Palmistry History

Palmistry History

The earliest Hindu sacred writings, known as the Vedas, consist of various collections of hymns, prayers and liturgical formulas as well as teachings on ultimate reality and the liberation of the soul. The word Veda means knowledge in Sanskrit.

Vedic palmistry is the study of the structure and markings of the human hand. The ancient rishis or seers believed that there was a correlation between the visible features of the hand, the conscious and subconscious thought processes of the mind and the superconscious intuition of spirit. The study of Vedic palmistry provides a language for expressing this body/mind/soul connection. Its purpose is to help us gain self-understanding.

The interpretation of the data available to us in the hand enables us to see where our hidden potentials lie. We can learn to resolve inner conflicts by establishing an equilibrium in body, mind, and spirit. By eliminating self-defeating attitudes, we can harness our inner resources.

We can apply what we learn about ourselves through the study of palmistry to specific areas of daily life: career guidance, health diagnosis, marital counseling, interpersonal conflict resolution and spiritual direction.

The Golden Age of Palmistry

The classic, golden age of palmistry as a spiritual science began in India about 5,000 years ago, with the Vedas. There are four books of these sacred writings: Rig, Yajur, Sam, and Atharva. Sri Aurobindo, a great Indian master and scholar of Vedic thought, explains the origin of the Vedas as follows:

“The language of the Vedas itself is sruti, a rhythm not composed by the intellect but heard, a divine word that came vibrating out of the infinite to the inner audience of the man who had previously made himself fit for the impersonal knowledge.” —Aurobindo Ghosh (1956,6) from “Mantra.”

Around 800 BC, in order to make the Vedas more accessible to humanity, the ancient seers compiled and translated them into six ancillary branches of knowledge that were referred to as the Vedangas.

Vedangas, literally “limbs” of the Vedas, comprise the cosmic individual—the Ved Purush. The six branches or limbs are: shikksha (phonetics), kalpa (rituals), vyakaran (grammar), nirukta (etymology), chhandas (meter), and jyotish (knowledge of heavenly bodies). Jyotish, which represents the “eyes” of the Vedas, translates as Lord of Light—from the Sanskrit root jyot, meaning light. (It is interesting to note that the word jyo itself means to advise.)

Jyotish, then, is the study of the effects of light on human beings. Therefore, it refers to astronomy, the science of the course of the heavenly bodies, and astrology, the study of the influence of the planets on our lives. The rishis and priests of India depended on these sciences, as Vedic rituals were more effective when performed at auspicious times—that is, under the influence of particular constellations. Later, the belief developed that not only the Vedic rituals but all aspects of human endeavor, both individual and communal, were affected by the planetary bodies. Thus, after extensive research, the science of astrology was developed. The two sciences of nakshatra vigyam (or astronomy) and phalit jyotish (predictive astrology) together came to be known as jyotish.

The literature devoted to the science of jyotish can be divided into a number of fields of study, each of which is complementary to the others. Their common focus was the investigation of how large-scale changes in the energy patterns of the macrocosm—for example, the planets and constellations of the universe—have directly traceable effects upon the smaller scale of the microcosm, most particularly at the level of human life. An understanding of these sciences allows us to exercise our free will either to enhance positive effects or to minimize negative ones.

One of these branches of jyotish is samhita shastra, a mathematical treatise that deals with choosing auspicious times for particular events. For example, certain constellations are good for marriage, studying, planting and harvesting. Others are appropriate for meditation, making an important purchase, signing a contract and so on.

From samhita came angvidya, the study of the various body parts in response to planetary stimuli. From this branch came the field of samudrik shastra, which translates as the ocean of knowledge. Samudrik shastra interprets all features of the human body including the size, shape, color, texture, lines, signs and markings as indicators of trends in personality and behavior.

Samudrik shastra is divided into three parts: mukh shastra, the study of the lines, signs and markings of the human face; paad shastra, the study of lines, signs and markings on the feet; and hast rekha shastra—the study of lines, signs and markings on the hands, known as palmistry.

The writings devoted specifically to the exploration of the human hand are collectively known in Sanskrit as hast jyotish, which translates literally as the science of hand analysis. As we have seen, the purpose of hast jyotish is primarily preventive rather than predictive.