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The beautiful snapshot of a rare planetary conjunction (May 13 2002) shows; from bottom to top. 1. The golden rays of the setting Sun (Rishi). 2. Mercury (Devata) - smallest object bottom right of picture. 3. Moon (Chandas). 4. Saturn. 5. Mars. 6. Venus. (almost perfectly aligned these visible planets, along with Rahu, were all in the sign of Taurus ~ Sun was in Aries; his sign of exaltation.) Missing from this celestial wonder is divine planet Jupiter (in the sign of Gemini on that day). The object (top right) is a distant star. Permission to use photo (planetary conjunction) courtesy of www.dimijianimages.com	Maharishi Mahesh Yogi The bestower of this ancient knowledge.
THE PROCESS OF KARMA:  We are taught that ego (Rishi) arises from the mind. The ego desires that which it perceives is lacking (not known). This initiates the process of knowing (Devata) which arises in the intellect. The known (Chandas) is inventoried in the mind as memory and it's from these stored memories that the desires of the ego rise again and again.

Rishi, Devata and Chandas Rishi (I am; ego) is the knower and is ruled by Sun. Devata (intellect) is the process of knowing and is ruled by Mercury. Chandas (mind) is the known and is ruled by Moon. Rishî is the knower or ego of the jîva. Each one of us senses this “knower” aspect of ourselves. It is that aspect we identify as our ”self.” Rishî is a viewpoint of the universe that is uniquely personal, like a window through which an individual perceives the world. Devatâ is the intellect or faculty of discrimination which connects the knower with the known, and completes the circuit that gives rise to knowledge. In the self-referral process of knowing, rishî becomes devatâ and devatâ becomes chhandas and chhandas is the knowledge, which is the new rishî. The new rishî is different from the original rishî because of the assimilation of the knowledge.
There is one unknowable – the ultimate value of the gap between rishî and devatâ and the gap between devatâ and chhandas. The gap cannot be the object of knowledge because it is forever the process through which knowledge is gained. As one investigates into the gap, there comes a point in which conscious awareness dips into the unmanifest and ceases to be in the field of knowing. Experience is the end result of the process of knowing. When we experience something, our rishî has become devatâ and devatâ has become chhandas. Our rishî has changed because we have experienced and gained knowledge. However, the transformation of rishî into devatâ and devatâ into chhandas cannot be known in its entirety because the transformation occurs in the gap. We can only infer after the fact that the transformation from rishî to devatâ to chhandas did occur because we have experienced and now own some new knowledge.
Because the ultimate value of the gap can only be inferred but never known directly, it is transcendental or beyond consciousness. The true Self (Atman) is the silent witness to this self-perpetuating process of karma and it's through ignorance of our true nature that we find ourselves at the mercy of Maya (illusory karma). Self-realization is the conscious awareness of Atman. Reference source: Âtmavedî, Part I
Sun governs both the big Self (soul) and small self (ego). In jyotish, Sun is known as AtmaKaraka. Atma means soul and Karaka means significator or indicator. We are privileged to have, through the divine revelation of jyotish, a window through which we're able to see the unfoldment of karma. The highest purpose of jyotish is to guide us towards the truth of our existence; to the awareness of Self. It should not be too difficult to understand why Moon is considered the most important planet in Vedic astrology. It's through the Moon (Mind) that destiny (genetically imprinted on every strand of DNA) unfolds, and it's by the light of Jyotish that we can view this sequential unfoldment of karma. According to the dictums of Vedic astrology each planet, calculated from the position of Moon at birth, rules for a certain length of time. During this time the significations of the planet, as well as the affairs of the house it occupies, will manifest as our experience. In this way living beings fulfil their destiny and reap the karma that is due to them. © 2002 - 2011 Wendy Vasicek. All Rights Reserved