little knowledge I have about

God, I help the poor and needy, those who are sick, and those who

need guidance about problems in life.

 

3- Which is more relevant; God is all, or All is God.

 

>From the point of logic, these two statements are the same. In fact

if we consider the fact that God is That Omnipresent Being who

permeates everything in Creation, like the sap in a tree, that is

found in the petal of the flower, in the branches, in the trunk, in

the roots, on the surface and within the leaf itself we can see that

God is everywhere, and when we consider anything that anything is the

manifestation of God Himself.

 

But God has some certain forms which are more easily perceived by

man. When a Sage filled with God's illumination is speaking or has

written down a text, than His speech or the text He has written is

directly coming to us as the voice of God, and God is thus revealing

Himself to us. When we pray to God at the temple or listen to the

priest praying, we can feel the presence of God in a more direct and

substantial manner. Likewise all religions have their traditions, and

methods to reach God, and their sacred places of worship and sacred

books through which devotees can expect to feel God's presence, His

illumination and His helping hand. Looking at the subject from this

point of view, we can say that, even though God is everywhere,

permeating everything, there are certain sacred rituals, places and

people (priests, Sages) where or through which or whom we have the

chance to feel and catch a glimpse of God's Holy presence, whereas in

ordinary daily life this would only be possible for a God-realized

man.

 

4- The role of a Jyotish and a Priest

 

The role of a Jyotish is to see, and thus help mankind. He can see

and explain the intricasies of lifes unfolding before us. He can

forewarn us about what is to happen in the future, and give us advise

in the form of remedies so that we can lead a more happy life and

avert the danger that is to come. He also guides us about right

conduct and spiritualwise. He himself should be of Sattwic or right

conduct.

 

The priest on the other hand is a man whose life purpose is to pray

and connect with God on behalf of others. He does prayers so that

God's blessing may be gained (if so He desires) and the burdens of

life for a person is lessened. In a prayer done by a priest, there

are three factors. God, the priest, and the person for whom the

prayer is done. God is the ultimate decision maker. He blesses the

person if He desires only. If God is not willing to bless a person,

no amount of prayer done by the most competent priest will be of no

use. Then comes the qualities of the priest. If the priest himself is

in close communication with God, is an advanced soul himself, then

the chances that God will accept the prayer is more. Than comes the

karma of the person for whom the prayer is done. If the karma is not

too heavy, than God may decide if He likes, that he is freed of that

karma. Or if the karma is too heavy, and the person surely needs to

take a lesson by facing this karma, then it may happen that God

decides, not to releive the person. Also one should know that God

punishes with love, for the good of man. Just like a mother, when she

wipes off the mud from the face of the child, the child is hurt, but

this is for the good of the child. Hence karma is not just to punish,

but to give lessons so that man finds the right path.

 

5- The Sanskrit Dictionary

 

I had a sanskrit dictionary that I had composed, to this I have added

the new terms in the lesson. The dictionary is in the following.

 

Aacaryam- Master, teacher

Abhavat-V-Bhuu, it was, it became

Abhirakshitam- V-Raksh protected, guarded

Agni- Fire element

Akasha- Space element

Akshara purusha- Indestructible person

Akshara- Sylabble

Aparyaaptam- Incomplete

Asmaakam- Ours, our

Atharvaveda- One of the four main branches of the Vedas

Atma- Self

Avatar- A manifestation or reincarntaion of God

Avidyamaya- That who has no knowledge of Maya

Avyaya Purusha- Changeless person

Balam- Strength, force

Bhaasa- Lustre, light, brightness

Bhaasmana- Ashes

Bhagavat-Gita- The song of the Divine, the essence of the

Vedas.

Bhagavate- To thy Glory

Bhakti- Devotion

Bhaktimarga- The way of Devotion

Bhasman Garaga- Swallowing ashes?

Bhavaan- Thy lordship

Bhavan- Thy Lordship

Bhiima-arjuna-samaas- Equal to Bhima and Arjuna

Bhrigu- One of the Sages

Bhuta- Element

Bhyo- Together

Brahma- The Creator

Brahmin- That who is in pursuit of God

Ca- And

Cancalam- Unstable, wandering

Caya- Collecting, mound, pile

Darshana- Point of view

Deva- An incarnation of God.

Dharma- Duty, law, righteousness

Dhiimataa- By wise, by intelligent

Dhrishti- Look, aspect

Dviija- Twice born

Etaam- This

Etesham- Of these, to them

Eva- Indeed

Eva- Indeed (rhythmic filler)

Ganges- The sacred river

Garaga- Swallowing, poison

Garbha- Womb, containing

Garishta- Excessively heavy

Gati- Direction

Gomukhas- trumpets, bull-faces

Hi- Of course, indeed

Jiva- Soul

Jivaatma- Humans, Atma in the form of human soul

Jivitaas- Lives

Jyoti- Light

Jyotish- One of the four branches of the Vedas, pertaining

to see.

Kali yuga- Age of conflicts

Kaliyuga- One of the four main Yugas, great periods of time,

where darkness prevails before Satyuga.

Kapila- One of the perfect souls

Karma- Action

Kartikeya- Brother of Ganapati, one of the Devas

Kim- What

Krishna- Perceptible form of, or an Avatar of MahaVishnu.

Kshara purusha- Destructible person

Kshetre- Land

Kuru me- Make for me

Kurukshetra- The sacred land of the Kuru clan, between the

Divine rivers; Ganges and Yamuna.

Maha- Great

Mahabharata- One of the basic vedic texts including within

itself the Bhagavat-Gita

MahaVishnu- The great Vishnu, the Great Self, sustainer of

the Universe.

MaheŸvaasa- Mahaa iŸu aasaas, Mighty archers

Mahesvara- Maha is vara, of the transcendent

Mama- Of me, of my, mine

Mantra- Spoken formula

Manu- Man

Maraka- Epidemic, mortality

Marma- Going to the vitals

Marta- Mortal, man, world of mortals

Maya- Illusion

Meru- The sacred mountain in the Himalayas where Lord Shiva

lives.

Muurti- Antropomorphic image

Naagendra Hara- Wearing the cobra (Shiva)

Naagendra- The cobra snake of Shiva

Naasya- Put in nose

Naga- Holly snake

Nagare- City, town

Nara- Man

Narapungavah- Man-Bull, bull among man

Narasinha- Man-Lion God

Narayana- One of the Devas

Nilanjana- Not resting?

Nir- Without

Nirguna- Without gunas, posessions

Nitya- Continual, perpetual, eternal

Nyaaya- Rule

Om- Aum, the sacred sylabble for meditation and chanting

Panchabhuta- Five elements

Paramatma- That resides in the Self

Paryaptam- Complete

Pasu-Pati- Shiva, coming from or pertaining to Shiva,

herding cattle

Pasunam-Pataye- A name of Shani, connected with Shiva, could

be; coming from Shiva

Pati- Lord of

Pitaamahas- Grand (maha) father

Prahalad- One of the children of Diti

Praharanaas- Throwing

Prakriti- Nature, The three Gunas; Satwa, Rajas, Tamas

Prithivi- Earth element

Purusha- Person, The self without attributes

Putra- Son (Drupadaputrena- Son of Drupada)

Raajaa- King

Rajas- One of the Three gunas

Rigveda- One of the four main branches of the Vedas

Rishi- Seer

Saankhya- Enumeration

Sage- Enlightened person, a Rishi.

Sahasaa- Quickly, all at once

Sama- Hold together, carry, bear

Sama- Together, continuous, binding

Samaveda- One of the four main branches of the Vedas

Samjanayan- Sam V-jan, producing, bringing forth

Sanaatana dharma- Eternal religion

Sandhi- Gap

Saranagati- Surrender by the devotee to the deity (who in

turn protects the devotee)

Sarva, sarve- All

Sarva- All (sarve)

Satarupa- Woman

Satru- (See Shatru)

Satwa- One of the Gunas

Shabdas-Sound, sylabble

Shakti- Power

Shastra- Weapon

Shastra- Weapons

Shatru- Satru, Enemy

Shisya- Student

Shiva- The Mahadeva who destroys creation

Shudha- Of the Ganges, drink of the Gods (Shiva)

Shuuraa- Heroes

Sinha- Lion

Sthaa- Stationed, placed

Tad- That, this

Tada- Then, at that time

Tamas- One of the three Gunas.

Tapas- Deeds done regularly to reach God, e.g. chanting

mantras.

Tasya- of him, to him

Tathaa- Thus, also

Tathaa- Thus, also

Tathaaiva- Tathaa eva

Tava- Of thee

Trilocha- Having three eyes (Shiva)

Tu- Indeed

Upa-nishad- Near approach

Uvaca- Spoke

Vacanam- Word, speech

Vaisheshika- The particular

Vashista- One of the Sages

Vayu- Wind element

Veda- Knowledge

Vedaanta- End of knowledge

Vedanga- A branch of Vedas, four main branches in total

Vibhishana- Ravana's god brother in Ramayan

Vidyamaya- Knowledge of maya or knowledge of Vedas.

Vinaata- Bowed to, she before whom knowledge bows, the

mother of Garuda; who represents the hermetic utterences

of Vedas

Vrddhas- Aged

Vyasa- One of the Sages

Yajurveda- One of the four main branches of the Vedas

Yama- Lord of death

Yama- Restraining

Yantra- Geometrical figure

Yantra- Instrument, amulet

˜dam- This

Yoga- Link

Yudhi- Battle

Yuga- Age

 

With my deep respects to the excellent Gurus and learned scholars of

SJC.

 

Sabri.

 

 

LESSON 3

 

1- Lordship of Grahas;

 

In the creation of God, we see infinite order. This is one of the

basic qualities of the Creation that He has created. We see order

everywhere, e.g. in the cycles of time, the yugas, years, seasons,

months and weeks, they all come and go in order, and in their proper

time. When we plant a mango seed, always a mango tree comes up not a

banana tree. The mango seed contains all the intelligence about the

tree itself, e.g. it knows when to sprout, when to grow tall, when

and where to generate a branch, a flower. The petals of the flower,

the mango fruit itself, all are formed according to this infinite

intelligence and wisdom reflecting the infinite order which is the

Creation of God.

 

Regarding Grahas and Rashis also we see order. There are many ways

that this order is manifested but let us consider here three examples

of the manifestation of order.

 

To start with, Surya, the sun, is the basis of our solar system, He

represents the soul, atma, the source and the nourishment of

everything. For us He is the biggest start in the solar system and

the only main source of energy. He is the king of the daytime,

illuminating the day. Before the other Grahas were manifested He was

created, so he stands for Atman, the inner soul. Based on these

qualities, before the other Grahas claimed lordship over Rashis, He

was ruling the whole of the Zodiac from His position/lordship over

Sinha/Leo Rashi representing the Lion; the king of all.

 

Next in importance is Chandra, the second big luminuous body

(according to how we perceive) that we see in the skies, the queen of

the night. While Surya stands for the king and father, Chandra stands

for the queen and mother. One taking care of the day, the other the

night. So She is assigned the next Rashi next to Sinha; Karka/Cancer.

This establishes the two placements/lordships of the two main Grahas

in our solar system.

 

The remaining Rashis are ruled in systematic manner symetrically at

the two sides of Surya and Chandra, e.g. Buddha rules the next two

Rashis on both sides, the fifth, and third, namely; Mithune and

Kanya. So if we take the center as between Sinha and Karka Rashis,

the remaining Rashis are symetrically distributed among the remaining

Grahas as is shown in the table below where Rashis are shown with

their numbers to show the symmetry;

 

Surya, Chandra: 5,4

Budha: 6,(5,4),3

Shukra: 7,(6,5,4,3),2

Mangal: 8,(7,6,5,4,3,2),1

Guru: 9,(8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1),12

Shani: 10,(9,8,7--2,1,12),11

 

So the symetry is around Surya and Chandra, and the order of the

symetry is; Budha, Shukra, Mangal, Guru and Shani. But why, this

order, e.g. not Shukra then Budha, but first Budha then Shukra etc.

Is this coincidence or by chance that this order is selected; of

course not, we can rest assured that "Nothing has gone or is going on

by itself, or by chance". The order here, we can see is in synchrony

or order with the signification of Grahas themselves. Let's take a

few examples;

 

The evolution of the soul, Atma: The soul is represented by Surya,

for any manifestation of the soul, there should be mind, Manas,

signified by Chandra. The mind is the basis on which intellect,

discriminating property evolves, to think and decide, this is

signified by Budha (Budhi the intellect). Then come desires, that

come up, which are signified by Shukra. Desires drive us towards

activity (thus bound us to the ever-repeating cycle of births or

karma). Activity is signified by Mangal. Through this activity of

evolution, man ultimately realizes the cosmic truth, through action

and reaction, which is the display of the gunas and the karmic order.

So the soul aspires for renunction, going beyond desires, their

bondage, starts to live a pure and simple life, and ultimately

achieves liberation, Moksha, all of which are signified by Shani.

 

Another example: The distance from the sun. Surya, the center of the

solar system. The order; Budha, Shukra, Mangal, Guru and Shani is the

same as the physical distances of these planets to the Sun, Surya,

Shani being the farthest away from the sun.

 

Another example is the Planetary Cabinet: The Grahas as expounded by

the Classic scriptures comprise a Planetary Cabinet. Surya and

Chandra are the noble Grahas, signifying the King and Queen (as in

the above). Next comes at both sides the princes signified by Budha.

Next in order is Shukra signifying the ministers of the cabinet.

Then comes Mangal the chief army general. Following is Guru, the

advisor, the divine teacher shedding Divine wisdom for the benefit of

all. And last comes Shani the servant who serves everybody in the

cabinet.

 

2- The Bha-Chakra

 

When we look down at earth from above the north pole, we see earth as

the center of the eclyptic on which all the other Grahas are

revolving. The Grahas are actually revolving around the sun, but from

the earth we see them as if they are revolving around us. So

Schematically, we place a point at the middle of a paper to signify

the earth. Shani is the Graha who is revolving farthest away from the

earth, so his trajectory, this outermost circle we draw as a circle

around the point signifying the earth, the radius being Saptama Dwipa

(Saptama meaning seventh, e.g. Shani). Now from the earth around us

on the Zodiac we see the 12 Rashis as marked by the Nakshatras. Each

rashi has equal area, so we divide our circle with radii into areas

of 30 degrees each. These 12 regions that are created are the areas

where each Rashi has his influence. All the Grahas are revolving in

this circle at different distances, the largest being Saptama Dwipa.

In revolving the pass from the region of one Rashi to the other,

being influenced by them. The area within this circle we call Nara

(the finite) and outside of this circle we call the Narayana (The

infinite). Jyotish is concerned with what is going on in this circle,

based on measurements that are finite.

 

With my deep respects to the excellent Gurus and learned scholars of

SJC.

 

Sabri.