Welcome to the Parāśara Jyotisa Course Year-3
You have taken a monumental decision to study this great classic of Maharṣi Parāśara. It contains 100 Chapters and although we have planned to complete it in 6 years, we shall do our best to stick to this schedule. However, you can take more or less time depending on the amount of time you have to devote to jyotiṣa every day. My advice is to take out an hour at least for this study every day and do not try to study this only on weekends as the memory falters if not replenished with more information that will help to digest what you have already learnt.
Balanced Learning
We at SJC believe that a Jyotiṣa is to be taught in the Guru-Śiṣya Paraṁparā and it is our endeavour to re-establish this Paraṁparā in Jyotiṣa. For this purpose, the students are required to be spiritually inclined and should be prepared to dedicate their lives for the study of this divine knowledge. Half-hearted attempts will not help anybody and your sincerity is essential.
The learning process at SJC begins with the mutual acceptance of a Jyotiṣa Guru of SJC to guide a Śiṣya (Student). This is your chosen ‘Mentor’ at DBC. At various stages of learning, various mantra are imparted by the jyotiṣa guru starting with the Guru mantra of the Paraṁparā. Then begins the learning through various lessons, contact classes and mutual discussions and is completely informal. Starting with the Parāśara Jyotiṣa Course, the student becomes a jyotiṣa paṇḍita and later a jyotiṣa guru as well. The learning continues till the student has reached a certain level of proficiency in the Standard Texts and is also conversant with the working knowledge of Secret works like the Upadeśa Sutra of Maharishi Jaimini [Jaimini Scholar Program (JSP)].
Savitur Gāyatrī mantra enables the śiṣya to master the subject and the Guru Gayatri enables him to take other Śiṣya and to continue teaching and also simultaneously learning and mastering what has already been taught.
Subsequently, when he is ready to examine horoscopes independently and to guide people like a flaming torch lighting the way in darkness, he is given the Sūrya yantra and is taught its worship. This process cannot be completed in a few years nor can any time limit what-so-ever, be prescribed for this. Thus, it is most advisable to follow the path of the Maharṣi Parāśara and his disciples.
Daily Practise
It is good to have a daily spiritual practise while learning and also for later life. This can include specific practises required by your horoscope as remedial measures that are vedic and of sattva guṇa.
Jyotiṣa is a life-time penance in the pursuit of knowledge and those who are not disciplined for this will, sooner or later, falter and fall. This requires a certain level of purity of thought and action and a some spiritual discipline.
There are no enemies and there can be no enemies as Vishnu is present in all and hence any form of enmity amounts to enmity with Vishnu. Thus, forgive and forget.
You are what you eat. Hence, eat to live should be your motto and not live to eat.
“DO NOT TOUCH THE PEN TILL YOU KNOW WHAT TO WRITE”. By keeping quiet you will not be showing your ignorance nor the fact of your being unfit for a certain knowledge. By extension this also implies not being judgmental about things and people.
All action requires expenditure of energy and this tends to become Rajas when a person desires the fruits of the action. Similarly acts performed out of ignorance of their outcome or through disgust are termed as Tamasic. Thus, one should undertake the holy act of studying the horoscope of a person and giving guidance ONLY after he has knowledge of Jyotish and is qualified by his Guru to do so and is not attached to the fruits of the work he is doing.
