THE KARMA THEORY AND ASTROLOGY

Thangka Painting : Depicting Karma Cycle and Rebirth

                            

 Karmana is a Sanskrit word which means action or deed together with its effect. This duality in the meaning becomes explicit with the context (case) of usage. The word Karma is a derivative of Karmana. It is both a noun as well as a verb. Any action undertaken by an individual becomes his/her Karma and the result accruing from that action is called Karmaphal or the result of the action. Even though Karma & Karmaphal are different, they both are often referred to as Karma. The word Karma therefore refers to both the cause & the effect. The cause is the action or the deed undertaken by the individual and the effect of that action / deed is the result / fruit of such an action.

The Karma Theory is the unique philosophy through which it has been possible to reconcile the various otherwise inexplicable occurrences in life both at the individual and the universal levels. Since this philosophy originated in the geographical region now called India, it has permeated all indigenous religious philosophies having their roots in India. Hinduism being one of the most ancient and largely followed religions of this region has been almost singularly identified with it. It is not that this philosophy was not challenged from within the Hindu fold. One of the foremost and highly respected ‘Hindu’ sages Maharishi Gautam has forcefully countered this theory in his Nyaya Sutras. However the Karma theory outlived his counter-assertions and has been the ‘go to’ philosophy for the majority of thinkers and believers of Hinduism.

The Karma Theory is based on the premise that the Universe or the Cosmos is a system having its set of rules which are self evolved. These rules govern the process of self evolution of the Cosmos from ‘Being to Becoming’. This ‘Being’ to ‘Becoming’ has evolved from the non-living to the living and further by the self evolutionary process the living being developed into the human being having a developed faculty of Perception. It is the human perception which has created Karma. The forms of life which have no perceptual choice of Action and live only by their Instinct do not create Karma. The perceptual choice of action which could not be completed or the objective / consequences of which could not be fulfilled remains etched as memory in the human mind in the form of a conditioning / desire (vasana) which leads to ‘rebirth’ for the completion of the incomplete action and / or the fulfillment of its consequences. This whole process is called the ‘Cycle of Karma’.

The Karma theory enunciates that the body of a living being is merely a vehicle for ‘a’ part of such a being’s total Journey of Life. The death of the body does not mean the end of the journey of Life for the being. In other words the soul of the being or the Jeeva* takes up one body after the other which can be in the form of any living being ranging from a unicellular organism to the human form including the plant, the animal or the bird forms. This process is commonly known as ‘Rebirth’. The concept of rebirth is not understood and therefore not accepted by the majority of thinkers & philosophers outside the  Indian fold, even though as is explained by its proponents, the concept of rebirth is not only logical but is the only plausible explanation for the Universe being a Cosmos and not a Chaos.

The theory of Karma stipulates that for every action undertaken by an individual with a selfish or egocentric motive, there is both an external as well as an internal effect. The external effect is in the form of an event or a happening whereas the internal effect is the formation of a compulsive tendency or a Vasana. As the individual repeats similar actions, the compulsive tendency (Vasna) gets reinforced, ultimately becoming a prominent dimension of the individual’s personality existing as a predisposition to act in a typical manner in certain circumstances. This predisposition is known as the Samskara. The following example illustrates this fact:-

A person is motivated by friends to join them in drinking liquor for the first time in a party. He enjoys the experience and sheds his resistance to drinking, he starts taking liquor with a gradually increasing frequency, in the process becoming a drunkard. A Vasna (compulsive tendency) for drinking had been created in him that got intensified into a Samskara. This Vasna ultimately became so strong that he had to be taken to a rehabilitation centre for his reconditioning.

A Vasna once formed is hard to reverse if it becomes a Samskara. If not reversed effectively, it remains in the subconscious and is carried forth to the next birth. The Vasna gets motivated by ‘selfish desires’ spurred by greed or lust. In fact any form of craving leads to the formation of a Vasna even if it is a mild one. Persons with a weak ‘Will’ are more likely to create a new Vasana while they find it hard to erase the existing ones. Vasnas influence the behavioral patterns that in turn effect all other aspects of the individual’s life.

Any desire motivated / egocentric action undertaken by the individual also becomes the cause for some external effect. It is the law of nature that every action shall have an ‘equal and opposite’ reaction in the opposite direction i.e. towards the source of the action - the individual himself. If this reaction or the consequence for the action is not experienced by the individual for some reason either fully or partially, then such an unexhausted reaction becomes the bondage due to Karma which the individual has to exhaust by experiencing it at a later date either in the present birth or in another birth in another body. The collection of all the unexhausted reactions of the desire motivated and egocentric actions of an individual are together called the Karma aggregate or as Karma in common parlance. The following example illustrates this process:-

If the same drunkard as described in the previous example comes home and beats his wife and the wife suffers but is unable to retaliate, the drunkard has created Karma bondage as he has not experienced the consequences for his action. This Karma gets added to his existing Karma aggregate which shall be exhausted by the drunkard in a future birth in the form of an equivalent suffering. If however the wife informs the police and the drunkard is suitably punished for his crime then hypothetically there is no creation of Karma to be exhausted by him in future having suffered the consequences of his action in the present.

As per the Karma theory, the next birth of the Jeeva (soul) is determined both by the Vasnas created by the individual Jeeva (soul) in past births as well as by the aggregate of Karma – the sum total of the unexhausted consequences of performed actions. The Vasnas form the criteria for the unique personality in the new birth whereas the aggregate of Karma forms the basis for the experiences in the new birth for the Jeeva (soul).

It is important to know about the types of Karma as well as the role of each type of Karma with respect to the creation of Vasnas as well as the Karma. There are basically four types of Karmas namely the Nitya Karmas, the Naimitya Karmas, the Kamya Karmas and the Nishidha Karmas.

The Nitya Karmas are the daily chores or natural activities of life which one has to carry out to live and exist in the body. The Karmas that fall in this category are the choice-less daily routines of cleaning the body, feeding the body and attending to the calls of nature etc. These Karmas are of an essential nature and do not therefore bind the individual in any manner whatsoever.

The Naimitya Karmas are actions undertaken as obligatory duties assigned to the individual due to his / her existence in a particular environment. Naimitya Karmas include duties towards the family, duties towards the relatives, duties towards the neighbors, duties towards the community and duties towards the country etc. Some examples of the Naimitya Karmas are paying one’s taxes, caring for the parents, casting one’s vote etc. The abdication of the Naimitya Karmas creates Karmic bondage whereas the fulfillment of the obligatory duties without assigning any choice may prevent any Karmic bondage. Naimitya Karma conditioned by human perception leading to choice will certainly cause Karmic bondages.

The Kamya Karmas are actions undertaken for desires’ fulfillment. These include all activities carried out for sense gratification, for personal recognition, accumulation of possessions and / or power and for enjoyment. Kamya Karmas create Vasnas & Karmic bondages. Even Kamya Karmas, undertaken for the satisfaction of Needs are not binding for the individual. Only those actions which are undertaken for fulfilling the Wants are responsible for the creation of Vasnas and the Karmic bondages. The following illustration shall clarify the difference between a need & a want:-

A person needs to buy a car for travelling to & from his office. If he buys an ordinary car which meets his requirements then he has fulfilled his need but if he purchases a Ferrari desiring to show-off to his friends then he is fulfilling his want. The need fulfills a requirement whereas the want satisfies the ego. Often a want is justified as a need.

The Nishiddha Karmas are forbidden actions, such actions which cause suffering to oneself or to another or else to humanity as a whole. Acts of theft, misappropriation and other forms of crime are Nishiddha Karmas. All civil societies have made these actions punishable and all religions have defined these actions as Sins. Performances of these actions lead to Karmic bondages. Often want-fulfillment triggers such actions.

From the above classification and description of categories of Karma it becomes clear that carrying out the Nitya Karmas, the choice-less Naimitya Karmas and the need based Kamya Karmas do not create any Vasna or Karmic bondage for the individual, on the other hand however the omission of Naimitya Karmas, the carrying out of the egocentric Kamya Karmas and performing of the Nishiddha Karmas does create Vasnas & Karmic bondages.

Activity starts with conditioned and unconditioned reflexes that constitute Nitya Karmas which further leads the mind into Naimitya Karmas. The Naimitya Karmas create unfulfilled spaces in the mind and the deliberations for fulfillment lead to desire motivated or Kamya Karmas which may sometimes take a wrong turn into conscience prohibited or Nishiddha Karmas.    

The question that arises at this juncture is that why only the consequences of desire motivated or egocentric actions cause the formation of Vasnas & Karmic bondages for the Jeeva?

The answer to this question lies in the fact that when an individual acts for the sole purpose of satisfying his / her desires, motivated by his / her ego, then he /she becomes the doer hence the reactions or consequences of such actions are naturally directed towards him / her - the doer. The individual is directly responsible for such acts. On the contrary when the actions are carried out as a part of one’s duty without ego’s involvement, the reactions or consequences of such actions are not directed towards the individual. In this case the reactions or the consequences are borne by the ‘Totality’ or the ‘existence as a whole’ because when the ego is absent there is no individual and the being gets merged into totality i.e. the whole of existence. In the absence of the individual, it is the totality which acts through the particular body-mind-intellect mechanism and therefore the totality alone becomes responsible for such actions as well as the consequences.

The theory of Karma further stipulates that this universe is bound by cosmic rules that reflect in the mind of the human being. The human mind is thus a store house of cosmic actions & reactions derived through the evolutionary path unto human evolution. These actions & reactions lead to more actions & reactions thereby creating aggregates of Karma. The unresolved aggregate gets etched into the psyche that is carried by the psychic energy the Jeeva (soul). Thus the human soul & mind carry the entire universe in its intelligence thus anything and everything is perceived in the cycle of Karma.

As per this theory the Atman (consciousness) is bound by desires through the intellect, the likes & dislikes through the mind and the identity through the ego. The bound Atman (consciousness) becomes the Jeeva which carries the record of the algebraic sum of all the Vasnas and the Karma aggregates and takes on one body after the other for the neutralization of the accumulated Vasnas & the aggregates of Karma. This cycle of births continues till all the Vasnas & the aggregates of Karma are totally neutralized where after the Atman gets released from the bondage of the intellect, mind & ego entrapment to become one with the Primordial energy-the Brahman.

The Astrological connection to this whole process emanates from the orientation of the Jeeva (soul) which alone is responsible for a new birth. By the rules of the five-elemental composition known as Prapancha, the Jeeva condenses into a conditioned body through the process of birth. This demarcates the body-mind-intellect limitations of the Jeeva through the ego as per the Vasnas and the Karmic aggregates, enabling the unique personality as well as the unique course of experiences depicted within the specific parameters of the individual’s astrological chart i.e. the horoscope drawn for the time & place of his / her birth. A horoscope therefore shows the Karmic bondage of a soul through its body-mind-intellect-ego conditioning. The cosmic rules create the specific planetary configuration at the time & place of birth of the individual matching with the individual’s Vasnas and his Karmic aggregates. This process establishes the role of the cosmic structure of Karma in human life. It should be noted here that the astrological premises at the time & place of the birth for a human being are only reflective of that Jeeva’s Karmic orientation and certainly not causative in nature as is often mistaken  even by some from the Astrological community. 

Astrology is only indicative of the pattern of the Jeeva’s current journey of life and not the cause for the same in any manner whatsoever.

The human mind, intellect and ego mechanism is not oriented to agree to or to accept this formulation that apparently gives a fatalistic impression thereby leaving little or no room for human effort and endeavor in creating one’s own destiny of choice. Such an understanding of the Karma theory is incorrect. If we are bound by our destiny in a certain way, it is only as a result of our own past actions and deeds. The way, in which our limitations have got created due to our past actions, in the same way, those limitations or bondages, can be undone by our future deeds. By appropriately programming our future actions and effectively executing them we still have the freedom and power to chart a desired course. This in fact is the basis for the Remedial Measures suggested by Astrology. The following example shall explain this further:-

The boatman is able to take his boat easily across a rapid stream by orienting the boat appropriately and applying the oars suitably. The flow of the stream is countered by his maneuverings effectively and the boat is able to move in a direction different from the direction of the flow of the stream. The direction of the flow of the stream is akin to the Vasnas & the Karmic bondage of the Jeeva and the skill of the boatman is the ability of the Jeeva to maneuver its desired course by appropriately orienting its actions in this life. Those who can do so are successful in achieving their goals.

The freedom to act is always available to the human being and any despondence in this regard is misplaced as well as self defeating. Astrology helps in identifying the likely pattern of life, the strengths & weaknesses of the personality as well as the challenges of the journey of life in the present birth, knowing which an enterprising individual can make a difference to his / her life. A word of caution however needs to be given at this juncture. Not all Karma can be maneuvered-with by the individual hence one needs to be aware of the Karmas that can be tackled and those which cannot be maneuvered.

The theory of Karma describes three types of Karma with respect to their maneuverability namely the Dridha Karma, the Dridha-Adridha Karma and the Adridha Karma.

The Dridha Karma is that Karma whose effects are fixed for an individual in a given life. This Karma cannot be maneuvered or altered. Buddha called this Karma as written in stone. Some examples of the Dridha Karmas are one’s parentage, one’s place of birth and the physical & physiological characteristics of the individual’s body etc.

The Dridha-Adridha Karma is that Karma which is semi-solid in nature i.e. this Karma can be modified or maneuvered by intense application and hard work. Buddha called this Karma as written on sand. Some of the examples of the effects of this Karma are the strong vasnas of drinking or smoking, the capacity of memory and learning, lethargy etc.

The Adridha Karma is the Karma whose effects can be modified or maneuvered quite easily by the help of discipline and corrective remedies. Buddha called this Karma as written on water. Some examples of this Karma are the minor vasnas such as eating habits, manners etc.

The above classification of Karma is also conditioned by the dimensions of time & space. In other words in a given society in a given epoch certain karma may become Adridha Karma whereas the same Karma may become Dridha-Adridha Karma in another society in a different epoch. The best example is that of marriages in India. To marry outside one’s own community was difficult a couple of hundred years back hence it was a Dridha-Adridha Karma but now it has become easier for an individual to marry outside his community hence it has become Adridha Karma.

Astrological analysis helps to identify the category of Karma affecting an individual at a given time which helps in appropriately maneuvering its effect if it is Adridha or Dridha-Adridha Karma. Effects due to Dridha Karma cannot be however be avoided and have. The following quote from the Bible appropriately describes this aspect of Karma:-

God give me the strength to change what I can change;

Give me the strength to accept what I cannot change

And give me the Wisdom to know the difference.

The theory of Karma also describes the process of the accountability of the Karma. Whereas the algebraic sum of the Vasnas is carried forward to the next birth forming the sum total of our sub conscious from which our inclinations and tendencies manifest to give us our Personality; the Karma which we have to experience and exhaust in a given life are only a part of our total Karmic aggregate. The aggregate of our past Karma is called the Sanchit Karma or the accumulated Karma. The portion of the Sanchit (accumulated) karma which is relevant for the present life is called the Prarabdha Karma or the destiny for the present life. The Karma created in the present birth is called the Agami Karma or the karma to be exhausted in future. The Agami (future) Karma created in this birth gets integrated to the remaining Sanchit Karma after the deduction of the Prarabdha Karma exhausted in this birth, to form the new Sanchit Karmas for the future births.

The theory of Karma clearly describes as to what constitutes an action, a deed or karma. It describes three stages of actions or deeds namely the Kayik Karma, the Vachik Karma and the Manasik Karma.

The Kayik Karma is carried out by the body i.e. gross actions in the physical world. These comprise of our deeds.

The Vachik Karma is expressed as speech or as any other means of communication. These comprise of our expressions.

The Manasik Karma remains at the thought level - not yet expressed as action or speech. Our fantasies come in this category of Karma. These comprise of our thoughts.

Karmas can be for the higher goals of general good or may be for the baser goals of fulfilling personal and selfish desires. The righteous deeds are termed as Shreyas Karma and the deeds motivated for selfish ends are called the Preyas Karma.

The Shreyas karma does not create any new Vasnas or any Karmic bondage. In fact the performance of these Karmas gradually obliterates and neutralizes the existing Vasnas as well as the existing Karmic aggregates. Some of the examples of Shreyas karmas are the acts of charity and service to society.

The Preyas Karma creates new Vasnas or strengthens the existing ones as well as they create Agami Karma. Some of the examples of the Preyas Karmas are taking bribes or abdicating one’s duties.

Thus Karma as deeds is the cause; Karma as consequences is the effect and Karma as Shreyas Karma or righteous deeds are the remedies for neutralizing the Karmic aggregate as per this theory.

The theory of Karma not only explains the various aspects of individual lives but it also explains the Universal process as it reflects upon the individual at the macro level. The premise that existence is bound by Karma is as much true for an individual being as for the Universe as a whole reflecting on the individual. The whole Universe is in motion be it the planets, the stars or the galaxies. It is a dynamic universe. The continuous activities taking place in the Universe are in the structure of cause & effect which reflect as Karmas in the human life. Like a Kaleidoscope the Universe gets reoriented every moment in human perception as the cause and effect-the Karma cycle. The structure defined by the theory of Karma is the common thread which runs through the whole of existence.

This theory is complete in itself as it explains all aspects of the process of the creation of Karmas, their role in the orientation of ‘a’ life as well as the way of the dissolution of the bondages due to Karma. It explains the cause & effect relationship for our design, as we are, as well as fully establishes the premises for our experiences in a life. But for this theory, it shall be difficult to explain the reasons for the unique conditions an individual is born in, the unique personality that the individual possesses and the unique set of experiences the individual passes through during the journey of life. At the same time this theory is not fatalistic in nature as it provides the space and the method for the individual to maneuver himself out of his limitations by carrying out appropriate actions in the form of Shreyas Karmas. In this way it promotes hope and not despair.

The scientific evidence for Karma theory

The theory of Karma puts into a logical perspective the whole of existence. It explains the ‘Why’ of things as they are or as they happen and provides the linkages between the otherwise apparently unconnected aspects of life both at the micro level as well as at the macro level thereby establishing the fact that the Universe is a Cosmos and not a Chaos. Modern science has still to answer many questions which the theory of Karma explains logically & appropriately.

Having thus described the theory of Karma in detail it is necessary to evaluate this theory against the scientific understanding as on date. The process of life as well as that of existence as explained by science should be in consonance with the theory of Karma for it to be acceptable to the modern human intellect. The key aspects of this theory shall be hereafter tested through the available scientific knowledge of the day.

The basic premise or the foundation of the theory of Karma is that life and existence are bound by the cycle of Karma alone.

As we know, the entire Universe is in a state of dynamism in the form of motion, expansion, creation as well as assimilation of new galaxies, stars, planets, meteors, quasars etc. and much more. It is as a result of this dynamism that the Universe is what it is. Moreover all existence of sentient and insentient beings is possible because of the activities (both repetitive and non-repetitive) happening in the Universe. Taking the case of Earth, it is well established by science that life would not be possible on Earth if it was not rotating on its own axis as well as around the Sun. Living on Earth would have been impossible in the absence of Gravity. Even the process by which Earth has attained its present livable state is the result of complex Universal activity which changed the hot planet to the habitable planet that we live in. The tectonic activity has moved the continents over the millions of years to give the present geographical shape to the Earth which has resulted in the evolution of Life and thereon unto evolution of the human being. All this dynamism has not ceased and is continuously happening causing changes on Earth bit by bit so much so that the Earth shall not remain the same millions of years down the line as a result of it.

From the above description which is well established by scientific research of many years, it can be easily derived that all life and all existence has come into being and continues to progress & evolve only due to unhindered & continuous Universal dynamism. We know that all dynamism stands on the rule of cause & effect that condenses into the theory of Karma connected to life. Thus the basic premise of the theory of Karma that all existence is bound by Karma gets fully established by scientific knowledge gained through human perception.

The Karma theory is based on the premise of rebirth.

Before we proceed to the scientific evaluation of the concept of rebirth let us apply the principle of logic to the process of life to see whether rebirth logically falls in place in the way science perceives life.

That, one is responsible for one’s deeds-good or bad- is an established fact. One gets rewarded for the good deeds and is punished for the bad deeds. This law of existence is universally applicable. Even nature punishes for going against the laws of nature. If we observe the birth of individuals, we shall find that some are born in prosperous families where they enjoy all the luxuries & comforts which are not a result of their earning or effort of their present life whereas some are born in conditions of utter poverty and they suffer all kinds of hardships for which they cannot be held responsible at the time of their birth. How do we explain this phenomenon?

Similarly there are persons who are criminal minded and are a nuisance to society as well as to their own families but they remain unpunished for their deeds throughout their lives for various reasons and they leave this world that way. If there is a system which regulates the process of rewards & punishment for living beings then what is the explanation for such criminals getting away without suffering due punishment?

The above examples may be extreme in nature but there are various shades & possibilities with regard to the beginning & the end of a life which raise similar questions. The laws of Nature which govern the process of life cannot support such a chaotic scenario. It is therefore certain that there must be a method of accountability in Nature which is not directly perceivable to the human intellect but can be derived. This method or law is nothing else but the theory of Karma which stipulates through the process of rebirth the process of reward & punishment for past actions. No doubt this logic is inferential in nature but it prudently explains the apparent anomalies of life.

Some from the scientific community have studied the concept of rebirth directly and have come to the conclusion that rebirth is not a fig of imagination but is a determinable fact. In this context the observations made on the basis of the research carried out by the Russian physicist Prof. George Lakhovsky is noteworthy. Prof. Lakhovsky writes in his Doctrine of materialization & dematerialization and I quote:-

“It thus follows that all beings who lose their lives are not dead in reality, in the absolute sense of the word, but continue to live with their full consciousness in other regions of the Universe. They could perfectly well be reborn, on earth through a previous rematerialization and relive with the fullness of their personality in flesh & bones.”

“This reincarnation of human beings on other stars can explain certain facts otherwise difficult to account for. Thus how can we understand the extraordinary aptitudes of a man of genius born of mediocre parents? The laws of heredity seem superseded and are powerless to account for the exceptional qualities of this man. On the contrary everything is explained by the effect of the transmission of a complex human range through space at the time of conception.” 

Dr. Ian Stevenson M.D., University of Virginia has thoroughly investigated more than six hundred cases covering different regions & communities of the world and has established that there is reincarnation or rebirth. Similar studies have been carried out by Prof. Chatterjee of the Rajasthan University in India in reported cases where the native has remembered the previous birth. He found that the subjects not only remembered the full details of their past lives but also identified the relatives, the residence etc. without any external help.

It has been thus possible to establish the continuity of life in another form after the death of one body by various studies, some of which have been reported above. The evidence of rebirth can be found in all societies and across all regions of the world which only goes to prove the basic assumption of rebirth on which the theory of Karma has been founded. The scientific evidence in support of the continuity of life from the past can also be derived from the science of Genetics.

As per the principles of Genetics, it is known that the genes of the parents are passed on to the progeny. The genes of each parent represent the basic design or the characteristics of the parent or the parent itself. The genes of the progeny born from the two parents are developed from the parental genes which in itself is a unique combination of the two sets of genes. Thus the parents continue to live jointly in a new life in the form of their progeny even after their death. How the genes of the parents will get integrated to generate the new set of genes is yet to be established conclusively by science. However it is known that even if the whole set of genes of the parents do not get actively manifested in the progeny, they lie dormant within the progeny and can manifest in the next or later generations emerging from their progeny. Thus the parents live through their progeny all the time. Is it not a form of rebirth?

The unique combination of manifested genetic design in the progeny achieved through the mutation of the two sets of parental genes cannot be arbitrary or random in nature but it must be according to some formula or law hitherto unknown to scientist. This missing link is the control in the hands of Creation by which it can design the next generation to suit its larger purpose or design. The souls-in-waiting after death condense into a new birth when the design of Creation matches in some way with their Sanchit Karma. The part of the accumulated or Sanchit Karma which matches with the design or the need of Creation at a moment becomes the Prarabdha Karma (destiny at birth) for the Jeeva (soul) in the new birth which takes place at that moment. All the aspects of Genetics fit into the concept of rebirth propounded by the Karma theory except for the missing link of the basis for the mutation of genes for the progeny. This missing link too shall come to light for the scientists in future as the frontiers of science keep expanding in search of the Ultimate Truth.

In the context of the above, Prof. Lakhovsky’s following observations are most relevant:-

“We all know, besides, that fertilization often does not occur until

the end of several months and even after several years. This delay of impregnation may be due to specific radiation of the male or female which are not always in resonance with the radiation of materialization. The organism from the first cell, in its development is the materialization of rays-------continues its development to evolve under the domination of the same specific complex of radiations coming from the being that originally gave its life.”

“ All this explains how every living being microbe, infusoria, plant, animal, man reproduces itself to infinity-------where its complex of radiations finds favorable conditions of resonance and so materialize themselves in various parts of the Universe to eternity. These materializations by the propagation of the radiations------can repeat itself indefinitely in the infinity of time & space.”

From the foregoing observations of Prof. Lakhovsky some hints of the missing link in the understanding of the process of Genetics for the mutation of genes in a new birth can be visualized. The above stated ‘favorable conditions of resonance’ for the materialization of life, are in the form of Creation’s intervention for the birth of a living being, the basis for which is provided by the theory of Karma. That the Karma theory cannot be overlooked is realized by Lakhovsky when he says:-

“We should not put aside without profound examination the theories that place special importance to the marked influence on human destiny------at the moment of conception and birth of a human being.”

That there is rebirth is also established by the studies carried out in the field of Psychiatry and Parapsychology. The renowned Psychoanalyst Carl Jung talks about the collective unconscious, the energy that surrounds us and contains the memories of the evolution of the entire human race. These memories are a part of us and are continuously updated in the light of our experiences as they are carried forward in our journey of life through different births in different bodies. The pioneering work of Dr. Brian Weiss in this field is particularly noteworthy. Using the process of Regression analysis, Dr. Brian Weiss was able to tap these memories to reveal the past birth experiences of the subject individuals successfully. He could establish linkages of the current behavioral patterns of an individual to his or her previous birth events and experiences. These researches have proved beyond doubt that there is continuance of life after the death of a body and that there is rebirth. Scientists have realized the limitless ramifications of the process of rebirth particularly in the fields of Medicine and Psychiatry.

As can be seen from the foregoing there is enough clinching scientific evidence to prove the tenets of the Karma Theory including the process of rebirth. Everything translates to frequency of energy which manifests both as light & sound or better to say, as radiation & vibration. Nothing gets lost from the cosmic structure. The light form of the mind does not dissolve after death. While the body after death dissolves in the process of assimilation, the mind waits for a connective vibration to come back into form and materialize into another body to take a new birth. The term Jyotish (Astrology) is translated as the science of light. Astrology is the science which links the process of materialization of light frequencies into living beings unto the course of their journey in their new life.

Even though the theory of Karma is founded on sound principles, it can be of any use, if and only if, the destiny of the individual can be known for a given life so as to enable the individual to chart the future course of action accordingly. Astrology is the subject which takes the clues from the stars and the planetary disposition on the zodiac at the time & place of birth of an individual to predict his/her personality as well as the Destiny. As already stated here-in-earlier Astrology is only indicative and not causative in nature. The clues are taken from the solar system but there is more to it than a mere interpretation of the positioning of planets & stars at the time & place of birth of an individual.

Astrology as it developed in India surely made the doctrine of karma as its mainstay for explaining the questions related to destiny; birth in a particular environment; the purpose of a current life and for deciding upon astral remedies for minimizing adverse effects in ‘a life’ etc.. The connectivity of Indian astrology to the philosophy of karma is based on the premise that living beings exist in three concurrent layers as three distinctly identifiable bodies namely the Sthoola Sharira or the gross physical body, the Sookshma Sharira or the Astral body and the Karana Sharira or the Causal body. The three bodies exist concurrently for the living being and are interlinked having a common identity and single underlying consciousness. The Karana Sharira or the Causal body is consonant with the updated karmic orientation or the updated current status of the being’s karmic aggregate. This Causal body creates the Sookshma Sharira or the Astral body which is actually a unique radiation package reflecting the Causal body. The unique radiation package emanates from the cosmic radiation and remains connected to the Cosmos. The solar system consisting of the Sun, the Moon and the rest of the planets is the major contributor of the unique orientation of the Astral body. Thus the Karmic aggregate represented in the Causal body get condensed in the form of the cosmic radiations creating the Astral body.

The Astral body takes birth in the form of the Sthoola Sharira or the gross physical body at the time & place when the configuration of the solar system matches with the design of the Astral body. The design of the gross physical form of the living being is therefore guided by the Astral body which in turn reflects the Causal body that is tuned by the Karmic aggregate of the living being in question. The gross physical body including the faculties of the mind, intellect and the ego reflect the Astral body of the living being at the time of birth. The same consciousness of the living being permeates all the three bodies in a new birth. The death of the gross body does not mean the death of the living being as the being lives on through the Causal & the Astral bodies albeit with the updated orientation of the Karmic aggregate.

This aspect of existence of the Astral body is also called the ethereal state of a living being by the scientists. This arrangement of the astral body taking birth as a new living being is the foundation for the astrological mapping of the current updated karmic orientation of that living being in the form of the Astrological Horoscope drawn for the time & place of the birth. The horoscope of the individual thus reflects and connects to the Astral body of the individual thereby indicating that individual’s Destiny for the present birth. The astral connection of the destiny of a living being in the present life is thus visible in the horoscope and can be read and interpreted by learned astrologers. This connection of the astral body to present destiny of a living being can be influenced or maneuvered-with under certain conditions which forms the basis for the remedies used by astrologers for mitigating difficulties or for promoting good. Destiny needs to be understood as an integral part of human existence and not as merely an element reflecting Chance or Probability.

The Karmic aggregate determines the conditioning of the body-mind-intellect-ego system which provides the framework for the conditioned human Will and the future actions or Doing. This whole process reflects in the Destiny of the individual for ‘a’ life.