The five bodies

The basic underpinnings of astrology go back to the vedantic wisdom gleaned by the great yogins of India. The sages discovered that a human is not just one physical body, but is composed of 5 bodies, of which a normal person is familiar with just two. These five in order of subtler to finer are given as follows
1) Causal body
2) Shared causal body
3) Mental body
4) Energy body
5) Physical body

The causal body is the vehicle for causality. It carries the experiences and consequences of the deeds you have done in the past.

The shared body is also a vehicle for causality, but it pertains to a whole group of people. It is their shared Karma, which they all reap. For example some countries are rich and some are poor, which affects individuals born in those countries. We all reap the fruits whether good or evil that our ancestors planted.

Mental body is something we are familiar with, it is essentially our mind.

Energy body (prana) is what distinguishes a live body from a dead one. The former is animated by the energy body, while the the energy body has left the latter, and it is a lump of dead physical matter.

Physical body is something which needs no further exposition.


Out of these five bodies two of them the physical and the mental are directly experienced by us all. The pranic body can also be experienced relatively easily. The shared causal body, or shared karma nobody can deny. The only thing remaining is the causal body which continues through death and carries previous impressions forth. For an ordinary person it is not easy to apprehend this causal body.

Varna (matching)

Now we discuss the compatibility points based on the Varna of the couple. This is shown in the table below

Boy/Girl	Brahmin	Kshatriya	Vaishya	Shudra
Brahmin	1	1	1	1
Kshatriya	0	1	1	1
Vaishya	0	0	1	1
Shudra	0	0	0	1

From this table it is clear that the only rule followed herein is that if varna(boy) is more than varna(girl), then there is a match failing which there is no match.

However, I do not agree with this table, it is because it is a product of its times and just follows the traditional injunction in Manusmriti that the caste of the boy must be higher than that of the girl.

This may not be the best way to go about the match, it is best that if the couple is aware of their varna, and the tendencies it bestows upon them. To check whether they work well with a person who has the tendencies corresponding to their partner's varna. For example a (kshatriya) boy may be highly competitive and yet does not prefer the company of such a person himself, but likes the company of philosophical people. In which case the marriage to a Brahmin girl is still good, even though the above table contraindicates the match.

The way stars affect our destinies is is by sending subtle influences which affect our psyche. A good astrologer thus is not only a bean counter, but also expert at the art of psychology.

Varna (Color or caste)

Today we describe Varna. Varna means color or caste. As with the caste system in india, Varna is divided up into four categories, these are:

1) Brahmin

2) Kshatryia

3) Vaishya

4) Shudra

The varnas indicate the natural indication of the person towards various forms of work. A person of Brahmin varna enjoys thinking the most. They do not prefer physical work, but would rather be happy to work in a field wherein mental faculties are most used and physical work is minimized.

The Kshatriya is a person who enjoys fighting. In today's world this would mean that they will be best suited for work such as competitive sports, law enforcement and even being a coporate strategist or (master criminal !). To them the element of competition brings out the best in them.

The Vaishya is money and business oriented, to them the most pleasure is gained out of earning the most money. Their best comes out in pursuing business or finance.

The Shudra is a person who likes to work with the body and is skilled in using the body. Thus they could be great craftsmen sculptors etc. Even they could be great surgeons, since they are skilled with their hands.

If you are a Shudra, you like the outdoors and hard work. You will feel miserable if your body is not used. The opposite is true for a Brahmin, who would rather avoid the outdoors and would not mind being in a room with his lofty thoughts.

The presence of these characteristics in a birth chart gives an idea of which field a person may be suited for later in their career. It could be that due to environment a Shudra may end up doing the work more suited for a Brahmin. However, if a person's natural inclination and their profession match, they are likelier to scale unprecedented heights. Thus for a child the parents may look at the varna to decide upon a good field to give them a headstart in. Even a later stage by looking at ones horoscope we can discover what is their natural inclinations and at least pursue it as a hobby for a more harmonious life.

Vedic astrology and marriage

In India it is common to match horoscopes at the time or marriage. The horosocopes are matched on the following eight criterion

1) Varna: Color or caste
2) Vashya: Passions
3) Tara: Guiding Star
4) Yoni: Animal nature
5) Graha: Ruling planet
6) Gana: Nature
7) Bhakoot: Moon
8) Nadi: Energy flow

These eight criterion were selected by the ancient sages as the most important indicators of compatibility. However, this form of matching is at a very rough level.

To give an example, suppose you shop for insurance on your car. The insurance company will use rough indicators such as your education level, your age etc to determine how much of a risk you are. In the absence of other information about you it makes sense to go with rough criterion such as these.

By its very nature astrology has more in common with statistical disciplines such as economics than with exact disciplines such as Physics. Thus it could happen that a couple with a perfect match in the astrological criterion nevertheless struggle with their marriage, while a couple with a dire astrological prediction lives a smooth life.

Thus even if a match is not indicated by the above factors it may be still fine to proceed with marriage. Such a decision can only be made by an astrologer only with a very careful study of the horoscope or  with an intimate knowledge of the person.

In the following articles I will expound more upon each of these eight characteristics.