Astrology and Spirituality- Moon symbolizes Mother Aspect

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)

 He gets the coveted place as a crescent in the locks of Lord Shiva and adorns the forehead of Divine mother. The sublime beauty of Divine mother gives her the epithet of  Sharad chandra nibhanana(face shining like the autumn moon) in Lalita Sahasranamam. The charming personality and pleasing demeanour of Lord Rama gave him  the name Rama-chandra. In the religion of Islam he is considered very auspicious for breaking the Ramzan fast on the day of Id.

"Dreamers can find their way by moonlight and their only punishment is that they see the dawn before the rest of the world." says Oscar Wilde. Moon or Chandra has been an inspiration from time immemorial in religion, mythology, art and literature. Its beauty and grandeur makes many a philosophers, poets, writers and mystics extol its myriad facets. He awakens eager thought: he is a generator of hymns, a leader of poets, a seer among priests.

Moon is a planet of beauty, emotions, sensitivity, compassion, devotion and hospitality. Chandra is also identified with the Vedic Lunar deity Soma (lit. "juice"). The Soma name refers particularly to the sap in the plants and thus makes the Moon the lord of plants and vegetation. It is scientifically proven that moon rays are essential for the growth of all the plant kingdom. Lord Krishna says in verse 13^th of Chapter 15^th   of Bhagwad Gita –‘Pushanami choushadhi sarva somo bhootwa rasatmakaha’- Becoming the sap-giving moon, I nourish all the plants. (15.13)

'Chandrama Manaso Jataha' says Purushasuktam. Moon is the ruler of mind and all the senses are controlled by the mind. The crucial importance of Chandra Graha (Moon Planet) lies in the fact that it controls five senses of human life.  
Moon signifies the mother aspect of nature. Natives with strong moon are excellent hosts and have a caring and nurturing attitude towards all. They are very attached to their families.
People with strong moon have corpulent bodies as moon comprises kapha constitution. These natives are generally fickle and moody and vacillate like the phases of the moon.
Moon is an indicator of the females, the public, general well-being and happiness, femininity and beauty, the eyesight and memory. The moon or Chandra which represents the mind gives all the senses vitality and ability to enjoy life in all its splendour.
 Moon is the planet of masses and mass appeal as it shines equally on all without any reservations. Natives with strong moon can very easily understand the pulse of the masses and can become mass leaders. Jawahar Lal Nehru had a strong moon in the first house of self in his horoscope, giving him a charismatic personality which he used predominantly for his political aspirations. Swami Vivekananda on the other hand had a strong philosophical and insightful moon which he used for philanthropic and spiritual purposes. 
Moon indicates early childhood and primary education. A native with weak moon has a troubled childhood and unfruitful primary education. Albert Einstein had a weak moon resulting in his lack of interest in education in school. Charles Dickens also had a weak moon resulting in his traumatic and disturbed childhood which he portrayed admirably in the character of Pip in his novel 'Great Expectations'.
A waxing moon is strong compared to a waning moon. A full moon is generally a harbinger of spiritual perfection giving the native traits like universal love, devotion and wisdom. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was born on a full moon which resulted in the flowering of his unparalleled devotion to Krishna.  
Weak or afflicted Chandra gives mood swings, pessimistic attitude, depressive tendencies and irritability. Due to weak Chandra, problems like mental retardation, skin and nerve problems, jaundice, fluid accumulation are also observed. The term lunacy has its origin in lunar i.e. related to moon. The best remedy for all these problems related to moon is respect and service of one's mother. Swami always tells us to keep our parents happy especially our mother. It is a waste of time, money and energy to consult an astrologer and perform all the poojas prescribed by him without following this dictum. Avoiding dark clothes and wearing white clothes, partaking white items like rice, milk and curd also is very helpful to keep the mind always positive and happy in addition to namasmarana and worshipping divine mother.
As we celebrate the Ganesha Chaturthi festival this month let us throw some light on the chaturthi(fourth day): Chaturthi is the fourth digital phase of the waxing moon. The spiritualists believe that Amavasya or the moonless night is the period of hibernation of this luminary. When one wakes up from the deep slumber, one gets fully conscious in the fourth stage. These are 'Swapna', 'Swaap', 'Jagaran' and 'Chetana' which can be loosely rendered as the stage of dream, hangover, awakening and consciousness. It is in the fourth stage that one is fully conscious after getting up. In this stage one sees the world as it exists, sans any imagination or dream. Hence this is the stage when one's all senses are fully conscious and alert. This is also the stage when one can fully concentrate with total devotion. It is for this reason that those who are well versed in spiritualism recommend worship of Lord Ganesh. the first god to be worshipped, on the Chaturthi Day.*

Let us now read the story:

Ganesha and the Moon Once on his birthday, Ganesha ate too many sweets and had difficulty moving due to his big belly. Looking at him, Moon laughed mockingly. Parvati who saw that got angry with Moon and cursed that who ever sees Moon will be blamed for things they did not do.  All the Gods and humans were worried because every one sees the moon every night, They prayed to Parvati to modify her curse.  Parvati relented and said that if people worship Ganesha on his birthday, fourth day of the rising moon in the month of Bhadrapada, and then sees the Moon, they will face no problems and instead receive good luck.

Lord Ganesha cursing the moon

The next story will tell us how Lord Krishna got into trouble because he saw Moon on Ganesha’s birthday without worshipping him.

Krishna Himself Worships Vinayaka

The story of the Syamantaka Mani shows how powerful the curse of Ganesha is. Satrajit of Dwaraka had a gem called Syamantaka Mani. It was dazzling and beautiful. If it was worshipped with devotion it used to give plenty of gold every day. Once, even Krishna asked to borrow it but Satrajit refused to lend it to anyone.

Once Prasena, Satrajit's brother, went out hunting. He was wearing the Syamantaka Mani. A lion killed him and went to a cave, carrying the gem. A bear by name Jambavan killed the lion and gave the Syamantaka Mani to his cub to play with. This Jambavan was not an ordinary bear; he was the heroic follower of Shri Rama.

When Prasena did not return to Dwaraka, Satrajit became worried. Satrajit then suspected that Krishna himself had killed him for the sake of the Syamantaka Mani. After all, he did want to borrow it. The rumor spread throughout the kingdom.

Krishna had not done anything wrong. So when he heard about Satrajit's doubts, he was angry. To prove himself innocent, he went in search of Prasena.

He found the corpse of Prasena. There were footprints of a lion nearby. Following these footprints, Krishna entered the cave of Jambavan. He fought with Jambavan for twenty-eight days. At last, Jambavan understood that Shri Krishna was Shri Rama himself in another form. He finally offered the Syamantaka Mani to Lord Krishna.

Krishna gave the Syamantaka to Satrajit and put an end to the evil rumors. However, he was still surprised at what had happened. "How could such things be said of me even when I had not done anything wrong?”  Narada Muni told him the story of Ganesha's curse and said, "You saw the Moon on the fourth day." Krishna then remembered how he saw the reflection of the moon in a bucket of milk.

Then Krishna worshipped Ganesha. Siddhi-Vinayaka Vrata, the worship of Ganesha, is performed on the fourth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada. The devotees believe that those who see the Moon on that day will not suffer, if they listen to the story of the Syamantaka Mani.  

It says that by observing this Ganesh Puja mankind can attain their just and dharmik desires.  Students who aspire good education, achieve excellence in education.  Those who desire prosperity will attain prosperity.  People who pray for children get children. Warriors become victorious, and seekers of true knowledge attain spiritual knowledge and through it liberation. **

*Source: www.bhriguashram.org/ver3/ganesh.php#(d)TheSpiritualSignificanceoftheChaturthiDay
** Source:  www.balavikas.org