Symbols of Nature I

Even if the influence of the heavinly bodies cannot be explained or verified with the current
state of scientific knowledge, the mere presence of high correlation between the movements
of heavinly bodies and the events in our life can enable us to predict the future. This is the
basis of all emperical sciences, such as Psychology, Medicine or Meteriology. 

The physicists of the recent age are working on a problem called the unified theory or the
theory for everything. Decades ago the great physicist, Isaac Newton of classical physics
genre said that everything in the universe attracts each other by the force called the force
of gravity and propounded the theories on the Universal Laws of gravitation. He asserted
that all the movements on earth and in the universe such as a planetary system like our
own solar system can be explained with the laws of gravity. However, years later great
Physicist Albert Einstein postulated another theory, the theory of quantum mechanics,
challenging Newtonian theory of gravitation. However, to the utter disappointment to the
world of physics, none of the theories could fully explain any events which are outside their
realm. This made the world of physics to search for a theory which would explain
everything. 
Had the idea of theory for everything been speculated decades before, the bearer of the
idea would have been branded as crazy or insane. However, with the current frame of
knowledge and understanding, the scientists admit the possibilities of the theory for
everything. Not only this, they are also researching on the possibilities of time travel in past
and future, which was once upon a time considered to be either crazy or mystical, without
any scientific basis. 

You must be thinking that where did I take you to? Why am I talking of physics while
discussing Jyotish? However this overview was necessary to emphasis that everything in
this universe is connected and nothing happens accidentally or by chance. Whatever
appears to be a chance can become a regularly occurring event, when the time frame in
which we are witnessing an event is increased. 

If we take the presumption that everything in this universe is connected and open our mind
to the myriads of possibilities, we realise that everything is influencing some or other event
in some unknown and mysterious ways. Even though most of the cases we cannot find out
the connection between two events, we don’t cease to observe a high degree of correlation
between the events. If we admit our limitation to understand the cause of the events or the
high level of association between the seemingly disjointed events, we will not feel shy of
expressing our wonder that there do exist some kind of connection between the heavenly
bodies and the events occurring on earth or else where, which are guided by some invisible,
incomprehensible laws of nature. 

Our submission to the limitation brings us to the realm of symbology where we find that
some symbols do have a high degree of similarity with day to day mundane things. I shall
try showing in the following paragraphs, the similarity between the symbols such as the
heavenly bodies with us and our day to day activities. 

Have you ever thought that whenever we think of Sun, the feeling and the thoughts which
immediately occupy our mind is that of something which is glorious, resplendent, a leader
who is followed by the whole planetary system in the solar system. We can compare him
with the king, whose everyone is a subject, whose responsibility is to feed all of them, keep
them hale and hearty. We do think of someone who is righteous and praiseworthy and
someone who would never run away from his duties and responsibilities of feeding the
whole world and keeping them alive. 
Here we also find a great similarity between Sun and the Father in a household. Like Sun
being the guardian of the whole solar system, in a family father is the guardian, who is
responsible for the welfare of the family members and sees that everyone is following the
path of righteousness. This is no wonder that we associate Sun with father and attribute the
same traits of the Sun to the father. Thus in symbological terms, father should be
represented by Sun, the protector and the righteous one. 

Like father protects the household, Mother nourishes. When we think of Moon, the
compassionate one, one who spreads the cool, soothing light of motherliness to cool down
the heated earth so that one sleeps under her grace and splendour, we tend to associate it
with the mother in a household, who takes care of home, nourishes the family member and
creates a homely atmosphere with her love and compassion. Unlike Sun which generates
among us a drive to work and march ahead, Moon, makes us feel imaginative and poetical.
Poets of ages have praised Moon with all their might without getting tired of praising her
soothing and motherly attribute. 

Now we see some more associations of Sun and Moon with some of the human aspects.
Moon reflects the light of Sun and creates an illusion which makes us think that Moon is
luminous with its own light. This is why we verily associate Sun who is resplendent with its
own light with Satya or the true one and Moon who is effulgent with the light of Sun as
Maya or illusion. Similar kind of associations we tend to form when we express the nature of
the Atma and Mana, the Soul and the Mind. Atma is changeless, non-destructible soul which
changes body from one birth to another before merging into the Parameshwara from whom
it was created in the first place. When the Atma or the soul gets separated from the
resplendent infinite source of energy of the Parama-Purusha, it gets attached to a Mana or
the Mind, which causes the feeling of Aham-Kara (the feeling of “I” ness) to appear. The
mind keeps on thinking that the soul is separate from others and hence have the seeking
that “I am unique and I am different” When the consciousness evolves and develops with
each birth, we realise our true worth as a part of the eternal and supreme Brahman, the
Mana loses out the feeling of the separateness or “I” ness and eventually gets separated out
from the Atma and merges with the source of its creation. Thus similar to the nature of
Moon, which causes illusion that it is luminous like Sun, the Mind also causes the illusion
that we are different and unique, whereas we are only a reflection of the light of the
paramatma. This similarities in the Traits of Mind and Moon, makes us associate them with
each other and also make us associate Sun with the Soul, both of them have the same
nature of changelessness, formlessness and free from aging and death. 

Similarly we can find associations with the heavenly bodies namely the Luminaries (Sun,
Moon), the five planets starting from Mercury (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn)
and the nodes of Moon (Rahu and Ketu) with various aspects of human existence. Thus
studying more on the symbology can make us divine the human nature and events
occurring during the life time, which is otherwise elusive.

Symbols of Nature II
INTRODUCTION 
The following paragraphs I shall delve into the associations of various planets to various
aspects of human life. In Jyotish parlance, this is known as the karakatva of the planets. I
shall try to explain why a heavenly body which doesn’t have apparently any relation to the
happenings our planet, earth and in our lives, is associated with it. To understand and
comprehend the deeper concepts of the associations, the time is personified into someone
called the Kalapurusha, which literally mean time (kala), personified (purusha). 

UNDERSTANDING THS SUN 

***Sun, The natural Atma Karaka*** 
Atma means the soul. Sun represents the soul of the Kala-purusha of the time personified.
Now what is soul? People try to describe in various ways and we have a whole Upadesha of
Krishna to Arjuna about the journey of the soul from different births, its mission, its purpose
and its destiny in the beautiful Bhagavat Gita. Thus Sun represent the knowledge of Gita
too. Now when we talk about the soul its nature, then question comes to us, what is it made
up of, what does it carry from one birth to another? When we wonder and think about it
more and more the only answer which we get is it is the spark of the supreme divine, the
source of all knowledge. Now even though it is a small spark it is no way less than the
supreme divine, which is very well explained in the sloka from Ishavashyopanishad 

Aum Purnamadah Purnamidam Purnat Purna mudachyate | 

Purnasya Purnamadaya Purnameva Vashishyate || 

This means that if we take completeness (Infinity) out of completeness (Infinity), then also
we rest with infinity nothing has decreased from it. Thus the Atma is the source of all
knowledge. We don’t realise it as we are covered with various layers of ignorance. Sun
being the karaka for Atma also represents the source of all knowledge. Now when we talk of
knowledge, which aspect of divinity comes to our mind, who blesses us with knowledge?
Now among the trinity Shiva gives us the knowledge and hence Shiva is signified by Sun as
giver of all knowledge being the source of all knowledge, someone who is resplendent with
brightness and glory. 

Symbols of Nature II
INTRODUCTION 
The following paragraphs I shall delve into the associations of various planets to various
aspects of human life. In Jyotish parlance, this is known as the karakatva of the planets. I
shall try to explain why a heavenly body which doesn’t have apparently any relation to the
happenings our planet, earth and in our lives, is associated with it. To understand and
comprehend the deeper concepts of the associations, the time is personified into someone
called the Kalapurusha, which literally mean time (kala), personified (purusha). 

UNDERSTANDING THS SUN 

***Sun, The natural Atma Karaka*** 
Atma means the soul. Sun represents the soul of the Kala-purusha of the time personified.
Now what is soul? People try to describe in various ways and we have a whole Upadesha of
Krishna to Arjuna about the journey of the soul from different births, its mission, its purpose
and its destiny in the beautiful Bhagavat Gita. Thus Sun represent the knowledge of Gita
too. Now when we talk about the soul its nature, then question comes to us, what is it made
up of, what does it carry from one birth to another? When we wonder and think about it
more and more the only answer which we get is it is the spark of the supreme divine, the
source of all knowledge. Now even though it is a small spark it is no way less than the
supreme divine, which is very well explained in the sloka from Ishavashyopanishad 

Aum Purnamadah Purnamidam Purnat Purna mudachyate | 

Purnasya Purnamadaya Purnameva Vashishyate || 

This means that if we take completeness (Infinity) out of completeness (Infinity), then also
we rest with infinity nothing has decreased from it. Thus the Atma is the source of all
knowledge. We don’t realise it as we are covered with various layers of ignorance. Sun
being the karaka for Atma also represents the source of all knowledge. Now when we talk of
knowledge, which aspect of divinity comes to our mind, who blesses us with knowledge?
Now among the trinity Shiva gives us the knowledge and hence Shiva is signified by Sun as
giver of all knowledge being the source of all knowledge, someone who is resplendent with
brightness and glory.