Freedom Cole
Freedom Cole
Hindu Worship and Astrology
Abstract
In modern India, the role of the astrologer and religious life are closely related. Hindus perform a huge variety of daily rituals that are tied to the planets associated with the day, lunar phase, month and their birth charts. I will take some time to differentiate Vedic, Puranic (Hindu) and Tantric practices/deities and astrological rituals of each. The methods of determining the ritual practices to appease or strengthen planets from astronomical phenomena elucidates the Hindu conception of divinity and how the human and divine interrelate. For example, some planets indicate home rituals, others indicate worship of family deities, while others indicate pilgrimages to places related to specific gods indicated by astrology. These rituals indicate conceptions of how the different aspects of life are tied to religion/astrology and how the planets and stars shape the form and intention of Hindu rituals.
Biography
Freedom Cole is a teacher of Vedic Astrology and Ayurveda. He is initiated into a traditional Jyotish lineage which traces back to the royal astrologers of Odisha, India. He has been a practicing astrologer for the past two decades. Freedom is presently working on a PhD at Meridian University in California focused on applying the framework of Ayurveda to modern clinical psychology. With his knowledge of Sanskrit, Vedic philosophy and modern psychology, Freedom is able to translate the authentic astrological philosophy of India into a modern practical context. He is the author of two books and numerous articles.
