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 Ram
looks at the pursuit of a Just Life, via
the codes of conduct laid down in the
Indian Scriptures. These scriptures feature
a great deal of astrological content,
which is taken instinctively to heart
by the majority of the people in that
vast country. Indeed, as Ram points out,
astrology permeates the basis of living
in India.
People pursue any subject of interest
only when they perceive some benefit from
doing so. This would apply to the study
of astrology too. To write about astrology
in India can be quite a daunting task,
for it is quite deeply intertwined with
the philosophy on which Hindu thought
and hence social practices, are based.
To say it in a sentence, a Hindu lives
astrology. Most people would use astrological
terms regularly without knowing exactly
what they mean. But the fact that they
use these terms creates this constant
impression in them that every person is
somehow linked to the celestial entities
and their movements.
Hindu philosophy lays down a code of conduct
for 'Just' living. Living is perceived
as a chain of thoughts and actions. Actions
are performed, measured and assessed in
Time. Time itself is perceived to be an
endless chain of moments each with its
own unique set of characteristics. Actions
imbibe the characteristics of the moment
of time in which it is begun and the time
in which it is executed and lead to results
commensurate with these characteristics.
To live 'Justly' would mean doing 'Just'
actions. As actions imbibe the charcteristics
of the time in which it is begun and executed,
the time too should be 'Just'.
The Hindu Almanac
The Hindu almanac is used for selecting
a 'Just' time to perform 'Just' actions
for 'Just' living. A brief description
of the almanac would be appropriate here.
The five parameters for describing a day
are Vaara -- day of the week; Tithi --
the lunar day; Nakshatra -- the lunar
'mansion' in which the Moon is posited;
Yoga -- a period of time considering simultaneously
the motions of the Sun and the Moon; and
finally Karana -- which is half a lunar
day.
There are 7 Vaaras, two sets of 15 Tithis
-- one set each for the waxing and waning
phases of the Moon, 27 Nakshatras, 27
Yogas and 11 Karanas. All these parameters
have specific names that are suggestive
of the quality of the time span described
by them. As the almanac uses five parameters
to describe time, it is referred to as
the Panchaanga -- 'Pancha' meaning five,
and 'anga' meaning part. All the five
parameters are either Lunar or Luni-Solar
derivations.
Another scheme for measuring time within
the day as well as the duration of each
of the above parameters is the ghatika.
This entity corresponds to the hour in
the ratio 60 ghatika = 24 hours. Each
ghatika is further subdivided into 60
vighatika. There are further smaller subdivisions
as well. From the point of view of what
is being discussed -- time as understood,
delineated and used for the purpose of
astrology -- the smaller subdivisions
may not be relevant.
There are definite regulations for every
genre of action, linking each to the five
parameters that describe a day. If practically
possible, a practising Hindu will not
travel in certain directions on certain
days, will not perform actions that in
his perception will lead to his well being
on certain days and certain times of a
day because they may prove detrimental.
Every traditional Hindu household would
have a copy of the year's almanac. These
almanacs are computed each year according
to the vedic doctrine described in texts.
In addition to the divisions of a day
in terms of the five parameters, the almanacs
also mark the daily movements of the celestial
bodies, the sunrise times, the durations
of day and night and other details.
The birth of a child too being the culmination
of a series of actions resulting in the
event and the event itself being the cause
of a series of actions to come, these
five-some are mentioned in horoscopes
too, along with the planetary longitudes
and other details. In addition to the
dominant influences due to the positions
held by the planets in the natal chart,
each of the above parameters that describe
a day will contribute their characteristics
to shape the destiny of the individual
represented by the horoscope.
The Role of Karma
So much has been said about 'Just' living
and the means to do so. Despite this however,
reality presents quite a different picture.
There is as much unjustness all around
us as there is justness. To account for
this, Indian thought views the scene from
another level.
If one of the uses of astrology is for
regulating our actions towards 'Just'
existence then what is it that can be
described as existence? Is it just this
life that seems to have been granted to
us with a limited span? Or does 'after
life' too come into its ambit?
Existence is viewed as a life-continuum
sustained by karma. It describes an association
between all life forms where an individual
consciousness develops or mutates from
one life form to another across innumerable
cycles of birth and death. The ultimate
destination of an individual consciousness
is to merge with the supreme consciousness
-- the timeless, spaceless, nameless One.
Why an individual consciousness emerges
at all from the supreme in the first instance
to start its countless cycles of birth
and death only to merge back into it,
is described to be the Will of the incomprehensible
supreme. This reasoning seems to be the
weakest of them all, but it stands to
reason that the weakness lies with the
individual consciousness in understanding
it, rather than the reason itself, because
a consciousness that is confined within
limits cannot comprehend something that
is limitless.
There is however a parallel here between
the philosophical idea of the cyclic emergence
of the material universe from a primordial
ball and its eventual collapse into it
at its appointed time and the emergence
of a consciousness from the supreme and
its merger back into it. If the material
universe is time bound, the separation
and merger of an individual consciousness
from and into the supreme should be so
too. The interplay between the material
universe and the realm of consciousness
could perhaps be described as existence.
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