Both Ayurveda, the science of life, and Jyotish Shastra, the science of correlation of heavenly bodies with human existence, are ancient Indian sciences. They are known as Vedic sciences, which have developed and recorded in the most ancient scriptures of Indian tradition. Owing to this factor alone, both these sciences are greatly intertwined with each other, and often one of them corroborates or even supplements the other. In fact the correlation is found to a much subtler extent in the Indian cosmic science that is today popular all over the world by its name, Yoga. Just as Yoga strives to achieve oneness between the internal constitution of a person with the nature that surrounds it, both Ayurveda and Astrology strive to equate humans with the factors that surround them. For this reason, several Ayurvedic vaidyas have looked upon Astrology as a supplement to their prescriptions, and several astrologists have tried to rectify planetary maladies with the help of Ayurveda. And all of this is done within the ambit of Yoga.

The Parallels in the Causes of Diseases

Ayurveda studies the effects of natural herbs and their extracts on the human system. Since the times of Charaka, there have been efforts to treat almost all human disorders with the help of nature. Hence, it is for several millennia that Ayurveda has been in existence today. Even today the Ayurvedic medicines are used in their age-old forms. One of the most important principles of Ayurveda is to treat the human as an aggregation of the three chief humors – the vata, the pitta and the kapha. These represent the air element, fire element and the earth and water elements respectively. Ayurveda believes that each individual contains a particular composition of these three doshas in their body. When any of these doshas are vitiated, then the person becomes a house for disease.

The parallels of Astrology are too clearly seen in this aspect. Astrology believes that the motion of the stars and the planets in the sky have effects on the human body. These effects can be either positive or negative. However, each nakshatra or graha – referring to the constellations and the planets – are responsible for the proper functioning of a particular part of the body. When any of these celestial bodies move, that particular region of the body is affected.

In this manner, both Ayurveda and Astrology believe that it is the external agencies that bring about disease into the body. These external agencies could be natural elements like air, fire, earth and water; or they could be celestial elements like the stars and the planets. However, the main point to be noted is that disease comes from outside and not from within.

The Parallels in the Diagnoses of Diseases

Diseases in both Astrology and Ayurveda are defined as an affliction that occurs due to some external natural or heavenly agency. For this reason, it could be assumed that both sciences use common methods of diagnosing diseases. But that is not the case. Though Ayurveda and Astrology run parallel in many cases, there are marked dissimilarities when it comes to diagnosing the diseases.

Ayurveda is more practical in its approach. The Ayurvedic vaidya would make a diagnosis of the disease on the basis of the external symptoms, much as a conventional doctor would do. However, these symptoms would be indicators of the vitiation of the particular dosha. Then the vaidya would take measures in order to rectify the errors in the balance of the dosha by his/her herbal remedies.

But in Astrology, the occurrences of diseases are predicted at the birth of the individual itself. This may not be a very explicit prediction, but the occurrence could definitely be implies by a sort of extrapolating rule. Every person has a kundali, which is the birth chart. This chart outlines the positions of the various nakshatras and grahas at the time of his/her birth. By looking at the positions of the malefic and the benefic planets in this kundali, the Jyotish can determine what diseases could victimize the person in later life.

The Parallels in the Treatments of Diseases

It is difficult to distinguish the treatments of Ayurveda and Astrology for the simple reason that they are often very intricately intermingled with each other. When a vaidya would diagnose a disease by its symptoms, they would invariably look at the kundali of the person and see which planetary aspects have brought on the affliction. The medicines they would prescribe would try not only to vitiate the particular dosha, but also to bring about harmony between the malefic aspects of the kundali.

In the same way, if an astrologer predicts a disease to occur later on in life, they would definitely carry out some sort of yadnya or jaapa in order to offset the malefics, and also provide some mantras to ward off the pestilence. At the same time, they would suggest the use of Ayurvedic medicines from a qualified vaidya.

In fact, there is a highly developed branch of Astrology prevalent today, known as the Medical Astrology. This is considered to be a very important aspect of Ayurveda also. This science involves the calming of the planets which have entered wrong positions with the usage of Ayurvedic techniques. This treatment cannot be done in a short period of time, or with just a layman’s information. The entire astrological aspect of a person’s composition is taken into account before even venturing to prescribe a single remedy. Hence, this system is being looked upon as a potential method to treat chronic diseases that cannot be treated by conventional medical science.