Here are my responses:

Q1: What is the goal or aim of your life?
To be at peace my myself, my decisions and my lack of control over others views/decisions

Q2: What is your motivation for wanting to learn Astrology and in particular Jyotish?
To be able to help others and myself in self understanding

Q3: What are your experience with Astrology and Astrologers?
Self taught and read

Q4: What are the Vedas?
Means to achieve true knowledge

Namaskaar Tulanandi ji,
Wow! that was one hurried answer. We would have liked it if you could expand it a bit more.
RishiRahul and vivek.

Hi Vivek ji,

This is how I typically write and reply. However, with the teachers feedback...now I will soon post a more thought out response...please five me some time.

Here are my revised responses:

Here are my responses:

Q1: What is the goal or aim of your life?

"Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"...rights of a human being.

There are two questions here: 1) By what virtue does a person earn this right? 2) What is the relevance of this statement in finding the aim of one's life?

I will try to answer the first one. Quite simply, by being alive and by being human a person attains the right to "pursuing happiness". If he does it or not is not a question of choice. If he does it consciously or does it unconsciously is more like it. Needless to say it is done by all that are alive and human.

Coming to the second question. The truth is that nobody will know the aim of their life until their end. It all depends on how much a person is able to achieve in their lifetime. In those last few days/hours/minutes, it is not the thought of the aim but rather the achievement that will hold a person's thoughts. With this, aim will become secondary and achievement will become primary. Eventually, all that has been achieved will become the aim.

But achieve what? holds a different answer for everyone. All that we as humans know is that what brings us happiness is an achievement. However, its not only materially rich people or kind hearted people who feel a sense of achievement but also the paupers and scoundrels. This is because they understand that in the limits of what they have done with their lives and the actions of the people around them, they find a way of justifying their achievement. Unfortunately this happiness will dawn upon us only when our lives are spent. Its quite ironic actually. A person spends his/her life pursuing this happiness but achieves it only when that life is spent. What a wonderful life we would lead if we were to stumble upon this happiness earlier than that. It would be like nirvana, the first step to which would be acceptance...of ourselves and our surroundings...which comes only when we are nearing death. What a wonder it would be to find this acceptance and peace before that.

Hence, to be at peace my myself, my decisions and my lack of control over others views/decisions is my aim in life.

Q2: What is your motivation for wanting to learn Astrology and in particular Jyotish?

Socrates said that True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing. However, this does not mean that we can't pursue true knowledge. The first step of this is to understand oneself. Why we are what we are? Why we behave the way we behave? Why are there some things which happen to us and not to others (and vice versa)?

Nothing...absolutely nothing in this world can give us these answers. However, theres no harm in some calculated speculating. The pursuit of knowledge is ingrained in human nature...whether achievement is in sight or not is a different question.

Hence, to be able to help others and myself in self understanding is my lkey reason behind learning astrology.

Why Jyotish? is a question I can't answer but let me try. It could be the socio-cultural influence. Also, for some reason, I have not found other astrology modes as interesting/attracting. But I think the key behind this is solving the enigma of...My God! How can us paltry human beings understand things we are not supposed to understand?

Q3: What are your experience with Astrology and Astrologers?

My house has seen a number of astrologer visits. I won't say that my family is staunch believers..for the simple reason that at some point or the other...astrologers end up contradicting each other. However, my grandfather always used to say to me....if a person sees rain outside...they don't go out without an umbrella...thinking Oh! its just fate that its raining on the same day when I have to go out and now I have to bear it....we protect ourselves with an umbrella. Astrology is one such umbrella.

Q4: What are the Vedas?
I don't know. I remember reading/hearing this in school that the word Veda means tools for achievement of true knowledge. However, I can't vouch for school. They have been inaccurate more than once (I remember a temp science teacher for our class telling us that 100 suns put together would make up Jupiter's equator; I remember some students blindly noting it down; I also remember raising my hand and contradicting the teacher ...as we were told that sun was the largest body in our solar system....and then I also remember being laughted at by classmates for questioning the all-knowledgeable:-) teacher and pulled down to sit)