Jyotish, Ayurveda and Vastu Explained

Informative explanations and well-structured resources on the yoga-related Vedic Sciences of Jyotish, Ayurveda and Vastu. Carefully researched, content-rich articles demystify these subjects – helping us apply this ancient wisdom to bring a healthier, happier, more fulfilling life.

  • Vedic Astrology – Jyotish Explained

    Jyotish is a unique, predictive and preventive ‘karmic re-balancing’ system that helps maintain only positive influences in our returning karmas.  Jyotish gives high probability predictions, based on the ‘code’ contained in a person’s birth-chart, in all key life areas such as health, wealth, relationships, family, success and spiritual growth. It predicts when certain returning karmas will take place and offers a wide range of remedial measures to deflect returning negative karmas – making life happier and more fulfilling.

‘Jyotish Astrology Explained’ – Our article published in Yoga Magazine (pdf)

Quick Facts, Introduction to Jyotish, FAQs 1, FAQs 2, Articles,  Learn Jyotish

 

  • Vedic Healthcare – Ayurveda Explained

    Ayurveda creates health and well-being. It gives advice on lifestyle, daily and seasonal routines and diet, to help maximise our health and prevent illness. Unlike Western medicine, the health advice varies according to our own individual mind-body type (categorised as combinations of the Ayurvedic principles Vata, Pitta and Kapha). Ayurveda has low-cost, non-invasive methods for diagnosing disease and offers treatment via herbs and a range of detoxification and re-balancing programmes. It also places great emphasis on the prevention of disease.

‘Ayurveda Explained’ – Our article published in Yoga Magazine (pdf)

Quick Facts, Introduction to Ayurveda, FAQs 1, FAQs 2, FAQs 3, Articles

 

  • Vedic Living Spaces – Vastu Explained

    Vastu is a design and planning system that creates peace, positivity and harmony in our homes, the local environment and the community; through the correct orientation, layout and design of buildings. It also gives advice for housing locations to avoid and how to make our homes more positive and life-supporting. It is the Vedic equivalent of the Chinese ‘Feng Shui’ system and is also known as Vaastu, Yogic Design, Vedic Architecture, or Sthapatya Veda.

‘Vastu – Yogic Design Explained’ – Our article published in Yoga Magazine (pdf)

Quick Facts, Introduction to Vastu, FAQs 1, FAQs 2, FAQs 3, Articles

Ancient Wisdom for a Modern World

Although this is ancient Vedic wisdom, it is particularly relevant to our modern, stress filled world. It is full of practical tips and hints that can be easily applied to our everyday living. Although they all bring individual benefits, these subjects work synergistically. Used together, they really can make a tremendous difference to our overall well-being, health and happiness.

When practiced alongside Yoga, Meditation and Pranayama they form the key components of an ‘Integrated Vedic Lifestyle’ and bring many blessings and benefits to life.

Many of the articles appearing on this site are ‘introductory level’ articles, specifically written for Westerners new to the concepts of the yoga-related subjects of Jyotish, Ayurveda and Vastu.

Jyotish Astrology – Quick Facts

Benefits of Jyotish

  • Jyotish Astrology is Karmic Astrology. It aims to predict, for better or for worse, our returning karmas – and how and when they will affect us.
  • It identifies the ‘benefits and blessings’ we will receive and also the ‘obstacles and difficulties’ we will encounter. Armed with this information we can then make the best use of the good periods – and exercise more caution in the not-so-good ones.
  • Based on an analysis of the planetary arrangement at birth, it gives timely and high probability forecasts in the key life areas of: ‘Artha, Dharma, Kama and Moksha’. Roughly translated as: health, wealth, family, children, success, career and status, love, relationships, personal development and spiritual growth.
  • Vedic Astrology also specifies the time periods in our lives when the ‘cosmic postman’ delivers his ‘karmic packages’.
  • Not only is Vedic Astrology predictive, it is also preventive. Jyotish offers a whole range of ‘remedial measures’ to deflect our returning negative karmas – making life easier and more comfortable.
  • Jyotish can also be used to predict the best time for any particular action – ‘there is a time for every purpose under heaven’. So, it will predict the best time to get married, to start a business, to begin building a house, etc. As the saying goes ‘well begun is half done’.

Key Differences Between Vedic and Western Astrology

  • Jyotish is more concerned with predicting ‘returning karmas’ – compared with Western astrology’s more ‘psychological’ emphasis. Jyotish is good for solving real-life problems. Western astrology is great as a starting point for counselling.
  • Vedic Astrology comes from a tradition that views the cosmos and all the beings in it as part of an integrated whole. It therefore views the planetary arrangement at the time of our birth as highly condensed and coded information. This can be read and ‘decoded’ by a skilled Vedic Astrologer to give high probability, time dependent predictions.
  • Jyotish only uses 9 celestial objects or ‘planets’. The arrangement of the 9 planets amongst the 12 signs (and Houses) and 27 Nakshatras (constellations or ‘lunar mansions’) gives all the information needed to make accurate predictions. It has no need to use any of the planets beyond Saturn (e.g. Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto – which are factors in Western Astrology).
  • So, it deals directly with a field of information and not ‘planetary forces’ – (which is the Western Astrological viewpoint). Western Astrology changes as more planets and even planet-like objects are discovered by astronomers. But this is not the case with Vedic Astrology.
  • Unlike modern Western astrology which uses the movable Tropical Zodiac, Vedic Astrology uses the fixed or Sidereal Zodiac (which has remained in the same position for thousands of years). Western astrological ‘rules’ have morphed over a long period of time – not so with Jyotish.

Origins of Vedic Astrology

  • Jyotish is one of the yoga related ancient sciences – all originate from the same Vedic tradition. Jyotish was not ‘discovered’ or developed over a period of time; rather it was cognised by ancient seers in a bygone age.
  • It has withstood the long test of time – people have derived benefits from it over thousands of years.

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Ayurveda – Quick Facts

Benefits of Ayurveda

  • People who apply the knowledge of Ayurveda (‘Science of Life’) report experiencing better health, a much greater ‘feel good factor’, more energy and enthusiasm for life and a deep, unshakeable sense of well-being.
  • Ayurveda’s unique strength is that different individuals will receive very different healthcare advice, and even completely different treatments, for the same set of ‘symptoms’!  Before making any recommendations, Ayurveda first categorises us into one of seven major mind-body constitutional types according to the principles of Vata, Pita and Kapha (the ‘Doshas’).
  • Ayurvedic advice is essentially practical, giving many low-cost, simple to follow, health promoting tips. For example: how to get better sleep, improving our digestion, tips for mealtimes, herbs to boost immunity.
  • Ayurveda can help us maintain good health and balance in our physiology simply through correct diet, appropriate exercise and daily and seasonal routines.
  • It can also significantly strengthen our immune system.
  • Ayurveda places great emphasis on the prevention of illness and promotion of wellness – because prevention is much easier and cheaper than cure!
  • It is well regarded by the Indian government as a useful, low-cost alternative healthcare system.
  • Western Medicine is great for physical trauma relief and when we are seriously ill – but Ayurveda can help prevent us from getting ill in the first place!
  • Ayurveda also offers solutions to many chronic health problems (such as Arthritis) that Western medicine has difficulty treating.

Diagnosis and Treatment

  • Ayurveda uses low cost, low-tech, non-invasive diagnostic and treatment techniques. This gives it a major economic advantage, particularly for developing countries.
  • Observation of the patient and a process called ‘Pulse Diagnosis’ enable an Ayurvedic Doctor to determine the degree of imbalance (of the Doshas) in the system, the level of toxins present, etc.
  • Ayurveda is not just herbal medicine, although herbs, minerals, etc. can be used as just one of a much wider range of re-balancing and detoxifying processes.
  •  Ayurvedic treatment usually involves removing toxins from the system, followed by methods to re-balance it, and then advice on how to maintain long term balance. Ayurveda also offers complete detoxification regimes called ‘Panchakarma’ – the five cleansing actions

Origins of Ayurveda

  • It is an ancient Vedic science related to Yoga and has withstood the long test of time.
  • Ayurveda is not based on experiment or centuries of experience and works on a totally different model of operation of the human physiology compared with the Western medical paradigm (although both have their unique strengths).
  • It was cognised thousands of years ago in the consciousness of a great Vedic Seer or Rishi: Charaka

Introduction to Ayurveda, FAQs 1, FAQs 2, FAQs 3, Articles

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Vastu – Quick Facts

Benefits of Vastu

  • Occupants of homes and offices designed according to Vastu principles report feeling happier, healthier and in the long term, even more prosperous!
  • Vastu creates ideal living and working spaces.  It does so by connecting the individual with all the supportive forces of nature. It therefore links the individual’s consciousness with the natural, universal order.
  • Vastu is the Vedic equivalent of ‘Feng shui’. It creates harmonious and uplifting living spaces that support health and well-being in the occupants.
  • Vedic Architecture produces ‘well building syndrome’ – as opposed to modern building design which often produces ‘sick building syndrome’!
  • While Vastu is mainly applied to homes, it can also be applied to offices, work spaces, places of worship, etc. Even whole ‘garden cities’ can be laid out according to its principles, so large communities can benefit.

Vastu Methods

  • Vastu comprises a set of key design principles for the optimum orientation, layout and proportion of buildings. For example, it favours East facing main entrances, certain rooms allocated to specific directions, a quiet central area in a building, optimum sleeping directions, etc.
  • It suggests a range of ‘environmental factors’ which should be considered when buying or building a new home. The aim is to maximise the positive influences of the laws of nature in the surroundings.
  • If perfect alignment and good environmental factors are not possible, Vastu suggests a range of mitigating strategies to make the building more positive, harmonious and life supporting.

Origins of Vastu

  • Vastu is another ancient Vedic science related to Yoga – it comes from the same tradition.
  • Vastu is not based on experiment nor on experience – like other Vedic sciences it was cognised in the consciousness of fully enlightened living Masters.
  • Vastu principles probably morphed thousands of years ago into the Chinese Feng shui system.

Introduction to Vastu, FAQs 1, FAQs 2, FAQs 3, Articles

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Resources on Jyotish, Ayurveda and Vastu

Articles on Vedic Astrology – Jyotish

Introduction to Jyotish

Jyotish Key Concepts

For Western Astrologers

Learn Jyotish

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Articles on Vedic Healthcare – Ayurveda

Introduction to Ayurveda

Ayurveda – Top Tips

Boosting Immunity

Vedic Meditation

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Articles on Vedic Living Spaces – Vastu

 Introduction to Vastu

Top Tips for Better Homes with Vastu

Vastu Concepts

Articles on Vedic Philosophy

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