Ayurveda and Astrology: the sciences of life and inner light

In ancient times Jyotish (the Indian word for Astrology, which literally means “inner light”) and Ayurveda (the Indian traditional medicine and what is believed to be the oldest healing science in existence, literarlly meaning “knowledge of life”) were part of the same science because they can both help the individual live mentally, physically and spiritually healthy.

These two sciences share the same philosophy of life, and they both see the individual holistically, that is as a union of Body, Mind and Soul which are interacting and never separated the one from the other. Therefore, both Ayurveda and Astrology make us aware of the functions of our Body, Mind and Soul. However, they differentiate in that Astrology is the science that emphasizes the “inner light” of the individual (jyotish), that is his most hidden Self, in order for him to be conscious about It and live a better life, whereas Ayurveda focuses on the body, and teaches how to take care of it with the flow of life, through time but also through the changing of the seasons.

The ayurvedic physician would understand the overall unbalance of an individual upon the occurrence of a physical disorder inside him, whereas the astrologer would understand a physical unbalance in an individual by his mind disorders and inner turmoil. But both of them would investigate into all aspects of life. Therefore, an ayurvedic physician cannot be asked to treat the illness only: his task is to understand the disease along with the way the individual’s Mind works and interacts with his Body, never forgetting about his Soul, that is the spiritual life of the individual. In that same way an astrologer, when asked to see into a natal chart, has to consider not only the physical side of the individual under examination, but also his intellectual faculties as well as their interactions with the Spirit within himself.

Ayurveda’s place in the individual’s chart is found in the 6th/12th houses as far as the physical and spiritual planes are concerned, and it is related to the 3rd/9th houses as to the function of the Mind. The 6th house is the field related to medicine, health and care of the material side of the body. This field, in a person’s chart, indicates the way he relates with his body, how much care he is giving to it. But there is no Body without Soul, therefore the 12th house is telling us what his vision of the immaterial world is, how he interacts with the latter, that is also with his feelings. However, in this interaction the Mind has a leading role. Therefore, looking at his 3rd house, we would understand the relation between his “Lower Mind” and his Body and Soul; whereas looking at his 9th house the relation between his “Higher Mind” and the latter will be shown.

This is a continuous flow of information that is inside us since birth and will stay till the end of our life. By using this information, the ayurvedic physician is “enlightened” in comprehending the causes that produced a specific illness.

Therefore, it is understood how the same illness would be treated differently from person to person, just because – as both Astrology and Ayurveda teach us – each individual is unique in this world.

Ayurveda is interested in our physical, mental and spiritual health as much as in our “life project”, because the latter is interrelated with our spiritual growth.

In Astrology, this aspect in the life of a person is shown especially by the placing of Rahu and Ketu in his natal chart, because the latter show us the path that would lead us to our spiritual growth.

Article published in: CASAR News (India), Year 1 no. 4/2003