Mathematics is abstract; life is materially concrete. To capture the concrete in terms of the abstract is to be spiritually creative. It is done by intuition. Einstein discovered the formula of Energy that is Matter. For long it was intelligible only to himself. Sri Aurobindo says that He stumbled on the Formula of creation. Creative principle goes into a formula of Mathematics. He said, like Einstein, that it was intelligible only to Him. Though that knowledge is enshrined in The Life Divine, the reader does not see the Formula Sri Aurobindo speaks of.
Astrology is a mathematical formula of life based on the time of birth. Given the exact minute of birth, astrological predictions can be precise. About a hundred years ago, a famous astrologer visited a zamindar. The zamindar sat in rapt attention listening to the astrologer about the past of his family. When the astrologer spoke out facts known only to the zamindar, he was all admiration for the astrologer. Naturally, the client desired to know of his future. The astrologer gave him an abundant handful. As a climax, the astrologer declared that after about six months on a full moon day the zamindar would eat cold rice in the early afternoon in a poor man's hut.
Months passed. The astrologer and his predictions were forgotten. One day a horse trader brought a black horse. It was a majestic animal. The zamindar jumped on it and rode on and on forgetting himself. Overtaken by his enthusiasm for the fine animal, the zamindar forgot time as well as his appetite. When he came to himself he knew not where he was and he was hungry. Reaching a nearby hut, he ate cold rice, the only hospitality that poor householder could offer. Astrology is the science of what is. It can tell you what has passed by and what else will come. It is bound by the rule of karma. Astrology, though an exact science, often frustrates man, as it discloses the future without offering him the power to remedy it. Mastery of life is not given to man who is in life. When moving to Spirit, man secures the mastery he longs for. As astrology is a mathematical formula of what is, Life Response is a mathematical formula of what one desires to be.