Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Is muhurta a superstition ?

There was an article in an English daily published from Mumbai yesterday that the superstitious politicians are waiting for the pitrupaksha to get over for filing nominations for the upcoming assembly election. The question here is not whether pitrupaksha is auspicious or not. The scribe has taken the very concept of muhurta ( auspiciousness / in-auspiciousness ) of time as a superstition.

To start with, veda ( A.V.53.7) says,
काले मनः काले प्राणः काले नाम समाहितम् ।
कालेन सर्वा नन्दन्त्यागतेन प्रजा इमाः ॥

The mind, the vital energy and the names - they are established in 'time'. In his bhashya, Sayanacharya interprets the second part of this mantra as " owing to 'time' people enjoy the results of success ".

सुख दुःखकरं कर्म शुभाशुभमुहूर्तजम् - Whether action leads to happiness or misery depends on the auspiciousness / in-auspiciousness of the time at which it is performed.

Manjul Bhargava, this year's winner of Fields Medal ( Nobel prize in mathematics ) says he was impressed with" the great mathematicians Aryabhata, Bhaskara, and Brahmagupta. Their works were inspirational to me. Pingala, Hemachandra and Brahmagupta have been particularly influential in my own work."

In Siddhanta Siromani, Bhaskaracharya's treatise on mathematics and astronomy in the 1st sloka of Spashtadhikara it is said, यात्राविवाहोत्सवजातकादौ खेटैः स्फुटैरेव फलस्फुटत्वम् - the accuracy of the results of prediction about the outcome of travel, marriage, events and festivals and horoscopy depends on the accuracy of the planetary longitudes calculated.

Does it not establish that the whole purpose of vedic astronomy is to accurately predict / control the outcome ?

It is clear that Hinduism believes in the auspiciousness / in - auspiciousness of time. In this religion it is not a superstition. Our scriptures and books of 'science' agree with this concept.

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Sunday, September 14, 2014

Agni in yajna

Vedic concepts are profound. Agni used in yajna is churned out of wood. The wood used here is from the Ashawatha ( peepal in Hindi ) tree. Veda says that Agni assuming the form of horse, once left the devas, went and stayed in the Ashwatha tree. That is why the tree itself is named Ashwatha. Ashwa means horse ; the tree in which the horse ( Agni ) stayed.

Now, an ordinary Ashwatha tree will not suffice. It should be one growing out of a Shami tree. Shami tree is known for being " shantayoni ". Its womb has a pacifying nature. That's why it is called Shami. It pacifies the destructive nature of Agni. Hence, an Ashwatha tree growing out of the womb of a Shami tree should be chosen for making of arani - the pair of wood used to churn Agni.

Ashwatha is also used in a different context during war .Here Ashwatha used is born out of (sprouting from ) a Khadira tree ( knowm to be a male plant because of the sap ). Khadira enhances the valour of Agni.

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Thursday, September 11, 2014

Prediction of monsoon in astrology.

The method is based on observation of the formation of pregnancy of clouds. From the first day of the month of Margasirsha, when moon transits Purvashada nakshatra one should start observing the clouds.

The timing of rains are predicted like - cloud foetus formed in the krishna paksha of Pushya month will rain in the shukla paksha of sravana month. The cloud formation and rains are complimentary in nature - clouds formed in the east will rain in the west ; clouds formed when the wind is blowing to the south will rain when the wind is blowing to the north.

Omens such as red glow in the horizon, frost, halos are observed for predicting results. Color of the cloud would indicate water content. Fall of meteors, dust storm etc. could indicate miscarriage of the cloud foetus.

Based on the nakshatra on the day of the cloud information, both the quantity of rain fall and its duration are predicted. The coverage is also predicted by observing factors such as wind at the time of cloud foetus formation.

Even hail storms etc. are also predicted based on these observations.

source - Brihat Samhita

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