The Essentials of Vedic Astrology

Vedic astrology arises out of ancient cosmology and is intimately linked to spiritual practices. renowned and popular vedic astrologer komilla sutton teaches this ancient tradition to students all around the world through her webinars and books. this is her first and best-selling book, and it is aimed at beginners as well as astrologers think of moving from tropical to vedic astrology. komilla sutton started her astrological studies in bombay, india, with dr. ajit sinha in 1979. she moved to england in 1982 and now works full time as a vedic astrologer. in 1996 komilla and andrew foss co-founded the british association for vedic astrology (bava) which holds regular meetings and an annual conference attracting speakers from all over the world. as well as running a busy practice numbering hundreds of clients, komilla teaches vedic astrology both in classes and through her correspondence course. she is a popular speaker in the uk and is now being asked to present workshops in europe and the us. komilla sutton is the cofounder and chair of the british association for vedic astrology. she is an internationally renowned consultant, teacher and lecturer. she is on the faculty of american college of vedic astrology,and is regularly asked to speak at international conferences both western and vedic. her academy for vedic sciences teaches a four year intensive programme in jyotish and holds classes in uk, usa and india; it also has a distance learning programme. indian born, komilla sutton is one of the pioneers in making this subject more accessible for the western readers. she is the author of personal panchanga; the lunar nodes crisis and redemption; vedic love signs and vedic astrology. excerpt. © reprinted by permission. all rights reserved. from the introduction: the birth-chart in vedic astrology is only a small part of the whole, because this lifetime is only one of a multitude of lives as in a pearl necklace, which is only complete when all the pearls are strung together. each time the soul reincarnates it brings consciousness into this life. right from birth the child knows what he or she wants. how does he know? how does she learn? the answer is inborn. as the child grows he or she becomes more and more aware.in vedic literature, the earth is called mrityusthana or 'the place of deathbecause everything on earth eventually dies. but with every death there is a rebirth there is renewal. we see this cycle of life and death in plants every year, every season. in human terms this cycle of life and death and our individual place within it is the most important concept in vedic astrology. we are part of a greater destiny that we must act out. we fear death because from our perspective life is the only reality, but life is just another experience along the way; understanding this principle is the key to using vedic astrology with all its insights in your life. the soul is born into a physical body to enjoy life but not to become attached to it. the rays of the sun fall everywhere on a rubbish heap or in a beautiful garden but their purity is always intact. it is important to understand right from birth that we will die; this understanding gives us the courage to become detached from our surroundings, to break through the entanglements of earthly life and regain the purity we are in danger of losing when we reincarnate. but the breaking-through can only happen when we become aware that changes need to be made. we need to stay calm during the periods of pain and realise it is just the shedding of a skin that will lead us to purity within. after all, we have to experience something before we can consciously give it up: the soul has to experience life so that it can finally be given up. through multiple lives we rid ourselves of desires and attachments until our souls see the light. vedic astrology is the science of this