| Hi All:
May be "imposed" their way of thinking is too strong a remark (as I stated in my last post). I will take that back.
I am sure there was a fruitful exchange of ideas, but in the end the Western viewpoint prevailed, since they were the rulers, afterall.
So, just like other things Western that were adopted by Indians (after the British came to India), I think the legacy of Alexander's invasion of India (circa 320 B. C.) is to be found in the Sayana charts. Alexander did leave behind a general named Selyucas (I may have misspelt it). He was defeated by Chandragupta Maurya and then Chandragupta married Selycas' daughter. Scholarly contacts between India and ancient Greece, of course, predate even Alexander's invasion.
So, there was indeed an "exhcange" of ideas and thus, I believe, some Vedic astrologers started using the Sayana charts and adopted many other Western astrological methods.
For example, at least in the books that I have read, the exact degree of the planetary position is not that important in the Vedic astrological tradition. Even if Jupiter has just entered the 7th house (say by 1 degree out of 30 degrees), he is considered to be entirely in the house. It is believed that the full benefits of Jupiter in the 7th house are felt, just as if Jupiter was centered in the 7th house. (Prince Charles' horoscope is an interesting example of this. The ayanamsa correction affects the position of Jupiter - very important for someone born to be King. But, to date, he is still not a King! It is also important for married life. Just look what he has gone through.)
Western astrology, on the other hand, gives a great deal of importance to exact calculations of planetary positions.
But then, alas, they don't make the ayanamsa correction for the precession of the equinoxes! This is the paradox of Western astrology, at least in my mind. |
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Vedic Astrology
