Jyotish and one's Ishtadevata. What is the connection? How can one tell of ones Ishta from Jyotish?
Lets take a look at this…
Ishtadevata at its root is Isa or Lord, master and Is, to rule.. We see this in Isvara, The Great One. This is a quality of saguna Brahmam or manifest Brahman. So, one's Ishtadevata is ones chosen Lord.
From a Jyotish (science of light, the eyes of the Ved) what information points to understanding ones Ishtadevata?
WE look to the authorities, the Bhagavad-Gita for direction, then we look to the seers of the ved for their guidance on this. That said lets look at this in two parts below:
Part A
Bhagavad-Gita
In Chapt 10 Arjuna asks
Please tell me in detail of Your divine powers by which You pervade all these worlds and abide in them.
Krsna responds, and sets the stage:
I am the Self, O Gudakesa, seated in the hearts of all creatures. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings.
He calls Arjuna Gudakesa, which means one who has conquered the darkness of sleep. This indicates Arjuna's wakeful and attentive state, that of a sisya, asking the Guru meaningful questions, that will allow the flow of knowledge to come out.
Krsna, defines a few other key/divine attributes of HimSelf , then says:
Of the Adityas I am Visnu, of lights I am the radiant sun ( or ravi) , I am Marici of the Maruts, and among the stars I am the moon ( or sasi).
Now, forward to Chapt 15
Krsna explains the following:
gam avisya ca bhutani
dharayamy aham ojasa
pusnami causadhih sarvah
somo bhutva rasatmakah
I enter into each planet, and by My energy they stay in orbit. I become the moon (or soma) and thereby supply the juice of life to all vegetables.
As we look to Chapt 10 and 15, it ponts out that the Univeral Purusha, Krsna, enters into the planets ( graha's) and He is seated in the hearts of all beings. The connection of Him, us and the graha's is established.
Part B
Seers of the Ved
One of the greatest risi's of the Ved is muni Parashara. In his works establishes various expressions of the Lord/Univeral Self of Purusha for each graha. It's recognized that each graha administers HIS will to dispense the results of our works ( karma). Another great Jyotish risi and a student of Ved Vyasa, the son of muni Parashara, is risi Jaimini. ( You can see the liniage is connected). They look at the graha-devatas and extend the concept of the 'owners'…
Let me outline both Parashara's and Jaimini's guidence for each graha. For reference if one is interested, look to Brhad Parashara Hora Sastra, for Parashara, and to the Upadesa Sutras of Maharishi Jaimini. This work is beyond brilliant, yet is not entry level reading.
Graha/Planet ----------Ruler per Parashara ----------Ruler per Jaimini
Sun ---------------------------------Agni------------------------------ Siva
Moon -------------------------------Jala------------------------------ Gauri
Mars----------------------------- Skanda-------------------------- Skanda
Mercury --------------------------Visnu----------------------------- Visnu
Jupiter----------------------------- Indra ------------------------------Sambsiva
Venus -----------------------------Sasi---------------------------- Lakshmi
Saturn --------------------------Brahma----------------------------- Visnu
Rahu-------------------------------- - -----------------------------------Druga
Ketu--------------------------------- - ---------------------------------Ganapati
Lets stop here for now...the info above sets the stage for Part 2. If one post gets too long, one loses interest, and the knowledge can become convoluted.
So, in part 2 let me outline the Visnu avataras that correspond to the graha's above. We can then establish the connection to the Atmakaraka that points to ones Ishtadevata, and outline some of the interesting dictums of one's Atmakaraka i.e. accoring to the shastra's what the indvidual native is to 'learn' in this human manifestation.
Lets take a look at this…
Ishtadevata at its root is Isa or Lord, master and Is, to rule.. We see this in Isvara, The Great One. This is a quality of saguna Brahmam or manifest Brahman. So, one's Ishtadevata is ones chosen Lord.
From a Jyotish (science of light, the eyes of the Ved) what information points to understanding ones Ishtadevata?
WE look to the authorities, the Bhagavad-Gita for direction, then we look to the seers of the ved for their guidance on this. That said lets look at this in two parts below:
Part A
Bhagavad-Gita
In Chapt 10 Arjuna asks
Please tell me in detail of Your divine powers by which You pervade all these worlds and abide in them.
Krsna responds, and sets the stage:
I am the Self, O Gudakesa, seated in the hearts of all creatures. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings.
He calls Arjuna Gudakesa, which means one who has conquered the darkness of sleep. This indicates Arjuna's wakeful and attentive state, that of a sisya, asking the Guru meaningful questions, that will allow the flow of knowledge to come out.
Krsna, defines a few other key/divine attributes of HimSelf , then says:
Of the Adityas I am Visnu, of lights I am the radiant sun ( or ravi) , I am Marici of the Maruts, and among the stars I am the moon ( or sasi).
Now, forward to Chapt 15
Krsna explains the following:
gam avisya ca bhutani
dharayamy aham ojasa
pusnami causadhih sarvah
somo bhutva rasatmakah
I enter into each planet, and by My energy they stay in orbit. I become the moon (or soma) and thereby supply the juice of life to all vegetables.
As we look to Chapt 10 and 15, it ponts out that the Univeral Purusha, Krsna, enters into the planets ( graha's) and He is seated in the hearts of all beings. The connection of Him, us and the graha's is established.
Part B
Seers of the Ved
One of the greatest risi's of the Ved is muni Parashara. In his works establishes various expressions of the Lord/Univeral Self of Purusha for each graha. It's recognized that each graha administers HIS will to dispense the results of our works ( karma). Another great Jyotish risi and a student of Ved Vyasa, the son of muni Parashara, is risi Jaimini. ( You can see the liniage is connected). They look at the graha-devatas and extend the concept of the 'owners'…
Let me outline both Parashara's and Jaimini's guidence for each graha. For reference if one is interested, look to Brhad Parashara Hora Sastra, for Parashara, and to the Upadesa Sutras of Maharishi Jaimini. This work is beyond brilliant, yet is not entry level reading.
Graha/Planet ----------Ruler per Parashara ----------Ruler per Jaimini
Sun ---------------------------------Agni------------------------------ Siva
Moon -------------------------------Jala------------------------------ Gauri
Mars----------------------------- Skanda-------------------------- Skanda
Mercury --------------------------Visnu----------------------------- Visnu
Jupiter----------------------------- Indra ------------------------------Sambsiva
Venus -----------------------------Sasi---------------------------- Lakshmi
Saturn --------------------------Brahma----------------------------- Visnu
Rahu-------------------------------- - -----------------------------------Druga
Ketu--------------------------------- - ---------------------------------Ganapati
Lets stop here for now...the info above sets the stage for Part 2. If one post gets too long, one loses interest, and the knowledge can become convoluted.
So, in part 2 let me outline the Visnu avataras that correspond to the graha's above. We can then establish the connection to the Atmakaraka that points to ones Ishtadevata, and outline some of the interesting dictums of one's Atmakaraka i.e. accoring to the shastra's what the indvidual native is to 'learn' in this human manifestation.
