About
Kris Langley
I began studying Vedic Astrology (Jyotish) in 2006 from Pandit Sanjay Rath, who belongs to the paraṁparā (tradition) of Śrī Acyutananda Dasa, a 500 year unbroken lineage of Vedic knowledge and Jyotish. Learning from this tradition set me on a spiritual path of pursuing Vedic knowledge and learning Sanskrit. In 2008, after two years of studying Jyotish and Sanskrit, I decided to pause my jyotish studies in order to pursue a Master’s degree in Integral Counseling Psychology, supporting my work as a speech and language therapist.
In 2019, after five years of serious health challenges that served to transform my mind and body, I reconnected with the paraṁparā, Pandit Sanjay Rath, and Pandit Visti Larsen. Since then, I have dedicated my life to learning and sharing the knowledge taught to me by my gurus. The paraṁparā has educated me on various topics of ancient Vedic knowledge, including a comprehensive study of the works of Mahārṣi Parāśara, Mahārṣi Jaimini, Mantra Shastra, and the Śiva Purāṇa.
I follow in the steps of my gurus in leading a dharmic life, maintaining a daily spiritual practice of mantra, prayer, and meditation, living according to principles of ahiṁsa (non-violence), which includes a vegetarian diet, and pursuing the path of knowledge.
What is Jyotish
Jyotish is a Sanskrit term meaning “science of light”. Jyoti is light from the sun, moon and stars. Jyotish refers to the ancient study and practice of Vedic astrology, which studies and interprets the movement of these celestial bodies and how they impact human life and our individual and collective destinies. Jyotish is one of the six disciplines of the Vedas and is considered the “eye of the Veda” as a jyotishi, or vedic astrologer, uses the light of knowledge to see a person’s karma, dharma and the timing of their life events. It is different from Western astrology in that it uses the *sideral zodiac, and emphasizes spiritual and karmic dimensions of life, and how one can prevent, actualize, support, or remedy, positive and negative experiences in one’s life.
Paraṁparā
Vedic astrology is an oral tradition that is between teacher and student with their lineage connected to Mahārṣi Parāśara, the author of the foundational text Brihat Parāśara Hora Śastra. My teachers, Pandit Sanjay Rath and Pandit Visti Larsen are part of this living tradition. This paraṁparā that I follow has a lineage of brilliant minds, great spiritual depth and masterful jyotish knowledge: Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu→Achyutananda Dasa→Ramachandra Dasa→Jagannath Rath→Kashinath Rath→Sanjay Rath.
What is Viveka
Viveka is the power of discriminating intelligence leading to a state of wisdom. Viveka is a first step on the spiritual path. One must learn to use discerning wisdom to observe and identify the self and non-self, ignorance vs knowledge, and permanent vs impermanent. This is cultivated from within by reflection, meditation, reading of spiritual texts, and detaching from sense experiences.