Astrology and Spirituality- Ketu

.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.

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.