intelligence

Chakra, Graha and the Rashi

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 As you know there are the 7 chakras from the Sahasrar to the Muladhar. Each chakra is linked to one planet/ graha in a sequence. (Have written two posts on this earlier, here and here).

The Sun is the individual soul, self-ego, the self. He is linked to the Ultimate reality but he is not that. He is just the link. He is the seed of duality which insists that you are separate from the Singular reality. He is just one ray of the Ultimate reality. The light of the Sun, the self-ego is so blinding that you do not realise that it hides the Ultimate reality behind it. This radiance is so magnificent, you are hypnotised here and you do not progress further. This is the last test in your spiritual journey.

In our spiritual practice, we regular humans generally do not focus on the Sun. In all our Dhyan systems, even the Soham mantra/ Sushumna Yog, we do not focus on the Sahasrara chakra at the top of the head. (If you want to experience what happens, try and see once, only once. It causes severe disorientation and other imbalances). However in Vijnyan Bhairav Tantra there is one Dhyan technique which does exactly this, focus on the top of the head at the Brahma-randhra. But this is only for advanced Sadhak-s who have taken Sanyas from the material world and do their Sadhana in extreme seclusion. It is not advised for householders like us.

We always focus on the Ajnya chakra, the third eye chakra between the eyebrows. This chakra is linked to the Moon. The Moon’s job is to ‘reflect’ the brilliance of the Sun. At the Ajnya chakra you ‘reflect’ in more ways than one. You reflect on yourself, your reality, the perceptions surrounding you, your mind, the emotions, the sum total of your existence. You reflect on your Mantra. Here at the Ajnya chakra, the blinding brilliance of the individual soul/Jivatma is brought to levels where you can work with it. The Moon tempers the harshness of the Sun. First you experience the reflected light, transcend it, then onwards to the light of your individual soul then transcend it to experience the Ultimate reality.

The ‘individual soul’ is called the ‘Jivatma’, this is the soul+karmic baggage. The Ultimate Soul or Paramatma is the Reality which we all desire to experience, our deepest desire.

In astrological terms, Sun is a natural malefic but the Moon is a natural benefic. The ‘individual soul’ is considered to be malefic but the ‘reflection of the individual soul’ is considered to be benefic. It is a paradox.

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Next we analyse the signs owned by the 5 Tara graha, ie the non luminous planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars Jupiter and Saturn. Each one of them rules over one ‘male’ and one ‘female’ sign/ rashi. Rashi means a ‘collection of attributes. And male or female indicate the quality of their energy, these words do not mean sex. Male energies are slower to move, more passive and more stable. The female energies are more changeable, adaptable and kinetic. Both are necessary qualities, neither can exist without the other and neither is lesser/ greater than the other. Continuous stability will lead to stagnation and continuous motion will lead to disaster. There are always burst of energy, followed by its consolidation and again a burst of motion, again consolidation, this is a never-ending cycle.

The planets each are linked to one chakra of your energy body. The male sign resides on the Pingala side of the chakra and the female sign resides on the Ida side of that chakra. The Tara-graha have polarity, thus own two signs each. The 12 signs sort of form a garland in sequence over the chakras.

  • Mercury is linked at Vishuddhi chakra. Gemini is his male sign at Pingala side and Virgo the female sign at Ida side
  • Venus is linked to the Anahata chakra with masculine Taurus at Ida and feminine Libra at Pingala sides.
  • Mars – is located at the Manipur chakra with his feminine Scorpio at Ida and male sign Aries at Pingala sides.
  • Jupiter – is seen at the Swadhisthan chakra with the changeable Pisces at Ida and the solid Sagittarius at Pingala sides.
  • Saturn – is at the lowest Muladhar chakra with Capricorn at Ida and Aquarius at the Pingala sides of the chakra.

The Sun and the Moon, the luminaries have no inherent polarity, they are a single intelligence. The luminaries own a single sign each, Cancer and Leo. One is at Ajnya chakra and the other is at the Sahasrara chakra. The Ida/ Pingala end here at the Ajnya chakra and only one Sushumna remains. This Sushumna is the neutral channel, it contains within it the brightest of all nadis, the most subtle Brahma-nadi. The Sahasrara is the top-most chakra, again only the neutral Sushumna connects here. After the Sahasrara the remaining chakras of the head do not have any graha associations and the energies of the rashi-s do not extend here. Within the innermost core of the Sahasrara chakra is the Bindu, the seat of the Parabrahma.

The Moon and Sun are the two luminaries, they see, observe, the witness, they are your two eyes. They see what you desire to see. The choice is yours, If you look ‘outward’, ‘downward’ from your third eye, you will see the manifested creation. If you look ‘inwards’ from your third eye ‘upwards’, you will see your own Self. The choice, as always, is your own.

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Rahu and Ketu are the astral planets, shadow planets, the chhaya graha. They do not own any signs of the zodiac. There are some books, especially by modern authors, which say that the are part-owners of some signs, this is incorrect. Rahu/Ketu do not give any material results whatsoever, so they cannot be even logically linked to any of the Lower 5 Chakras. They do modulate the results (chhaya) of the other graha they are associated with. Rahu is the force of desire for future experience. Ketu is the learning derived from past experiences. You are consciously unaware of both and together they push your energy geometry out of balance. On an esoteric level Rahu and Ketu are responsible for the illusion called Life and Living. They are the Kings of Karma. They help you play the game of Creation. (I have written several posts on their innermost nature, do use the index page to locate these posts)

Conversely they can be consciously used to push your geometry back to its perfect balance, in which case they grant Moksh. These are the singularity hidden in the illusion of duality. If you are travelling inwards towards yourself, you will see that they work as One. If you in your spiritual practice every get the blessing of Rahu+Ketu joined together as One, you will realise the ultimate very soon. A human who has evolved on a spiritual level will always show powerful Rahu/ Ketu, they will be in pivotal positions and will control the entire chart.

Now for a small practical. Jyotish is a Vidya, ie it is used to understand the conscious intelligence operating around you. And to really understand a Vidya you need experience it. If are doing Dhyan regularly for more than 6 months and wish to see how the signs/ rashi and graha/ planets look like within your own energy system, try this. Before sitting for your Dhyan, recite the mantras of the 9 grahas, Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu, request them to show themselves to you. Recite a mantra for the Earth/ Pruthvi requesting that she grant you stability. Offer them all your gratitude and then see what you will be shown. If you are an advanced aspirant you can try this during an eclipse, but do this only if you can handle it. (Do change your nadi to the Sushumna before starting. Their strength varies depending on which nadi is active.)

The Graha, the Nakshatra, the Moon and the Sun are all within you. You contain the entire Universe within you. You are the highest Conscious Intelligence yourself Jyotish is just one of the many ways of realising this fact.

 

I have mentioned this in my several posts on Rahu/ Ketu, yet I am being asked this same question about which Rashi’s are ‘owned’ by Rahu/ Ketu, so this mini post. Again Rahu/ Ketu do not own any rashis.

Your conscience and your soul

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Someone asked me, ‘What does the soul contain? Where is the mind in our body? How do I know it is my higher self taking decisions in my day to day life happenings?’. Here are some points which you can think over if they make sense to you. Some of this is from standard books and some from my personal experiences and understanding.

‘What does the soul contain?’

Your Soul is your awareness, a spark of divine energy. There is an energy inside you which is aware, conscious, alert, intelligent. It is because of this awareness that you animate this ‘body’ (your ‘body’ has 5 layers, detailed post here). When the Soul’s aware energy exits the body, the body loses awareness ie dies. Your Soul is constant, unchangeable, eternal, indestructible. The body is obviously destructible. The body exists only for the sake of creating and enjoying/enduring karma and its repercussions. The horoscope can analyse just this 5-layered body. The horoscope cannot be used to analyse the Soul. The enveloping layers of the body are sometimes called ‘Maya’ ie the undefinable or ‘Deha-buddhi’ ie the intellect limited by the enveloping body. This geometric envelope obscures the light of the Soul. Thus your awareness is obscured, lowered and limited to only the body, you cannot perceive or experience your real nature. You are made to forget that you are pure awareness, pure Soul. It is like a fog drawn over your real Awareness. As you forget that you are the Soul, you start believing that you are the body.

Most of your clients will be in this category, they fully believe that they are the 5 layers of the body. Thus they create more karma, the impulses of their past karmas affect them deeply, they deeply laugh/cry and enjoy/endure Maya. You can chart out their life reasonably accurately using their own horoscope’s patterns. Your horoscope shows your Prarabdha karma ie how much karma have you have decided to go through in this life. The body will continue till this target is achieved then dissolve. And the horoscope also shows the possibility of Agami karma, ie how new karma will be created in this life. (Sanchita karma is your total karmic backlog)

Some people who have done practices to increase their ‘awareness’ understand that they are not the body but are the pure Soul. These people know this as a concept but they have not experienced this in the real sense as yet. They are working on it, doing their regular spiritual practice with intention. These people are somewhat immune to the ravages of karma on the body, but they are still influenced by it. You might see this happening to yourself if you are a spiritual aspirant. eg you are committed to your spiritual practice and in one critical transit of Saturn or Rahu/Ketu or Jupiter (slow planets), you lose all your focus. The material beckons you again, you want to go out with your girlfriend/ boyfriend or you suddenly feel that spiritual path is going well so now it is time to enjoy some material comforts. Your Deha-buddhi or Maya tries to assert itself and to pull you away from your pursuit of Awareness. These are testing times, if you lose focus now, you slip very badly.

As you advance deeper into your spiritual practice, as you increase your awareness levels, you get nearer to the pure Soul Experience. As you reach closer to your destination, the karmic impacts lessen but the karmic tests become even more subtle. If you cross all these and Realise the Soul, you are called a Jivan-mukt. At this stage, you are pure Soul, your awareness, consciousness, intelligence has reached the highest possible position, this is called the Advaita state. You experience yourself continually. You are aware of yourself all the time, in every state, in every condition of the body, you remain immersed in Intelligence, you Know you are the Soul. At this state your Soul has removed the envelope Maya, dissolved the Deha-buddhi and Seen itself forever. The fog has cleared and the light shines through. Now the Soul may remain in the body till its prarabdha karma is exhausted, ie till the physical dissolution of the body. But during this period its Awareness is Eternal. During this period from Realisation to the death of the physical body, the Soul is completely dissociated from the karma of the body. Whatever may happen to the body, You are not concerned in any way whatsoever. And you are Pure Awareness now, you do not create any more karma, ie no Agami karma is created and Sanchita karma is burnt the instant you See yourself.

So in short, Soul is Awareness. When you experience yourself as the Pure Awareness, the Nirvishesh Brahma, you attain Nirgun Moksh.

Your conscience and your soul

The soul is located ‘behind’ the Ajnya chakra in a dedicated ‘ashta-padma-dala-chakra, ‘eight-petalled Lotus’ chakra. This is a specialised chakra, ie the Brahmanadi within the Sushumna nadi loops around itself here and creates this specific energy vertex. These loops are in all possible dimensions. The Hamsa Upanishad describes this chakra in detail. The Soul resides here in an energy form called ‘Hamsa‘. (This Hamsa is composed of the energies of Agni, Soma Rudra, Rudrani, Kaal, Om and Bindu.)

The possible eight tendencies of this chakra are – 1. doing virtuous actions, 2. sleep, laziness etc, 3. doing cruel actions, 4. doing inauspicious deeds, 5. sensual gratification, 6. doing movement type of activities, 7. indulging in lust/sexual desires and 8. desire for accumulating material stuff. These eight tendencies are linked to the eight loops of the chakra. ie when Soul/awareness is linked to a particular loop, tendencies linked to it are activated in the body. When awareness exists ‘between’ these loops, there is indifference to material pleasures, an ascetic mindset. The three states of existence, waking state, dreaming state, deep sleep state are linked to the central axis of this ‘lotus’, at the ‘stamen’, ‘basal sepals’ and ‘innermost seed’ of this ‘lotus’. The fourth state, Turiya is possible when the Awareness leaves this chakra. And the final Turiya-teet, the beyond Turiya, ie Moksh is possible when this Awareness merges itself in the Eternal Non-dual. The Upanishad says that 1crore jaap/ repeats of the Hamsa mantra lead to Moksh.

Your conscience and your soul

Where is the mind in our body?

There are 5 layers of the body. Physical body is anna-mai-kosh. Subtle body is the three layers of pran-mai-kosh, mano-mai-kosh and vidnyan-mai-kosh. Causal body is the anand-mai-kosh. Then is the Soul within these multiple layers. This complex is called a Jiv-atma, the individual soul, as it is enveloped in this body/karmic baggage.

Mind is the Mano-mai-kosh, which is concerned with mental processes and emotions. Here emotions are on a relatively low level as the power of discrimination does not exist in this layer. ie all living animals who can understand pain have this layer active in their bodies. This layer is a part of the subtle body, sookshma sharir, controlled by the Moon in your horoscope. When you physically die, the outermost layer, physical body, anna-mai-kosh is discarded. So when you exist in the Pitr-lok, the dimension of the spirits, your soul is enveloped by a 4-layered body. Imprints stored in these 4 layers require several life-times to be rebalanced. This is why you can gauge your past lives from your horoscope especially in the Sudarshan chakra format.

Its between you and your conscience

‘How do I know it is my higher self taking decisions in my day to day life happenings?’

A personal example. Quite a few years ago, I was suffering because of an intense black ritual done by someone to damage me. A very deep damage on all levels. So I was doing healings, taking help from genuinely kind tantriks, ie using ‘white magic’. The pain was very intense, recovery was slow and I was really very scared. Someone I trusted, almost a brother, offered to do a secret ritual to help me, he did not give me the details. I asked my brother for his opinion. He in good faith said to give it a shot. So despite not being very convinced myself, I agreed and that person did the ritual. My conscience was in doubt but in the temptation of hastening my recovery, I agreed to get it done. But this was not the correct way, I actually got scolded badly by a very high level divinity. Then I suffered through these additional karmic repercussions. And it was a burden on my conscience. I had asked my brother for his opinion, the person who did it was genuine, they both wanted the best for me. But the final decision was mine, I had agreed despite the doubt raised by my conscience. Thus I suffered through the karma, I had regrets and felt very ashamed. So whoever might suggest something to you, however tempting it maybe, if your higher self/ Antaratma/ conscience is in doubt, it will come to a bad end. And it is your decision, so you alone are responsible for what happens to you.

The inner light of your Soul is your conscience, the Antar-atma. If you are doing spiritual practice, stilling your mind and emotions, the voice of your conscience is all the more audible.

Suppose you are in a situation and you have to choose between options. Naturally you will have evaluated the material aspects of both the options in depth. You know what will give you your desired material results. Now you put it to your conscience. Take a deep breath and close your eyes. Focus between your eyebrows, look in your third eye. Do some Pranayam. Recite Soham (or any other mantra you prefer) a few times with your breath in your mind, manasik jaap. Still your emotions and your scattered thoughts. Then gently think about the option you propose to take. Do you feel right about it? What kind of visions are triggered by this thought? Do you see a flash of bright happy colors, bright lights or depressed dark colors, blackness? Does your heart feel lighter or heavier. You might have physical signs like hair standing on end or feeling cold or a constriction at your throat or something. Your conscience will find some way and give you a sign that the action you chose is appropriate or not. And it will give you very clear signals. Once you have your answer do not ask your question again and again. And once you are clear about your decision, do not listen to others who might try to sway or convince you to go against your conscience. However tempting it may be do not go against your inner voice. This voice comes from your Soul itself.

I do not advocate using horoscope, runes, cards or any divination tools for these conscience related decisions. These divination tools are more linked to the sub-conscious mind. Sometimes cards show you what you consciously want to see, I have seen this happen several times. Or you choose to see those meanings in them which you desire on the material front. So you deceive yourself, attracted by the temporary gains you think you see.

(Classic example, you get 4 of Cups ‘Luxury’ in the Thoth tarot, for a relationship question. This card can show a potentially emotionally nurturing relationship but there is a very deep imbalance in it. This card indicates that you desire deep emotional fulfilment, but this relationship under question is the wrong way to go about it. This card represents temporary superficial attractiveness with an undercurrent of deep stagnation. You have deep emotional needs but you are aggravating the imbalance by desiring things which you don’t really need! This relationship in question is a dead end and you need to focus on something else which gives you real and deep emotional satisfaction. Now which Tarot reader has read so much into the energies of the cards to give this sort of interpretation? And the name ‘Luxury’ can tempt you to get into the relationship and then into emotional trouble later.)

Your conscience goes deeper than the conscious or the sub-conscious mind. It is your actual Soul showing you its Light. For a brief moment the Light of the Soul pierces through the enveloping fog and shows you the direction most appropriate for you. And finally you are responsible for your decisions, whatever happens to you, happens by your choice.

So Choose well.

Its between you and your conscience

Dasha Mahavidya and the 10 dimensions

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The 10 Mahavidya are the terrifying aspects of the Devi, the Prakruti, the manifested creation. Their names are Mahakali (Kali), Tara, Tripursundari (Shodashi), Bhuvaneshvari, Bhairavi, Chhinnamasta, Dhoomavati, Bagalamukhi (Valagamukhi), Matangi, and Kamala.

Some people consider the Mahavidya-s into two divisions, as the less strict Tara, Tripurasundari, Kamala, Bhuvaneshvari, and Matangi. And the more terrifying Kali, Dhoomavati, Bhairavi, Chhinamasta, and Bagalamukhi. In my opinion all are equally terrifying and you should not do anything with them unless you are 100% sure of what you are doing. They are very deeply linked into your energy. If you mess up here, it will take you several lives to recover. They are not just idols or representations, they are all aware and very fierce, Ugra.

  • Dasha दश – 10, time period, fate, condition, perception, edge, position, pin-point, etc
  • Maha महा – great, huge, vast, light, joy, seed, intelligence, extreme, etc
  • Vidya – विद्या knowledge, skill, magic, mantra, gain, that which ignites, existence, to unbind or make free, pierce, the present instant, the combined act of starting, existing and the conclusion all together, etc.

This is how the 10 Mahavidyas were created. The story/allegory as per the Devi Puran. Devi Shakti/ Sati married Shiv against the wishes of her family and went to live with him at Kailas. Sati’s father Prajapati Daksh later planned a massive Yadnya at Kankhal, Hardwar but he did not invite Sati-Shiv to the ceremony. He didn’t like Shiv and after her marriage, didn’t want to see Sati either. But Sati wanted to go. Shiv was like, ‘you haven’t been invited so you shouldn’t go’. But Sati got cross, her logic being that Daksh was her own father, so why does she need an invite to go to her father’s house! Sati, in her rage, then created the 10 Mahavidya-s and they all surrounded Shiv and argued on her behalf. Ultimately Shiv gave in and told her to do whatever she wanted to, but there would be problems. And there were terrible consequences later. (There is a deep esoteric meaning to all this.)

Dasha Mahavidya and the 10 dimensions

These दश महा विद्या are generally taken to represent the 10 disha दिशा. They are considered to be 10 physical directions, east, west, north, south, NE, NW, SE, SW, up and down. This word दिशा means direction, region, scene, assignment, exhibition and most importantly, dimension. There are 10 dimensions of this manifested creation represented by the 10 Mahavidya energies. Each dimension is intelligent, aware, conscious and full of energy. The conscious energies of the 10 manifested dimensions are the 10 Mahavidya. The Bindu is the conscious origin of everything and beyond the concept of ‘dimension’. Now modern quantum physics and the string theory has also calculated that there are 10 dimensions. Physics has become metaphysics and will ultimately become Sanatan Dharma as the scientists get more deeply into the nature of intelligence and consciousness. The 10 dimensions ie the Dasha Mahavidya are a play of space and time plus awareness, intelligence and consciousness. Each one of them is roaring with power. It is a heady and exciting feeling to be face to face with their Vigraha where you can feel their energy pulsing.

The 10 Mahavidyas are not just the dimensions, they are the actual pran/ vital energy flowing in your body. The five main pran, are Pran, Apan, Vyan, Saman, and Udan. Their five sub-pran/ upa-pran are Kurma, Naag, Devdatt, Krkara and Dhananjai. I have written about the five main pran in my post here. The Dasha Mahavidya-s are present in your body as these 10 pran types and connect your mind/ body to the 10 dimensions of the manifested creation.

  • Mahakali and Tara are located in the lower part of the body below the navel and reproductive systems as Apana and Kurma respectively.
  • Shodashi and Bhuvaneshwai are Prana and Naag respectively and located in the upper regions of the body above the navel.
  • Bhairavi and Chinnamasta are respectively Udan and Devdatta and these move upwards, they are more prominent in the throat and upper parts of the body.
  • Dhoomavati and Bagalamukhi reside in the navel region and expand outward from it as Saman and Krkara respectively.
  • Matangi and Kamala reside in the upper parts of the body including the head regions as Vyan and Dhananjai respectively.

The vital energies are derived from the source called the mukhya-pran ie OM. (Your soul is connected to the Bindu/Om, but to reach there the dimensions have to be navigated and their energies made use of first.)

Dasha Mahavidya and the 10 dimensions

We exist in each of these dimensions and also in the central Bindu which is beyond these dimensions. The 10 Mahavidyas and the Om are all within you. Their derived pran are also flowing within you. When you stand in front of the Vigraha of the Dasha Mahavidya-s or recite their mantras or do their Sadhana, you are working on your own energies in a very complicated way. You are entraining your vital energies to the dimensions. You are entraining your pran to the highest energies possible. eg If you are doing Bagalamukhi sadhana you will be focusing on the Saman and Krkara vayu-s and intensely linking them to the highest possible levels.

Mahavidya Sadhana or tantra is a part of the Shri-vidya. If you succeed you get a massive one-up. Tantra is an aspect of spiritual sadhana which is very rare now. There are rare Guru-s who know how to perform these rituals correctly and with the precise intention. And there are the rare aspirants who actually need to do these type of sadhanas. Generally 99.99% of us do not need to do Mahavidya related practices. The regular shaant/ benign forms of the Devi, ie Sarasvati, Laxmi and Parvati are more than sufficient for regular householders like us.

The internet has several dowsy sites which give tantric mantras for vashikaran, ucchatan, stambhan, etc. (There are 6 types of mantras.) I saw a video where the lady was giving out some creepy mantra for hypnotising someone. Someone else was saying that you don’t need a Guru for doing Bagalamukhi Sadhana and stuff. Avoid these sort of sites and their so-called mantra, you might get yourself and your target both into serious trouble.

If you are interested in doing any Sadhana related to the Mahavidyas, first entrain your energies to the Navavarna mantra. A initial 9 lakh repetition of the Navavarna is essential, else you might not be able to handle the further energies you evoke. eg Mahakali is the foremost Mahavidya. She is depicted in a very fierce manner. Her dangerous form is Smashan-Kali and her somewhat milder but still terrifying form is Dakshin-Kali. She is always depicted unclothed ‘dig-ambar’ दिगम्बर. She literally ‘wears the dimensions’, ‘clothed in the energy of space-time and more’, ‘secret of the dimensions’, ‘defined limits of manifested creation’. She is also the ‘inner core around which the manifested creation is created’. (I know an incident where the aspirant did an extremely complicated ritual to call Her. She came and asked him what he wanted. But the aspirant was so scared just seeing Her, that he ran away.) These rituals are a potent but often fraught with dangers. A specific life-style has to be adopted, there are strict energy rituals, specific and very typical ingredients, typical locations, then the appropriate time for doing this, etc are needed. Even the yantra or moorti/ vigraha that you will use as a focus point has to be made in a specific way. If you can use the mantra, tantra and yantra the way it is supposed to be, any of these Mahavidya-s can grant you everything including the ultimate Moksh.

Every aspect of Sanatan Dharm is designed to take you to your own reality, to achieve Moksh. Even from Ayurved, Rishi Patanjali has written that there are certain herbs Oushadhi, which if used in the correct way can grant deepest levels of Samadhi and further Moksh. But we do not have the herbs, nor the detailed knowledge on how to use them now. And the mantra, tantra and yantra system is also not available so easily. So in this present ‘modern age’ it is best to stick to Gayatri mantra and the Soham/ Hamsa practice. Focus on the the Bindu which is beyond the dimensions. This might take years or even a few lives, but you will reach there. The concepts of Kundalini, Moksh, Mahavidya-s, etc are not prizes, they cannot be shown-off as achievements. So be very clear why you want to do all this first, your intention and resolve will be tested on every step of the way.

 

To observe Oneself is Moksh

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  • Sankhya tells us that the Prakruti is the manifested creation which is put in motion by the presence of the Purush. Purush is the Aware catalyst. Prakruti is the inert matter.
  • Advaita further tells us that the Purush-Prakruti is the fundamental duality which is Created from the Nirvishesh Brahma or Parabrahma, the Ultimate Reality.

Now onwards,

My Guru would also tell us to ‘observe the Self’. This is a fundamental concept of Sanatan Dharm. But what does ‘observing oneself’ really mean? Let’s use the Sankhya and further the Advaita to understand.

The Purush and Prakruti though outwardly differentiated are fundamentally the same. They both are created from the Para-Brahma, they both are its part. And the part is also the whole. Creation or the later manifestation process is more easily understood as a fractal geometry, it is not a linear progression.

Purush is aware but still. Prakruti is unaware but in motion. The Prakruti moves around the still, conscious pivot of the Purush. So when you as the Purush, observe you as the Prakruti, you observe yourself. This is the point where the illusion of duality finally breaks down. This is the stage of complete self-realization, the goal. Attainment of Nirvishesh Brahma, Sadyo Mukti.

But its a long road back so we have all this spiritual practice and stuff. All this practice so that you change your position, you change your reference point. You change your perception.

Saturn, the wrecking ball

A very simplistic example again. There is a sweet dish on the table. I see it and my son from the other room smells it. For each one of us, this sweet is a different ‘matter’. It is a visual for me and a smell for my son. Both of these perceptions are correct and and from the view of the person concerned, they are also real and complete. Now my son comes into the room, he sees it. When the experiencer changes his position his perception evolves. Visual has added to smell. The perception of ‘smell’ was complete in itself while he was in the other room. Now that he is in this room, the ‘visual’ adds to the experience, but it this not deny the ‘smell’ perception. Both are correct by themselves but taken together too they are correct. If you think deeply, it is actually a paradox. What is real or complete or illusion or incomplete cannot be defined with exactness ever. Now he eats the sweet. He has changed his point of view again, his perception now adds taste. His inner self  then experiences the intention with which I have cooked the food. His perception has moved from basic matter to energy. The perception has evolved from matter to subtle energy. Now if he can also experience the ‘conscious intelligence’ embedded in every particle of the food, it would be Moksh for him.

Every experience is transcended till the point where you reach Yourself.

The angle of perception, the point of reference is paramount. Change the position from where you observe. If you focus on your Ajnya chakra as you do your Dhyan you change your position, so your observation and experience changes too. As you do your spiritual practice, you will realise that you actually see, taste, hear, see etc sense directly from your Ajnya chakra. ie you can read a book even if you are blindfolded etc.

If you bring your awareness to the position of the ‘pivot of manifestation’, ie the Purush you will be able to see the Prakruti around you. She is of the form of the Shri Yantra, in infinite dimensions, whirling around you. You see the Shri-chakra in 2 dimensions, the Meru in 3-D, now can you imagine this perfect geometry around you in infinite dimensions? You remain still, this geometry is around you in all its magnificence. This is how the manifested creation looks like when you put yourself at the central Bindu. It is fascinating, you are observing yourself. And if at this point the last step, if you can with conscious awareness, realise that both the Purush and Prakruti is essentially the same, the whirl stops and you achieve Sadyo mukti.

Right now you are aware of the matter moving around you. You are immersed in the dance of Prakruti. You are located in this whirl, your reference point is from within the dance. You know yourself as the body, you are seated in your room and reading this on your laptop. All of this is pure matter, of the realm of the Prakruti. You are fully engaged in experiencing Prakruti and her creations. As you should, for all this is for your entertainment. So do enjoy it.

But then there comes a point when you want to stop all this play-acting and immerse yourself in the Reality. How long will you be engaged in ‘matter’? You are experiencing only one-half of the duality which was Created. There is the other aspect ‘the aware pivot’ which you have never consciously explored. You are not aware of the consciousness embedded in every dust mite, in every thought, in every emotion of this manifested. For how long can we be stuck in pure ‘matter’? We should try to experience pure intelligence also. Even modern quantum theories have grudgingly reached this conclusion that everything possesses a fundamental ‘intelligence’. They now call this quantum mechanics and try to develop theories of ’entanglement’.

India, Bharat, was, is and always will be a land of the Seers, Rishis. These Rishis went within, into the inner consciousness and achieved the goal of observing the self, experienced pure consciousness and beyond it. These are the examples who drive us, the spiritual seekers. This is why we adore our Rishi-Seers or the Guru. They are the Jivan-mukt, they show us that you can be the experience, the experiencer, the act of experiencing and more all at once! These are what we strive for, their example reassures us that we can also do this ourselves.

Eclipses in the horoscope, birth and transit analysis

There is a very cute story where Shiv and Shakti are playing a game of dice. As the game gets over, Shakti playfully covers Shiv’s two eyes with her hands. There is pitch darkness. But then his third eye opens and there is Illumination. This rather romantic story has very deep esoteric meanings. Purush and Prakruti are involved in the Game, Lila, manifested creation. Purush as the catalyst and Prakruti as the performer and the performance both. Prakruti at the end of the game, by her own actions, shuts the perceptions linked to her game. There is actually an instant of pitch blackness at a crucial point of your Dhyan. If you can cross this, the third eye does ‘open’ and there is the Illumination of the Self. This light brings to you the real nature of duality, you realise that both Purush and Prakruti are essentially the same. There is no duality at any level whatsoever.

This is the experience of Nirvishesh Brahma or Advaita or Para-brahma. You have achieved Sadyo Mukti and become a Jivan mukt yourself. You are now a Guru.

 

Gemini Sagittarius axis, Events in motion, part 1

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The effectiveness of signs to give results in a chart depends on several things. Sagittarius is the most active of all the signs closely followed by Leo and Gemini. Thus the Sagittarius-Gemini axis is the most dynamic one in your chart. Events represented by this axis and their agents come into your life fast, cause high voltage changes and exit equally fast. Here your life is in fast forward. If you have Sagittarius or Gemini as your birth Moon sign or ascendant sign, or if too many planets occupy them, you live life on the fast track, ‘work hard and play hard’ applies to you!

Gemini Sagittarius axis, Events in motion, part 1

The most sensitive axis in your chart is the Virgo-Pisces, ruled by the Mercury – Jupiter combo. And the most dynamic aspect is now again ruled by Mercury-Jupiter, i.e. Gemini-Sagittarius. This post is on how things are on internally, what you would feel on the subconscious and spiritual levels. This is using Jyotish to illuminate your spiritual growth not for predictions as such. If you understand the deeper nature of the signs you can know yourself and your clients better.

Gemini/Mithun is where you choose to act. In two minds, often evaluating between two options. You continuously think and choose, you have twice the brain power as this is a dual natured sign represented by 2 human figures. Mithun is a Sanskrit word meaning several things, duality, pairing, twins, mating, union, couple etc. Gemini ruled by Mercury is the sign of conscious choice. You use what is given to you and create options, evaluate them, choose and act. You have all the databases, data analysis, mental agility, brain power and thinking capacity. You are full of courage, boldness, risk-taking abilities and also its associated conflicts and instabilities. You cannot sit still. This is the sign where karma is created, karma is ‘action with intention’, you choose and act.

You are so involved in analysing situations and creating options that others might think of you being self-centred. You are absorbed in the intellectual appreciation of choice. And when you come to a conclusion you want to tell it to all, the mental processes are so fast, this makes you seem spontaneous, outgoing and eloquent. You are always excited about finding more things to choose from, you are quick and sharp. More thrills and exciting experiences, this in the physical life can get you in risky actions, dares and juvenile challenges. You are duality in all its possible forms. Exchanging ideas, discussions, later arguments, communication, trade. Being versatile, adaptable is natural to you. Though changing directions in a moment will make you seem fickle-minded and irresponsible.

Gemini always thinks that there is a better option, he just has to work it out. His brain is always working and he is restless, pining for this often non-existent option which will be glorious. Too much of this can lead to conflicts and instability. His thought processes can make him suspicious. e.g. he won’t trust his friends to be friendly but will trust his enemies to be antagonistic, which is a bit weird. Choosing between ideologies, loyalties, loves, demands, memories, desires, aspiration, actions often conflicting, can be exhausting. But still he is full of wild energy and likes communicating with gestures and movements.

A Gemini likes to think, it is his passion, thinking in various possible ways. This can lead to brooding, melancholy or depression too. But then if a Gemini goes deeper, contemplates, he also has the skill of synthesis. He can combine two opposite seeming things. He knows that every good thing is also connected to bad stuff. And bad stuff will also eventually be linked to something good. He instinctively knows the other face of the coin and also accepts it. Ultimately he wishes to solve the mystery of birth-death-rebirth v/s Realisation/Moksh.twinsIf you are a Gemini, your allies are the agents represented by Libra (5th from) and Aquarius (9th from). Each of these acts as the foundation and creative expression of the other in a cyclic manner. Libra comes to being when the duality of Gemini is infused with creativity, divine intelligence and the strange selfishness of the ego. As you mature and the exuberance tones down, you are more able to appreciate the beauty of fairness, balance and one-one bargains. You partner with like minded individuals and your exchange becomes more satisfying. Aquarius is located 9th from Gemini. This is the marketplace of Gemini’s dreams. Under the discipline of Saturn but with a bit of Rahu’s foreign-ness and rule-breaking allowed, you gain patrons and paternal figures who guide you in making stable gains and profits. But Saturn is the ruler here and it is the 9th house, so the karmic constraints from the ancestors and past lives require the Gemini to work hard here.

You reach the culmination of this cycle in Aries the 11th house where you gain ‘individuality’. Thus journey for Gemini, is sort of a cycle from duality to the individual-ness represented by Aries.

Challenges will be presented by the agents of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Capricorn. Taurus is located 12th from Gemini. Thus you tend to use up the family, family resources, family traditions in your quest for more and wider interactions. Then Leo is highly individual and you are duality itself. If you remain selfish, promoting your own creativity without regard for others you might be in trouble. But then understand the lesson that Leo is out to teach you. You should use divine intelligence and inspiration available to you when you choose and act. You cannot remain caught in the plethora of options which you endlessly create for yourself. You need to recognise that one option where you have the blessings of the higher self within you and pursue it.

Scorpio is about relentlessly delving within your self, accepting changes in emotions within the depth of the self. As a Gemini may not be interested in getting deeply with single focus into anything. You think in several ways before you act. You are duality. You wish to get out of the situation you are in as quickly and painlessly as possible. And Scorpio is pain. You have a lot of mates, but perhaps no real friends, thus you do not share your emotions. You avoid confrontations, i.e. you can argue but you avoid expressing your feelings. A trader out for profit, always has to smile. Excessive self-control, suppressed anger and frustration cause the rather mysterious/Scorpio health problems which a Gemini suffers. Sometimes instinct needs to be followed, mysteries are there for a reason, so just some times trust your intuition. Gemini is a trader/vaisya sign, it can think of spiritual and the occult but then remains in the material. Scorpio warns against this.

Capricorn requires you to work for the betterment of the society, for social recognition, for the stability and security of the society, without regard for remuneration. And you are exuberant, wild and stormy at times. Saturn demands discipline and the irrepressible Mercury is not bothered. Then come the periods governed by Saturn where he will relentlessly make Gemini change himself, sober him down force him to grow up. These will be the periods when the understanding of karma and its repercussions will really hit the Gemini personality.

So, Gemini is always polarity and generally conflicted because of this. Too many planets in Gemini or Gemini ascendant/birth Moon sign creates a typical personality who needs support from its mirror Sagittarius to really bring out his potential and rise to great spiritual/material height.

(Here was a bit about Gemini/Mithun rashi. Have continued with Sagittarius the other half of this axis in my next post here.)

 

Gemini Sagittarius axis, Events in motion, part 1