I am really passionate about astrology, right from my childhood. I wish to pursue it by joining a course. I have seen however that the holy saints disapprove of astrology. In such a situation, what should I do? Should I professionally learn astrology anyway? But, if my respected holy saints disapprove of astrology, saying that one should not believe in it, and one should not follow it at all, shall I still learn astrology?
—Nidhi Damle, India
Dear Nidhi,
From Yogananda’s and Swami Kriyananda’s perspective, astrology is a ancient and holy science. Swami Kriyananda has written a whole book on it, Your Sun Sign As a Spiritual Guide.
Yogananda describes astrology in his Autobiography of a Yogi, in the chapter “Outwitting the Stars”. You might enjoy reading it. His guru, Sri Yukteswar, was himself a great astrologer , as was Adi Shankaracharya.
It all depends on how you use astrology. If you use it as a guide to help people detect and overcome their karma, it is a divine profession. But if you say, looking at a person’s horoscope, “this is how you are and ever will be,” it might very well be detested by the holy saints.
Yogananda explains it in his Autobiography: “The starry inscription at one’s birth, I came to understand, is not that man is a puppet of his past. Its message is rather a prod to pride; the very heavens seek to arouse man’s determination to be free from every limitation.”
So yes, go for it. Tune into those great Masters who support Vedic astrology, or jyotisha. Let your passion flourish in a wise and enlightened way.
If you want to become a good astrologer, meditate. Meditation will develop your intuition. Sri Yukteswar taught: “The natal chart can be rightly interpreted only by men of intuitive wisdom: these are few.”
All the best with the stars and planets,
Jayadev
