Friday, March 05, 2021

Ṣoḍaśāṁśa

D16: Sukha-Duḥkha

Sukha (joy, bliss) indicated by Jupiter, the giver of the supreme bliss and duḥkha (sorrow) indicated by Saturn, the god of death and disease are the two sides of the coin. Sukha is the upward pull of the loka (heavens, seven realms of light) which causes the head to go upwards whereas duḥkha is the downward pull of the tala (underworlds, seven realms of darkness) which causes the head to go down in shame and pain. From the guṇa viewpoint, sukha is sattva guṇa whereas duḥkha is tamas guṇa. Rajas guṇa is neither and causes continuance in the same level with neither rise nor fall. Therefore it is the cause of rebirth, or return to the same plane of this worldly consciousness.

In this lesson we learn the basics of studying sukha and duḥkha in the chart. Now our question: when did you last remember god? Was is in joy (sukha) or sorrow (duḥkha)? How often do you remember god in sukha? Sukha is symbolised by the right hand while duḥkha is symbolised by the left hand. In joy when we follow a spiritual path, we can never go astray whereas when we do so in sorrow, it is possible that we may resort to desperate methods of propitiation including dark means. This is what Parāśara meant by the spiritual path. Ṣoḍaśāṁśa shows the vehicles, and manas is the vehicle of mantra, the spiritual path to the goals.

At this stage we will not be studying such deep spiritual connotations.

Sukha-Duḥkha Slides

Sukha-Duḥkha Mimamsa

Ṣoḍaśāṁśa: D16


Parāśara teaches that from the Ṣoḍaśāṁśa (D16) we know about

  1. happiness and sorrows besides
  2. the power of discernment, comprehension and understanding (including religious study but not spiritual realisation) and
  3. Vehicles and such comforts.

It is evident that this is one of the most important divisional charts applicable to the higher human species only. Thoughts are generated from the sign occupied by the planets, chiefly the Moon and the action impulse is always in the 4th bhāva from it. This 4th bhāva is actually 4+12=16 or the 16th step as the thought passes through 15 steps (pañca-daśa) before it becomes action impulse in the 16th step.

Besides learning about the working of the manas, we also learn the ṣoḍaśāṁśa devatā. The ṣoḍaśāṁśa devatā are Aja (Brahma, first born), Viṣṇu, Hara (Rudra, Śiva) and Sūrya, repeating four times, for odd signs. For even signs the order is reversed – Sūrya, Hara, Viṣṇu, Aja.

Ṣoḍaśī or Tripura Sundarī, the giver of lineage is seen as seated on a throne with these four ṣoḍaśāṁśa devatā upholding her.

Ṣoḍaśāṁśa Slides
Pt.Sanjay Rath
Sanjay Rath belongs to a traditional family of astrologers from Bira Balabhadrapur Sasan village of Puri, Orissa, which trace their lineage back to Shri Achyuta Das (Sri Achyutananda).
Students: sanjay.rath@...
Readings: sanjay@srath.in

Mentor

  • Nitin Bhanap

    nbhanap@gmail.com +19195392537 Nitin Bhanap is an IT professional turned Vedic astrologer by the grace of Guruji (Pt. Sanjay Rath). Nitin is originally from Bombay, Maharashtra and now based in Raleigh USA. Nitin comes from a family of astrologers and Jyotiṣa was part of his early life because of his father and grandfather who had a career in corporate world, however practiced Jyotisa to help and guide people. Nitin pursued his interest in Jyotisa by reading many books, however after meeting Guruji (Pt Sanjay Rath), at the Someshwara Shiva temple prāṇa pratiṣṭhā in Ashveille NC, USA, Nitin found his Jyotiṣa Guru (Pt. Sanjay Rath). Nitin’s early life was spent in boarding school and then in Mumbai, where he completed his Master’s in Mathematics and then left for USA at the age of 23 to pursue career in IT and is still living in USA with his wife and one daughter. Nitin worked for many large corporations in USA and now has taken up Jyotisa seriously by volunteering to leave his professional career at Verizon to pursue Jyotisa studies further under guidance of Guruji (Pt. Sanjay Rath). Nitin joined Parāśara 5-year course under tutelage of Pt. Sanjay Rath in 2012 and completed his Jyotisa Paṇḍita certification in 2016 and now in the 3rd year of Jaimini Jyotisa under Pt. Sanjay Rath. Nitin has also currently enrolled Mantra Shastra course and continuing pursuing his Jaimini studies. Nitin continues to practice Jyotisa by guiding many young and middle-aged adults about their careers, marriage, children and many other areas of life. Nitin does the Jyotiṣa practice as an offering to Mahadev as Shiva is Parameṣṭhi Guru and the ocean of all knowledge Nitin is also learning Advaita Vedanta from Chinmaya mission and is currently serving as President of Chinmaya mission Raleigh Durham. As a part of Chinmaya mission, Nitin teaches Vedanta to young high school children on Sunday’s and organizes many spiritual discourses on Vedanta by inviting Chinmaya mission Swamiji’s from different US centers as a part of his seva to the Raleigh Durham community

  • Kaartik Gor

    kaartik@kaartikgor.com +971555532511 www.kaartikgor.com Kaartik Gor is a professional Vedic Astrologer, originally from Somnath, Gujarat and now based in Dubai. Kaartik comes from a family of priests and Jyotiṣa was part of his life since early days though he got interested after meeting his Gurudev. His early life was spent in Gujarat and later Mumbai where he completed his Engineering and later worked with corporate giants in their Sales and later as a Project Manager in Mumbai & Dubai. He later migrated to Dubai in 2002 and is now based there, though he consults and teaches globally via his webinar, conferences and personal contact classes. He also writes for leading publications and was instrumental in many positive changes related to Vedic scriptures in the GCC region. Kaartik Gor considers himself to be very fortunate and takes pride to be amongst the first direct students of his Gurudev (as he like to address him) Pt. Sanjay Rath. He strongly feels “Knowledge is Shiva” and takes pride in being associated with a tradition which dates back to 2500 years! He strongly feels that Jyotiṣa is his road to attain moksha since it gives him an opportunity to heal souls and make his life worthwhile. Teaching Jyotiṣa is something he enjoys a lot and being a young Turk likes to make it easy for Beginners to understand and implement the knowledge in their day to day life. He is a firm believer that knowledge should be applicable else its waste of time! Kaartik has been part of all major programs conducted by his Gurudev and has been associated with him for approx. 2 decades during which he is now a Jaimini Scholar, Jyotiṣa Pandita (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra), Mantra Shastra among others. He still likes to call himself a Beginner and strongly advocates what his Gurudev told him “Knowledge is an Ocean, Start Swimming”. He truly believes that best Gurus are those who make best friends and likes to be grounded and approachable. His mission is to spread this brilliant Vedic knowledge globally and work tirelessly to achieve it, no mood to rest On a personal note he loves taking care of Cows and does his bit for them. He also loves music, singing, watching movies and playing squash!