Astrology and Spirituality- Demystifying Rahu

By KVRK Bhargav

(Bhargav is a student of Swami who after completing his B.Tech in Textile Engineering graduated with an MBA from the the Sri Sathya Sai University in 2001. Ever since, he has had the great fortune of waiting for Swami’s direct guidance. He has been blessed with many interactions with Swami and he pursues astrology as a hobby to understand how it complements and dovetails spirituality. He shares his insights on how the planets are not causes of fear; rather they all serve the common goal of prodding man towards his spiritual destiny of Self Realization).

“What a shot?” yelled my brother seeing the stroke play of Sehwag on satellite TV. My grandmother was intently listening to the live streaming of mellifluous mandir Bhajans on the cell phone. My father was doing video conferencing on the internet. I was writing an article which would be published in an e-journal. Suddenly, we heard the buzzer of our microwave oven and mother called us all for breakfast. Welcome to the mechanized, virtual and illusory world of Rahu (the northern node or dragon’s head).

 “Please furnish your PNR number and mobile number” requested the receptionist when I called for conformation of train ticket. I realized that an individual has been reduced to a string of numbers, ids and passwords. The geographical boundaries are shrinking day by day but distances among people are increasing.  Adi Shankara says, ‘ Brahma satyam jagan mithya’. The present age has taken this concept to the next level by creating another virtual world like Facebook in the already existing illusory world, thanks to Rahu.

Rahu is the master of illusion and virtuality. Rahu is represented as the illusory force of nature i.e.maya. It is represented as a dark black cloud in symbolisms. Rahu is the significator of electromagnetism resulting in the present advances in the field of electromagnetics. Nicola Tesla the father of magnetism and inventor of radio and alternating current coil had a strong influence of Rahu in his horoscope. As all the advances in electromagnetism have happened in the last two hundred years, why is it that Rahu, who has been around for millenniums, gave all these electronics only today? This seems a reasonable question from a reader’s point of view.

In my opinion, Rahu is able to give this electronic propulsion because we are escaping the Kali yuga  through, the Dwarpara Yuga which has electric knowledge and Treta Yuga which has magnetic knowledge to finally reach the sathya yuga. Perhaps, Bhagawan means this very thing when He talks of golden age.  Rahu is the instrument to develop these energies at the right time.

                                                         

Astronomically, Rahu is one the two points of intersection between the plane of earth and sun ecliptic and the plane of earth and moon trajectory; the other point of intersection being Ketu. In Vedic science, the conjunction of Rahu and Ketu with sun and moon results in eclipses. Our ancient seers had the expertise to predict the occurrences of eclipses with utmost precision.

 In mythology, during the churning of the ocean, when nectar emerged from the ocean of milk, one demon Swarabhanu defected to the camp of devas and drank the nectar.  When Vishnu comes to know about this, he cuts the head of this demon. As the demon had already partaken the nectar, the head and the torso live as Rahu and Ketu. The head is where food is taken but without the stomach to digest it, Rahu stands for insatiable and uncontrollable desires.  Rahu is symbolized as the head of a snake which has been cut from the tail due to this very reason. As Rahu is an imaginary point (chaya graha) and not a tangible heavenly body, its influence on our lives is very subtle, mysterious and deceptive thus comparing it with a snake.

Rahu is a double edged sword. It can work in a lower level and also a higher level which depends on the evolution of the soul in question. It gives a nature of seeking quick results using short cuts and dubious means eventually leading to downfall. The ruthless tyrant and world conqueror Chengiz Khan, has Rahu placed in the tenth house of ambition and occupation. It is placed in the martial sign of Aries ( a sign signifying skills of initiative, aggression and leadership) which made  him develop an insatiable desire for conquests and wars. He used the Rahu energy for self-aggrandizement and self interest. In contrast, Subhash Chandra Bose who has a similar placement allowed his Rahu to work in a selfless way, by fighting for the cause of freedom for the motherland. The internal struggle which he went through during his lifetime to understand the true meaning of life and the underlying reality of the objective world, suggests that, he was using the energies of Rahu to understand maya and not get entangled by it. When Rahu works in a higher level in tenth house, the person will spiritually advance in life and set an example for others to follow.

Rahu placed with or associated with moon which signifies the mind of an individual, result in extreme personalities. When God descends down on earth as an avatar, He accepts the limitations of the body and allows himself to be governed by the physical laws of nature. Bhagawan Baba has Rahu and moon together in the ninth house of spirituality which equipped him with vast and limitless powers of the mind and spirit which is unmatched in the human history. But if this power works in a negative way it can create spiritual wrecks or bigots. Nietzche had this placement and his life was a tale of genius bordering on insanity.

Rahu rules fashion, the dream world and mass trends. Thus, it governs the tinsel world where the world of dreams or the reel world is used to portray the real world. The lives of celebrities are best examples of Rahu. Rahu always sets the trends for the masses. The ingenious invention of wheel, the steam engine, the airplane of Wright brothers or the social networking world of   Facebook all have changed the way people live and perceive the world.

Rahu is not all that bad as it is portrayed. It shows us the purpose of the present life or our material destiny leading to spiritual understanding. The placement of Rahu in a chart suggests the area of life, which we have to work on, in this birth. We might find ourselves moving slowly towards that objective by the influence of Rahu. If it is placed in the first house of self, one has to concentrate more on knowing himself. A classic example of this placement is the mystic and philosopher J. Krishnamurti. 

If it is placed in the fourth house of mother, emotions, mental refinement then one has to learn to master these traits, without getting swayed by them. Ramakrishna Paramahansa was attached to the mother aspect of divinity, Kali which represents the fierce and terrible facet of devi. His whole life was a saga of directing his emotions and mind towards mother Kali and achieving oneness with that facet. When Rahu is in fourth house,  the individual will enjoy all the comforts and will not discriminate any right or wrong and accepts all the aspects of life without any duality.

 Rahu was placed in the fifth house of intelligence and creativity for the great inventor and scientist Thomas Elva Edison. As Rahu also signifies electricity, he pioneered in the invention of the modern electronic gadgets.

 In fact, the age 42 to 48 is particularly important when Rahu ascertains whether one is fulfilling the purpose of the present life or not. If not, then Rahu generally turns the individual to his or her purpose of the present life. This period is generally reported by many as a period of upheavals and transition. The transition is particularly intense in individuals who have strayed far away from their goal in the present life.

Rahu is a planet of suddenness and intuition. As mentioned earlier, it governs dreams. August Kekule the famous chemist discovered the structure of Benzene as a ring after a dream where he vividly saw the molecules in the form a snake trying to form a circle. Albert Einstein, dreamt that he is traveling at a speed of light and visualized the theory of relativity practically. Rahu for Einstein was placed in the deep subconscious and esoteric eight house. He was believed to have understood the concepts intuitively which he later tried to explain with logical deductions. These two discoveries changed the way we look at science suggesting the presence of Rahu as a trendsetter.

Rahu symbolizes the serpent power of kundalini which gives it the snake imagery. Rahu deals with awakening of kundalini and the challenges which a sadhaka faces in the journey from dust to divinity. It can be compared to the temptress mara which was encountered by Lord Buddha before attaining enlightenment or the satan(the dark night of the soul) which was encountered by Jesus before his attaining the final beatitude.

Rahu generally gives ailments like mental disorders and skin diseases and causes misunderstandings among relationships. It is the cause of pestilence like plague and cholera. It gives morbid fears of the unknown and all types of addictions. It represents the dark underbelly of human psyche which is the genesis of all types of crime. But working at a higher level it opens the floodgates of human mind to the beauties of the soul in the meditations of an ascetic.

Rahu’s functioning is that of indulgence where shows it the futility of indulgence after the individual goes through the process. It happens  in a sudden manner.

 The best way to escape from its clutches is to keep a ceiling on desires as put very aptly by Swami. Goddess Durga and Lord Shiva are worshipped to mitigate the evil effects of the planet Rahu. May Rahu bless us to be out of its clutches of maya and get wisdom.