In this episode of “5 Minutes,” Dr. Robert Svoboda explores Jyotisha, the Indian tradition of the lore of light and its relationship with karma, perception, and human experience.

Jyotisha is sometimes translated as Indian Astrology, but a more accurate translation is the lore of light. It refers to the various systems of divination that have been taught and practiced in India.

There is often a misunderstanding about what Jyotisha is and what it is intended to do. In the West, and among many Western-educated Indians, it is sometimes regarded as merely a superstition, like reading sun signs in a newspaper or checking a lucky number for the day. On the other hand, many people in India regard Jyotisha as an absolute indicator of fate. I have often had people show me their horoscopes and ask what is going to happen, as though I could tell them exactly what their future will be.

The reason this is not possible is because Jyotisha recognizes that while a horoscope is a map of the karmas that have brought a person into birth, it is not simply a fixed prediction of everything that will happen. The horoscope reflects Prarabdha Karma, the particular group of karmas whose results have become ready to be experienced and which have brought an individual into a specific place and time.

Traditionally, karma is understood as having three different degrees. Dridha Karma is karma that is very likely to produce a predictable result. It behaves almost as though it is fixed or destined in a person’s life. Adridha Karma is unfixed karma, where there is much greater freedom and choice in how one acts. Dridha-Adridha Karma is karma that is partly fixed but not completely fixed. It is like cement that has been poured but has not yet fully hardened. Through effort, awareness, and appropriate action, it may still be possible to influence how it manifests.

This means that although we may not always be able to completely change the larger direction of our life, we may be able to influence how those karmas express themselves.

Jyotisha is also much broader than horoscopes. When people hear that I study Jyotisha, especially in India, they will often immediately show me their palms because palmistry is considered an important part of Jyotisha. Other methods of divination are also included, especially the study of omens, the ability to observe the world around us and recognize the signs through which the universe communicates.

Ultimately, Jyotisha is the study of light. It examines the light coming from celestial bodies, including the Sun and Moon, and understands that this external light reflects, in an “as above, so below” manner, the light that is moving within our own awareness.

This light appears externally as different colors and shades. Internally, it appears as different tastes, emotions, experiences, and states of being. These correspond with the different Bhavas, the areas of life experience, and the different Rasas, the ways in which we experience and digest those conditions.

The purpose of Jyotisha is not simply to predict events. It is to understand the conditions in which we find ourselves and learn how to transform those experiences into a beneficial and meaningful life, a good Rasa, that can benefit ourselves and others.

Jyotisha is a vast lifelong study and has been used for many centuries as a form of guidance and psychological understanding, including alongside Ayurveda. On this morning, as the Sun moves toward its greatest expression of light at noon, I offer respect to the Sun, the other Grahas, and the wisdom of Jyotisha, wishing that their benefits and mercy may reach all sentient beings.