Vedic astrology or Jyotish  is an integral part of all Vedic teachings as it is one of the most important aspects of Vedic knowledge. Yet we approach Vedic astrology in a way that may be different from what many groups do, which is to use Jyotish to simply tell a person’s fortune or predict events in their outer lives. We approach Vedic astrology as a way of Self-knowledge, Self-healing and Self-realization through Yoga, Ayurveda and Vedanta – providing insight on how to understand our karmas, work with them and transcend them. Vedic astrology is an important, if not essential tool of Vedic counseling ,as it helps us understand our karmas in life and how to best address and transcend them.

We have been critical of the superficial fortune telling that can go on under the name of astrology, East or West. That is not the authentic Vedic approach, and often creates fear or false expectations in the mind of clients. Vedic knowledge teaches that our inner being and higher Self transcends time and karma, but to reach it we must properly harmonize our manifestation in body and mind – learning how to understand our karmas, not just pursue personal happiness. The Vedic chart helps us understand not only our karmas at birth but how these unfold over time through its sophisticated set of dashas or planetary periods.

Predictive and Counseling Models of Vedic Astrology

Vedic astrology today is dominated by two main lines of interpretation; the first is predictive, while the second is counseling based. Each has its place.

While Vedic astrology can help us understand important trends in our lives, it does not embrace fatalism, nor make a correct timing of our outer events the most significant factor in how we live. As immortal souls we are not slaves of any outer destiny and can learn to adjust our karmic energies and engagements for a greater creativity and awareness.

We all come under certain karmic influences, both individual and collective that affect our lives, sometimes in dramatic manner, some of which may be unavoidable. Yet we also have an ability to adapt to these influences – and through a higher consciousness utilize them in a spiritually transformational direction. Human life is a creative and spiritual unfoldment; it is not simply a working out of mechanical forces, like a ball rolling down a hill that cannot chose which way to go. If we develop a higher awareness through meditation our well-being will not be determined by mere transient outer events.

The Vedic counseling approach to Vedic astrology helps us understand the planetary influences operating in our lives and the various times at which they will likely predominate. This is not to blindly accept them as fate but to learn how to adjust to their energies in an optimal manner, like adjusting to the seasons in our outer lives. Our bodies reflect our doshas of Vata, Pitta and Kapha as explained in Ayurvedic medicine. Our minds reflect the gunas of sattva, rajas and tamas as explained in Yoga philosophy. Our lives reflect our karmas as explained in Vedic astrology. Yet our true Self or Atman transcends body, mind and karma.