June 2000

Time of Birth Holds Life's Potential

by Ken Leong

When we take the first step of a journey, we’re aware of our destination and the route to get there. The moment of birth is the first step of our life journey, and it contains the total knowledge of our life’s path.

The exact time of birth is a highly valuable piece of information for everyone. It allows a Maharishi Vedic Astrology program expert to analyze the pattern of stars and planets at the time a person is born, and assess his or her individual tendencies, strengths and weaknesses.

What is the connection between the stars and our birth?

The earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours. Therefore in every 24- hour period, all 12 signs or constellations of the zodiac—a band of stars encircling the earth—will rise in the east.

At any given time, the stars of one constellation of the zodiac will be rising on the eastern horizon. At the moment we are born, as we emerge from our mother’s womb, there is a sign of the zodiac emerging from our "Mother Earth" in the east. This sign becomes the Lagna or "rising sign" of our birth chart.

The word Lagna means "connecting point." It represents the intersection between the heavens and the earth, the point from where all the creativity inherent in our individual life begins to be expressed.

The Lagna is also the First House of our birth chart. From the Lagna, an expert in Maharishi Vedic Astrology can begin to understand our personality, appearance, overall bodily health and innate nature.

Since there are 12 different signs of the zodiac that could be on the eastern horizon at the time of birth, there are 12 possible Lagnas. Each Lagna gives a different flavor or character to the individual born during the approximately two-hour period that particular sign is rising. The Maharishi Vedic Astrology expert evaluates in detail each area of the birth chart with reference to our Lagna to see how our innate nature relates to different aspects of life— family, health, finances, profession, spirituality, etc.—in terms of mind, body and social relationships.

This more detailed analysis requires the exact time of birth, along with the birth date and location. Despite what we commonly see in daily newspaper columns on astrology, it’s not possible to give an accurate prediction for everyone born within the same one-month period. Two people born on the same day will have widely divergent destinies and personal characteristics based on their different Lagnas. Even twins with the same Lagna will exhibit differences due to the gap between their two times of birth.

If you don’t know your exact time of birth, start by looking at your birth certificate or official birth record. Other sources include hospital records, family records such as baby books, and the memory of parents, uncles, aunts and older siblings.

In case you’re unable to find your birth time, you can still take advantage of Maharishi Vedic Astrology consultations and the Maharishi Yagya program. Maharishi Vedic Astrology experts are able to answer specific questions and give Maharishi Yagya recommendations even when the birth time is not known. But it’s best to track down your time of birth. The effort invested pin-pointing your exact birth time is well worth it, because an accurate birth chart will be useful throughout your life.

Ken Leong is a teacher of the Maharishi Vedic Astrology program and a regular speaker at Maharishi Vedic Astrology seminars.