Journal of Astrology Newsletter March 2010

Are the lucky really lucky? Think of this little fable.
An old man lived all alone and had no one to ask him even whether he was dead or alive. He survived on memories of the good old days and the time that he had spent with his family. One day while exploring the forest he found an immaculate horse grazing leisurely. The horse had such a stunning appearance that the old man was compelled to stop. He sat to observe this aesthetically crafted creation of God. He patted the majestic horse and the horse responded affectionately. He was surprised to find the good looking horse following him to his door step. He arranged water for the gorgeous horse and got what he knew the horses like. He slept dreaming about the good looking horse. Next morning he was surprised that the horse had not moved from his door step. He rode the horse and it was a wonderful ride. He went deep into the forest and covered great distances to locate the owner but no luck. With the attention and affection that the old man gave the horse started to become more and more beautiful. The old man came to be known as the proud owner of lovely horse. People requested rides on the attractive horse and he obliged. He earned from the rides. From an unfortunate old man be became a fortunate horse owner. People called him lucky for they knew the horse came from his destiny. One morning the horse disappeared. He waited for hours, and then days, weeks and months passed. The horse had simply vanished. People enquired and sympathized with him. He was sad and became sadder and weaker than ever before. Were they right or were they wrong he thought, in consoling him for he thought everything seemed arranged and predestined. It is sequence of events that unfold, he told himself.

His son who worked in a far away land, and was never to come suddenly back came to him and announced that he had decided to settle with the old man to look after him. The old man did not know whether to celebrate or wait, for he knew life’s sequence was unfolding. But people came to congratulate him and he accepted their good wishes. A few days after the arrival of his son, the horse reappeared on the door step. People again came to congratulate the old man but he did not know now how to respond.

His son was fond of the horse and played with him all the time. One day he fell while riding and broke his limbs. The old man spent all his money to get him treated but his son could not walk. The horse too vanished again. This time the old man was not sad but people came to console him in his apparent misery.

Soon after this episode, depressing times of war came and the youth of the village were taken to the battlefield . Not one of them came back. It was just the news of their martyrdom that came. The old man did not know whether to feel happy that his son was alive or sad for what had happened. It is difficult to judge what is right and what is wrong he thought. An astrologer or a metaphysicist reading this fable will wonder – when should a man celebrate his good fortune or Mourn his bad luck. Can one ever be sure of destiny’s hand?

Should Vipreet Rajya Yogas be redefined ? Did the rishis conceptualize these dusthana rajyogas ( 6-8-12 ) for a Kaliyuga destiny.

Was rapid development right or wrong?
With arms race and nuclear arsenals hanging like swords right over our necks, arguably one was better off without such a progress. Ask the people who witnessed Hiroshima and Nagasaki the definition of achievement that created the atom bomb. Ask the people of ruined families due to ships going down into the sea, air crashes, wars and industrial and road accidents. The speed that was achieved speeded the deaths.

The Kaliyuga oppressors possess all the cruelty of the 6th, 8th and the 12th houses and the oppressed of this yuga, the abject suffering described for these houses.

Development brought dictators and industrial lords who exploited the populace like feudal lords. The developments in science and technology gave ideas to maniacs like Hitler and Mussolini to accelerate arms production – the tools of destruction to settle their scores and redeem hurt egos. Teenaged boys were taken from mothers and their bodies returned from battlefields The victim was humanity.

Global warming and pollution that threaten a disaster of equal proportion in present times is an outcome of an unplanned development and is seen as yet another potential means of mass killing. Unfortunately this is also man created.

With the industrial revolution of the 19th and early 20th in Europe , started the movement towards towns and cities. An outcome that is often cited is the relief from toil under feudalism (Zamindari) but how can one forget that the modern bourgeois society that sprouted from the ruins of feudal society did not do away with class antagonisms. It only established new classes, new conditions of oppression, new forms of struggle in place of the old ones.

A rise in standard of living hallmarked the revolution and made people migrate globally without factoring in the undercurrents of inflation and other intangible loss like break in family, dilution of cultural values and tradition that goes along with migration. Clearly an influence of the 12th house.

The deceptive influence of 6,8 and 12 manifests A small minority are beneficiaries of development but there are many who suffer. When one peeps into the story of achievers it is found that they too have an account of loss in the climb up the ladder which though not monetary, hurts them. Whether it is the story of achievers or of failures the quest for a higher standard of living has a price tag. Is it worth it?

Vipreet Rajyogas of Kaliyuga give power, position and milestones with curses attached The 6th , 8th and 12th houses play a prominent role in the lives of the achievers of an immoral and corrupt society and so does Guru Chandaal yoga and Mars-Moon combination. The Vipreet Raja yogas confer on the person status, fame and financial gains. This works well in present times. But to say that Harsha yoga with association of 6, 8 and 12 confers happiness, health, fame or Sarala learning and prosperity or Vimla virtuous and contentment would be absolutely wrong.

The 6th is the house of disease as also of competition, the 8th chronic disease, scandals hidden talents and strategy and 12th of foreign countries, hospital and loss, bed pleasures, expenditure on unproductive things and entertainment.

The 6th lord when placed in the 6th results in the person having enmity with his own and friendship with others. He will enjoy mediocre happiness in matters of wealth-Parashara

If 6th lord is in the 6th, the person will have a disease free body, will have enemies, will be a miser, happy, from birth to end of his life . The person will be free from trouble but lives in dirty places - Manasagari

The 6th lord in 8th:The person will have sickly body, inimical, will desire other’s wealth be interested in others’ wives and be impure- Parahara

Chronic dysentery (TB in intestines )if Saturn, fear from snakes if Mar, fear from poison if Mercury, trouble from cold if Moon, fear from lion if Sun, mental troubles or madness if Jupiter, eyes trouble if Venus will be the cause of death ( If these planets become 6th lords)- Manasagari

The 6th lord in 12th: The person will incur expenses on vices, will be hostile to learned people and will torture living beings. (Questionable morality and will have inclination for driving sexual pleasures from other females) - Parashara

The8th lord in 8^th: The person will be longlived, a thief, be blame worthy and will blame others- Parashara

The person will do business, sound health, famous will take birth in a family of frauds- Mansagari

The8th in 12^th: The person will spend on evil deeds and will have a short life More so, if there be additionally a malefic in the said houses-Parashara

The 8th lord in 6^th: The person will win over his enemies, be afflicted by diseases in childhood and will have danger from snakes and water. – Parashara

The person will have enmity with king or will oppose the king, if the 8th lord is Jupiter the person will suffer bodily, if Venus from disease, if Moon he will be sick, if Mars because of anger, if Mercury he will be timid and Saturn will give him trouble in mouth – Manasagari

The12th lord in 12^th: The person will only face heavy expenditure, will not have physical felicity be irritable and spiteful – Parashara

The person will have all the comforts, always lives in the same place, will be a miser, fond of having cattle, will head be head of village/city and may have short life- Manasagari

12th lord in 8^th: The person may have gains, speaks affably, will enjoy medium span of life, skilled with all good qualities – Parashara

The person will not be able to achieve success or to do any work because of lack of resources, will have enmity, feelings. If benefic planet, he will be ready to collect money. – Manasagri

12th lord in 6^th: The person will have enmity with his own men, be given to anger, be sinful, miserable and will go to others’ wives – Parashara

The person will be miser, have eye trouble and will be seriously ill. If the 12th lord is Venus the person will be blind, Saturn will give serious illness

What is a better lifestyle . Are we not living in a fool’s paradise ?
Success in Kalyuga starts with the 12^th as it is house that makes people migrate to another land. The next hurdle that he is to cross is the 8th house matters that include changes, suddenness, unexpectedness, scandals. It is also called the battle field and finally he settles with the 6th which governs competition and disease. It is 12-8-6 that regulates the life of kaliyuga achievers:Evidence of abject suffering which the aam admi (common man) has to endure in present times would seek to prove that the disorderly development of last few centuries was indeed a curse. A direct outcome, the urbanization, came with slums, crime and degradation of moral standards.

Even during the industrial revolution, while the average life expectancy all around Europe went up but that of the average factory worker decreased. There were "almost no safety devices on machines, accidents were common. The annual loss of life from filth and bad ventilation was greater than the loss from death or wounds in any wars in the 20th century. The life expectancy was 45 years. It was 13 years below the natural possibility of living as shown by the experience of the whole population of Sweden .

The same comparison can be found in the creation of slums, mines, crushers, industrial belts and the like. Pollution caused by mining of iron ore destroys lungs of young and old . Prolonged exposure to iron ore dust gives siderosis, a disease that damages the elasticity of lungs. So inhuman conditions near cement plants and coal mines. It is quite obvious that the cost of development in terms of suffering outweigh the gains in relation to the people who serve as the vehicle. The number of those who suffer is far larger than those who gain. One could go so far as to call it exploitation. Karl Marx did that in 1848. We have the Maoists and the leftists now.

Were freshly invented and discovered medicines right to recommend and the hurry for surgeries correct? What was right then is wrong now Many medicines that were declared wonder drugs are banned now as they have been found to be causing more harm than good. Medicines taken to cure ordinary ailments side effected and caused cancer, heart and kidney problems and other chronic diseases. Surgical options are not so hurriedly taken now as was done earlier. Why so for alternatives that now exist were there then also? Will medical science admit that those judgments were wrong that removed body parts and surgically invaded the body unscrupulously. The present judgments appear to be the right ones but for how long. They can also be proven wrong in the future.

Sun represents medicine
Its dasha can give a new dimension and better judgment: Horse shoe crab which is found on Orissa (state in India) sea shores and estimated to be visiting us every year for the past 50 crores years has immense curative potential. Its egg was mixed in stem cells and this gave the cells a remarkable potency and life according to researchers. It could be an injection of powered stem cells that could revive life or repair a damaged organ in future. The laser gun or injectable cure seen so far in science fictions like Star Trek may become a reality soon. Our rishis mentioned sanjeevini buti (life giving herb). Perhaps we are near the progress of what was there in Satya yuga

Mobile menace
No one wants to know what the mobiles are doing to ours ears and brains; and the flora and fauna as they have become an addiction difficult to live without. Why have the sparrows disappeared ? Where are the honey bees ??? It is said if they are not seen it is an indication that the human life is also going to end. Mobile towers are found to be culprits with their electrical aura. The civic body has woken late. In Delhi 226 of 1,532 illegal mobile towers have been sealed in past one month.

If you have a choice of drinking water from a clear pond or pond that have fish and frog which one will you choose? Clearly, you should go where life is the other could have poison.

Deforestation-Are we cutting our own future with the trees, Sun dasha should give a sense of balance to our policy makers: Development is devilment for the lions and tigers. We can boast of development of highways and roads deep into jungle. It attracts tourist for the jungle safaris but if continue to progress faster in this direction we will soon find lions and tigers only in the zoos and that too for a limited time.

Who is right and who is wrong?
To answer the question whether development was right or wrong a rationalist would say that the development was unplanned. Had some planning gone into it would have been all good

The Hindu who believes in Vedas would say cruel and evil forces of Kaliyuga invaded to disrupt and destroy. It was indeed destiny indicated by our great rishis thousands of years ago. To him the Western inventors and discoverers of Industrial revolution are re- discoverer and re researchers for this advancement was there in earlier yugas. He would emphasise that we should not repeat this mistake in the next phase of Kaliyauga 4320000 years later. Perhaps this is the destiny of the specific yuga or the manu of 14 mahayugas

We are always figuring what is right or what is wrong but we come back indecisive whether at the individual level, at the micro level or the macro level

The century of the mouse In the rat race for more and more wealth a click on the mouse can bring earth shaking changes. It can trigger a nuclear war. It can hack, heckle and even get a person hanged. It was used a detonator in new terror strategies. The countries are training themselves to combat the mouse by working on cyber laws, nuclear liabilities and insuring themselves from the possible disaster that the mouse can cause. We need the modern pied pipers to combat the mouse threat

On the sight of the beloved the signs of sickness disappear This deceives and make him believe all is well

Managing conquest or invasion is easy the real test is to manage peace and tranquility Once upon a time there lived an astrologer called Varahamihira. The King , the Queen and all their Ministers respected him. Varahamihira did not reach at that stage by himself. It was the legacy of a rich heritage of perhaps million of years of astrology that brought him there. He was one of the nine jewels (navratnas) of the court of the legendary king Vikramaditya

Pancha-Siddhantika The work created by great Varahamihira is a treatise on mathematical astronomy and it summarizes five earlier astronomical treatises, namely the Surya Siddhanta, Romaka Siddhanta, Paulisa Siddhanta, Vasishtha Siddhanta and Paitamaha Siddhanta.

Nalanda Monastic University flourished in India as a residential education center of Mahayana Buddhism during 5th century AD to 12th century AD It attracted students not only from India but also from the Buddhist countries . The Chinese scholars, who stayed there, had left an elaborate detailed description of the excellence of education and purity of monastic life practiced there, which contributed to the world knowledge of ancient universities. They revealed the inception of the monastery, royal patronage, methods of admission and education system, students and teachers, buildings etc Most of their positions can be identified and proved by archeological excavations What was happening around the globe. The 11th century Arabian scholar also described the details of "The Five Astronomical Canons".

Astrology is the inheritance of Indians cultured in the golden age between the 4th Century A.D. and the 11th century A.D. and thereafter survived the onslaughts of invasion. Astro governance did exist during this golden period.

The learned Hindus would have the planned the industrial revolution better had they not been chained by repeated invasions. From the progress made in the understanding of economics, philosophy and other sciences by the Hindus in their universities there is historical evidence to claim that the Hindus would have been better planners and administrators to lead the world. It was perhaps quirk of destiny that they could not defend themselves from the onslaught of invaders. Let us not forget that Indians are the richest and most educated minority in the U.S.A and many developed nations.

Can astrology get us to the reality of right and wrong. Astrology done in real earnest can not only get you to the understanding of the individual but also of time ahead for humanity at large, enabling nations to decide policies

Women Reservation Bill
Not all Venusian women but the ones influenced by the disciplinarian Sun are perhaps the need of the times and can get the bill passed in the dasha of Sun-Moon this year. It could be destiny working to cleanse in the dasha of Sun. A harsh sweep for men.

What did domination by men for 63 years do. Why not shuffle the pack of cards. Keep the odd for men and even for women. That will make it 50-50. But women are just asking 33 percent. Will it change the political landscape of the India ? It should. Will it really empower women? It would in the long run. Is the change unsettling. Surely for those who have been nurturing their constituencies for centuries and their families are male oriented. Will women become the determining force. If they do with 33 percent then they deserve to be 100 percent . Will a stage ever come when men have to seek reservation? Today the strength of women members is 59 of the total of 549. Where is equal opportunity? Will it cut the gender bias. Surely it would. Will it give more teeth to women? Certainly yes. Were men whipped into supporting the bill? With Sonia Gandhi committed inspite of political risks and Sushma Swaraj at the helm yes. Genuine scrutiny by the parliamentary committee is likely to take us to a landmark constitutional amendment.

Sports the Healthy Entertainer-As predicted in the January, 2010 and February, 2010 Newsletters, the progress has to be impressive : IPL Cricket Team sponsorships which on an average fetched Rs.24 crore (approx. USD 11 million) for each team owner last year is set to garner an average revenue of Rs.40 crore (approx. USD16 million) this year. Sahara USD 370 millions and Rendezvous USD 703 million – nearly Rs.3,225 crore (USD 1433 million) deal – to bag Pune and Kochi franchises respectively is a clear indicator of the popularity and progress. This amount is bigger than the collective worth of Rs.2,840 crores (approx. USD 1262 million) of the original eight franchises. In Commonwealth Boxing Championships, Indian pugilists finished with six gold medals out of a possible ten, on the final day of the event. Indeed a lot of optimism to start with. With the movement of Jupiter to Pisces from end of May, 2010 there will be further betterment.

As predicted in our January, 2010 and February,2010 Newsletters reforms in education are fast and moving: Two months after it decided to divest 44 universities of their deemed status for not being up to set standards , the Human Resources Development Ministry of Govt. of India now is going ahead with the planned changes at a fast pace .

Competition is right or wrong: With grading system in schools perhaps the policy makers have realized that inducing competition does more harm than good. They have perhaps understood Astrology and the 6th house matters.

Media too needs to travel with a dictionary to understand Indian foreign Minster Tharoor. Were they tongue twisters or straight English needs to be debated. His remark sent a flutter. The difference between interlocutor and intervener is elementary but it has to be understood by all. It is perhaps the dasha of Sun-Moon located in the third house of the Indian independence horoscope and the transit of Mars in the third house of the nation's horoscope .Mars is also in the third house in the Independence chart of 15th August, 1947. The dasha and transit combined brings 3rd house matters on surface. The third house is seen for neighbors and communication.

Protests over fuel price: It is high time the government sheds artificiality and allows free flow of market forces. As predicted in our last two Newsletter economic reforms are bound to come.

Stocks and Economy
The industry is going to remain bullish and so would the stock market. "China is not waiting to revamp its economy, Germany is not waiting, India is not waiting …. These nations aren’t standing still, they aren’t playing for second place.." Barack Obama US President.

As predicted in our Newsletter of February, 2010 the US economy is likely to remain flat this year and can be found improving only after April 2011.

China and India will progress fast but will not be able to fully focus on economic progress as their energies would get diverted to resolves disputes in the region. With the US indicating its readiness to discuss civil nuclear deal with Pakistan, inspite of India’s reminder to US of Pakistan's track record on proliferation, more tension in the sub-continent cannot be ruled out. Perhaps Obama is desperate to come out of the meltdown situation and therefore turns the green signal on seeing hard dollars.

Science too can be unscientific. ‘We are receptive to criticism’ says Pachauri and admits that the assessment of Himalayan glacier melting by 2030 was absolutely false

Festivals
Ugadi , Gudi Padwa is celebrated to welcome the New Year. It was on 16th March 2010

Remedial Measures
God’s first law is Order and balance is a part of it. If you want to cut down your weight it has to be seventy percent diet control and 30 percent exercise. If it is the other way round the results will not come. Similarly to ward of evil forces it should be 10 percent time on mantras and pooja and 90 percent on karmas. If it is the other way round the results would not come. Exceptions should be made for people who are immobile or suffering from disease or people with less responsibilities and more leisure time at their disposal. Neglecting kartavya karma and engaging in worship is surely disenabling.

Astrology is for the gifted and not for the gullible
Through faith in astrology and from its understanding we can reach to the facts and the roots to understand life. The fourth house represents; makan (house), mandir (temple), masjid (mosque), mind and meditation. Understand astrology and concentrate on mental peace - everything is there.