Experienced Vedic astrologist Jeffrey Armstrong gave a whirlwind tour-de-force presentation closing the first day of the Bali Spirit Festival.

Jeffrey exudes a vibrant passion for the cosmos. He deconstructs complex astrological phenomenon for the everyman with the use of metaphors and characteristic charm.

Jeffrey began his enthralling star-bound narration by consecrating in traditional ritual to Lord Ganesha, “Om Gang Ganpataye Om Namaha!” we all chanted together. Jeffrey explains:

“Humans live by making mistakes, get on the right side of the trial and error process. Ganesha is tech support for humans with problems. He is the remover of obstacles. When we make a transition we invoke Ganesha because he is at the gateway. ‘Hello Ganapati?’ Am I paying attention? I am ready to go?’ Our Karma may be obstructing us… With Jyotish or Vedic astrology we can start to remove these obstacles.”

Jeffrey honors the Gurus of the Vedas before flying through the stars to distant planets. He explains that the disciple honors the teacher before they received the gift of knowledge. Gurus don’t want us to be slavish blind servants. Ask good questions to excite the Guru.

Jeffrey goes on to explain that Jyotish vedic astrology is the science of light moving through space. We represent the universe in miniature. We are the microcosm and the universe is the macrocosm. The stardust falls to earth and makes our bodies.

Humans have free will. If humans have free will then we are creating our own Karmas. Karma does not just mean cause and effect—it is much more interesting. Yoga and Jyotish meet when we cultivate two types of knowledge: truths about the universe and who we really at the core of ourselves. Universal truths result in a standard balance point where the universe operates best such as standing in alignment.

Who we really are at the core is the shining light of consciousness.

We are the Atman. Everyone is Atman. Even those perceived as filthy are Atman. We, the Atman, are indestructible. We were never created and can never be destroyed. Everything is temporary, and impermanent.

We never began. In this timeless condition we came into manifestation. We used our free will to get ourselves around. We decide where we go next. This ability to choose is the basis of our relationship to the inflexible laws of nature such as gravity.

Karma is cause and effect. It is based on the laws of nature. At any given moment we are waiting to receive our new karma. We have packages that are coming to us, which we ordered in our past lives. We may not like the bill from the IRS, but that is the stream of cause and effect.

We have free will. We can change our karmic destiny. We may be misusing our free will right now. Create karma now purposefully.

Jyotish is important because it is from a culture that realizes we are on a spiritual journey. It makes us more patient, and not feel like a victim. It gives us a bigger notion of who we really are.

And astrology is a marvelous tool for looking across time.

If we were an Olympic athlete running into strong wind, but we didn’t understand the wind, we would feel like losers. Instead, if we understand the wind then we would realize this is just a rough patch of karma. Relax and realize this is just a rough patch of karma—such as Saturn crossing our moon. Then we understand karma is temporary.

Om Gang Ganpataye Om Namaha

Love elephant and want to go steady?

Sign up for our (curated) daily and weekly newsletters!

Editorial Assistant: Melissa Horton / Editor: Renée Picard

Photo: elephant archives