The Basis of the Vimshottary Dasha System found in Rig Veda

7/28/2019 The Basis of the Vimshottary Dasha System found in Rig Veda

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Since 1985 Drs. Frans LangenkampPh.D. studied Vedic astrology under the

supervision of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, atMERU, Maharishi European ResearchUniversity. In 1992 he received a doctorsdegree in Vedic science. Since 1997 he is afull time Vedic astrologer based in theNetherlands. He integrates into the body ofancient Vedic astrology everything thatworks from modern western astrology. In asense, his system is a synthesis of eastern and

western astrology. Life purpose readings arehis speciality, in which he does not so muchfocus on predicting the future, as on helpinghis client see his/her life in a cosmicperspective, whereby an integration of thepersonality with the soul is promoted(jivatma integration). He can be contactedat [email protected]. Or via hiswebsite: www.selfrealisation.net.

ByDr. Frans Langenkamp,Netherlands

yotish is one of the six limbs(Angas) of Rig Veda. In fact,

Jyotish is considered the mostimportant of all the six Vedangas.

Just as Vedanta is the most

important of the six Upangas,containing within its fold all theknowledge contained in the otherfive Upangas, so Jyotish is theculmination of the other fiveVedangas. The term Jyotishconsists of two words namely"Jyoti" and "sha." "Jyoti" means

"light" while "sha" means "the best,the most excellent, eternal." Thus,

Jyotish refers to the most excellent ofall lights.

Which light is the best of all lights?Is there any eternal light? TheUpanishads declare that the light of

the Self, the light of theconsciousness of man is the light ofall lights, the source of all visiblelights. It is identified with the


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eternal light of Brahman, the essence and source of the entire creation.

In the BrihadaranyakaUpanishad, Maharishi Yajnavalkya declares that when allvisible lights have gone, the inner light of the Self still remains, guiding manin all his thoughts, speech and actions (Br. Up. 4.3.6.). Thus, Jyotish refers tothe light of all lights, the light of pure consciousness, the Self of all beings.

Jyotish is therefore really a limb of the Veda, since the Veda is theencyclopaedia of the structuring dynamics of consciousness, which areresponsible for the creation and evolution of all that exists in the universe.

Traditionally, Jyotish has been regarded as the eyes of the Veda, the eyes ofpure knowledge. Thanks to the eyes of the Vedas, the structure of the Vedaitself can be known and understood. Since Jyotish is such an important limb of the

body of Rig Veda, we should be able to locate the basic ingredients of Jyotish in RigVeda. Let us, therefore take a closer look at the structure of the Veda, asrevealed by the Apaurusheya Bhasya impersonal Commentary of RigVeda, brought to light by the late MaharishiMaheshYogi.

The Apaurusheya Bhasya on Rig VedaThe Rig Veda consists of ten Chapters called Mandalas. Maharishi's

Apaurusheya Bhasya on the Rig Veda points out that all the knowledge of theten Mandalas of Rig Veda is concentratedly available in the firstMandala, consisting of 192 Suktas (hymns). Furthermore, it shows that allknowledge of the first Mandala is containedin concentrated form in the first Sukta,consisting of nine Richas (verses). Then itgoes on to show that the knowledge of thefirst Sukta is contained in the first Richa,

consisting of nine words. And that theknowledge of the first Richa is contained inthe first word. And that the knowledge ofthe first word is contained in the firstsyllable "Ak." And finally, that theknowledge of the first syllable is contained in the first letter "A." Thisimplies that the entirety of the knowledge of the Rig Veda is contained in itsfirst letter, A! Likewise, it holds that the entirety of knowledge is contained

in the first Richa (verse)!

Is it a coincidence that

this first Richa of Rig

Veda, comprising the

totality of Rig Veda,consists of exactly nine

words?


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Maharishi is the first commentator of the Rig Veda, who pointed out that theVedas are completely self-explanatory, in the sense that each following wordis an elaboration and a commentary on the previous words. Each elaboratedversion of the Vedas in terms of Richas, Suktas and Mandalas are more

elaborated versions of the knowledge that is contained in the precedingversions. In this way, Maharishi emphasises the perfect orderly, sequentialand self-explanatory structure of the Rig Veda.

The 9 Grahas associated with the first 9 Words of the Rig Vedaccording to ancient understanding, the Vedas are the textbooks thatreveal the structuring dynamics of Consciousness, which areresponsible for the creation, maintenance and dissolution of the

Universe. In other words, we can say that the Vedas are the encyclopaedia ofall the Laws of Nature. If we turn our attention to Jyotish, the eyes of theVeda, we see that the nine Planets (Navagraha) also represent all the Laws ofNature. Planets can be seen as the point values of the nine basic universalLaws of Nature, which are responsible for creating, maintaining anddissolving the entire universe. Please note that the Planets as such, are notidentical with the abstract and eternal Laws of Nature; they are the physicalexpressions of the Laws of Nature. (In the case of Rahu and Ketu, they arejust mathematical points, invisible but calculable as the intersection of theMoon's orbital plane with the ecliptic.) The nine Grahas taken together,represent all the forces of nature, responsible for the creation and evolution ofeverything in the universe. Since both Rig Veda and the Nine Planets, each in theirown way, relate to the entirety of all the laws of nature, the qualities andcharacteristics of the nine planets must somehow be found in Rig Veda!If it is true that Rig Veda is the expression of the totality of the Laws of

Nature, and if the nine Grahas represent all the Laws of Nature, thencertainly the knowledge of the nine Grahas must somehow be contained inRig Veda. Furthermore, there is the Apaurusheya Bhasya of the Rig Veda, whichmaintains that the entire knowledge of Rig Veda is available in the first letter, the

first syllable, the first word, the first Sukta and the first Mandala of Rig Veda.

If this is so, it should be possible to demonstrate that the knowledge of thenine Grahas is completely available on each of the levels of elaboration of the

Vedic text. In order to test this hypothesis, we could turn our attention to acommentary on the first Richa (verse) of Rig Veda, written by Maharishi.

A


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Is it a coincidence that this first Richa of Rig Veda, comprising the totality of RigVeda, consists of exactly nine words? Jyotish teaches us that there are nocoincidences in the universe. Could it be that there exists a correspondencebetween the first nine words of the Rig Veda and the nine Grahas? It seems

only logical to expect this!Maharishi's translation and commentary on the first Richa of Rig Veda can befound in a book, issued in 1976, under the title Creating an Ideal Society - aGlobal Undertaking. In this book, Maharishi elaborates on the inherentmeaning of each of the first nine words of Rig Veda. The first Richa of RigVeda reads as follows:

"Agnim ile purohitam yagyasya devam ritvijam hotaram ratna dhatamam."

Let us take a look at Maharishi's descriptions of these first nine words of RigVeda, and see whether they can be related to the basic qualities, the essentialnature of the nine Grahas. The definition of each of the nine words, givenbelow in bold, was taken from Maharishis book (page 128 a.f.).

Agnim"...contains within its structure, in seed form, the full knowledge of all Laws ofNature, all evolutionary processes, and all forms and actions in the universe.

A such it represents the whole value ofSupremeintelligence..."Clearly this relates to Surya, the Sun, who in Jyotish represents pureconsciousness, Creative Intelligence, the Self, the source of all knowledge andaction. The superficial word meaning ofAgni is "fire," and the Sun is the onlyGraha that consists offire and is illuminating with its light all the otherGrahas of the solar system. Just as Agni is the source of the whole Veda and

the Vedic Literature, the Sun can be seen as the source of all activity and lifeforms in the solar system. Clearly, Agnim can only related to the Suryaprinciple.Ile"...displays the Mechanics of Creation, contained within the word Agnim. ... Itexpresses the first awakening of the Laws of Nature as they initiate activity withinthe field of consciousness."

This relates to Chandra, the Moon, because in Jyotish the Moon represents


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the mind, which is just another expression for "activity within the field ofconsciousness.""By virtue of being awareness, transparent to itself, consciousness emerges fromwithin its pure potentiality (Agnim) and, curving back on to itself (Ile) establishes an"observer-observed" relationship within its own structure."It is activity in consciousness that structures the subject-object relationshipwithin the indivisible wholeness of consciousness. Here, we have thedescription of how the mind relates to pure consciousness, or in terms of

Jyotish, how the Moon interacts with the Sun and how it reflects the valuesof the Sun.

"Ile," Maharishi states, "is the first sprouting of the supreme intelligence tobecome the first expression of Creative Intelligence."This passage describes how the mind arises out of pure consciousness.Maharishi says that Ile means "to repeat over and over again". In terms of

Jyotish, repetition and cyclical activity typically refers to the Moon, since theMoon represents anything that has a cyclical nature. During the process ofeffortless meditation, the mind "curves back onto the self," like the Moon ismerging into the Sun every month again. This illustrates the fact that Ilerelates to the qualities and characteristics of Chandra, the Moon as described

by Jyotish.

Purohitam"...is pure potentiality in motion ... it is the wholeness of consciousness enlivened byself-knowledge and capable of initiating action within its own unmanifest structure...the silent initiator and inner controller of all action, the fountainhead of all authority,law and power..."In Jyotish, Mangal (Mars) is described as the army general, the initiator ofaction, the archetype of power and authority. Maharishi emphasises that thepower and authority exhibited by Purohitam, is derived from Agnim - this isprecisely the case with Mangal, the army general, whose power and authorityare based upon the strength of the King Surya (the Sun). These pointsestablish the fact that Purohitam relates to the Mangal principle.Yagyasya"...expresses the code of action by which any desired goal can be achieved. Themechanics of achievement are that consciousness, simply by following its own nature,puts its infinite potential to use in the field of action."


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Consciousness expresses its nature through desiring. Desiring is the ultimatemeans of achieving anything. This principle relates to Rahu (the Northernlunar moon node), since its very nature is to desire, and to achieve one goalafter another. By following the nature ofRahu in ourHoroscope, we attain our

lifepurpose, and reach our desiredgoal in the field ofrelativecreation.Rahu is the locomotive of life, the locomotive of desire, by which creaturesfollow their own nature. It is interesting to note that the ShrimadBhagavatam, one of the two Mahapuranas, makes mention of a boarincarnation of God. This boar is the embodiment of all Yagyas. Yagyas are subtletechnologies of Vedic engineering, by which any desired goal can be achieved.In the second chapter of the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, MaharshiParashara, the founding father of Vedic astrology, enumerates the tenincarnations of God, and classifies them with reference to the Navagraha (thenine planets). In this classification the boar incarnation relates to Rahu. Fromthese points, it is evident that there is a cosmic correspondence between

yagyasya and the nature ofRahu.

Devam"...is the impulse of CreativeIntelligence that spontaneously leads all activity in anevolutionary direction."Clearly, this is the function of Guru (Jupiter), who is the guide, the teacher,the spiritual preceptor of the Devas, (impulses of Creative Intelligence,personified as gods). Of all the Grahas it ismainly Guru that makes us go forevolution, expansion, enlightenment, etc.Guru shows us the way toward therealisation of evolutionary goals and

aspirations. From this consideration it isclear that devam is an exact expression ofthe Guru principle.Ritvijam"is the absolute, non-active value of CreativeIntelligence. The supreme intelligence is sounlimited that it can function without functioning

- its very presence regulates activity so that it isspontaneously right" ... it is... "the element which maintains wholeness ofconsciousness and witnesses all activity."

Budha principle,

represented by the

Mercury, who is the fast

moving planet ofCreative Intelligence in

action. Budha infuses

intelligence, creativity,

liveliness and joy into all

phases of our daily life


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These attributes of consciousness remind us of the characteristics of Shani(Saturn). Shani represents theAbsolute, the silence, meditation, introspection,the state of yoga, the witnessing aspect of our consciousness, the gate toperfection in life. It represents our conscience, the inner guiding light for all

our thought, speech and action. Thus it is clear that ritvijam represents theShani principle.

Hotaram"...is Creative Intelligence in action. Whereas Ritvijam faces himself, Hotaram facesactivity"... by which ... "the wholerange ofactivity can be endowed with the infinitepotential of Creative Intelligence, so that every action yields the greatest results. Its

goal is lively fulfilment in the waves of living."This description clearly relates to the Budha principle, represented by theGraha Budha (Mercury), who is the fast moving planet ofCreativeIntelligencein action. Budha infuses intelligence, creativity, liveliness and joy into all phasesof our daily life and even in our professional sphere.

On the level of the superficial meaning, hotaram refers to the actual performerof a yagya (vedic performance) - the person who is reciting the appropriatemantras, while dextrously pouring oblations into the fire. This is exactly the

characteristic of Budha, who in Jyotish parlance, knows all the four Vedas byheart, and is the dextrous, skilled performer of intelligent actions. All thesepoints clearly establish a connection between hotaram and Budha (Mercury).

Ratna"...the pure brilliance of Creative Intelligence shining in its most concentrated formbetween silence and action, Absolute and relative"... it is "the grace of life in itshighest form, the culmination of all processes of evolution."Clearly, this description relates to Ketu (the Southern lunar node), since Ketuis known as the "moksha karaka"- the bestower of moksha, liberation, whichVedic science declares to be the culmination of all processes of evolution.Ketu stands for total knowledge, total enlightenment, which is shining in itsmost concentrated form between silence and action, between Absolute andrelative. Abstract consciousness is found in the gap between all oppositevalues. Ketu, as such, is nothing - it is only a mathematical point, defined by

the interaction between the Sun and the Moon - between the Absolute (theSun) and the relative (the Moon), between silence and dynamism. On thesuperficial level of the word-meaning, ratna means "jewel", and, as such, it alsorelates to Ketu, since Ketu stands for brilliance, sparks of fire, and any unusual


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or striking phenomenon catching the attention. All these points establish aclear correspondence between ratna and the Ketu principle.Dhatamam"...shows consciousness as having grown to such a degree of concentratedfullness andpurity that it overflows to radiate its value in the environment." In dhatamam,Maharishi writes, "consciousness is shown as the giver of the supremevalue oflife, asbestowingenlightenment and making it universallyavailable."On the level of the word-meaning dhatamam means giver. Giving is anexpression of love. Giving is the spontaneous result of the overflowing of thefullness of consciousness. The values represented by dhatamam, can thereforedirectly be related to the nature of Shukra (Venus), who stands for theprinciple of love and sharing, spontaneously radiating its value to theenvironment.Maharishi says that the value of overflowing, contained in dhatamam, is thespontaneous result of the fullness and purity of consciousness. It is interestingto note that the word-meaning of Shukra is "purity." The love that Shukra(Venus) stands for in Jyotish parlance is the spontaneous result of the fullnessof consciousness. Only when the Self is experienced in its purity and fullness,

then love spontaneously emanates from it. These points confirm thatdhatamam is related to the Shukra principle, the principle of love and sharing.

Having established a one to one relationship between the nine first words ofRig Veda and the nine Planets (Navagraha), we can take a step back and studythe sequence in which the nine planets appear: Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter,Saturn, Mercury, Ketu, Venus.That seems a very arbitrary sequence, is it not? No it isnt, as any student ofVedic astrology can tell!!! It is the sequence in which the planets appear in theVimshottary Dasha system! This is a system which helps us analyse a birthhoroscope, and which tells us which periods in life are dominated by whichPlanet (Graha). According to Parashara, it is the King of all Dasha systems.The Vimshottary Dasha system reveals to us how each individual developshimself in time. It shows how all individuals go through nine stages ofdevelopment, and that these stages always and everywhere have the same

sequence: the sequence shown above, which is based on the sequence of thefirst nine words of Rig Veda!


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If is true that Rig Veda is the encyclopaedia of all the laws of nature, and if itis true that the words of Rig Veda are arranged in an absolute, evolutionary,and self explanatory sequence, then it is only logical that the sequence of thefirst nine words corresponds exactly with the sequence of the nine Planets inthe Vimshottary Dasha system! This suggests that the Vimshottary Dashasystem has a very solid basis indeed! It is based on the primordialevolutionary sequence of Nature. Maybe this explains the astoundingcorrectness of the Vimshottary Dasha system, which impresses every studentof Vedic astrology, in the east and in the west! In the 25 years of my study ofVedic astrology, I never came across an explanation of why the planets arearranged in that particular sequence. Not even an attempt to explain it everappeared on the Jyotish horizon, as far as I know. I felt that the

correspondence is rather striking, and it kept sticking in my mind. Therefore,I thought I should share it with all my colleague Jyotish students.

The Basis of the Vimshottary Dasha System found in Rig Veda

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