Motivation

The 27 Lunar Mansions, Nakshatra

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A 13deg 20sec division of the zodiac is called a Lunar Mansion or a Nakshatra. As per the stories, Daksha Prajapati had 27 daughters/Nakshatra whom he married off to Chandra/Moon. The Moon takes about 1 day to cross one Nakshatra.

The Nakshatras are extremely important markers in astrology and some of the ways they are used are as follows.

  1. Each nakshatra has 4 parts/pada and thus there are 108 Nakshatra-pada in the Zodiac. 108 is the Vedic ‘magic’ number. Mantras are chanted 108 times generate high energy which is then channelised to your intention.
  2. Our names are as per the Swar Siddhanta. Each nakshatra-pada has a sound allocated to it. We name our children as per the syllables/Akshara associated with the Moon Nakshatra pada he/she was born in. Though some may use the sound syllable associated with Ascendant or the Sun nakshatra-padas. The tables are widely available on-line.
  3. Matching of bride/groom charts for marriage is primarily done by matching the birth Moon Nakshatra-pada. It is an amazingly accurate system and actually works beautifully. The tables are also quite widely available.
  4. Each Nakshatra has a planetary Lord. The sequence of the planetary owners is Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury which repeats three times, thus each planet owns 3 Nakshatras. The Nakshatra lords of the Moon Nakshatra and the ascendant Nakshatra play important roles in your life.
  5. Each Nakshatra also has an associated Nakshatra Devata. These devatas are correspondingly 27 in number and have a very subtle but deep effect on every aspect of your psychology and spiritual life. In fact if you can remember your Moon’s and Ascendant’s Nakshatra Devatas during your daily puja, it will be quite beneficial.
  6. Our human life-time is calculated as 120 years. These 120 yrs are divided into several parts/Mahadasha, and sub-parts, Antardasha, Pratyantardasha and even tinier units of time, till every second of your life can be mapped. These units of time are owned by the planets. These dashas are used to time events. The birth Moon Nakshatra planetary owner decides start of the Dasha count.
  7. Nakshatras change daily and are one of the 5 parameters in deciding an auspicious time/muhurta, for marriage, buying a house, car, entering a house, starting a business etc (the other 4 are the day, karan, yog and tithi).
  8. Finally the name of the Nakshatra is a mantra in itself. Saying aloud the name of the Nakshatra of the day increases health. (There is a Shani Mahakaal Mryutyunjai stotram a quite powerful stotra where using the nyas mantras, we place the energy of the Nakshtras, yogas, karanas, days, months, planets, rashis, years and all the units of time in various body parts of the body. I utterly love Shani so have done this several times just for his happiness.)

The 27 Lunar Mansions, Nakshatra

How do you find out your ascendant’s and Moon’s Nakshatras? In any Vedic/Indian horoscope it will be clearly marked out and modern software also clearly mention them. So do check these out.

In Vedic astrology, a complete reading of the chart will consider the birth Moon’s nakshatra. We consider the Moon to be paramount as he controls the mind, emotions and perceptions. Whatever happens to us is perceived and experienced through the Moon, the emotional filter of life. The Moon works through the 27 Nakshatra ‘filters’, these are not rational or logical, but intuitive, psychological and subtle. These are the linkages of your past lives and the framework of your present life. The life choices that you make in this life are linked to your birth Moon Nakshatra and to some extent to your birth Ascendant Nakshatra. If you live a more materialistic life with no spiritual back-up, you will not be aware of these signals. You might feel a general guidance but you will not be able to actively interact with your Nakshatra energies. Thus for an average human the Nakshatras will fix the your fate. But if you tend to be spiritually inclined and have a sense of the grander purpose of your life, you can actively use the energies of your Nakshatras, their lords and devatas.

If you observe yourself carefully you can reduce all your life’s activities to one or two action words. These action words are a reflection of your Nakshatra energies. The Moon rules the enormity of the astral, the sub-conscious, so it makes sense to divide his humongous domain into the 27 sub-domains of the Nakshatras. I have tried to reduce the natures of these 27 into small keywords which will be useful. These describe the innermost tendencies and desires. Often your client will not even be aware of them but they will rule his life and influence his every action.

Sr. Name Planet Devata Keywords
1 Asvini Ketu Ashwini twins Healer, observer, innovator,
2 Bharani Venus Yama Hoarder, carries, is restrained, in-control
3 Krutika Sun Agni Bright, quick, cuts, clarifies
4 Rohini Moon Brahmadev Creative, cultured, maternal, looks after.
5 Mruga Mars Soma Produces, grows, friendly, comforts, freedom, travels
6 Ardra Rahu Rudra Destroys, upheavals, strength, emotional surges
7 Punarvasu Jupiter Aditi Consciousness, unity, protection, learning, expanding
8 Pushya Saturn Bruhaspati Wisdom, awareness, rituals, generosity, moving upwards
9 Ashleysha Mercury Ahi-Sarpa Holding on, deception, extremes, intense, explorations, secrets
10. Magha Ketu Pitra Duty, authority, maleness, connections to ancestors and their energies,
11 Purva Phaguni Venus Bhaga Resourceful, lucky, loved, loving, sexual, reaping the auspicious fruits
12 Uttara Phalguni Sun Ayraman Healthy, strong body, family, children, marriage, active, pure
13 Hasta Moon Savitr Aware, illuminated, knowledge, realised, touches
14 Chitra Mars Tvashtra Builds, plans, shines, competes, art, power,
15 Swati Rahu Maruta Aware of internal prana, can be hazy on the outside, strong, powerful, in movement
16 Vishakha Jupiter Indra-Agni Political, needs power, bright, self-centric, royal, rules by dividing
17 Anuradha Saturn Mitra Ally, companion, stands with, supports, likes details
18 Jeyshtha Mercury Indra Urges, controls, strength, power, sensual
19 Mula Ketu Nirrti Destroys natural order, uproots, scatters
20 Purva Ashadha: Venus Aapa Enjoys, emotional, purity, searching, rebirth
21 Uttara Ashadha Sun Vishvadeva Noble, law of nature, character, leader, guide
22 Shravan Moon Vishnu Expansion, omnipresent, wisdom, teaching and listening
23 Dhanishtha Mars Vasu Fame, wealth, light, creativity, song and dance
24 Shatataraka Rahu Varun Omniscient, burst of energy, philosophic, judge, strict, fair
25 Purva Bhadrapada Jupiter Aja-aikapada Tantra, purification, darkness leading to light, penance
26 Uttara bhadrapada Saturn Ahirbudhnya Deep subconscious, ouroboros, settled but hidden, apathy, dissociation
27 Revati Mercury Pushan Guiding, protective, nourishing, prosperous, time.

There is one more Nakshatra, ‘Abhijit’, this is a masculine nakshatra, ruled by Brahma the Creator himself and reflects the creative principle of Divinity. This is not used for general astrological analysis but in special calculations e.g. in drawing the ashtapadmadala chakra. When it is used, it is inserted at serial number 22, with each the following nakshatra shifting one serial number ahead to give a total of 28 nakshatras.

Abhijit rules over the 28 minutes before and after midday and also 28 minutes before and after midnight. This is called the Abhijit muhurta and is considered quite auspicious.

For example Chitra, the shining jewel of the zodiac, owned by Mars. Such a person will internally want to compete with and outshine others. His devata is Vishwakarma/Tvashtra, the celestial architect, he will want to build, create works of beauty, it may be expressed as a book, or a building or the systematic arrangement of his room. But the beauty will have a purpose, power and danger too. He will be continually rearranging his mental and emotional processes till he is satisfied by its beauty and power. He is wedded to his work. This nakshatra is most likely to remain unmarried or if married not too involved with his spouse (preferring a silent submissive spouse in fact!). He finds his fulfilment when he creates beauty coupled with power.

Another example Uttara Bhadrapada: Ruled by the serpent of the deep unconscious, Ahirbudhnya Ouroboros. The Saturn has an agenda of structured work in the astral realms. The native knows a lot, but in the astral, of the astral. He consumes his manifested vitality and lives it out in the sub-conscious states. These individuals seem hazy, spaced out, but in the astral they are kings. They have the capacity to do anything in the astral. Beware of making enemies of these seemingly ‘drugged’ individuals, they wont even know what they can do to retaliate in return. One client had after the death of his enemy, tracked his soul on his way to the Pitrulok and trapped him in a bubble, so that he could never reach there, nor take another birth, presumably still trapped there. (Guided meditaion sometimes gives such stranger than fiction pasts!)

It is beyond my scope to write in detail on each individual nakshatra in this limited blog post, however will try to in my future posts. Just this tiny post to remind that Nakshatras are very important and in Vedic system you have to consider 2 nakshatras, the birth moon’s nakshatra and the rising ascendant nakshatra, else your analysis is incomplete.

The 27 Lunar Mansions, Nakshatra

Ketu the headless

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Ketu the south node has always fascinated me. It does not have a head! Its so cryptic, no head means no face, no ego, no sensing, no thinking, no expressions, no nothing. It Just Is! But it has a body so it can act, and it does sometimes. But why does it act, what is the motivation, where is that motivation felt? Or does it act without motivation? Extremely mysterious. At least its counterpart, Rahu/North node has a head, but no body. But at least it is aware of itself, though it cannot act. But Ketu!

Ketu the headless

Ketu in a horoscope represents everything that has outlived its utility and is to be discarded. It also represents those aspects of life and living which you have enjoyed to the fullest in your past lives and thus in this life you are apathetic to them. Ketu is the “chidrakaraka” (The agent who tears, makes holes, disperses). It does not deny, it just makes you indifferent. For example if the Ketu is placed in the ascendent 1st house itself, the person will have zero sense of himself, but can be a brilliant actor as he, being a blank canvas himself, easily accepts the demands of the movie director on his personality.

Ketu and Rahu are the same entity but now divided into two points 180deg apart. Ketu always surrenders to the demands of Rahu/the other. And Rahu the trickster wants only desires, once he attains what he desired he immediately shifts to another desire.

So how does this cryptic ketu translate to the human experience. The house that Ketu occupies and the planet he influences (conjoint) represent the things or desires or objects that you will be rather indifferent to.

For example the client with the ketu in the 1st house was indifferent to his place in the society, as the head of the family, and was a businessman, but let his wife/business partners (rahu occupying the 7th being the “other”) direct him. The person was happy enough internally with this situation but it was causing business losses financially and his wife was getting more aggressive. Ketu’s gift of a non-coherent personality was affecting his social/family/business life. So something had to be done. A consultation for business success turned into a psychological exercise. He had to understand that though he may be internally indifferent to all this, he will actively use his energies develop an interest at least on a superficial level. And the separation/dispersion from ego which is actually a gift from ketu in a spiritual sense should be channelized elsewhere. He started doing regular dhyan and focussing on his non-ego traits during this period of mindful contemplation. Thus his spiritual progress accelerated and his superficial materialistic life also stabilised as the dispersive energies got their outlet during the dhyan.

In transit too Ketu grants separation from the objects of the houses he transits through. It is a good thing in a way, the mind is prepared to detach from the emotions/ actions/ environments which have out lived their purpose in this life. I have seen several examples of this, 3 cases this year when Ketu transited into the 4th house and the person’s mother died. It was a quick painless death for the mother and for the person too it was a calm acceptance of the fact. And as soon as the mother died, each one of these clients found new sources of stability, emotional satisfaction and assets. One got married in a few months, the second bought new property and the third shifted into a bigger house. Ketu gives too, but in a very blasé matter of fact way with his characteristic apathy.

Ketu the headless

Ketu located in various houses at birth will give the generally the following results. Ketu – is the agent of dispersion, non coherance, dis interest, apathy,  headless, abandoned, limitless, not powered, careless, deserted… In the following houses affects,

  1. First house – Personal self, status in society, the head
  2. Second house – family assets, lineage, speech and communication
  3. Third house – neighbourhood, extended family, brothers, boldness
  4. Fourth House – mother, landed property, residence
  5. Fifth house – education, children, expressions of creativity
  6. Sixth house – disease, debts, enemies, arguments
  7. Seventh house – partnerships, wife/husband
  8. Eighth house – death, routes into the unknown subconsciousness and other dimensions, accidents, medical operations
  9. Ninth house – external religious behaviour, deceased ancestors
  10. Tenth house – father, profession, work
  11. Eleventh house – networking of people, sources of gain, luck
  12. Twelfth house – deep subconscious, internal spirituality, losses

And if conjoint/or 180degrees away from the other grahas, will affect..

  1. Surya/Sun – personal ego, source of all energy in the horoscope, father
  2. Chandra/Moon – emotions, mind, mother
  3. Mangal/Mars – valor, expression of the personal energy, competitiveness, brothers
  4. Budha/Mercury – creativity, communication
  5. Devguru Bruhaspati/Jupiter – expansion, teacher, conventional knowledge
  6. Daityaguru Shukra/Venus – relationships, spiritual teacher, esoteric knowledge
  7. Shani – restriction, contraction, servility, service

So check out in your birth horoscopes the positions of Ketu and the planets it is influencing. Then using the keywords above just generally try to examine the influence of this headless graha on your life, on the emotional/physical/spiritual levels.

But do not forget that Ketu, Venus and Jupiter are the planets which together determine your spiritual foundation and progress. So if you see any mutual interactions between these 3, rest assured that in this life you will get a spiritual boost. Start some simple basic daily 5min, spiritual practice to trigger their energies gently.

Then if the ketu is in the 6th, 8th, 12th houses it is relatively better for the material word, In the 6th house it will disperse enemies/diseases/debts. In the 8th it will disperse the boundaries of death, may grant a longer life and also access to the other dimensions, you may actually sense other entities and their energies. In the 12th it will disperse losses and the boundaries between the conscious and subconscious again giving you access to other energies and extra-dreams visions etc.

Never forget Ketu is the real Moksha karaka, he grants the Enlightenment of Ego-Less-ness. Try to channelise its energies if you feel drawn to it. But remember that when you decide to find yourself, you have to decide to leave the “other”. This leaving the “other” is not so easy, and if you try to trigger it before you are really ready it will result in internal trauma. So baby steps first, start your spiritual practice and as and when you get ready the Ketu will be there with the Devguru Jupiter and the Daityaguru Venus to show you the way.

 

the souls journey

Mother devils, astrologically possible?

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In our Sanatan dharma traditionally the parents are considered to be on par with the divine itself, Matrudevata and Pitrudevata. And they are! they give us birth, take care of us, love us then help us financially, enjoy our marriages and then help in taking care of their grandchildren too. Most parents are like this, some may even more dedicated and go through severe personal hardships to take care of their children.

But unfortunately as every thing has an other side, this “parent” thing also has its own black side. In my practice I have seen extraordinary parents who were so good, divine even, but I have seen such parents who were indifferent, actively disliked their children and some who were actually evil. Children of such parents grow up to be highly conflicted and complex personalities. Imagine how it would be like for a young child, where everyone around them says that parents are always good, and they know in their innocent minds that their parents are not like that. But because they are so young they feel it is their fault or something and then their mental trauma begins.

Mother devils, astrologically possible?

Astrologically the moon and the lord of the 4th house represent the mother. If either or both of these 2 grahas are placed in the 6th, 8th, 12th houses or under malefic aspects the love of the mother is denied.

  1. In the 6th, the mother may behave like a enemy and a cause of (psychological or physical) disease, debt and ruin.
  2. In the 8th, the mother may be physically violent, cause injury, she may actually die or live separately.
  3. In the 12th the mother will be absent, either physically dead or insane or indifferent.

Another possibility is the factors causing baal-arishta, sufferings of the childhood operating causing the mother/father to behave badly. And if the birth is in a Gandant Lunar mansion/ Nakshatra and the required astrological remedy for Gandant have not been performed.

If the mother is abusive to the child or even indifferent the child has emotional issues. Women as a group do not get along with him and neither does he get along with them. He will always have a mental block about receiving stuff. May be unable to accept kindness even. Outwardly a very strong and stable personality, but is crumbling inside emotionally. Can get depressive, addicted to alcohol etc easily. Cannot let down their guard or confide, have difficulty trusting. Cannot express their feelings because they do not understand what it is that they are feeling.

On a physical level, such a mother often comes with the following combinations. The house that the child lives in is not happy and is full of restricted suppressed energies. The vehicles, landed properties if owned become a source of irritation. Maternal side of the family, aunts and uncles can impose. The mother herself may be acutely or chronically ill, or working overtime, may be suppressed herself.

One of my clients had his moon in pisces in the 6th house and aspected by Saturn from the 12th house. He had a very committed hardworking professional mother who took care of everything around the house, helped other people too, outwardly the ideal mother. But there was not one drop of love in her interactions with her son, only a sense of duty. As per his horoscope around the age of 4yrs something so traumatic happened that he developed a personality split. It did not really affect his daily life so it was just that he was perceived to be a quiet boy who loved reading books. I met him when he was 38 years old. I drew his chart and also used some personal energy to look into his subconsciousness, where I felt that he was still a small child. His personal image of himself was also of a small boy wearing typical half-shorts and half-shirts. His mother then died and with that the restrictions on his emotional self started getting loose. He was also doing his sadhana very sincerely and within a month from her death somehow he realised that he had grown up, he was more hopeful. And now his personal image was that of a 16 year old young man. Not fully grown up yet but getting there. This man now understands the negative influence his mother has had on him, but by the grace of the Parameshwar, does not blame her after her death, rather is grateful to her for doing whatever she did as her duty.

Perspective, it all comes to that. And perspective comes only with maturity and empathy.

So now, check out your personal birth horoscope and the position of the moon and the lord of the 4th house. Try to critically analyze your relationship with your mom.

In the example above, the mother did not love because she herself was not loved by her mother, and was kept in a hostel away from her parents. But again that does not mean that her actions were justified. If she knew how it was to be not loved, she should have tried and learnt. That was her life lesson which she did not learn. She will be given the same set of circumstances in her next lives till she learns. But my client has learnt, he has a son himself and with his small boy he has tried to live his childhood again, trying to give him the love which he never received from his mother.

All the times, what a child really needs the most is being hugged and cuddled and being told by his parent that he is the most precious person in the universe. And remember children can see auras better so can always make out when a grown up is lying.

Just remember this, start working with energy only when you feel you have developed enough maturity and empathy to be able to view things dispassionately. We are not working with energy to settle scores, it is not a weapon against others.

The whole purpose of understanding all this is to disengage from the outer influences and to look inside our own selves. But you cannot disengage without first understanding them. So astrology teaches you to observe, understand and learn.

In my next post i will discuss negligent fathers.

 

Mother devils, astrologically possible?

Add energy to your gold and jewellery

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Aurum, gold has fired the imagination of the human mind since ages. Obviously gold is equated with riches and being wealthy. But so many lives have been consumed in gold rushes, prospecting for gold, wars for stealing others gold, fighting with your siblings for the family gold etc.

Gold is the residence of the Goddess of Prosperity, Shri or Laxmi, Bhagwan Vishnu’s wife. So why should it drive the human mind crazy? Gold attracts, in the sense, gold metal has the ability to absorb intention and reflect it back faithfully. This makes it very very attractive for the human mind at the subconscious level. The misers of this world like to keep a hoard of physical gold where they can touch it and feel it.

But for me, gold has a totally different meaning. Gold is a tool in your energy work.

Everyone do this experiment. Most of us own a bit of gold, either a chain around the neck, a bracelet or a ring. Sit on your asan or in a quiet place and hold the gold in your palms. With utmost sincerity say the Srisukta over the gold. (This link is the correct text, the first 16 shlokas are to be recited). Feel the energies of the mantra entering the gold. Feel the presence of Laxmi Herself in the gold. Wear this piece of charged gold jewellery and see the difference in your life. Do this regularly once a week or so depending on your experience.

In case you are facing a money crunch, charge a small gold (or even silver) jewellery with the Shrisukta and keep it in your money box. Shri Laxmi Herself will come into your life. Just remember this is to be done regularly, at least once a week for continued prosperity.

Another thing that you should be very careful of is wearing gold worn by others, Never wear jewellery given to you by your parents or anyone directly. First wash it with charged water, hold it in your cupped hands and recite the Shrisukta on it once before wearing it. As the gold has been worn by someone else it has already taken on the imprint of that person within itself, his sorrows, diseases, regrets all may affect you when you wear it next. In fact, never wear anything used by someone else, may it be your loved grandmother, before cleansing it.

For cleansing or charging

  • For gold /silver use Srisukta
  • For gemstones use the beej mantra of that planet or Shrisukta as per your wish.
  • For clothes you receive from others, first wash the clothes in a water with a pinch of Sea salt. If you cannot wash them, put a pinch of sea salt in a paper packet, intend that it will remove all impressions of the previous owner. Put this packet in on the clothes for 5 mins and then flush the salt down the sink and the paper in the trash.

(If you cannot recite the Shrisukta, then you can recite ‘Om Mahalaxmayai namah’ or recite ‘Om’ over it a few times with focussed intention)

So if you own gold, charge it and wear it for its benefits. Do not just dump it in a locker and think of it as an “investment”. Gold is a living tool in your hands.

And yes there is a reason why we wear so much of gold, silver and copper or other metals on our bodies. Remember what I keep saying about our bodies being electromagnetic and not biochemical? The right side of the body is a bit more positively charged than the left half. The front half is more positively charged compared to the back half of the body. Wearing metals on specific parts of our bodies helps balance the electric currents flowing through our bodies. For example we, in Sanatan Dharm, pierce the earlobes of a 16day old baby, both boys and girls, and immediately put a thin gold wire through them. This point corresponds with the Pineal gland of the body. Doing this activates and ensures proper functioning of this master gland of the body.

And here is something that can inspire the gold-lovers amongst you, if you are well off and can afford buying 100gms of gold, make a chain for your waist. Remember gold is never to be worn below the manipur chakra of the body. It should sit exactly on your navel. This balances all the chakras/energy vortices of your body and generally thieves wont see it even if you go out alone. Wear gold bangles/bracelets in both your hands as we touch a lot of stuff with our hands. These bracelets act gloves protecting the energies of your hand from what ever energies you may be exposed to. Similarly wear silver chains in your ankles. Their energies will act as energy socks and protect.

So buy gold, as an investment if you wish, but do charge and use some of it for balancing your bodies and bringing even more prosperity into your lives.

 

The Sun, Surya the Soul

Water has psychic energy

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Water is that universally freely available source of energy. But in todays world a very minuscule percentage of us has actually drunk “water”.

Most of us drink water out of the taps in our houses or bottled water that we buy from stores. This is not real water. This is a processed liquid which is subjected to several physical and chemical tortures before being served to us. This water is very very low on energy, its condition is like that of a man severely beaten up. In addition it has added harmful chemicals like fluorides etc. But unfortunately, this is what we have been conditioned to believe is actually pure water.

water has psychic energy

So what is real water?

Natural water from clean mountain springs or rivers is the real water. It may not be filtered but is full of the natural energy that makes it actually good.

But these sources of high energy natural water are also quite limited today. You cannot go and drink water from any random stream water. Human activities have moved up the into the higher mountains also and this has changed the quality of the water flowing in the mountain streams. For example in the Indian Western ghats extensive mining activities have polluted the mountain waters sources here.

But we Indians are still lucky that we have the biggest source of high energy natural water still available in the higher reaches of the Himalayan river Ganga. The nearer you go towards Gaumukh the purer the water is. There have been numerous studies carried out on the waters of the Ganga where they have found beneficial things like low surface tension, useful colloids, macrophages and stuff. But then those who can see auras should be able to see the most interesting side of these waters. The aura of the Ganga river water is silver-gold, vibrating at the highest possible energy levels. We Indians, after a pilgrimage to the Ganga, bring back a bottle of her living water to keep it in our puja rooms.

If you have some Ganga water in your house do not just do its puja, use it. One drop of this high energy water if added to your regular drinking water will raise the overall energy of the water which will help your bodies and souls.

But most of us do not have such easy access to Ganga or living water in our cities and our busy lives. So here is a very easy way to increase the energy of the water you drink. You can buy bottled water or drink from the tap but first pour out the water in a small copper kumbh/kalash (A copper pot shaped like this below), let it remain in this for just a minute. Always drink from this copper kumbh not steel or glass cups. You will get it in stores in this small size too. But be sure that the kumbh is copper on the inside. (One rather oversmart shopkeeper once tried to sell me a kumbh/pot made of steel which was coated with copper just on the outside.)

Water has psychic energy

Do remember that more than 70% of your bodies is water. So do try this simple remedy to energize your drinking water and thus increase the energy of your entire body.  Do this for 21 days at a stretch and observe the difference in yourself.