Light on Life (Paperback)

~ Hart deFouw (Author), Robert E. Svoboda (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The various astrologies of India have, over the course of many centuries, been combined and transmuted into a rare, fascinating and intricate discipline known as "jyotish" (light). Still an intrinsic part of India's religious and cultural life, it is also a universally applicable model which can easily adapt to western conditions. This book seeks to present jyotish not simplistically, but in a way that makes the subject accessible to the modern western reader, and at the same time to place it in the context of the many other disciplines - including philosophy, medicine, economics, astronomy and religious ritual - which it embraces.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); 1 edition (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140195076
• ISBN-13: 978-0140195071
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #953,764 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on Vedic Astrology(Jyotish), April 26, 2004

By	Anil Bhatt (Rancho Cordova, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Light on Life: An Introduction to the Astrology of India (Paperback)

This is the best book on Vedic Astrology (Jyotish) available in the market today. It provides a very strong foundation for a serious student of Jyotish.

The authors have taken great efforts to explain various aspects of this vast field in a very comprehensive manner. The book is very well organised. It first introduces the reader to the philosophy of Jyotish and how it relates to the Law of Karma and other apsects of Indian thought. I think getting an insight of how jyotish integrates with vedic world view in general is very important for an in depth understanding.

Then it builds on the basics of Jyotish. Grahas, Rashis, Bhavas, Panchanga, Nashaktras and so on. The authors not merely mention the attributes and characterstics of each of these building blocks, but also mention where and how these characterstics could be practically applied while interpreting a horoscope.

For instance, while mentioning the gender of Nakshatras, the authors explain how this knowledge could be used to predict whether a person will be blessed with a baby girl or a boy.

The authors have maintained a good balance among traditional Jyotish Principles, the distinctions as taught by their Jyotish Guru and as derived by their own experience.

Trying to learn Jyotish by directly reading the original Jyotish texts (or their translations) can leave a beginner student quite confused as these texts were not written for students, but, for teachers who would orally transmit this knowledge to their students.

The authors have taken care not just to reproduce the original texts, but have tried to emulate the oral tradition of teaching Jyotish through their unique approach to the subject and lucid writing style. I would say, they are pretty successful at that.

After creating a solid foundation on the building blocks of Jyotish, the book moves on to teach how to apply the knowledge of those building blocks to interpret a horoscope. The authors have abstratced eighteen basic criteria for horoscope interpretation out of a vast sea of documented Jyotish principles. This is simply brilliant and a saving grace for a Jyotish novice like me who was about to drown in the vast sea of innumerable and often contradicting Jyotish principles. In fact, many of these more complex rules can be derived from these eighteen basic criteria.

Then the book moves on to more advanced concepts like Graha Yogas, Dashas and Gocharas. Finally the book has a chapter on Example Charts illustrating how to apply Jyotish to real horoscopes.

Although the book has been promoted as an introductory text on Jyotisha, the reader will benifit more from the book if (s)he starts with a more preliminary book on Vedic Astrology and then studies this book as an intermediate level book. The reader can directly start with this book if (s)he already has some basic knowledge of Jyotish.

One more advice to the reader. The subject matter in this book should be digested slowly and patiently. It took me multiple reading sessions to finish a single chapter, but this really helped me fully comprehending the subject matter.

I myself started with "Beneath a Vedic Sky" by William Levacy (See my review) and then read 'Light on Life'. Profound thanks to Hart De Fouw and Robert Svoboda for sharing their knowledge and expericence of Jyotisha through this book.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendous amount of information on Vedic Astrology, January 3, 2006

By	Laura De Giorgio "www.deeptrancenow.com" (Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Light on Life: An Introduction to the Astrology of India (Paperback)

There are many books for Beginners in Vedic Astrology which are written more like a cook-book, and where essentially you just take a look at the placement of the planet on your chart and then read what it's supposed to mean. This is not that kind of a book. This book assumes that you are seriously interested in grasping Vedic Astrology and it guides you step-by-step toward developing a solid level of understanding and competence.

The book contains countless correspondencies of planetary influences (grahas), constellations (rashis) and houses (bhavas). These correspondencies go way beyond just interpreting the natal chart, and enable the skilled jyotishi to get insight into the individual, question or particular situation sometimes even without looking at the chart. Understanding of these numerous correspondencies can enable jyotishi to assist the individual in successfully dealing with challenging situation.

Even though this book is "an introduction" to Vedic astrology, it may not be the best choice as the very first book on astrology. For absolute beginners, perhaps a book like Beneath a Vedic Sky may be a better choice to start with.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Introduction to Vedic Astrology, October 7, 2004

By	Linda Johnsen "author" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is one of the finest introductions to Vedic Astrology you'll find anywhere. The information is as authentic as it gets, coming straight from the oral tradition of India where the authors studied for years. I have over 100 books on Vedic Astrology in my personal library, and this is the one book I keep turning back to. Very highly recommended!