.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)
As one walks towards the shopping
complex in Prasanthi Nilayam from the mandir, one cannot help but notice the
idol of Lord Ganesha standing majestically with an umbrella in the right hand
and kamandalu in the left hand, accepting the worship of the devotees.
Clad in an ochre fabric waist down,
belly protruding out encircled by a serpent, sacred thread adorning the
body, wearing a beautiful garland of darbha grass, having a golden hue, tripundra on the forehead with a
vermillion dot in the middle; Vaman Ganesha as he is popularly called is
a treat to the eyes of the devotees.
Why are we describing Vaman
Ganesha in an article on Ketu?
In vedic traditions Ketu is linked to
Ganesha who is considered the first born child of the universe, Lord Ganesha is
the primordial principal which we worship before starting any undertaking and
Ketu also is the primordial power of the creator, the head of all planets and
stars. Ketu represents the unpredictability inherent in the universe. According
to scholars and pundits worship of standing Ganesha is the best panacea to
reduce the ill effects of Ketu.
Ketu is the southern node in the
intersection of the planes of the trajectory of earth around the sun and moon
around the earth. In the legends Ketu is considered the torso of the demon
Swarabhanu whose head is known as Rahu as explained in a previous article.
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| Ketu |
Ketu, if strongly influences the first house of personality, makes a
person short and corpulent. Ketu is
considered the oldest among planets, hence it gives a person appearance of
being older than his age. It also gives a fiery constitution.
Ketu is considered the jnana karaka,
the significator of knowledge. In ancient vedic symbolisms he is represented
without a head i.e. lack of ego. It has a hood of a serpent in place of head
suggesting a deep connection with the serpent power and its culmination in the
Sahasrara Chakra.
Ketu is the planet of extremes, it
gives a ruthless temperament like that of Hitler or the philanthropic virtues
like that of Mother Teresa, depending on whether it is working in a lower level
or higher level. Similarly, it makes a person highly indulgent or totally aloof
and austere.
Ketu is the veiling power of the
mind, it prevents us from seeing the reality, but the same Ketu also shows us
that all knowledge is a veil to the reality and exhorts us to unlearn
everything to reach the state of self realization.
It represents the samskaras
which we bring from our past, the traits we are good at and the pool of
knowledge which we have mastered in our past births. In combination with Rahu
it creates a perfect balance prompting us to achieve mastery over ourselves by
using the past traits in a constructive way to achieve our objectives in this
birth represented by the futuristic Rahu. Rahu is the force that tries to make
us outgrow our roots while Ketu makes us hold on to them. The balance is struck
when one imbibes all the positives from one’s roots and utilizes them for the
betterment of the individual.
Ketu stands for confinement and
austerities which a yogi undergoes to realize his true self. It is a planet of
self negation. Under strong influence of ketu in a horoscope a person tends to
take up professions like monks, nuns, nurses, philanthropists. Swami Vivekanada
had his Ketu placed in the sixth house of Puritanism, opposition, criticism and
ill health. He had to face all this because of his monkhood but the same Ketu
gave him the indomitable strength to overcome all opposition.
Whichever house it is placed in a
horoscope, it creates an element of doubt regarding that aspect of life. If it
is placed in the first house of self, the individual will be low on morale and
confidence or the individual can have a detached look towards life. Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu had Ketu in first house making him totally detached from worldly
life.
If placed in the tenth house of occupation, it
gives a struggle in one’s career or makes him function in a higher plane of
existence. Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa had Ketu in the tenth house which kept
him totally away from all worldly ambitions. This is because Ketu suggests that
this particular aspect of life has been explored time and again by the
individual in the past. In the present incarnation he has to come out of this
known frontiers and explore new vistas, represented by Rahu in this birth. In
Ramakrishna’s case, Rahu in fourth house of faith and devotion made him an
exemplary devotee of god in the annals of history.
Unlike Rahu which prompts us to seek
desires and makes us to take actions to fulfill them, Ketu makes us to negate
our impulses and creates a doubt in us, in the fulfillment of the desires. This
can be at times very painful, as we are thrown out of our zone of comfort, and
made to wade through new and unexplored waters.
Ketu can give power of intense
concentration, deep perception and penetrating insight.
As it is the planet of past all the vocations involving past like
historians, antique dealers, archaeologists, art restorers have strong Ketu
influence. In the period of Ketu, an individual gets interested in esoteric
pursuits. Ketu can also give strong intuition and knowledge of past births in
its period. Many riddles of life hitherto difficult to understand are solved in
this period.
Ketu in its darker side is very similar to Rahu. It is the
cause of pestilence like plague and cholera. It is solely responsible for all
incurable and mysterious diseases which cannot be diagnosed. It is a planet of
violence and causes all the crimes in the society. All earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions and catastrophes related to fire are believed to be caused due to the
strong influence of Ketu.
Propitiating Lord Ganesha as
mentioned earlier, is best remedy to alleviate the ill effects due to negative
influences of Ketu. Basil (Tulsi) is the best herb to increase the positive
qualities of Ketu. Coconut and Horse gram also increase positive Ketu energy.
