(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)
An eminent speaker was addressing the huge gathering in Sai Kulwant Hall on the occasion of Durgastami in the divine presence of our Beloved Bhagwan. During his talk he commented rather emphatically, " People believe that the tithis of Astami and Navami are inauspicious. How can they be inauspicious? Avatars like Lord Krishna and Lord Rama were born on Astami and Navami respectively."
An eminent speaker was addressing the huge gathering in Sai Kulwant Hall on the occasion of Durgastami in the divine presence of our Beloved Bhagwan. During his talk he commented rather emphatically, " People believe that the tithis of Astami and Navami are inauspicious. How can they be inauspicious? Avatars like Lord Krishna and Lord Rama were born on Astami and Navami respectively."
Swami
who was intently listening to his talk interrupted him, called him
near, corrected him and said, " Rama and Krishna went through lot of
suffering and hardship though being born as avatars as the tithis of
their birth were inauspicious."
Traditionally
speaking, these tithis or dates govern the commencement of a lot of new
and auspicious ventures in our households. Whenever I was to start a
train journey, my grandmother used to sit with the panchangam to find
out the best tithis to undertake the travel. Come Ekadashi , she would
keep a morning to night fast, saying her prayers turning a rosary and
doing parayanam of Bhagwad Geeta, emphasizing that it has lot of merit.
I always used to scoff at her orthodox ways, as my so called educated
and scientific mind dismissed it as a mere superstition. I always tried
to accept anything after putting it through the rigours of my test tube
mind. She had a totally different temperament; she accepted with
unflinching faith whatever has been handed over to us by our seers with
complete reverence to their wisdom. But when I got a chance to study
astrology, I started understanding the profound wisdom which our seers
and sages of yore had, to have given us such rituals and practices.
Tithis in a month |
In a birth
chart or transit chart, if two planets are five and nine places away
mutually(known as trikona) they work in complete harmony complementing
each other's energies, helping the individual to internalize their
energy for spiritual uplifment. Similar is the case when they are
three and eleven places away but to a lesser extent. In the same way, if
two planets are placed six and eight places away (shasta- astaka) they
seriously interfere in their mutual functioning and create obstacles for
the native.
Chart 1
Chart 2
(8)
|
Su (1)
(9) |
(2)
|
(3)
|
(7)
|
Alignment for Panchami and Ekadashi(waxing, five and nine away)
|
(4)
|
|
(6)
|
Mo (5) (1)
|
||
(5)
|
(4)
|
(3)
|
(2)
|
(2)
|
Su (1)
(3) |
(2)
|
(3)
|
Mo (1)
(11) |
Alignment for Panchami and Ekadashi(Waning, three and eleven away)
|
(4)
|
|
(10)
|
(5)
|
||
(9)
|
(8)
|
(7)
|
(6)
|
(7)
|
Su (1)
(8) |
(2)
|
(3)
|
(6)
|
Alignment for Astami and Navami(Six and eight away)
|
(4)
|
|
(5)
|
(5)
|
||
(4)
|
(3)
|
(2)
|
Mo (6)
(1) |
Chart 3
On shukla paksha Panchami and Ekadashi (waxing moon), sun and moon are mutually five and nine away(chart 1), making it a very auspicious time for spiritual practices and also start any new ventures. Similarly, on krishna Paksha(waning moon) panchami and ekadashi sun and moon are mutually three and eleven away(chart2) again making it an auspicious time. On astami and navami of both waxing and waning periods sun and moon are six and eight away (chart 3)seriously hampering their mutual energies and creating obstacles for the native.We logically get one argument here that as the transit is not solely responsible for governing a person's life, why do we give them so much importance. The answer is that these Tithis in transit don't have an overbearing influence in a person's life but the energy available to us either positive as in Ekadashi can be harnessed by all and negative as in Astami or Navami can be shunned by all. My grandmother was wise enough to follow these dictums scrupulously with utmost reverence without questioning them. As Ramakrishna Paramahamsa very aptly puts it, ' Experience starts with implicit faith'
On shukla paksha Panchami and Ekadashi (waxing moon), sun and moon are mutually five and nine away(chart 1), making it a very auspicious time for spiritual practices and also start any new ventures. Similarly, on krishna Paksha(waning moon) panchami and ekadashi sun and moon are mutually three and eleven away(chart2) again making it an auspicious time. On astami and navami of both waxing and waning periods sun and moon are six and eight away (chart 3)seriously hampering their mutual energies and creating obstacles for the native.We logically get one argument here that as the transit is not solely responsible for governing a person's life, why do we give them so much importance. The answer is that these Tithis in transit don't have an overbearing influence in a person's life but the energy available to us either positive as in Ekadashi can be harnessed by all and negative as in Astami or Navami can be shunned by all. My grandmother was wise enough to follow these dictums scrupulously with utmost reverence without questioning them. As Ramakrishna Paramahamsa very aptly puts it, ' Experience starts with implicit faith'
If
one notes carefully, in Sanatana Dharma tithis like Aashadha Ekadashi,
Vaikuntha Ekadashi, Karthik Ekadashi, Bhishma Ekadashi( when Bhishma
left his mortal coil) and chaitra ekadashi are considered very
auspicious. Devout observe fast, maintain a strict diet regimen,
undertake spiritual pracitces and try to internalize the available
energy. They also visit temples and spiritual centres to recharge
themselves. Also tithis like naag panchami, vasant panchami, rishi
panchami, sri panchami have a special significance. As an
afterthought,the success or failure of a venture doesn't solely depend
on the choice of Tithis. If the Wimbledon final is played between Novak
Djokovic and Rafael Nadal(as in 2011) on a Astami, which is inauspicious for both,
the one with a stronger will power, self- belief, one pointedness and to
some extent a strong birth horosope will win.
Taking this thought to the highest level, one can earn Swami's grace with one's faith and effort as Swami very aptly says that if one has pure and selfless feelings, and a zeal to accomplish a noble act His anugraha will always help the person to achieve the goal irrespective of what the ‘inverted bowl above’ predicts.
Paramhamsa Yogananda in the chapter 'Outwitting the stars' in his book Autobiography of a Yogi, echoes the same feelings “Occasionally I told astrologers to select my worse periods,
according to planetary indications, and I would still accomplish
whatever task I set myself. It is true that my success at such
time has been accompanied by extraordinary difficulties. But
my conviction has always been justified; faith in the divine
protection, and the right use of man’s God-given will,
are forces formidable beyond any the 'inverted bowl' (sky) can
muster.”
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