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Vedic Astrology

Jupiter in Aquarius for each Ascendant

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Aries

Aries natives will have Jupiter transiting their 11th house. Hopes and wishes are likely to be expansive, optimistic, and humanistic. Large groups and gathering may be distinguished by ideology or religion. Gain can come from these areas as well. It can bring a lot of changes to routine and home culture and it can cause some disturbance in our ability to fix problems and face our enemies because Jupiters expansiveness Saturn’s ability to make connection. Although Jupiter can bring a lot of connection, networking, and fine knowledgable friends into your circle, network of associates, he will limit those friendships by ideology, dogma, or religion. Non-the less, with all those connections with people of like-minded beliefs, one is likely to also enjoy smaller group participation and short trips to places that hold some kind of special significance. Jupiter will aspect the 5th house to open them up to more fun and romance in life. This aspect is also gives his blessing to children, marriage partners, contracts, agreements. Jupiter brings us an abundance to where ever he sits, when he’s in the Artha – Kama trine he makes us more agreeable to spend time with others in every which way. It can be quite a social time. It can be especially good for those whose career is already aligned with Jupiter as well as fro those who may be looking to peruse other avenues of income like small business or advisory work. On the flip side, one is likely to have less privacy and time alone during this period, and perhaps due tot he adherence to ideological connections, some people may see a loss of profits at this time. Large corporations have their own ways to make profits disappear to foreign lands.  

Taurus

Taurus natives will feel this Jupiter on their career thru and expansion of duties and perhaps hours that they have to work. This is likely to be good for them on the long term, but it may not yield immediate profits and will take away from their time with friends. It’s a good time to do work that you really believe in. There may be some growth in the family, but laying 6th from the 5th, ones career is often and obstacle to having children so look for that kind of material growth from some other member of the lineage family. Though if Jupiter is also making relation with moon and 5th lord in a woman’s chart then the possibility of own child is there.Younger sibling may experience a spiritual rebirth or completely change their beliefs. This can be a good time for one to seek advisors for their problems: doctors, therapists, astrologers, priests, lawyers. It’s a good time to read the Bhagavad Gita and focus on completing your karma without attachment. Sitting in the Karma trine, it brings activity and since Jupiter owns the 8th house for Taurus natives, one will have to retain a certain amount of openness, optimism and dynamism in order to weather the fast paced policy changed going on at work 

Gemini

Gemini natives find Jupiter in his most auspicious house. Luck, optimism and faith in god will be at a height. Humanistic tendencies will be strong and they are likely to come into contact with more professors, guru’s and father figures. This could mean going on pilgrimage, starting university or post graduate studies. One of the difficulties of this position is that it can be idealistic in it’s promotion for more liberal minded expansive beliefs. Of course, when we go into the world of policy, ideology or wisdom studies then our energy is pulled away from what we all “the real world” which is the hierarchy and the climb for the top. When we tinker with our beliefs there can be an unexpected change in the things we value. The 9th house also causes sudden changes to our savings. Ones family may also be greatly changed due to a death in the family. Growth in the household might also obstruct the natural home rhythms. Many might even find their home cultures negatively affected by globalism. But on the whole this should be a good transit for Gemini, health and personality will be blessed by wisdom, they will find more inspired creative involvement. Hope and optimism will be strong. This can be good for priests and professors and those seeking contract or advisory work with 9th house Aquarius topics: Shaiva philosophy, the global network, market policy. It’s also a good time for these natives to meet a suitable partner. 

Cancer

Cancer natives will find this Jupiter in their 8th house. Jupiter is like a permission slip to have more sex and learn more about all those unspeakable topics that make us feel guilt and shame. Jupiter rules 6th and 9th, so hidden indiscretions are possible, one may experience a loss a faith or father, or, they may go away from their religion and seek occult knowledge. It’s a very good position for research and it can be beneficial for partners wealth or even unexpected gains like lottery, insurance inheritance, but it can also expend ones tax liabilities tax bill. Aspect to 12th house makes a person charitable so perhaps the tax burden can be offset thru charity. Charity also helps sooth a guilty conscience (5th from 8th house). In the end, this Jupiter will bring a renewal of faith when he moves to Pisces sometime next year. Younger siblings or perhaps even some of the groups we belong to will have problems due to over expansion. We all know what can happen to a small group of close friends once outsiders are allowed in (this of course is the great danger of tribalism). Too many secrets is likely to have a negative effect on both our communication and our mentality and our own changing beliefs will be seen as a problem to our tribe. The rapid cycle of changing policy is likely to catch us off guard in various ways. Saturn is still very strong and controlling Jupiter to a certain degree thru house ownership, so we will all be feeling the ideology in the marketplace. 

Leo

Leo natives may see a recycling of relationships, hidden relationships, dating. They may be more liberal and forgiving with their spouse and with people in general. Good relations and interactions with society will help to make more friends, will likely have some health benefits and will likely involve them getting out and around the neighbourhood a little bit more; such are the benefits of having an optimistic outlook regarding others. This can be a period of transformation in the way you see the other. But this Jupiter can also make your relationships feel heavy. Your sense of family values may be challenged and you may find some kind revolutionary shift in your dreams and fantasies. Seventh house Jupiter is an excellent position for gain, profit and connectivity of ones father or guru and those Leo natives who follow this kind of life path (11th from 9th in the 11th sign, Jupiter is natural signifier of 9th house). This is really good for counsellors sin e it combines the intelligence of 5th house with the secret nature of 8th house and the one-on-one atmosphere of 7th house. Can be good for any business that maintains confidential clientele or contracts. 

Virgo

Virgo natives have the kendra owning “bad boy” Jupiter in their charts; he loses his first face as a benevolent guru and will be making some trouble in the 6th house and perhaps bringing some troublesome advisors into your life; possibly just knotty boy sort of thing. May have trouble with fat on the body, or over extension. Contracts may get broken and your partner may fall ill. Problems with landlords and an increase of debt; though perhaps it’s also a time of visiting a credit councillor. You will need to see Ketu, the dissolver, in your natal chart to see when and if your debt can be cleared. You might be more perturbed by marketplace ideology than most as you point to it as the cause of all the obstacles in life. One way of another, Virgo’s are not likely to be political fence sitters while Jupiter is in Aquarius. As you begin to feel better about your debt and problems in life you should see an increase (or at least diversified) savings. The extra expenditure on advisors to overcome your problems can be seen thru Jupiters aspect to the 12th house; this will also affect your subconscious to make you  more judicious in your approach to your problems (this alone can make a big difference). Some hope should be there that you can at least do something, about your 6th house problems. The benefits of Jupiter transiting the 6th house are often most clearly see once Jupiter moves to transit the 7th house and hope is fully restored in ones perception of the other (relationships should then flourish and grow). With Jupiter in 6th and Saturn aspecting the 2nd house, you may want to check on the eating habits of your Virgo friends. 

Libra

Libra natives might be in a time of life where they want to put their problems on stage. This may come in the way children act out in order to get attention, or it could come in a way of announcing their victimhood and putting some kind of distance between themselves and their enemies. This could be a time of avoiding ones problems. Group think could be strong now, they are likely to get a lot of attention. One may see themselves as a story teller, a brave hero of justice. Jupiter’s transit to the 5th house is good for children, but in Libra natives Jupiter rules the 6th house so those children might also become a burden, or perhaps merely the over expansion of pregnancy that is a burden. This Jupiter can also affect sleep due to the hope infused excitement of 5th house. You can expect policy changes in your job; there could be lots of big changes in that regard and you might not be fully comfortable with them. Jupiter is in a good position to bring a lot more fun and excitement to life. You may go on more dates, or just take more little risks. It’s a really good time for creative risk, to start some kind of new project and overcome any initial hurdles. 

Scorpio

Scorpio natives will enjoy more time at home. Jupiters transit to the 4h house is one of the best for children as it brings children into the home both thru Jupiter and the 5th house as well as family prosperity from Jupiters 2nd house ownership. The home expansion will be seen in many ways: children coming into the home, some family member moving in. It could be a literal expansion project on the house, expanding the boundaries. Home life should be pleasant; farmers and gardeners with this placement will do well and one s likely to fell some inner peace. Expenditures often increase, but one my be happy to spend. And although long term prosperity is benefited by this placement, it can create obstacles to making money and one may be gainful for your debtors and enemies. This Jupiter can bring a greater spiritual or religious influence into the home and bring increase in comforts, research and meditation. This is, however, a position that suggests open borders or at least a very liberal border policy and of course this can relate with our personal boundaries as well so depending on how we are naturally attuned we will have more or less appreciation for this position. 

Sagittarius

Sagittarius natives will find themselves identifying with their story, social medic, group or organization. It could be spiritual groups, ideological groups, policy task force. Communication my take on a sense of gravity and one may try to use ideology to get what they want. There could be some virtue signalling with this placement. On one hand there could be more time for hobbies and perhaps taking up some new hobbies, but small business owners with this placement can see an expansion of their business. They may find that they have more time to do what they want to do rather than what they have to do. We typically like this kind of thing, but there is not a lot of positive personal growth. They are likely to spend more time out of the home and short travels will be auspicious. This Jupiter can bring more meetings, association memberships, certifications, brotherhoods. All of these third house things can become fairly routine by the end of the transit. This Jupiter can be a message of hope. 

Capricorn

Capricorn natives will feel some heaviness over their stored income. Jupiter can offer several forms of savings here as well as bringing spirituality, religion or ideology into the family values. The difficulty with this placement is that Jupiter is not a good planet for Capricorn natives and could bring losses related to savings and stored for and resources, but it can also cause them to skip meals and generally experience some loss es due to not being very present. You might also suffer losses due to not being aware of your speech. Perhaps you just repeat some ideological trope just because it’s been repeated so much before, but in this case you loos something because of it. Your own teachers could suffer also due to an imbalanced application of policy initiatives or unfair decisions. You might make some effort to apply more wisdom to your diet or perhaps your diet becomes affected by religious or ideological considerations. You might find yourself separating yourself from your tribe/group/association. It’s could give a heavy diet and more sweet flavour is possible. It’s good time to seek advice for your problems, perhaps even marital counselling since your partner will be experiencing this in their 8th house (8th from 7th). You can see the report for Cancer to see how your partner might fare in this planetary weather. It’s a good time to learn other languages, expand your bookshelf, or collect religious artefacts. Due to Saturns aspect on this Jupiter all these collections might be old or practical.

Aquarius

Aquarius natives will have this Jupiter in their ascendant, an infamously beneficial placement of Jupiter for good health, optimistic personality, humanistic nature, and a generally expansive perspective of oneself. Aspects to 5h and 9th house bring an expansive personality, broad intellect, and better relations with gurus and father figures. Jupiter is the main planet of wealth for these people so for better or worse they may identify with their wealth, both savings and income. It’s usually a good position for gain, strong connection to ones network of connections, as well as for this whole network to gain together. One may, however, go away from their family and/or shed some of their previous family values. And this can also cause a loss of prosperity in general for the family line. That family line might itself be lost. This Jupiter is good for self improvement and our self improvement can bring unexpected obstacles to our enemies, and there can also be sudden changes to our debt. Jupiter involvement with 11th and aspect to the 5th house also aids in speculative gains which can help end debt. If you are waiting for some kind of unearned income (insurance money, welfare, inheritance) there could be some obstacles (legal or policy) to these kinds of funds. Also, planets in 1st house can be an obstacle to research or going deep since the first house lies on the surface.  

Pisces

Pisces natives will be charitable and may face heavy expenditures, but this is a really good time to just head off to the ashram, practice meditation, take peace. It’s a good position to detach from material concerns and focus on spiritual life. Pisces itself represents isolated places, combined with this Jupiter in 12 ones may find indoctrination camps in isolated places. It’s a good position for anyone who works in isolated settings in any form: in the studio, the hospital, foreign places. This Jupiter can make one more open to foreign cultures, which, by aspect, opens the door to some surprise and to crossing the bridge and exploring the mysteries of life like sex, death, occultism and astrology. Jupiter in the moksha times can bring a kind of peace. This Jupiter can influence big changes in ones children, perhaps because of spiritual or ideological reasons tied to mass movements. This Jupiter can also draw energy away from your relationships, since Jupiter rules 4th and 7th from 7th our partner may be feeling like a slave to you and her home. Parental duties of the spouse could be especially heavy. This is because the pisces native my find themselves dreaming with their head in the clouds. Good for imagination. 

Vedic Astrology

June 21 transits

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June 21 Eclipse in Gemini will have significant effects on media and communication. It will be occurring in Mrigrashira nakshatra, but very quickly after crossing the Sun, the moon will go into Ardra nakshatra. Both of these nakshatra relate to research in slightly different ways. It’s the part of the story where the inebriating quest for satisfaction is sought in the material world where it meets with disappointment, frustration and sorrow.

Dark moon is always a time of diminished sensitivity, but with Rahu it can pervert the mind, heighten fears and phobias and mask the true intentions. With Sun in this house, truth can become skewed and people may feel a false sense of power. With Mercury, I expect the emotional rhetoric to increase dramatically for the few days around the eclipse. With the warrior Mars aspecting from Pisces the rhetoric will be especially aggressive and there is likely to be much talk of war.

The path of the eclipse is through Congo, Ethiopia, Yemen, Pakistan, North India and across a good partition of China and Taiwan. This could be especially deadly in North India where 20 Indian soldiers were recently killed in what can only be described as a brawl with their Chinese counterparts of the remote border region. And Yemen has been under siege for so long that anything could happen there. And China, including Taiwan, have their own problems which are not so different from what we see going on in Seattle these days with the autonomous zone.

Gemini rules over the arms: not just the arms of the body, but also the armaments of nations and the weapons we possess. This is an interesting point because it suggests how words are weapons, and how media rhetoric and information technology play into the struggles and obstacles we face. We have seen numerous unconventional weapons since Rahu came into Gemini; much of which would be in the form of propaganda, but we have also been hearing about lasers and “super duper” fast missiles. Sun and Mars will be affecting Rahu giving powerful effects to the force of unconventional arms.

Gemini is the sign of groups, teams, gangs, associates, and essentially tribalism. We have seen this great fascination with tribalism over the past couple of years as society drifts away from the notion of the sovereign individual. The current BLM movement has certainly exacerbated the divide between whites and blacks (while ignoring the reality that most of the world falls somewhere in between the two), the fascists and the anti-fascists (while ignoring the fanatical extremism on both sides). There is a tendency for the media to lump people into groups and judge people based on their group identity rather than their individual identity or actions. Again, the Mars aspect here can easily devolve into tribal warfare. (You’ll notice that I even just lumped the media together as a tribe before I made my allegations even though I am arguably taking part in the media myself by writing this.)

Gemini is also the 6th sign from Capricorn suggesting the obstacles we face as leaders as well as the obstacles faced by governments. This is why something as simple as free speech is so important and so contentious: it’s the enemy of the government. And as an interesting twist, Gemini is also the 10th sign from Virgo which suggests some connection with the leader of the enemy. So we end up with these masked rogue leaders in the USA and plenty to suggest that it’s not organic as it seems. I have been saying for months that nothing is as it seems. This is the Rahu effect in Gemini.

The loss of cultural grounding that we get in Cancer is lost in Gemini. Where Cancer brings people together out of a sense of shared values and national identity, Gemini (tribalism) works together with(7th from) Sagittarius (globalism) for the destruction of the natural rhythms, home comforts, culture, and boundaries. The more direct effects of the eclipse are usually only felt for a few days before and after so it’s possible we will get some growing expressions of nationalism by the 23rd or so.

If it was a human chart I was looking at with the Aries ascendant, I would likely diagnose them with hyperthyroidism in the eclipse chart.

Mars in Pisces brings with it a kind of repressed anger that comes out through as aggressive communication. It causes one’s enemies to also be more aggressive, and fights with partners and generally unruly negotiations. It brings a kind of passive aggressiveness that infuriates everyone around. It should be noted that Saturn is also aspecting Mars which will increase the inner sense of frustration. This can also bring some tension at sea that will last for the duration of this aspect.

This Mars Saturn tension is also affecting agreements and negotiations with their aspect on Libra along with Rahu. This Mars influence will likely be the final straw for many agreements and partnerships as each party begins to assert themselves. Rahu has been aspecting this sign for about a year now so many of these negotiations have not been in good faith anyways.

Mars in Pisces can also increase that activity at night, fighting going on behind the scenes and fighting in foreign lands due to a kind of subconscious aggression. Some might say that the ancestral spirits want to express themselves in an aggressive way.

The good news is that Jupiter also has an aspect on Virgo which should allow diplomacy to avert all out war, but the smaller tribal wars like we see in the USA right now are likely to experience heightened intensity for only a few days.

Jupiter and Venus are still giving effects in Taurus which will continue to be good for the bankers. Though inflation is also possible due to these two powerful benefics increasing the value of stored resources while mercury, who is the Money itself is corrupted by Rahu and burnt out by the two fiery planets.

Eclipses are a good time for Tantra and occult sadhana for those who are prepared to face their shadows with compassion. It’s a very good time to distinguish ourselves and others as individuals rather than as members of the group. It’s also a good time to take action to overcome our obstacles, illnesses and enemies. Mantra meditations can be especially potent with Leo’s ruler in Gemini. Gemini shows what we gain from Mantra. The value of fixed assets can grow in this time. Research, secret knowledge and revolution will all feel some appreciation from Venus aspect, but since Mars, the ruler of Scorpio, is in Pisces it might be difficult to actualize, though there can be unexpected gains none-the-less. Active meditation, commonly done through walking or yoga can have special benefits as well.

This eclipse seems to me to signal the end of six months of Kal Sharpa. The illuminator of truth is finally coming out of the grasp of the shadows. Much of the confusion of the first half of this year should begin to become more clear. But we also have to be open to the idea that we may have been wrong about some things over the first part of the year. This is crucial for personal growth. Allow reason to keep your intuition in check while simultaneously allowing your intuition to keep your reason in check. Allow them to meet in the middle without giving primacy to either. 

Good luck

Om namah shivaya      

Travel

A Hard Traveling: A Path of Worship

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Sometimes I can’t tell if I’m walking thru some known past or walking into some unknown future. The people I meet along the way all appear to me as dear old friends rather than people I’m meeting for the first time. I become familiar fast, I tell people what I want and expect it with the same ease with which I give what is asked of me. The demands are not unreasonable or unexpected, just what the situation demands. We’re all just fulfilling our duties to the other; to humanity; to ourselves; or, if you like, to God.

I’ve faced some hard traveling in the past as I faced off against the scorching hot winds of the Indian plains, or the cold isolation of the Himalayan mountains, or perhaps even when I walked in my vain attempt at hitchhiking thru the nomadic lands and salt flats of western India. The Narmada valley kicked my ass and so did the Naga hills, but none of it so hard as Canada’s west coast.

Over the past few months, I’ve been from Edmonton to 180 miles out on the North Pacific, I’ve walked, trekked, hitch-hiked, bused, flew and boated uncountable miles; moving far too frequently, ready to give up time and time again but unable to stop due to some invisible hand of fate. The isolation, the untamed nature, and the magnitude of accidents and incidents has challenged me on every level stretching my emotions thin (sensitive as a champagne glass), sharpening my instincts so that they cut like a razor without hesitation, and, of course, breaking my body with frost bite on my fingers, cartilage torn in my ribcage, and infection setting into even the most insignificant cut. (I found out after writing this that I also crushed three vertebrae in a ladder fall a couple of days after I tore the cartilage in my ribs.)

The bear that was foraging on the beach where I camped in Winter Harbour came to give me a sniff at night. I know how these weak dogs feel when they decide to crossing thru another packs territory. At least I didn’t piss myself. I was camping/hitch-hiking on the edge of town for three days before someone came along who was heading back towards civilization (if you can call Port Hardy civilization, and it seems you can only call it that if you’re coming from Winter harbour, otherwise you still have a long way to go before you can make such a statement). It’s not a matter of cars driving past you and not stopping, everyone stops, but they’re all locals, nobody is going back to civilization. And when someone did finally come along they had to honk and call me up from the beach because the last thing I expected was a ride. Speaking with the locals I was expecting to be there for another three days.

I remember when I was going up to Nepal to trek the Langtang valley in January so many years ago. A Brazilian girl was in the jeep with me and she spoke of her fathers belief that Nepal was like going to the end old the world. The cold, she said, exacerbated this feeling for her. Dante, after all, portrayed the lowest levels of hell as a most frozen wasteland of demons. I’ve been out past Winter Harbour and I can say that it really is the end of the world. There is nothing beyond except wind, water and waves. The people of the town frozen in some time long in the past making it feel less like I’m traveling thru space and more like I’m traveling thru time. But perhaps this is the effect of a Ketu pratyardasha during a Mercury retrograde.

Ketu, the dragons tail or south node, is known as one of the shadow planets. He’s a mysterious mystical planet that brings our past life karmas to the fore. He is one of the great balancers of our karmic debts. He works in the most mysterious and unpredictable ways. In a flash he can raise one to the highest status or bring them crashing down to the lowest. Ketu usually shows us our most natural talents that we’ve brought with us from previous lives. These being areas of our lives that we’re already comfortable with, we rarely have have the sense of challenge it takes to stick with something until we master it. With Ketu, we’ll pick something up because it’s there and drop it completely when we’re finished with it. Mercury in retrograde also bring us back to our past, so that we find ourselves thinking about past lovers, past mistakes, or any other unfinished business. During the last Mercury retrograde in the early summer of 2016 I edited over 70 pages of past writing and wrote two unsent letters to girlfriends from far in my past. During the retrograde that occurred last fall I was saved by an ex-girlfriend who suddenly thought to repay a debt that I’d long since put behind me. I was hoping this current Mercury retrograde would allow me the time to finish my editing task. Unfortunately Ketu’s strength had me out on the seas pulling in tuna on hand lines and slicing their throats: brutal, blood soaked work. Ketu has long since suggested to me that my past life followed such a brutal blood soaked path. This is perhaps why I feel so blessed regardless of the Saturneous difficulties of my current life: no matter how hard things may seem, they could be a lot worse.

I started moving back in May when the heat of Varanasi started to rise well above 40 degrees. I headed north to the Himalayan Mountains, wandering villages for a couple of months until I found some nice place to rest. By then it was time to leave India and come back to Canada where I’ve been wandering for about 10 weeks.

About a month ago, I thought I was done and finished. I thought the highways and forests of the interior had finished my off. I though that I couldn’t possibly go on. And then I got the call to go Tuna fishing. It’s often like that, just when you think you can’t go on, just when you think that your heart and soul has given all that it has, just when you think you’ve lost everything, there comes some fresh spark from god only knows where. I’m amazed time and again how much spark, how much illumination is within me even when I think I’ve spent it all. Such will to live. Now, once again, I honestly don’t feel like I can continue any farther.

A few nights ago I was sleeping in my tent when the breath of a bear woke me up. I could smell him and hear him as he sniffed at the tent. I dreamt about him the night before and thru my dream I knew somehow that I was welcome to pass thru the territory. He left when I spoke to him. I’d seen him on the beach, I knew he was in the neighborhood.

“Life,” a wise man once said, “is mostly about wastin’ time, and I waste my share of mine.” Sometimes this seems like all I’m ever doing is wastin’ time. I’ve gathered up all kinds of knowledge that I could not have imagined, I’ve had experiences that are quickly fading from this planet, and I’ve loved and lost so many times that I don’t know the difference any more. But all of this I keep within me. When I start to put my experience and knowledge to paper and print it sounds like some stereotype that cannot possibly be real. How can one man do all of that? Perhaps I’ve taken my memory from books and movies or merely dreamt it.

On the other hand, few of my stories have the sparkle and shine or the outlandishness that people seem to associate with my kind of travel. This search for freedom has not been an exploration of the drug culture: I’ve managed to avoid the coke in Central America, the Ayuasca of the southern shamans, the ‘shrooms of the west coast, the acid of the cities and all the rest of that mind altering experimentation. I’ve done my best to maintain what I consider a certain level of legitimacy in my quest. Many people seem somewhat disappointed that I haven’t explored this drug fueled consciousness. It’s like my legitimacy is lost by not having gone thru this drug fueled route to higher consciousness.

I cannot say that good old fashioned meditation has brought me here alone, just like I cannot deny living in a world of altered consciousness. Experience has been just as important as meditation and fate has done most of the work for me. This path is written in the stars, this consciousness has been a gift of God. If any one little thing was changed then it would all be changed to such an extent that I would no longer be me, but someone else with a whole different set of knowledge, skill and experience.

Sometimes I wish I could view my life from the perspective of my friends and family who see me as a great adventurer, mystic and yogi. Of course my pride has elevated me to Baba with so many clients calling me doctor and guruji, but this very pride keeps me quite about my travels and these people who come across my path.

A wise man said that there’s no use trying to figure it all out, it takes the time that’s needed for talkin’ about the places you’ve been and the faces you’ve seen. Perhaps I waste too much time trying to figure it all out; trying to see how one piece fits onto the other and what piece will come next. So, perhaps it’s time I speak, or write a little more about the places I’ve been and the faces I’ve seen.

A truck driver picked me up somewhere around Mount Robson. He told me that he stopped because I was wearing a cowboy hat rather than a rag on my head. I felt lucky for a moment that I happened to be wearing that hat that was plunked on my head by a friend as he left me to seek my fortune on the side of the highway; it’s more common for me to have a rag on my head. By the time I shared this news with the trucker we had already established a friendship and he was no longer in the mood for insults.

I sometimes come across these big burly manly men who wrestle bears. Of course they don’t really wrestle bears so this little adventure that is my life seems to threaten them as though my meager existence somehow knocks them out of the alpha-male seat they are so accustomed to. Perhaps they could handle it if I was competitive and boastful about my adventures, but the truth is that I never seek out adventure, adventure just seems to grab a hold of me and drags me thru the mud or the sea and then spits me out in some strange place like Winter Harbour or Port Hardy. All I can do when I come out the other side is marvel at my surroundings and wonder just what it is I’m doing here. I ask this of the wind quite a lot: What am I doing here?

As a philosopher I’m used to asking questions of myself. I used to always ask and wonder, “who am I?’ but now that I seem to have that figured out to some degree, my question is more often: “what am I doing here?” It’s a fair question. I have no reason for being here, I’ve never even looked at this part of the world on the map, but yet here I am in Port Hardy putting off my bus ticket one more day over and over. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll go somewhere. I’m too far away from everything to get anywhere in a day.

I was in this situation a few months ago in India. There I was in the village Tatapani which had been mostly flooded out by a dam a few years earlier wondering to myself what I was doing there. As is often the case, I was just wastin’ time. There was nothing there to see or to do, and as usual it was the people who touched me in a way that the land out here touches me. Sometimes these touches burn a hole so deep that the mark will never go away. Sometimes it’s just a gesture; a sentiment.

How often have I made it thru someplace that I’m sure has changed me forever only to run into some old friend who reminds me that I haven’t changed one bit. All the scars are internal. All the perception arises from within. We cannot even imagine what it must be like to see thru another’s eyes. How often the vision changes; that inner vibration seeking it’s harmonious match. Every note is beautiful on it’s own, but it takes a certain degree of magic for harmony to arise from a whole cluster of notes. We often forget this when we’re in conflict with others. We point our finger at the other person throwing blame upon them and challenging them to change their inner music to match our own.

But even in conflict there is some match between people. I’ve seen this in astrology charts when people clearly do not match with each other. Although their personalities may not match, their karma matches; their miserable time together matches. I’ve seen horrible relationships come in front of me and I’ve had to say that yes, there is an astrological match in the charts. Soul mates do not only come into being between butterflies and rainbows; everyone we encounter is a kind of soul mate fulfilling some need in our lives; fulfilling some vision we have of life. Sometimes we need the conflict to feel fulfilled; that duality of righteousness that bring some tension to life.

Some people say this about astrology: “I don’t want to know, I’d rather it comes as a surprise.” But even knowing what I know, life always comes as a surprise. Reading a future in a chart and experiencing that future are two very different things; two very different ways of knowing. When I see an accident coming in my chart it never occurs to me to try to avoid it. One always tries to be careful, but such is the nature of an accident that we never see it coming until it’s already upon us.

A wise man once said that: “We all got holes to fill, them holes are all that’s real. Some fall on you like a storm, sometimes you dig your own.” To this I could add that we usually know when we’re digging a hole for ourselves even without predictive astrology, but this does not keep us from digging the hole. Actually, I’ve written before that most people know their future without seeking out astrological advice. Just as something deep inside myself knew that I was facing the Saturn effect on my luck long before it became as apparent as it is today. People mostly know if they are going to be successful or miserable, rich or poor. Of course crazy things happen some people worry about everything while others worry about nothing and who can say what will come of them. Strange luck strikes from anywhere when the time comes.

I’ve always had high hopes for myself. I certainly never expected to be living on such an edge of existence; clinging to the edge of world wondering where my path will take me next. Venus will soon be giving influence where Ketu has been for the past month. I pray that she will be kind to me, and embrace me with the kind of love and luxury and creativity that she’s famous for. I’ve noticed in the past that her location in my third house with Saturn and Jupiter looking at her often influences this very traditional art of astrology that I’ve been practicing. I remember years ago asking my teacher about this combination as I wondered why I was not using my hands for art and design as I expected from Venus. One look at the charts covering almost every page of my notebook laid my questions to rest.

The difficulties of these past months has left me wondering if things can get any worse, though of course I know that they can. I have a not on my own astrology chart that Venus should bring both a relationship and some writing which sound quite pleasant, but of course I cannot ignore Venus’ rulership of my 12th house of loss and the 7th house of the loss of longevity; both of which are obviously quite ominous. Since she’s living in my third house of effort it makes perfect sense since I don’t feel like I have any effort left in me and if this continues it’s sure to be the death of me. But I don’t suppose death in in my cards just yet either as my previous figuring should give my at least another 15 years in union with this body. My teacher assures me that I have even longer than that.

Speaking of astrology, I’ve had some wonderful clients lately as well as some disastrous feedback. This great intimacy I feel with my clients, although wonderfully touching in a familiar way, occasionally gives me a kick in the ass since I share their pain as readily as I share their joy. And of course regardless of what I do, I cannot change anything for them (and lucky nobody expects me to do this), and still there exists suffering and confusion in this world. Patience and awareness seems to be the only remedy; but such remedies are only bestowed on those of us who are fated for such patience and awareness.

In any case, I’m merely writing for the sake of writing; singing for the sake of the song. I’ll continue to walk in this world between the past and the future, between heaven and hell and all the rest. Non-duality and non-difference between the poles. This fleeting stillness being the only real reality. It’s been said that when truth descends upon us, the only response in worship. So please accept this writing in the spirit of worship, just as I pray each step I take in this life continues to be taken in worship.

Alternative Health & Yoga, Philosophy, Vedic Astrology

Tantric and Astrological means to Self-Relaization

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Part 7: How do we prevail?

“Aath pinde, tat brahmade

[As the world is inside, so it is outside.]”

(Manduka Upanishad)

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Self knowledge, the equal of universal knowledge in most of India, is one of the most prized areas of knowledge. Various sciences and systems have been created just for this purpose. One of the oldest branches of knowledge in India is called Samkya. This is a dualist and materialistic branch of knowledge that sought to map out and categorize the various elements of existence that allow us to have this human experience. After some time, many of the philosophers and rishis began to understand that there was more to life than meets the eye. The material designations of Sankya are fine they said, but something was clearly missing since all this matter is inert, insentient and incapable of the complexity that we see in life. So, the rishis and philosopher looked deeper and eventually expanded the categories of tattvas to include several higher elements that connect us to a divine well-spring of power that infuses matter with sentience.

So, anyone wishing to follow the philosophical schools of India should have some cursory knowledge of the tattwas as outlined by Sankya as well as the more subtle tattwas as outlined in Tantra. In this section I wish to share some of the notes I have made regarding the tattwas. I cannot claim this as original work, but since it’s an area of study that I find myself continuously coming back to, I’ve come to believe that a basis in this knowledge is necessary for the more intellectually minded self seeker.

The Bhagavad Gita has said that there are four kinds of people who worship god: 1. the distressed, 2. seekers of knowledge, 3. seekers of wealth, 4. people of knowledge. In his summary of Chapter 7 of the Gita, Abhinavagupta wrote that, “Pure devotion is the wish fulfilling tree by means of which one may fulfill hopes proper to be desired by the sadhaka.” (p186) And elsewhere it has been said that knowledge is better than practice, meditation is better than knowledge, but renunciation of the fruits of action is better than meditation.

Spiritual inclination is grace! Spiritual effort is grace!

Part 8:

Tantric Upayas: Mean of Liberation

“Whatever act I may have performed without knowing its good or bad consequences or knowing the proper order of its performances; whatever act I may have performed without concentration or with any other lapse of my intellect; all of that, O Shambhu, you who are compassionate, forgive me, your miserable and ignorant devotee. Through this strota I surrender myself to you and let me never again become the abode of misery for no good reason.” (Abhinavagupta p264)

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So with all of this in mind we can then then use these clues about our true nature to help lend us the faith and knowledge that we all need to begin or continue our spiritual practice. In tantra the means to self-recognition are said to be four-fold; these can be understood as both different stages of practice, as well as different means that can be used in different circumstances. The point of any Tantric sadhana is to efface the ego while cultivating a sense of universal love and oneness with those (and that which is) around you.

Ultimately we all have to accept that this comes only by grace, but a touch of that grace seem to already apply to those whose aim in life is spiritual. In any case these are the four means of liberation.

  1. Shambhav-upaaya: Philosophical and mental means of liberation. Iccha-shakti; method of will. Theory of reflection. A kind of direct perception or pure understanding that form is merely a reflection of the Supreme. There is no method here other than being established in your own will; seated in the self; seated in the heart or however you want to put it. Matrkachakra: this is the awareness of pure thought without constructs; in other words sound. Pratyahara: this is spontaneous absorption which comes only by grace. When one is established in the self what need to be done. Abhinavagupta described pratyahara as, “When, like a turtle which withdraws its limbs on all sides, the yogi withdraws his senses from the sense objects, then his wisdom becomes steady.” (Gita 2/58) We expect our saints to be living at this level of awareness. Accords with the dream sleep when the mind dwells in the throat.
  2. Shakt-upaaya: Contemplative concentration of void. (ex. Gap between two thoughts) Jnana-shakti. Uninterrupted awareness. Discovery of reality of void thru subtle means of conscious awareness. Practices that involve the mind and various higher levels of consciousness. Spiritual teachers are perhaps expected to be practising here. Accords with the dreamless sleeping state when the mind dwells in the heart.
  1. Anava-upaaya: Depends on breathing (uccaara), sense organs (karana), and mental concentration (dhyana). Concentrate on space between inhale and exhale. One pointed concentration with any sense organ (ex. Trataka). Dyana without form like mantra. Dyana with form like yantra. Devote yourself to God thru puja, japa, homa, study of the scriptures. All the practices that make use of the organs of sense and action. This of course is where most of us are trying to practice and learn. Accords with the waking state when your mind dwells in the navel.
  1. An-upaaya: No method. Only remain aware that nothing has to be done. Abide in one’s own self. Surrender your actions to God. This is the back up plan. This is perhaps the practice of the average person. Accords with the 4th state when the mind dwells in the head.

All of the methods we use for self-recognition and self-improvement will fit into one of these categories. For most of us we can only apply an-upaaya. We’re busy completing our karma, we’re engrossed in what we’re doing and that’s ok. We just have to remember that nothing truly needs to be done; we just have to be. For many people, this isn’t enough, we want to go deeper and try to understand and perhaps perceive the subtler aspects that are indeed ensuring that everything will be ok in the end (or it won’t and that’s ok too). We want to apply some upaaya, some means for greater self awareness; we want to apply ourselves and improve our organs of sense and action (anava-upaaya); we want to use study scripture, practice various forms of meditation and yoga that can help get us or keep us in touch with some divine that we all sense is a part of our lives. We generally feel pretty good about ourselves doing all of this until someone reminds us that nothing really needs to be done. At which point we stop doing so much and sit and do it all in our minds: conscious awareness; subtle awareness; shakt-upaaya. We have to do something so we continue, but we try to keep in mind that the doing doesn’t really matter so much; it’s not really part of the job profile of the individual self the individual soul that is still a part of the universal self that we’re all trying to get in touch with has made many of those decisions (after all, astrology clearly teaches us that the universal self is taking care of most of the doing down here on earth). The individual self can, however, move it’s awareness around and put it where ever it likes. (The oldest texts on yoga talk about entering other bodies.) Some say we are to put our awareness on prayer, others say to look for pleasure and satisfaction in life, a few other dare to claim we should focus on combining the two. All would perhaps agree that we should first have some idea who we really are. In the end, grace is our only hope. By grace some people become seated in themselves and there is nothing more to be done (shambhav-upaya). When we withdraw our senses from the objects of sense we experience the pure taste of whatever flavour we have inside of us; we get that pure flavour we crave on account of the wheels of energies that are operating inside of us.

“The withdrawal of the vital channels (pranayama), the conquest of the elements (dharana), freedom from the elements (pratyahara) and the separation of the elements (Svachinanda).”

(Shiva Sutra 3/5)

“…he who constantly tries to discern the spanda (vibration) principle rapidly attains his own true state of being….” (Stanzas)

Vijnanabhairava it the classical text outlining 112 methods of Tantric and Yogic methods of union or self-realization. Some suttras give very specific instruction, others leave the door wide open for you to follow what comes natural to you: a word, an object, a thought, anything at all; fix your mind on it and don’t let it waver. “The expansion of consciousness that takes place when one is engaged in a single thought should be known as the source from whence another arises. One should experience that for oneself.” (Stanzas 41) Or find that point between two breaths, two thoughts, or two actions and try to rest your mind there. Meditate on being both the perceiver and perceived (the subject and the object). Then establish a state of awareness of that which links the two. Become fully aware of the state of perceiving, free from both subject and object. Abhinavagupta has described it as a bird swooping down upon it’s prey. That moment moves fast and we must be swift.

Much of the Vijnanabhairava teaches a kind of concentration or focus, when we can take this power of focus and put it where we like, then we can do what we want. Of course we also have to have he self knowledge to know if we have the various abilities of mind sense and action to get that thing. This is why yoga seems to focus so heavily on health, exercise, learning and study; because if we’re strong healthy, flexible and knowledgeable we will be able to access and heighten all of our natural abilities. If we have looked at and studied the self merely by observing the various faculties of the self we will be more comfortable in our bodies, our minds, and the circumstances in which we find ourselves. This comfort allows us to take our awareness away from the body, mind and circumstances and focus instead on those higher aspects of ourself that reach throughout the cosmos rather than remaining trapped in our tiny worlds of suffering and woes. Contemplate each tattva respectively and disattach from it: from least pervasive to most pervasive; from the elements, up thru the senses, mind, intellect, maya and consciousness itself. (See chapter on tattva’s.)

Anything that brings us closer to recognizing and realizing that we are that universe can be considered a means to liberation. Many of the Indian sciences have their own upayas depending on which parts of us we are focused on healing and getting into touch with. But every upaya also affects the whole. So if you’re following Ayurvedic diet to heal your body, that healing is also bringing more awareness of your soul. But of course everything must be followed in balance or you get some excess or deficiency.

In regards to healing, we can often look at to the activity of the senses to see if what is happening on the inside is the same as what is happening on the outside. Food, acupuncture, the clothes and ornaments we wear, the the people we associate with and the activities we perform can all be used to heal. It’s all a kind of worship and ritual. Swami Laxmanjoo made a point when he said that worldly life is pragmatic, worship should be appreciated as theater: art for arts sake. In the Stanzas on Vibration it says: “Constantly attentive and perceiving the entire universe as play, he who has this awareness is undoubtedly liberated in this very life.” With equal gusto it has been advised to ignore the cycle of birth and death; the cycle of life is higher, only it is eternal. If we live for an eternity there is always time and reason for healing and self recognition. It’s cautioned, however, that while participating in sense enjoyment, we are to be enjoying the bliss of self, not the pleasure of the sense object.

“The subject is said to be the lord when, in the midst of phenomena, (he experiences them) as his own body. (But he is) a fettered soul when, sullied by karma etc., (he experiences) conflicts (klesha) in the midst of diversity generated by maya.

(Ishvarapratyabhijna)

Part 9:

Jyotish Astrology Upayas

“the City of Eight consists of the inner mental organ along with the senses of knowledge and action. Others say that it is [also] made up of the five breaths, the five subtle elements, desire, karma and ignorance.” (Tattvaprakasha)

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Jyotish astrology, as the science of light, also seeks to engage the subtler perspectives and provide upayas for self recognition. Astrology acts as the mirror of the individual self and suggest remedial measures for helping you to realize your connection with the universal self. For anyone with any experience with Jyotish astrology, we often find that our limits in the material world are much greater that we at first suspected. The extent of our fettered is almost unimaginable, but still we get this wonderful experience of free will. So how do we explain this contradiction between our experience and the knowledge.

Astrology is of course an ocean of a science, and the astrologer merely a pearl diver. The ocean is vast, and the diver is just one small simple man. The client has his or her chart (the ocean) and the astrologer also has his own chart, which is but a wet-suit compared to the ocean. If both charts are favorable, the client will receive a good reading and go away happy and receive the fruits he or she expects to receive. Perhaps the person will even get a glimmer of the divine forces to which are inseparably linked. If, however, just one chart is not favorable, many things can easily go awry. The astrologer can have a bad day and miss something, or the data might not be quite right, or the client might not understand correctly. In any case, it’s always our own fate, we cannot blame others for our misery.

Traditional healers generally maintain that they do not actually perform any healing. The client comes (we always hope) with that healing already inside of them. The healers job is merely to point them in the direction of healing. The healer is just an instrument of healing. This is why such a variety of scientific and non-scientific methods all work to heal; because it’s not the method which is providing healing, but the patients own life force. Astrologers need to impress upon people that what they generally decoding for them is what they have inside of themselves; and not necessarily some outside force. There are no upayas that can bring you anything you don’t already have inside, all they can do is help you to reach the highest and best potential of what you already have.

From an astrological perspective, what is outside of us and outside of us are merely reflected versions of each other that are constantly acting and interacting together. We get a combined effect of the reactions that are produced. We often say that an astrology chart is like a pathology report. The astrologer is like the doctor who interprets that report. The client doesn’t really need to know the details of the report, what the client needs is the remedial measures.

In truth, most people know themselves fairly well. They don’t really need an astrologer to tell them about themselves, what they need are ways which will help them understand the interconnectedness of everything. Giving specific selfless service is said to be one of the best ways of overcoming or understanding our suffering. When we serve those who share our suffering or represent our fears then we dissipate that negative quality; life become just a little bit lighter.

Meditation and any spiritual practice in general can been good, but even these things can be fine tuned with astrology. Of course gemstones are easiest for most people with a few extra dollars, but without grace, I can’t imagine the effect to be as strong as with some practice which can include service and ritual, but also tapas, worship, mantra, the study of scriptures and other such engaging practices.

What is important to remember is that “Identification with the City of Eight is bondage.” This may come as a surprise to many people who have been taught to identify with their own inner soul, rather than with their body, but these lessons of the City of Eight suggest that even the deepest essence of our individual soul is binding, as of course it must be, since freedom is not an individual experience but rather a universal one.

Part 10: The Goal

Meheshwar

Somewhere within all of this is supposed to be some goal. We want something for all of this work performed. What exactly we want is not easy to describe. Many words get used such as enlightenment, self-recognition, self-empowerment, freedom, liberation. Many other describe as self-improvement or self-betterment. We are not, after all, merely doing this for our health. So what should we expect? The truth is that we should not expect anything. Of course everything is always changing so there will be change, but fundamentally nothing will change. You will still have the same fate and karmas to perform. As Krishna said in the Gita: “we cannot avoid action, not even thru non-action.”

What changes is our awareness? By gaining deeper more focused awareness we are able to recognize how we are ourselves the universe. This is self-recognition. We come to recognize the eternal subject which is ourselves, as well as the relationships of that subject with the various objects of the world beginning without own body. We are not this limited individual self, we are the universal self in part and in whole.

Some beliefs bring people to an emptiness once the individual self has been over come, Tantra promises a fullness like a pot boiling over. The fullness is the dynamic interplay between subject and object, the movement and change of the world. To be aware of this is said to be freedom. The practice of yoga is the practice of being aware of all those things that connect us with ourselves and the other (which is who all the gods essentially represent) We should be aware of consciousness, breath, energy levels, rituals, mantra and worship. Expanded awareness is the only goal and these are the tools (our body and this world) This is the same awareness which shows us that there really is no distinction between fate and free will.

This is a big concern for many people who feel as though they are being led thru life like a draft animal. Many people who hear about astrology feel like this whole concept of astrology somehow interferes with their free will. Most people is this world are very attached to the ignorance they call free will. This common idea that we are the body and thru the body we can do what we like thru free will is a very narrow and ignorant perception of freedom and will. If we start to recognize that we are all of this, only then will we recognize the place from where that freedom and will arise.

We recognize our free will when we are aware of that all of this is emanating from the free will of that Shiva which is inside of us; that which which is us. Freedom is exercised on the levels between Shiva and maya, not on the level of our minds, bodies and senses. These things are merely the tools for exercising that freedom. Of course once a choice is made, we have to live by the karma of that choice. As soon as an individual soul takes a body, the time and place of that activity becomes crucial for the rest of ones life. This is of course the time and place of our birth and first breath, and whatever karma is given to us at that precious moment will determine the extent of the work to be do in this life. The trick is to recognize all of this and maintain that awareness that we are Shiva, we are the chooser, and have chosen to experience all of this. What is inside is outside so we have as much power inside of ourselves to affect events in our lives and this world as the Sun and the Moon have to affect the life cycles of this universe. It’s a fully reciprocal relationship between ourselves and the world. The more we recognize this, the more harmony comes into our lives and the world. The truth to life and freedom are vast; they range far beyond the mundane details of life. We can be sure, however, that everyone will play their role and each of us will get that taste we most crave; the quality of that flavour will be up to us.