The Astrological eMagaine November 2015 preview edition

Veda - the Supreme means of Knowledge The word 'Veda' means 'that which gives knowledge' - Jeso³eefle Fefle Jeso:. This is what has been further explained as Òel³e#esveevegefcel³ee Jee ³emletHee³ees ve yegO³eles ~ Sveb efJeoefvle Jesosve lemceeod Jesom³e Jesolee ~~ The Veda is called so because it throws light on aspects of knowledge that cannot otherwise be obtained by other Pramaanas (means of knowledge), such as direct perception (via our sense organs) or inference. For instance, the Veda states “p³eesefleäescesve mJeie&keÀecees³epesle ” - One desirous of obtaining heaven must perform the Jyotishtoma sacrifice. How can we get to know of this aspect of knowledge through other means? The very existence of heaven cannot be determined by our senses or by inference. Naturally, the next question that arises is: how can the Veda state that a sacrifice such as Jyotishtoma will lead one to Svarga (heaven) when even the existence of Svarga is unknown through any other means of knowledge?

It is here that we must realize that the Vedas have their origin in Lord Parameshwara Himself.

Jesom³e Heg©<e: keÀlee&ve efn ³eeÐMeleeÐMe:~ efkeÀvleg $ewueeske̳eefvecee&CeefveHegCe: HejcesMJej: ~~ The source of the Vedas is no ordinary being, but Parameshwara who creates the three worlds in an instant. And Parameshwara is defined as - ³e: meJe&%e: meJe&efJeled ³em³e %eevece³eb leHe: - the omniscient Being, knowing everything in general (Sarvajna) and everything with all detail and specifics (Sarvavit), who is free of all defects and limitations. Hence, unlike everything else, the Vedas, which originate from Parameshwara, have supreme authority, and every Vedic dictum is accepted as is.

It is also for this reason that the Vedas are regarded as the most sacred, and every sound, every Akshara (syllable) of the Veda, is regarded as the Lord's Name -

Jesoe#ejeefCe ³eeJeefvle Heefþleeefve odefJepeeefleefYe: ~ leeJeefvle nefjveeceeefve keÀerefle&leeefve ve mebMe³e: ~~ Hence when chanting the Veda, we all take utmost care to ensure that not a single Akshara or Swara (intonation) is chanted improperly.

May everyone who has studied the Vedic Mantras realize the significance of the Veda, chant correctly and attain Shreyas.

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Rambles in Astrological Thoughts â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 10

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Words of Wisdom

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An Astro Analysis

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Predictions Concerning Children

22 The Importance of the Sixth House

PANCHANGA

for November 2015

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Purandara Namana

Musical Worship of Nature

This Month for You

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Words of Wisdom Sri Sri Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swamiji

6 November 2015

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Swami Dayananda Saraswati An Astro Analysis

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Yajnavalkya

wami D ayananda Saraswati was born in Manjakudi village in Thiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu on 15th August 1930 as the eldest of the four sons to Sri. Gopala Iyer and Smt. Valambal. He was named Natarajan.

His early schooling was at the District Board School at Kodavasal, the nearby city. When his father died (when Natarajan was just eight years old) this brought on his slender shoulders the responsibility of maintaining the family, along with continuing his education. After the completion of his education, he moved to Chennai for earning a livelihood. Natarajan worked as a journalist for the weekly magazine Dharmika Hindu and also for the then Voltas for some time. He joined the Indian Air Force, but left after six months, as he felt suffocated by the regimentation there.

His interest in the studies of ancient Hindu scriptures and religious texts drew him to listen the public talks of Swami Chinmayanada during the fifties and became actively involved with the then newly formed Chinmaya Mission as a Brahmachaari and donned various roles in that institution. In a very short time he was elevated to the position of the Secretary of that The astrological emagazine

institution. It was during that short spell, when this scribe working as a volunteer, outside his office hours, in the Mission, was fortunate to interact with this great soul that continued during the later days, only occasionally, due to the fact this scribe had to leave his spiritual pursuits and choose a different path, to eke out a living. Swamiji learnt Sanskrit and a particular style of Gita chanting from P.S. Subramanya Iyer, a retired Professor of English. It is only that popular Gita chanting style that is still followed by Chinmaya Mission and the Arsha Vidya Centres.

After setting up the Chinmaya Mission's Madurai branch, he accompanied Swami Chinmayanada to Uttarkashi and met Swami Tapovanam Maharaj, the guru of Swami Chinmayanada.

Only a critical shift in his vision about Vedanta impelled Swamiji to once again study the sastra with the commentaries of Adi Sankaracharya.

In 1962 he was given Sanyasa by Swami Chinmayanada and was given the name Swami Dayananda Saraswati. When the health of Swami Chinmayanada stated deteriorating Swami Dayananda was asked to give public talks and lectures, on behalf of Chinmayanada which he undertook between 1967 and 1970.

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The Importance of the Sixth House E. R. Nayanar, B.A., B.L.

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O man is really happy. Some who have immense wealth are worried about the health of their wives and children. Others are denied the happiness of seeing the face of a son. Still some others who have every other comfort on earth are tortured by the most awful kinds of diseases. Failure in profession causes anxiety in some and there are many who feel depressed because they are not able to save a pie in spite of their enviable incomes.

But of all these, the most lamentable thing is the failure of one's own health. Health is the foundation on which the edifice of his plan for the future is built. Health is the real wealth. Now, has the sixth house in a horoscope anything to do with this ? What else does it signify ? This is what I propose to discuss in this short article.

giving Asthra Yoga which is formed by benefics joining or aspecting six, when its lord does not occupy eight or twelve but occupies other auspicious houses and has good strength. This Yoga would give a good physique, argumentative nature, scars over the body, a mind to do cruel actions and courage and strength to defeat and kill his powerful enemies. The contradiction that we find here is with regard to physique and courage of the person and we are left in doubt as to whether it is the strength or the weakness of the lord of six which confers a strong and healthy body and courage to vanquish the enemies. How can success over the enemies, a strong body, etc., result under entirely different conditions of the strength of the sixth house ?

Baneful The sixth house is one of the three baneful houses in a horoscope. It represents abdomen, wounds and sores, diseases, debts, fear, thieves, scandal, disappointment etc.

Mars who denotes fire, enemies, weapons, perseverance, courage, leadership etc., also should figure prominently along with the lord of six and planets occupying and aspecting the sixth when judging the effects of the sixth house. It is said that the strength of the house reduces its bad effects and we know the strength of the lord of any house is the chief factor which makes the house powerful. Thus if the lord of one is powerful and well disposed, health, honour, prosperity etc., result. If it is weak, ill-health, adversity etc., will be experienced. This rule holds good with regard to all auspicious houses. How does it stand in relation to houses six, eight and twelve?

Does the strength of the lord of six confer good health or ill-health; success over enemies or defeat at the hands of the enemies ? Here opinions appear to differ. The Harsha Yoga described in Phaladeepika is stated to give happiness, fortune, strong body, success over enemies, fear in doing evil deeds, leadership of famous men, wealth etc., and for the formation of this yoga the lord of six should be placed in inauspicious houses, it should be aspected by or joined with malefics, or malefics should join the sixth house. The same author expresses a different view when

We are confused. But the clue to interpret the effects of the strength of the lord of six is furnished by the last verse of chapter 6 of the same book. According to that, if the lords of six, eight and twelve are strong and posited in kendra or thrikona when the lords of one, ten, four and nine occupy six, eight or twelve and are weak, that configuration goes by the name Dur-yoga and it would produce all kinds of misfortunes. On the contrary, if lords of six, eight, and twelve are weak and ill-placed when lords of one, four, ten, and nine are strong and well-disposed the native of such a horoscope will be happy, righteous, fortunate and wealthy. This shows the lords of good houses should be comparatively stronger than lords of six, eight, and twelve to confer good results.

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Now we can reconcile the difference in view regarding the strength of the lord of six in this manner, viz., if the lords of good houses especially the lord of one is strong, the sixth house lord need not be weak to minimise the bad results of the house. But if they are not strong enough, the sixth house should necessarily be weak. In other words, the beneficial houses should always be stronger than the baneful houses. The yoga described in Phaladeepika under chapter 16 goes to prove this. Therein it is said that if the lord of one is much stronger than the lord of six and is standing in a benefic navamsa with benefic conjunction and aspect when the lord of four is strong and posited in November 2015

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Musical worship of Nature N Raghavan N Raghavan is the retired Director of All India Radio and Doordarshan. He is a disciple of Dr N Ramani and is a performing Flutist. He has performed in all the major temples and cultural festivals in South India. He has also produced more than seventy documentaries, for All India Radio and Doordarshan, which were telecast and broadcast in the National and Regional net work. He also served as a Lecturer in Theatre Arts at the University of Mysore. He is a Gold Medalist and a State Awardee for distinction in his Degree course.

(This script â&#x20AC;&#x153;Purandara Namanaâ&#x20AC;? is that of a musical feature presented to observe the 450th Aaradhana of Saint Composer Purandaradasa which concludes on the 8th of February 2016. The feature attempts to present the exclusively some selected compositions of Purandaradasa on the animalsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; life and its relevance to mankind. These compositions are not commonly sung and heard in the concert platforms. This feature is an attempt to celebrates the Aaradhana in a different perspective to make it unique in its approach. The script also narrates the brief history of the Haridasa movement in Karnataka in which the name of Purandaradasa glows as a golden Crown.)

V

ittala at Pandarapur is Naada Brahma (Lord of Music), Lord Krishna at Udipi is Anna Brahma (Lord who feeds), and Lord Venkateswara at Tirupati is the Kanchana Brahma (Lord of Wealth). While Vittala, and Vishta are the attributes of Lord Vishnu, Paanduranga is the soul of the Haridasa Movement of Karnataka that originated in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Besides triggering the Bhakti cult, it added also a new dimension to the spiritual and philosophical domain of metaphysics. It added a literary wealth of supremacy with an unparalleled genius.

His disciple Sri Vyasaraja added innovative dimension and fostered this movement, by establishing Vyasakoota and Dasakoota. Vyasakoota was to study, preserve and propagate Vedas and Upanishads, and Dasakoota to propagate the philosophical messages in the spoken medium by indulging in Unchavritti, (collecting alms just for the days survival from door to door). Haridasa clan embraced the family people too. Haridasas were profound scholars, poet laureates, and great exponents of classical music. They invited every individual to get immersed in this confluence of Divine ecstasy.

Evolution Haridasa movement has evolved in various stages. The first stage of this movement had three sanyasis and two saints, - Sripaadaraja, Vyasaraja and Vadiraja; Purandaradasa and Kanakadasa. They were the architects of this movement.

Haridasa compositions are in vogue in the rustic folk tradition and the classical tradition alike. Vyasakoota attained expertise in Jnana Yoga and Karma Yoga, whereas Haridasas became the exponents and architects of Bhakti Yoga. Madhwa philosophy has the dictum that the entire humans are the dasas (servants) of Hari. Thus they were called haridasas who went to the nooks and corner of the country to propagate the Bhakti cult among the downtrodden and humanity at large.

Sripadaraja stayed at Srirangam in Tamilnadu, and was impressed by the use of Tamil hymns (Paasurams) of Azhwars, (saint mystics of tamil bhakti movement), sung during the worship at the temples. To understand, assimilate and practice the philosophical dictums, language plays a dominant role. Spoken language suits best to this purpose. This trend was well defined by Nayanmars (Saiva saints of Tamilnadu) and the Shivasharanas (Saiva saints of Karnataka), during the 12th century. Sripadaraja imbibed this legacy and sang and danced to his own compositions during the pooja time. By adopting this practice he added a new dimension to dvaita philosophy (dualistic form of vedanta).

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There were 139 haridasas who have treaded this path of glory. This includes Badasaheb from the Pinjara clan of Muslims. He has composed 783 compositions on Lord Rama. In addition there were 9 women who embraced dasa diksha and have composed devotional hymns.

Because these compositions are not being sung frequently, they are not popular now.

Tracing the history of Haridasas has two inherent challenges. One is the non-availability of recorded The astrological emagazine

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