Veda And Conception Of Houses in Vedic Astrology

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We have seen elsewhere how the rationale behind the allotment of Moksha to the 12th house under the astrological principles adumbrated by Maharshi Parashar conform to the spiritual principle laid down in our highest spiritual literature i.e. the Vedas and the Upnishadas. We have also seen how the rationale behind the allotment of a specific degree of a specific sign as the exaltation point for a planet conforms to the spiritual concepts of the Vedic lore.
In this chapter we propose to study the house of Moksha or liberation i.e. the 12th house in a horoscope. It would be a study of the mutual relation of the 12th house with the other houses of the horoscope. The study will thus be basically astrological in nature, but the aim will be to show how this relation derives its rationale from the spiritual principles. It is reasonable to argue that if astrology has taken its basic and fundamental principles from the Vedas, these principles _when studied in the horoscope must conform to the spiritual principles of the Vedas.

(2) The 12th house is the negation of the first house on the analogy of the house 12th from the 8th (Longevity) being the 'MARAKA' or the killer of the 8th (Longevity). This aspect of the question has already been discussed.
(3) Let us now see the relation of the 12th house to the remaining hom.es of the horoscope. Consider first the relation between the 12th house and the second house. We have emphasized in our works that the house of education in the horoscope is the second house. It is the house which deals with the age following immediately the infant age, and is concerned with the period when we go to school and start getting our education. It is, therefore, appropriate to consider it as the house of education, as against the opinion of somc who hold 4th as house of education or against the opinion of still others who hold the 5th as the house of education. In holding this opinion in regard to the second house as the house of education, we are in company with the standard authors in the astrological field.
For, example, the author of the famous work ''PHALADEEPIKA" opines in shloka 10 of chapter I as under:-
लग्नं होरा कल्पदेहोदयाख्यं रूपं शीर्षं वर्तमानं च जनम |
वित्तंविद्या स्वान्नपाननि भुक्ति दक्षाक्ष्यास्यं पत्रिका वाक् कुटुंबम् ||
i e. the first house is named as "LAGNA", hora. kalpa, deha, udaya, roop; sheersham (head), vartman (present time,) janma bith. The second house is called the house of vitta (wealth), vidya (education), anna panani bhuktim (eating and drinking, the right eye, face, letter, speech and the family.
Mark the mention of "EDUCATION" as relating to the second house. Similarly in shloka 3 of khanda 5 of "Uttara Kalamrita " ... a renowned work on astrolory we read :-
विद्या स्वर्ण सुरौप्य धन्य विनया नासा मनस्थैर्यके
तत्पार्श्वस्थनरो नरो गमागम विधि जीवाद्यता द्रव्य भात ||
i.e. the following should be studied astrologically from the second house. And the very first subject that the author lists is "EDUCATION". He adds to the list gold, silver, foods,
humility, nose, steadiness of mind, dependents, manner of income, and expenditure, power of life. Again we read in the first shloka of chapter 3 of the standard work "SARVARTH CHINTAMANl" as under:-
कौटुम्वाद् भर्तव्यान्मुखम् च वाग्दक्षिणाक्षिपूर्वार्थान |
विद्याभुक्तिविशेषान दासांमित्राणि च प्रवदेत् ||
i.e. from the second house shoulb be considered all about one's family, dependents, face speech, right eye, accumulated wealth, education, food, servants and friends. Here again "EDUCATION" has been mentioned as relating to the second house.
(4) Now the 12th house is 11th from the 2nd and denotes its total gain. We know from the word of the Lord in the Gita 10-32 अध्यात्म विद्या विद्यानां  i e. the spiritual education is the best of all educations. This is not without reason. Why do we get education in this world at all·?
Obviously to earn.
Why do we earn ?
To have pleasures of life.
All education of engineering, medicine and law leads ultimately to pleasure and
joy or it is intended to lead us to them. The spiritual education gives us Moksha which has been defined as one that brings about utter and total destruction of sorrows, by removing the root cause of sorrow viz., birth itself and gives us ananda eternal. No
worldly education is capable of securing wealth enough to give us eternal happiness. Hence the 12th house being the culmination of ananda is the gain of the highest of eduction.
(5) From the 3rd house the 12th house is I0th. We know from astrology that while the 4th house is "NADIR"-the lowest, the tenth is zenith"-the highest. The 12th is thus
zenith to the 3rd. The 3rd house represents "PRAKRAMA" or great effort. The 10th is the. "PARAKASHTA" the acme of it. From the Gita chapter 4 shloka 17 we know that actions are of three kinds viz., actions prohibited by religion, actions enjoined by religion and actions which though called "actions" are in reality no actions in as much as they yield no results, good or bad. "UNSELFISH" actions are the actions of this type. The 12th house-the house of Moksha relates to the last type of actions, which are actions involving goodness for goodness's sake. The state of Moksha is thus the acme of activity- a doctrine taught by both astrology and spiritt,iality. Hence astrology is conformatory to spirituality.
(6) The 12th house falls 9th to 4th. The 4th stands for mind-the emotional principle in man. Just as the 9th from the the 1st represents excellence of the moral self and its "SHUBHATVA" or ennoblement, the 9th from the 4th denotes the ennoblement of the 4th house. It is through the ennoblement of the mind, through its purification, through the
attenuation of the mind's faults and sins that Moksha is attained. In this connection the attention of the readers is invited to shloka 25 of chapter 5 of the Gita, from which it is clear that the state of क्षीण कल्मष -the state where the mind is least impure, leads to the destructions of sorrows for all time and to the acquisition of the state of "NIRVANA" or Moksha. Thus the purity (9thhouse) of mind (4th house) constitutes the state of God realisation. It is only the pure in heart that attain to God. God does
not like "HYPOCRISY" and deceit. The Yoga Shastra counts शौच or purity as the foremost of personal qualifications of a yogi. Christ is also of the same opinion, for he says-"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Mathew 5-8).
The 12th being thus the purest state of mind, on account of its being'9th from the 4th, denotes the highest state of purity i.e. of Moksha We thus see Astrology following in the footsteps of spirituality and echoing the sentiments of the Vedic mantra  तन्मे मनः शिवसंकल्पमस्तु  etc. (May my mind always think in spiritually good term&;)
(7} The 12th house is 8th from the 5th house: "The ·8th house in any horoscope. is the house or death and destruction for the house from which it is 8th. The 5th house denotes मंत्रणा  i.e. intelligence and keenness of intellect. Now tire- urdu poet says:-
"AKLA GO. TERE AASTAAN SE ,DUR NHIN?
PAR IS Kl KISMAT MEN HAZOOR NAHIN.
JAAM ISKA GO RANGEEN HAI ? IS KE BADA MEN SROOR
NAHIN"
O God, the intellect is a very valuable thing that takes us to your threshold. But alas, it is not her good luck to rea1ise you. Its appearance and face value is very colorful, but it does not contain any spiritual bliss. in fact the;·spiritual teaching enjoins that in the highest state of God realization or Moksha the intellect has to be calm and without any activity.
यदा पञ्चावतिष्टन्ते ज्ञानानि मनसा सह ,बुद्धिश्च न विचेष्टति तामाहु परमां गतिम् | i.e. when all the 5 sense organs along with the emotions are still and where intellect is without any 'CHESHTA' i.e. activity, that is named the highest state of perfection. Moksha is thus the destruction of the intellect (destruction, of course brought about by meditation and thought and not by any force or drug) Just as the 12th house is the destruction of the 5th Moksha is the destruction of the intellect. This is the concordance between astrology and the Vedic teachings. Yes, astrology gives practical shape through the horoscope to what the shastras teach by the
written word.
(8) Students of astrology know that the 7th house in the horoscope stand for "PARTNERS" or co-operators, may they be in the form of partners in marriage, husband and wife, or may they be partners in business. The 7th is the house of cooperation. The 6th house in the birth chart being 7th from the 12th, has to play the role of a co-operator to the l2h house, i.e. co-operator in the state of Moksha. Is it so? Yes, because the 6th house is the house of · "PAUCITY", "WANT" and
"POVERTY"-poverty or absence of the worldly desires "It is easy for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven" says Christ. न वित्तेन सर्पणीयो मनुष्यः  "Man cannot have spiritual peace through wealth" declares the KATHOPANISHADA". In fact in the state of Moksha, as in deep sleep, there is absence of the world with all it's so called charms. Want of worldly desires is, therefore,
a co-operative factor in achieving liberation. Liberation from the world is the only true liberation. Here again one does not fail to see astrology playing an identical role with religion or spirituality.
(9) The 12th house is 5th to 8th, i.e. the offspring of it. We get or acquire the 12th as a · direct result of, or offshoot of the 8th. It is only through dying to the world and its pleasures that give birth to life eternal.
जिस मरने से जग डरे मेरे मन आनंद
मरने से ही पाइए पूर्ण परमानंद |
Says Kabir-the great mystic-His valuable opinion, pregnant with the highest spiritual truth, when translated would stand as under :-
"'THE DEATH OF WHICH THE WORLD IS AFRAID GIVES ME THE HIGHEST SPIRITUAL BLISS, FOR IT TS THROUGH DEATH THAT THE BLISSFUL STATE OF MOKSHA IS ATTAINED"
Kabir is in happy company of the prince of peace-Christ Jesus who says:-"HE THAT FINDETH HIS LIFE SHALL LOSE IT AND HE THAT LOSETH HIS LIFE FOR MY SAKE SHALL FIND IT". This obviously
means dying to matter and living in spirit. Death giving birth to immortality. The 12th being a progeny to the 8th house, the upnishada echoes the same sentiment when it ·says-
कलासर्गकरम देवं ये विदुस्ते जहुतनम  Only those who die to body know the creator of all. We need not multiply quotations from religious texts. Suffice it to say that when we say 12th is the progeny of 8th house, we only restate in astrology a truth preached by religion.
(10) The 12th house is 4th to 9th in the horoscope. The 4th house stands for "RESIDENCE" in astrology, while the 9th 'house stands for morality and spirituality. This means spirituality resides in the 12th house. Surely it is not an exaggeration. The state of Moksha represented by the 12th house is what else but the state where the highest spirituality resides. Mundak Upanishaqa calls the supreme as the abode of truth सत्यस्य परमं निधानं. The holy Bible calls it "THE TEMPLE OF GOD" (Rev 3-12), where one is made a permanent pill~r and is no longer under the necessity of "Going out any more" (i.e.
being born again), Here again the link between the 9th and the
12th house in astrology has the same meaning as in the Vedas
and other books of spirituality.
(11) The 12th house of the horoscope is 3rd 'from the.10th. The 10th is the house of "Ruling powers" and the 3rd therefrom means its power. In other words the 12th house is the power of the tenth, This is the astrological position.. On the side of Vedas the Brahm or the supreme who is realized in Moksha is the ishwara of the ishwara, is the ruler of the rulers तमीश्वरानाम परमं महेश्वरम् te king of kings, the power behind the
prowess. Thus the relation ·between the 10th house and the 12th
house in astrology is the same as taught by the Vedas and the
upnishadas.
(12) Lastly the 12th house is 2nd from the 11th in the horoscope. The second is "wealth" and the 11th is the house of desireless works as discussed and shown while explaining the evolutionary character of the set up of the birth chart. The 12th is thus the highest wealth of the unselfish i.e. the state of Moksha is the most valuable thing for Tb._~ advanced sadhaka or the seeker after truth. This is exactly the view of the-''Vedas. The very first mantra of the Rig Veda calls God रत्नधातमं ie the abode of jewels of the highest water. Christ calls Him as "Treasure"
(See Mathew 6-21) The bhakta cries out राम रत्न धन पायो जी मैंने I have got Rama as my most valuable jewel.
We thus see that the mutual relations between the houses of the horoscope is very meaningful. Since we are here concerned with the Vedas whose primary aim is to show us the way to salvation, we have taken up for study the house of Moksha i.e. the 12th house in its relation with the other houses, and seen that in each case what is true astrologically is also true according to the injunctions or the teachings of the,' Vedas and the Upanishadas etc as well. Astrology is, therefore linked to the Vedas in the converse order as well. That is to say if Vedas
teach astrology in the seed form, astrology as a tr.ee points its branches and fruits to the fact that its origin is the Veda.
( 14) Similarly the spiritual facts are ·veriable in the houses of the horoscope in different ways. We would illustrate our idea by taking up for consideration the tenth house in its relation to the 5th house of the birth chart. Through astrology we know that the tenth house is called the house of "Karma" and the 5th. as that of "Mantrana" or the intelligence.
(15) Now the 5th house is the from the 10th. In other words the 5th is -the destruction or death of the 10th house, for the 8th house everywhere denotes the death of the traits of the house fr0m which it is 8th. This relation then means that karmas die in the 5th house. This is not merely an astrological statement of facts but a confirmation of the spiritual principles, for we read in the spiritual literature ;-
श्रेयान्द्रव्य मयाध्यज्ञाज्ज्ञान यज्ञः परंतप
सर्व कर्माखिलं पार्थ ज्ञान परिसमाप्यते  (Gita 4-33)
O Arjuna, the spiritual good obtained from the state of Gyana is any day better than mere performance of good actions, through the material means. O Arjuna, in Gyana lies the culmination of all Karmas. The adjectives used by the Lord are very significant. The Lord is referring to सर्व "ALL" karmas as if the word सर्व {all) was inadequate to express fully
the intention of the Lord, another adjective with the same meaning viz अखिलं has been used. Thus the idea is that In the state of Gyana- all actions good, bad, and indifferent are lost. There is the destruction of all karmas, may they be performed by the sense organs, or by the emotional mind or even by the intellect.
( 16) The idea is made still more clear by the Lord in shloka 19 of chapter 4 of the Gita by saying -
 यस्य सर्वे समारम्भा कामसंकल्पवर्जिता ,
ज्ञानग्निदग्धकर्माणि तमाहु पण्डितं बुधा ||
O Arjuna the fire of Gyana which is born out of a state where there is ·no desire or wish for any worldly object burns totally the karmas or the actions. In other words such burnt karmas are no longer capable. of sprouting into good or bad fruits, like a burnt seed giving no fruits. Thus according to astrology the 5th house-the house of right intelligence is the destruction of all karmas-a principle taught by the Lord Himself as a spiritual principle. Thus if Vedas and Upnishadas teach spiritual truth astrology does no less.
तेन त्यक्तेन भुञ्जीय माँ गृधः कस्यस्वितधनम् says the Yajur Veda i.e. enjoy life with a sense of "renunciation". We have cited Gita often as it is the essence of all .spidtual literature, for :-
सर्वोपनिषदो गावो दोग्धःगोपाल नंदन , पार्थो वत्स सुधीर्भोक दुग्धं गीतामृतं महत् |
i e. consider all the spiritual literature of the Upnishadas as "cows", Lord Krishna as the cowboy, Arjuna as the small calf, Gita the milk taken out of the cows and the people of the earth as the consumers of that milk, which makes one immortal. Just as the small calf is instrumental in bringing down the milk to the milk bag of the cow and then using it himself and the owner of the cow, in the same manner Arjuna to whom the Gita was preached by the Lord is only an instrument through whom
the humanity at large gets the benefit of the milk of immortality.
(19) In short then idea of giving the analogy of the relation between the 10th and the 5th houses of the horoscope is to illustrate the fact that the science of astrology being a limb or an integral part of the Vedas-the spiritual knowledge, illustrates how it corroborates the spiritual principles. Thus astrology is derived from a spirituality and is complementary to it.