Planets in a horoscope: Their color-coded influences

Everything we see has an effect on our psyche. Every color we look at influences our thinking processes. To show respect to this fact, astrology has matched certain colors (energies) with each of the nine planets, and it prescribes these colors to intensify planetary influences that our charts introduce as being beneficial for us. Every color tends to bring some flavors of the associated planet in our lives. While white (Moon) may signify peace and purity, red (Mars) may signify aggression or action; while grassy green (Mercury) may signify wit and precision, yellow (Jupiter) may signify optimism and wisdom.

Unsurprisingly, some colors are to be avoided. If a person has an afflicted Saturn and its energy supposedly obstructs normal functioning in life, the colors black and navy blue may be avoided while choosing attire. This way our mind will not have to face a self-imposed increase in saturnine signals like gloominess and selfishness. On the other hand, if our charts show that we have learned to properly utilize saturnine energies, these shades may be prescribed. With the positive side of Saturn surfacing, black will not signify gloom but discipline and hard work.

In remedial astrology, while colored gems are prescribed to strengthen a planet that is naturally good to us (a benefic), the concept is extended to “donation” (daan) of colored objects to please an unfavorable planet. If a person has difficulties harmonizing Martian influences in life, one would be expected to donate red colors, say red lentils or clothes to a fellow being. Just like wearing clothes (or gems) of a specific color represents accepting the energy of a certain planet, donating items of a color represents renouncing the less harmonious color-coded frequencies.

Everyday life shows how some of these Vedic principles are embedded in Indian culture. As an example, saffron remains the all time favorite color of the Hindu seeker. One reason is its synchronization with Jupiter, the Guru, who is expected to bless us with learning, traditional knowledge, and spiritual rise. But with changing times, instead of the yellowish shades, students mostly wear navy blue and black, the shades of Saturn, who is the lord of Capricorn — the debilitation sign of Jupiter and the sign of the natural zodiac that "controls" professional matters. Although these shades may not be astrologically conducive to traditional learning, they certainly attune with career-oriented education.

From the Mahabharata: The rejection of Lord Krishna’s peace proposal

When Lord Krishna, in his role as the ambassador of the Pandavas, reaches Hastinapur to ask the Kaurava king to return the part of the kingdom that justly belongs to the Pandavas, it all comes down to getting the proposal accepted by Duryodhana, for the king and all the rational members of his council are powerless. For a second, during the exchange of talks, Krishna even transcends the boundaries of fairness, as mortals understand it, to avoid mass destruction and makes a charming offer to Duryodhana: “You can keep the entire kingdom and allot only five villages; your father has to take care of the Pandavas as well.” While making this promise, Krishna knows that the Pandavas are in his refuge and will happily accept whatever he brings home for them. Krishna does his part in promoting peace and in demonstrating that the Divine gives at least a single chance for self-improvement to even the unrighteous. (This is similar to Lord Hanuman’s lecture to Ravana during his first visit to Lanka in the Ramayana.)

From the perspective of the unethical camp, this is an event where the Lord is offering a big chance — a chance that a shrewd opportunist should never let go of. Duryodhana can keep the kingdom that never belonged to him, happily survive with his immoral brothers and friends, and forget the Pandavas without having to pay for his misdeeds, especially in the same lifetime. In spite of everything, Duryodhana rejects the proposal. The Kauravas fail not only in following dharma but also in identifying their own material profits in Krishna’s final offer.

Why could Duryodhana not accept a proposal laden with material profits? Because he had never learned to receive; he had only developed a habit to seize objects from the truthful. Unless faith in God is present, the jiva cannot pick up anything from the universe, be it goodness or profits, except for negative energy. Unless one cultivates the higher modes of nature (sattva-rajas) within, one will ignore forgiveness and gifts from even the Divine himself and offend him.** This is exactly what Duryodhana does. And Krishna sees the moment as an arena to show his divine form (vishwarupa) to the ones who loved him.

** Highlighting such human tendencies and circulating solutions to them are a part of an incarnation’s divine plan. Krishna later dictates the general theory on why a jiva like Duryodhana can never accept a peace proposal in the Bhagavad Gita.

Why would anyone learn Indian classical instrumental music in the 21st century?

If a musician who has spent his or her life playing selected ragas on a musical instrument leaves the planet without any valuable recordings or disciples, most of us may deem his or her life to be devoid of any contributions to the world. Only a few individuals who have directly received moments of joy from the artist’s efforts may appreciate his or her presence. Besides, in the field of music composing, synthesizers and software have partly replaced traditional instrumentalists. Moreover, success has become least correlated with formal training and loyalty to classical music, and only a few out of hundreds of trained musicians are able to gain money, respect, and fame. Under such an arrangement, why would anyone spend over a decade learning a skill that has a low success rate?

The answer to this question has been given again and again by many artists and even saints. Tulasidasa summarizes the reason for his writing the Ramacharitamanasa through a very simple phrase: swantah sukhaya, meaning “for the happiness of the self.” Music is learned solely for one’s own joy even though this understanding may be latent when a young pupil starts dedicating time to it. The production of marketable music under tight deadlines from the supervisor is never the dream of the true musician. Nor is it learned to exhibit one’s reasoning abilities to the world. On the other hand, if engagement in music does not trigger a simultaneous search for happiness, a connection to music has probably not been made. Without nurturing (or unveiling) of inner joy, what will one share with others?

Secondly, “contribution to the world” is a vague concept in the context of spirituality and the arts. While exertion in certain areas of expertise, say technology and economics, may be labeled “more significant” by the onlooker depending upon one’s liking (read bias), their results, including all products and most discoveries, are equally perishable in time. Alternatively, the propagation of positive vibrations through the universe may be a more real accomplishment.

Lord Vishnu’s second visit to earth: The Kurma Avatar

To support the order of natural evolution, Lord Vishnu follows his incarnation as a fish (matsya) with that as kurma, a giant tortoise. This incarnation is set in the midst of the Samudra Manthan, the churning of the great ocean, a mythological narrative where the good and the evil work collectively to gain riches and ambrosia but only the virtuous gain immortality at the end as per Vishnu’s plan. During this churning, the great tortoise places the mandara parvata (mountain) on its back so that the mountain can be supported as a stirring rod. Besides making the gods, who possess goodness, immortal, Vishnu strengthens dharma at the conclusion of the incarnation by blessing the worlds with Ayurveda, the science of life.

In a spiritual sense, the tortoise signifies the perfection of yoga. In the Bhagavad Gita, God-incarnate Krishna compares the tortoise’s ability to retract its limbs and head into the shell to the withdrawal of a yogi’s senses from their objects (2: 58), which is a feature of the stable mind. This makes the tortoise a symbol of introspection or renunciation from the external environment and links the Lord’s kurma avatar to the sponsorship of yogic practices in the universe. Vedic astrology (Jyotish) supports the same by linking the kurma avatar to the planet Saturn (see Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra), which is the astrological significator for discipline, renunciation, and austerity.

The gain of numerous riches, perfect health for all, and immortality for the gods as a consequence of the Lord’s second incarnation shows how one can achieve these objectives in life through perfection in yoga. However, the real aim of yoga remains the Lord himself who bestows everything upon the individual souls while letting them participate in his divine plays.

Rama Navami Special: Remembering the name of Lord Rama

Just like the Ashwin Navaratri concludes with the victory of Rama (Dussehra), the Chaitra Navaratri concludes on Rama Navami, the birthday of Sri Rama, Lord Vishnu’s incarnation as the ruler of Ayodhya as well as the Creation. On the occasion of the Lord’s birthday, let us partially revise the distinction his name has acquired in Indian culture.

Most Hindus would acknowledge that following the impact of the Bhakti Saints, there is only one name of the Divine more popular than the terms Brahman (the Absolute Reality), Paramatama (the Supreme Soul), and Ishvara (the Personal God). And that name is — “Rama.” Popularly talked about as the chant which worked wonders even when chanted backwards (from Valmiki’s biography), the name of Purushottam* Rama, the easiest mantra possible, remains an endless support to the weakest in terms of intellect, financial status, and power in Sanatana Dharma.

The image of a mantra or chant of a manifestation of God in a culture is often correlated with the quality of saints that are produced by its remembrance. Some of Rama’s devotees in recent times, while chanting his name and evolving themselves in non-possessiveness, peace, bliss, and knowledge, have excelled in at least one “extracurricular activity.” While Samarth Ramadas became the guru to the greatest Maratha ruler, Ramananda raised students like Kabiradasa and Raidasa. While Tulasidasa authored the most popular book of North India, Thyagaraja became one of the “Trinity of Carnatic music,” as experts call him, and Mahatma Gandhi** became India’s “Father of the Nation.”

The list of souls engaged in remembrance of Rama just goes on and on — from the exclusive devotee saints of Sita-Rama to the Vaishnava saints who find Rama and Krishna identical to the common person. And when this list comes to an end, a new one begins — a list of “intellectuals” who utter his name while criticizing him, constructively or with hatred.

*While selected Hindu individuals who find Rama an ideal person but not the Divine would translate the term Purushottam as “the best amongst humans,” the Gita has a different interpretation: Whoever is beyond nature (prakriti) and superior to the eternal soul (purusha) is called Purushottam (15.18).

**Though Gandhi’s Rama remembrance in his final moments on earth became debatable some time ago, his remembrance of Sita-Rama throughout life, beginning from an early age, should hopefully be unquestionable.

Do we have to renounce wealth to enroll in spirituality?

I once heard a countryside story wherein a follower visited a saint to beg for money. Finding his monetary needs genuine, the saint filled the follower's jholi (shirt) with a handful of soil. The follower, disappointed with the gift, left most of the clay at the temple premises except for the few particles of soil that caught his dress as he rushed back home. On reaching home, the devotee saw the particles of clay on his cloth turn into gold and gems. He was spellbound at the mystic’s blessing but then grieved over his foolishness of having discarded most of the “jewels” at the mystic’s site.

The tale left me thinking, “If such alchemy were possible, what saintly qualities would it need?” My foremost guess was that such a miracle would require mental impartiality between gold and clay. One may turn clay into gold and vice-versa only when one’s mind finds them identical. When one has access to the core unity in material nature, one may learn to interchange its manifestations. Obviously, a saint at such an advanced spiritual level would never store money merrily. After all, why would anyone store “clay” in his or her wallet?

As for the contemporary situation, we rarely see saints like Tulasidasa, who threw out even his kitchen utensils for Lord Rama,* or Ramakrishna Paramhansa, who could not touch metal.** Instead, we see individuals wearing religious robes who guide others towards non-possessiveness while amassing wealth themselves. Isn’t it better to admit that renouncing wealth is very difficult and we are all spiritual beginners? By being true to the self and by estimating our spiritual level clearly, we can allow our inner inspirations to guide us to the stage where money is not significant any more.

* It is said that the Bhakti Saint Tulasidasa threw out his kitchen accessories as soon as he realized that the Lord was protecting his limited possessions because of his devotion.

** Ramakrishna Paramhansa used to experience arthritis-like pain on touching metal (coins; money). Probably, this was the Mother’s way of ensuring that her devotee stayed away from the perishable.

Holi Special: The "Hori" style of Vocal Music

Holi, a greeting to the spring season, is joyfully celebrated to remember Lord Vishnu’s protection of Prahlada, one of his kid devotees, and to remember Lord Krishna’s exchanging of colors with his friends in Vrindavan. Nothing equals such remembrance of God when it is coupled with music. The traditional style of vocal music developed specifically to celebrate this arrival of spring with devotion is called “hori.”

Hori songs with a devotional theme are almost always related to Krishna. Depending upon the imagination of the devotee poet, while the lyrics of one hori may envision the colorful galaxies as Krishna splashing colors (playing holi) in the universe, the lyrics of another may express the longing (viraha) that arises from not finding Krishna around even on the festival of holi. Numerous hori songs that display a delightful feel illustrate gopis, who already have their souls irreversibly colored in his love, continually requesting Krishna not to throw more colors at them.

As for the musical specifications, all ragas with the “spring” mood or a devotional feel are apt for a hori. However, Raga Kafi, which beautifully expresses the mood of the spring season, like Basant and Bahar, stands out as the most popular selection for composing a hori. Similarly, the fourteen-beat rhythmic cycles of Deepchandi (tabla; usually fast-medium tempo) and Dhamar (pakhawaj; slow tempo; classical) are favored in this style of singing.

This mix of festivity, devotion for the Lord’s divine plays, and musical sounds is offered in temples throughout early spring along with colored powders (gulal), flowers, and sweets.

Happy Holi!

Planetary Transits and Combinations: Removing their Fear

Even to me, a believer in selected principles of astrology, something looks wrong as I switch on the TV and see a group of people fearing planetary phenomena in the sky. A typical astrology show, intending to solve our problems, leaves me with the thought, “Does any planetary transit or combination in a chart need to be so horrifying?”

For believers, the location of planets in our birth chart is correlated with our past karma; Nature has supposedly sent us on earth at the right moment. While we maintain faith in the Lord’s behind-the-universe calculations, we should remember that the motion of planets is fixed and predictable for millenniums to come. Both an astronomer and astrologer can “predict” where planets will be positioned after a given number of years though their calculations will differ due to the difference in the ephemerides used. If there is anything predestined in astrology, it is the positioning of planets in the solar system; all future transits are natural, preset, and calculatable from our first day on earth. So the next time you hear an astrologer talk about a fear-provoking “unforeseen” planetary pattern in space, you do not have to panic but can peacefully listen to its effect in your horoscope. God knows how each planet revolves, for he has placed them there.

Furthermore, true Vedic astrology has never been fatalistic. The presence of remedies itself proves that karma is considered quite powerful in Indian thought. One-to-one mappings do not work for the most commonly used rashi chart, which remains static for a two-hour interval (approximately): Even if people with similar behavioral traits demonstrate similar combinations in their rashi charts, all individuals with a similar placement in their rashi charts are not expected to face the same influences in life because their divisional charts (like the Navamsa) almost always differ. Most astrologers understand this and use divisional charts, which divide the rashi chart into finer intervals, to solve a problem; however, the correct usage of divisional charts is still under study. Under such a scenario, with enormous amounts of traditional knowledge lost, even experts cannot be very certain in this field. For optimism, we should remember that a weak rashi chart can be countered by beneficial combinations in the divisional charts.

Also, to cope with astrological anxiety, we should leave some scope for the present in our mind: There is more to occult than astrology, more to destiny than occult, and more to future than destiny.

Maha Shivaratri Special: Lord Shiva’s Ancestry

Lord Shiva’s wedding anniversary is celebrated as Shivaratri on the 14^th day (krishna-paksha; waning fortnight) of the lunar month Magha (Phalgun according to some calendars). Shiva’s wedding with Goddess Parvati forms a popular, beautiful devotional event and some of its retellings in the Puranas are associated with a few witty scenes, all saturated with the devotion of His followers.

According to the Skanda Purana, when Parvati’s father, Himavan (personification of the Himalayas), asks for Shiva’s gotra (lineage) while performing the marriage ceremony of kanyadaan, Shiva prefers not to respond to the question. Instead, Rishi Narada starts playing his stringed musical instrument, the Veena. Finding the moment unsuitable for a musical recital, Himavan politely requests the seer not to create instrumental sound.

Narada then reacts with a full-scale lecture: “Shiva’s lineage and family is the Nada – sound energy – for He becomes available to the individual soul by Nada (from chanting, mantra, or music), and Nada and Shiva are both positioned in each other. I was playing the Veena only to truly answer your question.” Continuing his speech, Narada explains that none, including Brahma, is aware of Shiva’s family background, for He is the unborn and formless one. “Because of His power of illusion, the other seers present here do not know Him as well. Moreover, you do not really know your own daughter. Parvati and Shiva are the cause of the universe and its sustenance,” concludes Narada.

Happy Maha Shivaratri!

What was Arjuna doing in the Mahabharata war?

Towards the end of the Drona Parva, Arjuna asks Ved Vyas, “When I was fighting the enemy forces, I envisioned a divine being who was releasing all the weapons for me. While everyone around assumed that it was me displaying valor, this great being was destroying the opponents; I was only following him. Who was this great personality?” Vyas replies that he had had a vision of Lord Shiva, the Sole Shelter and Universal Soul, Who had been continually walking in front of his chariot and battling his immoral opponents for him.

Similarly, at the conclusion of the war (Shalya Parva), as soon as Lord Krishna and Lord Hanuman exit Arjuna’s chariot, the chariot, along with the horses, instantly catches flames. Finding his chariot turned into ashes, Arjuna questions Krishna about this mysterious event. Krishna explains that his vehicle had already been destroyed by the unyielding missiles of his opponents, but it did not convert into ruins because of His presence on it. Now that He has left it, its actual state is observable.

Wait, if Krishna, Shiva, and Hanuman were battling for Arjuna, what was this jiva doing in the war? He was simply standing – standing with righteousness. This is all Krishna had expected from him while singing his renowned discourse. The rest was a play of the Lord Who always supports His righteous devotees to the ultimate extent. Because Arjuna had become a favorite of the Divine, His love resonated over him repeatedly as blessings of victory from Goddess Durga before the commencement of the battle, as the protection by Shiva and Hanuman, and as Krishna’s role as his chariot-driver, friend, and lifelong guide.