By SKumar Pattnaik in Vedang astrology group.
Vedic Science
Vedic astrology or Jyotish is the foremost of the six Vedangas or 'limbs of the Veda'.2 It is said to be the 'eye of the Veda' through which all Vedic knowledge can be properly applied. Ayurveda is the foremost of the four Upavedas or 'secondary Vedas' through which a true Vedic life can be properly lived. Ayurveda and Vedic astrology are closely intertwined not only with each other but with all other Vedic sciences, including the great wisdom traditions of Yoga and Vedanta and their profound paths of Self-realization and God-realization.
The Vedas themselves are ancient mantric texts of great profundity and mystery, deriving from the meditative insights of the great Himalayan seers or rishis over five thousand years ago. The Rig Veda, the most fundamental of the four Vedas, is perhaps the oldest book in the world, looking back to the dawn of history. It carries the collected wisdom of our ancient spiritual ancestors, connecting us to previous humanities and so-called lost civilizations before what we call history began.
The Vedas derive from a yogic approach to reality. They were said to have been directly perceived from the Cosmic Mind in the state of Samadhi or inner unity between the seer and the seen. This affords them an insight and an authority that goes beyond our ordinary knowledge sources born of the mere brain, senses and human mind. The central message of the Vedas is that the universe dwells within our own consciousness, which extends beyond all time and space. We are the entire universe, which is the expression of our own deeper Self.
The Vedic mantra, which is the basis of all Vedic texts, is a special code of vibratory or sound-based knowledge, inherent in cosmic space. It contains the keys to cosmic law or dharma, the underlying truth principles that sustain the cosmic order. These dharmas are not just physical laws but ethical and spiritual principles, the most notable of which is the law of karma. Through these Vedic mantras we can understand our individual dharma, our social dharma and, ultimately, all the dharmas in the universe.
Vedic knowledge is perhaps the ultimate science because it can unlock all the secrets of nature, bridging the internal to the external, and unraveling the parallel processes of cosmogenesis and the development of individual life. Vedic mantras show how the forces of nature from the elements to the stars work within us as physical and psychological forces. Through this special insight taught by the Vedas, we can reintegrate ourselves into the conscious universe, realizing our existence as a single organic being of love, light and bliss.
A Parable
One of the greatest Vedic sages was Atharva, after whom the Atharva Veda, one of the four main Vedic texts, was named. In the older Rig Veda, to which this story goes back, he was already a legendary figure. Atharva had a son named Dadhyak, who is the central figure in the sto:y that follows.
Dadhyak by his profound austerities had received the highest knowledge of immortality, called the 'knowledge of honey' (Madhu Vidya) because it carried the supreme bliss. Dadhyak gained this knowledge as a special gift from Indra, the greatest of the Vedic Gods, and like his Greek counterpart Zeus, the lord of heaven who wielded an irresistible lightning bolt against his enemies. Naturally this precious wisdom had to be protected. Indra forbade Dadhyak from teaching it, even to the other Gods. Indra placed a special curse on Dadhyak, saying that if Dadhyak tried to teach it, Indra would come and immediately cut his head off.
Of course, all the Gods wanted to learn this knowledge, which would fulfill their greatest wishes. Among these many Gods, the most curious and precocious were the Ashvins, the twin youths or horsemen, who were also the doctors or physicians of the Gods. The Ashwins already possessed
all other magical powers except this special teaching, without which all their healing powers would be defective. So their desire to gain it was immense and they would use all the skill and cunning necessary to acquire it.
The Ashvins approached the sage Dadhyak and requested that he teach them this secret knowledge. Dadhyak predictably replied, "I cannot teach you or Lord Indra, before whom even you must bow, will cut my head off." The Ashvins, not being put off even by the fear of Indra replied, "That is no problem. We can receive the knowledge and you can protect your head as well. First with our magic powers we will give you the head of a horse. Then you can safely teach us through the horse's mouth. When Indra comes and cuts off your head, which has become that of a horse, we will replace it with your original human head."
And that is exactly what they did. The Ashvins, who themselves had horse's heads, gave Dadhyak the head of a horse. He taught them the secret knowledge through it. Indra then came and cut off the horse's head and the Ashvins gave Dadhyak back his original human head.
This story has many deep meanings. In terms of Vedic astrology, the horse's head became the constellation Ashvini that marks the beginning of the zodiac in the sign Aries. The horse's head is also the Sun, which is exalted in Aries, a sign that represents the head. The twin Ashvins represent both the duality behind time with its alterations of days and nights, and the state of balance through which we can go beyond time. The horse's head is a key to the deeper meaning of Vedic astrology, the knowledge of which the Ashwins are the teachers.
Relative to Ayurveda or Vedic medicine, the horse is a symbol of Prana, the life energy that derives from the Sun and which is the source of all healing powers. The Ashwins as the great doctors of the Gods were famous for their powers of rejuvenation and were even capable of resurrecting the dead. As twins they represent the ability to balance our energies and create wholeness, and were important early teachers of Ayurveda.
It is an important Vedantic teaching, starting with the oldest Upanishads. .
To discover our true nature we must first offer up our false nature, our ego and all of its attachments. To speak the higher truth we must sacrifice our personal opinions and preconceptions. To gain our head, we must first lose it. The Ashwins represent this transformation from duality to unity. The higher knowledge is paradoxical, transcending our ordinary sensory means of cognizance and connecting all forms of knowledge together in the light of consciousness.
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