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Ayurveda and Vedic Astrology, Jyotish

THIS TEXT IS A LESSON FROM THE EMAIL COURSE 'APPLIED VEDIC ASTROLOGY'. IN THIS COURSE YOU WILL LEARN VEDIC ASTROLOGY ON THE BASIS OF YOUR OWN CHART. TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS COURSE CLICK ON THIS TEXT.

Questions about the course? Send email to Roeland de Looff, the author of the course material roeland@dirah.org

13. AYURVEDA: VEDIC HEALING

Ayurveda is the system of Indian healing that has been practised in India for thousands of years. Long before our era began, there were universities in India where ayurveda, among other subjects, was taught to tens of thousands of students. Ayurveda, as Vedic astrology, originates in the Vedic traditions.

In the Veda's (the holy scripts of the Hindu religion) we can find descriptions of the methods of Vedic astrology as well as ayurvedic healing. No one need be surprised at the relationship between the two.

13.1 THE THREE DOSHA'S

Ayurveda is based on the three constitutions, the three dosha's. These three dosha's are called vata, pitta and kapha. Vata corresponds to air, pitta to fire, and kapha to earth and water. The astrological signs can then be divided as follows:

Vata : Gemini, Virgo, Libra, Capricorn and Aquarius. Virgo is placed here because it is ruled by Mercury, which is an air planet in Vedic astrology. Capricorn is mentioned here because it is ruled by the vata planet Saturn.
Pitta : Aries, Leo, Sagittarius and Scorpio. Scorpio is pitta because the classic ruler of Scorpio is the fire planet Mars. In Vedic astrology, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are not used, and so Mars remains the ruler of Scorpio.
Kapha : Taurus, Cancer, and Pisces. These are the earth and water signs not assigned to vata and pitta.

There are several methods which can help us to decide the constitution of a person, such as the pulse diagnosis, a urine test, face reading and the general impression a person makes.

SEVERAL TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DOSHA'S

A vata type is generally slim (thin), has difficulty concentrating, feels the cold and has a great urge to be quickly satisfied in his needs. He eats quickly, chews his food badly and eats at irregular hours.
A kapha type is often corpulent, slow, and has a calm, thoughtful character. He eats a lot and enjoys his food.
A pitta type has a well-balanced figure, likes action and can be hot tempered. Because his life is so busy, he may feel food is not very important.

13.2 ASTROLOGICAL ESTABLISHMENT OF THE THREE DOSHA'S

Astrology can also play a role in establishing the constitution or dosha. Naturally, we must use a Vedic horoscope for this and not a Western horoscope, although there are astrologers who define the dosha via a Western horoscope. This is wrong, because both ayurveda and Vedic astrology have their roots in the same Vedic tradition. This tradition forms a unit. The various methods rooted in this tradition supplement each other and re attuned to each other.

To define the constitution, we do not use the Sun; we use the ascendant and the lord of the ascendant. If the ascendant is Aries a pitta sign), and the lord of the ascendant (Mars) is in Scorpio (a pitta sign), it will point to a pitta constitution.
Planets in the first are also important, especially if they are close to the ascendant degree. Suppose someone has Saturn in the first, this is a strong indication for a vata constitution. If a person has Jupiter in the first then that person tends to gain weight and may have a kapha constitution (however, if Saturn aspects that Jupiter this tendency may not surface)
We also need to know which planets are in the sixth house and where their lord of the sixth house is placed. If Mercury is in the sixth house and in Pisces, that points to either a vata (Mercury is a vataplanet) and/or a kapha (Pisces is a kapha sign) constitution. Furthermore, Jupiter is a kapha (but somewhat pitta) planet, the Sun is pitta, Mars is pitta, Saturn is vata, the Moon is kapha and Venus is kapha (and somewhat vata).
Another factor that plays a role in the analysis is the position of the Moon. The Moon, because she gives shape to earthly matters, is an important influence on the human body. The questions we have to ask here are in which sign is the Moon placed and is the Moon in conjunction with other planets.
The strongest planet in the horoscope is important. Often this concerns a planet placed in its own sign or is exalted and placed in a house where it can develop its energy (for example houses 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 or 11). If a certain planet in the horoscope is prominent, then that planet will colour all the aspects of the life of the person involved, including his constitution.

Actually, this is a complicated analysis, which seldom gives an unequivocal answer. This is not a catastrophe, because most people are mixed types. So we can have a vata-kapha type, a pitta-kapha type, etc.

DIAGRAM 19: ASTROLOGICAL FACTORS AND DOSHA'S

VATA

element: air

signs: Gemini, Virgo, Libra, Capricorn, Aquarius

planets: Mercury, Saturn, Venus (secondary), Rahu.

KAPHA

element: earth and water

signs: Taurus, Cancer, Pisces

planets: Moon, Venus (primary), Jupiter (primary) Saturn (secondary),

PITTA

element: fire

signs: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius, Scorpio

planets: Mars, the Sun, Jupiter (secondary), Ketu.

Our example is the Kennedy horoscope

John F. Kennedy 29-5-1917 GMT: 20.13, 42.20 N.,71.07 W.

7th Pisces	8th Aries Mars 25.43 Mercury 27.53	9th Taurus Jupiter 0.21 Sun 15.09 Venus 24.04	10th Gemini Ketu 18.29
6th Aquarius	Rasi	Chart	11th Cancer Saturn 4.27
5th Capricorn	John F.	Kennedy	12th Leo Moon 24.36
4th Sagittarius Rahu 18.29	3rd Scorpio	2nd Libra	1st Virgo Ascendant 29.43

I shall now explain how to define the dosha from our example.

Ascendant in Virgo (vata) and Aquarius (vata) on the cusp of the sixth house point to a vata constitution.
The lord of the ascendant Mercury in Aries (pitta) and the Moon in Leo (pitta) point to a pitta constitution.
The only indication for a kapha constitution is the lord of the sixth house (Saturn) in Cancer (kapha).

We then have a mixed vata-pitta constitution. The amount of kapha is very small.

Special note: In Indian astrology, there is a special and very detailed system to measure the strength of the planets. We call this system shadbala. In this numerical system a large number of factors are taken into consideration when deciding the strength of a planet.

It may be expected that Venus is the strongest planet in the Kennedy horoscope. Venus is in her own sign and in a trikona house. However, according to shadbala it is the Sun (pitta, Shadbala score 7,63) which is the strongest planet, followed by Mercury (vata, score 7,18). This supports the earlier conclusion of a vata-pitta constitution.

Usually what appears to be the strongest planet in a quick analysis is also a strong planet according to the more detailed shadbala system. However, this is not always the case. The Kennedy example shows us that the planet that we would expect to have the highest score (Venus) only obtained a 5,89.

When making an analysis of a horoscope, we must always remain alert and attentive for apparently remarkable situations. Never switch over to the automatic pilot while analysing a horoscope.

13.3 THE CONSEQUENCES OF A DISTURBANCE IN THE DOSHA HARMONY AND ITS TREATMENT

Every person has a unique dosha (constitutional) harmony. It is mostly the dominant dosha that can become too much and that is responsible for disturbing harmony.

When we define the dosha, or dosha's, of a person, we have a great deal of information about that person - how he functions, what types of illness he is susceptible to, what types of food he should eat and which (ayurvedic) therapies are desirable. People with a certain constitution are susceptible to subsequent illnesses. There is a big chance that at a certain time the dominant constitution will be disturbed, become too much, and cause sickness.

Examples of illnesses, which fall under a certain constitution are: obesity is a kapha ailment, a red rash is a pitta ailment and rheumatism is a vata ailment.

An example of treatment via diet: A vata type is predisposed to rheumatism. If a vata type wants to avoid rheumatism it would be advisable to follow an anti-vata diet. He should eat food that weakens the vata.
In ayurveda there are six different tastes: sweet, sour, salt, pungent, bitter and acid. Everything we eat or drink falls under one of these six tastes.

Vata is stimulated by pungent, bitter and acid, and weakened by sweet, sour and salt. Therefore it is advisable for a vata person to eat food that is sweet, sour or salty.

Everything that stimulates vata weakens kapha and vice versa. Kapha then is stimulated by sweet, sour and salty and is weakened by pungent, bitter and acid.

Pitta is stimulated by pungent, sour and slightly salty and weakened by sweet, bitter and acid.

In our example horoscope we had a vata-pitta constitution. An anti-vata diet consists of the tastes sweet, sour and salt. However, sour and salt stimulate pitta. The emphasis in the diet of someone with a vata-pitta constitution will then be on sweet tastes. This will stimulate kapha, which Kennedy lacks. In a large number of foodstuffs such as potatoes and rice, we can find sweetness. Eating sweet food will decrease the chance of sicknesses developing which are connected with too much vata and pitta.

DIAGRAM 20: THE EFFECT OF TASTE

TASTE	STIMULATES	WEAKENS
sweet	kapha	vata and pitta
sour	kapha and pitta	vata
salt	kapha and pitta	vata
pungent	vata and pitta	kapha
bitter	vata	kapha and pitta
acid	vata	kapha and pitta

Apart from eating certain foods, there are many other ways of influencing the dosha harmony. Teas (yogi Bhasan, Golden Temple Products) can stimulate or weaken kapha, vata or pitta. In ayurvedic massage, different massage-oils are used, which are suitable for certain constitutional types. Massage is usually a form of therapy suitable for the vata type, considering that this type of person generally does not feel particularly happy in his body.

There are many other therapies, for example an extensive purification therapy, called pancha karma. This is a therapy well suited to the kapha type. Kapha builds up in the intestines, which can be thoroughly cleansed by pancha karma. There are rules for all the constitutional types to follow in order to prevent a certain dosha becoming negative.

For example: It is important for a vata type to rest, not to watch too much television, and to rush around doing many things at the same time. These activities stimulate vata. A pitta type should also take care not to do things too fast. However, a kapha type should be active. A pitta type should also take care not to do things too fast.

When a person becomes ill, the prescribed remedies are partly directed at curing the illness itself and partly to restore the harmony in the damaged dosha.

13.4 EXERCISE

Study your horoscope and decide your dosha. Follow the methods described in paragraph 13.2

Does your conclusion coincide with other conspicuous characteristics of the dosha's (paragraph 13.1)?

Considering your constitutional type, which tastes should be emphasised in your diet?

THIS TEXT IS A LESSON FROM THE EMAIL COURSE 'APPLIED VEDIC ASTROLOGY'. IN THIS COURSE YOU WILL LEARN VEDIC ASTROLOGY ON THE BASIS OF YOUR OWN HOROSCOPE. TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS COURSE CLICK ON THIS TEXT.

copyright: Roeland de Looff, nothing on this site is allowed to be reproduced without written permission of the author.

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