Moon-Surya Archives - Vinayak Bhatt

One of the most interesting connections between Pranayam and Jyotish begins with a simple observation: Yoga speaks repeatedly about Chandra and Surya inside the movement of Prana, while Jyotish speaks about Chandra and Surya as two of the most fundamental Grahas governing our experience. But we should be careful here. Ida is not literally the astronomical Moon sitting inside the left nostril, and Pingala is not the physical Sun inside the right nostril. These are different Shastras using the language of Surya and Chandra for related principles. If we understand the symbolism instead of mixing the systems carelessly, something very useful appears. Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra gives a remarkably compact statement: "सर्वात्मा च दिवानाथो मनः कुमुदबान्धवः।"Parashara identifies Surya with Atma and Chandra with Manas. In the same passage Mercury is connected with speech and Jupiter with knowledge. So in Jyotish, the Sun-Moon relationship is not merely father and mother. It touches the fundamental relationship between consciousness and mind, centre and response, illumination and reflection. Now compare this with Hatha Yoga Pradipika. In its Pranayam chapter, the practitioner is told:"बद्धपद्मासनो योगी प्राणं चन्द्रेण पूरयेत् । धारयित्वा यथाशक्ति भूयः सूर्येण रेचयेत् ॥"Here Chandra refers to the left or Ida channel and Surya to the right or Pingala channel. The following instruction reverses the movement: inhale through Surya and exhale through Chandra. The purpose of repeated alternation is described as purification of the Nadis. Gheranda Samhita gives essentially the same alternating sequence, again using Pingala and Ida as the two channels through which Prana is regulated. Already we have an interesting difference. Parashara is speaking in the language of Graha and human experience. Hatha Yoga is speaking in the language of Prana and Nadi. The words Surya and Chandra appear in both, but their technical context is not identical. This distinction is important because otherwise we begin making strange statements such as, "Do left-nostril breathing and your natal Moon will become exalted." I have not found such a rule in these classical passages. Yoga is doing something subtler. Shiva Swarodaya makes the connection even more explicit: "इडायां तु स्थितश्चन्द्रः पिङ्गलायां च भास्करः।सुषुम्ना शम्भुरूपेण शम्भुर्हंसस्वरूपतः ॥"The text places Chandra in Ida, Surya in Pingala and gives Sushumna a central Shiva-related symbolism. It then goes much further than ordinary Pranayam manuals by observing the active Svara and prescribing different kinds of activities according to lunar, solar or central flow. Chandra Svara is recommended for many gentle and auspicious actions, while Surya Svara is associated with more forceful activity. Now a Jyotishi should become curious.This sounds almost like Muhurta happening inside the body.In ordinary Jyotish we look outside: which Tithi, which Nakshatra, which Hora, which Lagna, what is Moon doing? Swarodaya asks another question: what is Prana doing at this very moment?One system reads cosmic time outside the body. Another reads a rhythm occurring within the body.I would not say they are identical, but the philosophical connection is beautiful: Indian knowledge systems repeatedly refuse to completely separate the human being from Kala and Cosmos. But Patanjali gives yet another view, and this is where our critical study becomes important. Yoga Sutra does not introduce Pranayam in 2.49 by saying "balance Ida and Pingala." It defines Pranayam more basically:"तस्मिन् सति श्वासप्रश्वासयोर्गतिविच्छेदः प्राणायामः ॥"After Asana is established, Pranayam involves regulation or interruption of the movement of inhalation and exhalation. Patanjali then discusses external, internal and suspended aspects, their relation with Desha, Kala and Sankhya, and finally gives one of the most important statements in the whole discussion. "ततः क्षीयते प्रकाशावरणम् ॥"From Pranayam, the covering over Prakasha becomes diminished. Then immediately:"धारणासु च योग्यता मनसः ॥" The mind becomes fit for Dharana, concentration.For a Jyotishi, these two Sutras are much more important than saying, "Pranayam will strengthen your Moon."Patanjali is not promising that the horoscope changes.He is saying that something covering Prakasha becomes thinner, and the Manas becomes more capable of concentration.Now remember Parashara: Chandra is Manas.Suddenly we have a much more intelligent connection between Pranayam and Jyotish. Perhaps Pranayam does not need to "change your Moon" in the horoscope.It may change the condition of the mind through which you are experiencing your Moon.That is a very different statement.Suppose somebody has Moon-Rahu. A quick astrologer may say, "Your mind will always remain restless." But what happens if that person develops a disciplined practice which changes the way he responds to mental movement? The natal combination remains. Rahu has not disappeared. Moon has not changed degrees. Yet the lived expression of the combination may become very different. This is something I feel astrologers do not discuss enough.We talk about Karma as if the horoscope is a machine and the native is helpless inside it.But the same Moon can operate through an untrained mind and a trained mind very differently.The same Mars can become uncontrolled reaction or disciplined force.The same Saturn can become depression about delay or extraordinary patience. The same Rahu can become compulsive craving or sustained research into something unusual. Graha shows the field and tendency. Sadhana changes the instrument receiving that tendency. This is where Pranayam becomes practically important to Jyotish. Take Chandra. If the mind is constantly reactive, every small event becomes emotionally large. We then say, "My Moon is afflicted." But the Yoga tradition asks whether Prana itself is irregular and whether the mind has ever been trained to remain with one object. Take Surya. Jyotish connects Surya with the centre, Atma, authority, vitality and clarity of direction. The solar symbolism of Pingala is active, heating and outward-moving. Too much outward movement without inward balancing can become constant activity without reflection. But too much withdrawal without sufficient active force can become passivity. Hatha Yoga is interested in balance before the central path becomes important. This is why Hatha Yoga Pradipika uses the beautiful expression Chandra-Arka-Sangama, the meeting of Moon and Sun. The purpose is not that Sun defeats Moon or Moon defeats Sun. Yoga appears when the two are brought into a different relationship. Now think like a Jyotishi. How many consultations are actually problems of imbalance? A strong Mars with very little lunar sensitivity: action before feeling. A very dominant Moon without enough solar centre: every external response changes the inner state. Rahu dominating Mercury: information without discrimination. Saturn overwhelming Moon: thought becoming heavy and repetitive. We normally prescribe something outside. But sometimes the person may also need to learn how not to be carried away by every movement inside. That is why I find Nadi Shodhana philosophically so interesting. Alternate breathing is almost a physical lesson in not allowing one current to dominate permanently. Left, right, left, right. Receive, act. Cool, warm. Inner, outer. The aim is not permanent victory of one side. It is regulation. This immediately makes me question one modern habit in Jyotish: we are always trying to "increase" something. Weak Sun? Increase Sun. Weak Mars? Increase Mars. Weak Jupiter? Increase Jupiter. But Yoga often asks a different question: does this system need more force, or does it need balance? A person can already have too much uncontrolled solar-type intensity. Giving him more aggression in the name of strengthening may not solve the behavioural problem. Sometimes what is needed is not more planetary energy. It is better regulation of the energy already present. Shiva Swarodaya adds another fascinating layer because it does not consider both Svaras equally suitable for every action. It recommends Chandra flow for softer and auspicious activities and Surya flow for harder, more forceful actions. This is very close to the logic of Muhurta. There is no universally "good time." There is an appropriate time for an appropriate action. Similarly, Swarodaya suggests that there is no permanently "best Svara." The question is: best for what? This is a major Jyotish lesson also. Jupiter is not universally good for every function. Saturn is not universally bad. Mars is excellent when Mars is required. Venus is excellent when Venus is required. The intelligence of Jyotish lies in matching Karaka, Karma and Kala. Perhaps the intelligence of Pranayam lies partly in recognising movement, regulating it and not allowing one pole to unconsciously rule the whole system. Now comes one critical point. Some modern teachings make very broad claims such as "left nostril activates Moon", "right nostril activates Sun", and then directly convert this into natal planetary remedies. The classical Yoga sources certainly use Chandra and Surya terminology for Ida and Pingala, but we should not jump from this to the claim that alternate-nostril breathing literally alters planetary dignity in the horoscope. That is where symbolism gets confused with astrology. The stronger classical connection is this: Patanjali says Pranayam reduces the covering over Prakasha and makes the mind fit for Dharana; Parashara tells us Moon signifies Manas and Sun signifies Atma. Therefore a Jyotishi can reasonably contemplate Pranayam as a practice which improves the instrument through which solar clarity and lunar mental response are experienced, without pretending that it changes the natal degrees of Surya and Chandra. For me, this has one very practical application. Before reading an important horoscope, do not immediately open five softwares and twenty books. First observe your own mind. Is it restless? Angry? Excited? Already expecting a particular conclusion? A few minutes of comfortable, unforced breath awareness or a familiar gentle Pranayam practice can sometimes tell you more about the astrologer than another Vargas table. Because if your own Moon is disturbed at that moment, whose Moon are you reading? The client's? Or your own? This may sound funny, but it is a serious research question. Patanjali specifically places the fitness of the mind for Dharana immediately after the Pranayam discussion. For an astrologer, Dharana is not an abstract spiritual luxury. You need sustained attention to see whether Lagna, lordship, Nakshatra, Navamsha, Dasha and transit are telling one coherent story. So perhaps Pranayam can contribute to Jyotish not by giving us one more predictive combination, but by improving the person who is making the prediction. And this gives us a beautiful synthesis. Parashara says: Surya is Atma and Chandra is Manas. Hatha Yoga Pradipika says: work with Chandra and Surya currents. Gheranda Samhita says: purify the Nadis before deeper Pranayam. Shiva Swarodaya says: observe which current is functioning and understand which type of action suits it. Patanjali says: through Pranayam the covering over Prakasha thins and Manas becomes capable of Dharana. Different texts. Different objectives. But one remarkable message: Before trying to control destiny outside, understand the movement occurring inside. Now I want Jyotish students to observe themselves for a few days. Do not force the breath and do not perform advanced Kumbhaka without proper instruction. Simply observe: when the mind is very emotional, very aggressive, very analytical, very dull or exceptionally clear, what is happening with your natural breathing pattern? Then notice how your judgement changes after your regular Pranayam practice. And tell me in the comments: which Graha do you feel changes most in its behavioural expression after Pranayam — Moon, Mars, Saturn, Mercury, Rahu or Sun? But give me an actual observation, not a textbook answer. And one deeper question: if the horoscope remains exactly the same but Pranayam changes the clarity, concentration and response of the person living that horoscope, then has the Graha changed? Or has the instrument through which the Graha gives its Phala changed? Perhaps this distinction between changing the Graha and changing the Graha's expression is where Yoga can teach Jyotish something very important. 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Chandra Connection in Jyotish – How Pranayama Affects Your Moon-Surya by Vinayak Bhat