The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (279 page)

 
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(‘it exists’ + ‘a body’). The five elements of Jain ontology. According to Jains, there are five elements which pervade the universe (
loka
) and which keep it in being:

(i) 
j
va
, ‘life-permeation’;
(ii) 
dharma
, ‘movement’;
(iii) 
pudgala
, ‘atomic individuals’;
(iv) 
k
a
,
‘space’; all of these making up the fifth category of non-j
va
,

aj
va
.

 
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Astrology
.

The belief that the stars and planets have effects on human life and affairs. It is entangled in astronomy, and while the two, in some religions, reinforce each other, they may also be in serious conflict.
In Hinduism, decision-making on all serious matters (e.g. the date and time of a wedding) and on many everyday matters is referred to astrology (
jyoti
a
).
In general, Buddhism adopted the Hindu scheme of astronomy but rejected the latter's preoccupation with astrology. The position and movement of the celestial bodies were of interest to Buddhists for pragmatic purposes only.
Astrology and divination are stigmatized as practices unworthy of a monk, and the
Buddha
is singled out for praise as one not devoting himself to such ‘low arts’ (
tiracch
na-vijj
). However, the practice of divination by monks was never eradicated. In practically all Buddhist cultures monks officiate as advisers to the laity and employ techniques of divination.
Sikhs return to a more basic condemnation of astrology. Although some Sikhs may consult horoscopes, astrology is condemned by the
Rahit
-Mary
d
in accordance with the
Gur
s'
teaching. See
CALENDAR
;
SA
GR
ND
.
In both Judaism and Christianity, astrology is officially condemned (e.g.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
(1994), 2116), because it detracts from the sovereignty of God, as though stars and planets can be lesser creators in God's world; but unofficially, at the level of folk-religion, the consulting of horoscopes is simply one example of how tenacious these beliefs are.
In Islam, the contest between astronomy and astrology (
‘ilm al-nuj
m
) became explicit in
al-Ghaz(z)
l
: he commended astronomy as a part of the study of the signs of God in God's creation (
aya
), but strongly condemned astrology as spurious. Even so, the same term was still being applied to both,
‘ilm ah
am al-nuj
m