Part 1.3 - Central theme: Human and Cosmic Future

[Full title: Central Theme and Hypothesis (3): Central theme: Human and Cosmic Future]

Vision and shaping of future of man and cosmos constitute the central theme of the correlation of Jyotiḥśāstra and the concept of Karman in the literature.

The initial Veda is already aware of spontaneous cosmic actions in the form of Śakuna divulging the future, more organized is the idea of future in the concept of auspicious time for performance of ritual actions in accordance with a specific future. Thereby along with interpretation of spontaneous cosmic actions, the order in cosmos brought forth by the light bodies on which cosmic time is based is the study in chief for the knowledge of future. The essential difference being, whereas the moment of manifestation of the spontaneous divinations let know about future, the ordered concept of time for performance of ritual actions show an organized study seemingly, a gradually developed one for a complete prior knowledge of cosmos and its actions on the basis of which human actions were arranged for shaping of an ideal future.

The idea of future gets more complex in the further stage, as the idea of unity with the Supreme Ātman approached. Apart from being abstract as future being nonperceptible to the senses, the idea of future itself nullified as the state of unity being a state beyond Time of which future subserved a counterpart and mental actions more than physical efforts made it attainable through the tool of knowledge which ultimately led to the point of Release.

In the later parts of the literature, the correlation traces the past of man and thereby his future tendencies as believed to be dependent on his past actions, manifesting at the time of and by rebirth. Though the reading of past actions, form a major part of the correlation of the post-Vedic period, the purpose behind it seems to be essentially the reading of future with the aid of a certain point of time manifesting a certain prognostication, the looking into the past actions a mere gesture to derive an idea of the probable future, the specific character of the divination brought forth by the Time point providing a window to peep in as a connecting joint of the chain of ones actions, which shape-up the journey of his soul, also Prārabdha a concept of ‘partly manifested future’ in this manner continued till the point of Release.

From such assumptions as, ‘the law and order of the cosmos is a truth’, ‘Man and Cosmos are interdependent’ also ‘human is a product of the cosmos’, man’s future necessarily relates with the cosmos in accordance with the culture which strengthened the basis of the correlation, whereas ‘human future’ believed as a creation or product of his own actions for which cosmos served as a parent body, the information about cosmic actions became the fundamental ingredient which was to be gathered and arranged in an orderly sequence as to make accessible to human understanding a knowledge about its future. To this extent the natural order Ṛta is already a flourished concept in the initial Veda yet study of the kārmic patterns of the cosmos and arrangement of human actions in accordance is a regular practice throughout and displays a disposition for a work on definite future a willful one at that.

Also the efforts starkly represent an indigenous form of the correlation in erecting the theme of future amongst the mutations of foreign cultures from Babylonian, to Greek, Chinese and Arabic on part of Jyotiṣa alongwith the native growth, in contrast to the local doctrine of Karman.