Ramayana is a beautiful story from Indian mythology. The hero of the story is Rama. His father is Dashratha who is considered to be quite intelligent. He has three queens and Rama is the son of Kaushalya. Kaikeyi is the mother of Bharata. Rama is the eldest son and when Dashratha announces the coronation of Rama, Manthara, a maid of Kaikeyi reminds her of two boons bestowed by Dashratha on her and Kaikeyi asks for two boons. One sent Rama to the forest for 14 years and the other made his son Bharata the king of Ayodhya. Rama, along with his brother Lakshmana, and wife Sita go to the forest. Bharata gets quite agitated with this, and yet when directed by Rama, he reluctantly manages Ayodhya as a servant of Rama. In the forest, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana stay for many years, and towards the end, Sita sees a golden deer and gets tempted when Rama and Lakshmana are after the deer, she gets kidnapped by Ravana, who takes her to Lanka. Rama takes help from Sugriva, after getting his kingdom back from Vali. In Lanka, Vibhishana helps Rama kill Ravana to get Sita back.
In fact, I have been doing some research in astrology for the last around 13 years and as I contemplate the nature of the 9 planets of Astrology, they seem to be quite related to the 9 characters of Ramayana. Our lives are governed by these nine forces of nature. These nine forces keep giving different directions to our lives in a disconnected form. It appears to me that the purpose of Ramayana was that each of these characters gets united to Rama. Similarly, the purpose of human life is that each of these 9 forces gets connected to the consciousness that makes our lives full of possibilities. A disconnected life remains limited and constrained due to ignorance.
Manthara represents Ketu, which represents past memories and thoughts. We often get caught up in past memories and mental stories. Somebody did something to us a few years back and that keeps driving our decisions of the day. Somebody said something to us a few days back and that keeps playing in our minds like a movie. Some bad memory or a good experience keeps influencing our lives. I have found during my astrological studies that past influences a lot during the dashas of Ketu. If somebody's Lagna is afflicted by Ketu, the past plays quite an important role in his decisions. That is how Manthara played a role in Ramayana by making Kaikeyi recall two boons given to her in the past by Dashratha and that changed the entire direction of Ramayana. That is how the force of Ketu plays a role in our lives. Later Manthara realised her mistake and got united with Rama, and that is how this force within all of us has to unite with the consciousness to make us evolve. With this, we learn to use our past memories with awareness. That breeds gratitude in our lives for all the things we have.
Kaikeyi represents Rahu. Rahu represents mental aggression. Once instigated by Manthara, Kaikeyi becomes quite angry and emotionally aggressive. She demands her two boons from Dashratha and whatever Dashratha tries to explain to her, she does not listen. That is what happens when we undergo Rahu dasha without that connection to the consciousness. We become emotionally aggressive. In a road rage, we will start shouting, would be excessively concerned about our future, would be aggressive in discussions, and would be quite touchy about our viewpoints. I have noticed all these manifestations of Rahu in different horoscopes. Later when Kaikeyi evolved, her aggression was gone. Similarly, when the force of Rahu within us gets united to the consciousness, we evolve and learn to use our emotions wisely and become emotionally intelligent. That breeds the qualities of empathy and compassion.
Dashratha represents intelligence and the astrological planet Mercury. In a state of ignorance of the consequences, he gave two boons to Kaikeyi which later became the cause of the entire problem. Mercury represents intelligence or rationality. Rationality comes when we are not bound by any fixed idea, opinion, or viewpoint. I have experienced that in certain horoscopes, mercury is afflicted and weak which afflicts their intelligence. These people make many decisions in life that appear quite logical to them while eccentric to the people around them. Today's world is full of many such examples where people, disconnected from consciousness, use their intelligence to be powerful, cheat people around them, take undue advantages, and make life hell for other people. We see many such people in every organization and society. Again, all these distortions occur in a state of disconnection and when intelligence gets connected to the consciousness, the same intelligence creates wonders in the form of scientific inventions and the setting up of systems. The right connection of intelligence to consciousness results in the development of discrimination.
Mercury, Rahu, and Ketu operate in the domain of mind. Mind is a matter of Aakash element and therefore very light. It is most easy for this element to be disconnected as well as connected. With little effort, our intellect gets connected to the divine. We understand logically, what consciousness is and try to connect to the same. However, it takes more effort for the Mana or emotional mind to connect to that consciousness. It takes ever more effort for the Chitta represented by Ketu to get connected to the consciousness.
Bharata represents Venus in terms of astrology. Venus represents energy in a local area or energy that is tied to a particular place. That is why it represents quantum energy that helps us understand the details. That's why Venus gives us the energy to go into finer details and help us be a good scientist or analyst or a fine artist. Bharata, when disconnected from Rama, was quite confused and agitated and was quite reluctant to take over the command of Ayodhya. That is what happens with an afflicted Venus. I have seen that when this energy is disconnected, people waste a lot of time in detail. As soon as Bharata met Rama and Rama clarified his doubts, he took care of Ayodhya quite faultlessly looking into each and every minute aspect to the extent that he could get Hanumana also down when he was crossing Ayodhya taking the Sanjivani Booti for Lakshmana. When the energy of Venus gets connected to consciousness, we can work on very fine detailing of any project at hand while maintaining the awareness of the whole of the universe. Thus, the energy of Venus connected to consciousness gives us analytical powers and planning capabilities.
Hanumana represents Mars in Astrology. Mars is the physical energy. When Hanumana was disconnected from Rama in his childhood, he tried to gulp the Sun and that was the time when Indra hit him with Vajra and Hanumana forgot all his powers. That is what the disconnected energy of Mars does in our lives. We become arrogant of our powers and start exploiting the people around us and being physically aggressive. That is what many criminals with afflicted Mars do. However, when Mars gets connected to the consciousness, Hanumana could cross the ocean and enter Lanka to find the whereabouts of Sita. That is what this energy does. With the power of concentration, we can explore our inner Lanka comprising the solidity of Saturn, Sun, and Moon which we will discuss in the next paragraphs. Mars, when connected to consciousness, brings physical strength, and unwavering concentration.
Lakshmana represents Jupiter in Astrology. Jupiter is the energy that is not fixed to a place. It is highly mobile and that is why it represents knowledge. However, if knowledge is disconnected from the consciousness, that brings arrogance, That is what happened to Lakshmana when he started arguing with Parshurama and when he fought with Meghnatha with arrogance. However, as soon as the knowledge gets connected to the consciousness, it turns into wisdom. That is how Lakshmana becomes wise when with Rama. When the energy of Jupiter gets connected to the consciousness, it brings wisdom to our lives.
Venus, Mars, and Jupiter are all in the domain of energy. It is energy on the move. Energy is closest to the divine since it is not tied to matter and therefore it is easy to be connected to the consciousness. In the human body, this energy is represented by Prana (Jupiter), Samana (Mars), and Apana (Venus). That is probably why a lot of importance is assigned to Prana and concentration on breathing in almost any type of Yoga.
Saturn represents Ravana and Vibhishana in Ramayana. It represents solid matter and in the world of astrology, it represents our past karmas. That is why old age, traditions, religious rituals, etc are represented by Saturn. Ravana was quire egoistic and that is why he made Lanka a city of gold which was full of affluence. But since he was disconnected from Rama, the affluence of Lanka was quite disconnected from the divine. That is why he kidnapped Sita and fought Rama. Vibhishana was quite connected to Rama, but till the time he made a move away from Ravana to join Rama, he could not play any meaningful role in Ramayana. We too have an accumulation of past karmas which has huge potential, if connected to the consciousness. Disconnected past karmas may make us arrogant like Ravana and we get fixated on our material possessions and close the door for our own growth. However, the karmas with the right awareness may actually be quite helpful in getting rid of our own fixations like Vibhishana helping Rama kill Ravana. That is why awareness plays a very critical role in the spiritual path and any work done with the awareness of consciousness and our true self helps us later in our lives to get rid of our fixations just like Vibhishana. Thus, Saturn, connected to consciousness, makes us do our karma with awareness.
The sun represents the burning matter. Sugriva represents the Sun in Ramayana. When he was disconnected from Rama, he used to get defeated by his brother Vali and was powerless. When he got connected with Rama, he could regain his powers. If our Sun is disconnected from consciousness, we take many initiatives that inhibit our growth. When the Sun is weak, we have many doubts and fears while starting any new enterprise or work. When it is strong, but disconnected, we undertake certain tasks and enter into ventures that result in our further degeneration along the spiritual path. If the Sun is connected to the consciousness, like Sugriva, we help him defeat Ravana. Sugriva and his army helped Rama build a bridge on the ocean to reach Lanka. That is what actions and initiatives with awareness do to our lives when the Sun is connected to the consciousness.
Sita represents the Moon in Astrology. Moon represents an electron in the quantum world and it is the matter on the move. As electrons are responsible for forming different bonds among the atoms, the energy of the moon makes us create different possibilities in this world. When this energy gets disconnected from consciousness, we get tempted towards worldly objects, the way Sita got tempted to get the golden deer. Such a disconnected moon, when strong, results in the creation of a material world like great cities, sculptures, and architecture. When weak, it results in the creation of faulty systems, and mindless creation. When this energy gets connected to the consciousness, people start putting in place different systems for the welfare of the material world. Moon connected to the consciousness unleashes creativity in human beings.
The domain of matter, as represented by Saturn, the Sun, and Moon is the most distant from consciousness. That is why Rama had great difficulties reaching Lanka. He had to send Hanuman to find the whereabouts of Sita. Initially, we too take the help of concentration to look inward and observe as to what is happening inside us. Eventually, as the energy of the Sun gets connected to the consciousness or Rama, we do our duties with the right awareness. That is like building a bridge between our inner and outer worlds. Slowly, we accumulate the divine Karmas and at some point in time, the Sanchit Karmas help us kill our inner Ravana.
Ramayana can help us have the right understanding of Astrology. I have seen many people getting afraid about their future and they keep visiting many astrologers to get some remedies and find solutions. Since many astrologers are themselves quite disconnected from the consciousness and unaware, they feel that astrology is a tool to provide them livelihood, and out of their greed, they end up adding fuel to the fire and make these people more fearful. Astrology is not about fear, but about awareness. A right understanding of Astrology can help us know our strengths. We can see that when any of the planets is connected to the consciousness, it can do wonders in this world. The nine planets in Astrology represent nine wonderful forces of nature that act inside all of us to make life possible. It is upon all of us whether we remain ignorant of reality and keep misusing these powers to make our lives stressful and remain anxious or use these forces to make our lives meaningful. A true understanding of the different characters of Ramayana helps us understand Astrology, and that in turn helps us understand the meaning of life.
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