The Blessings of Brihaspati

Om Ganeshaya Namah! It has been a while since I last posted. Life goes on, the Chandra-Rahu antardasha ended without me getting beheaded and life has been good for the last year and a half under my Chandra-Guru antardasha. That should come as no surprise seeing that Chandra as lagnesh is sitting in the 10th house and Guru is svagrahi in the ninth.

Parashara does say however that for the Chandra mahadasha, an antardasha of the planet sitting in 12th from Chandra produces mixed results. I probably blamed them on Shani subconsciously at that time - though Guru transiting Makar was responsible for some of those. However with my Chandra-Shani coming up, I want to be in Shani's good books and will start posting to this blog on Saturdays to take advantage of the Shani-Guru opposition in Kanya-Meena currently. Shani Maharaj will help me document my observations with Kanya-like attention to detail.

Coming back to Brihaspati - the great benefic. As Prof. Steve Magee reminds his students - the Owl of Minerva only takes flight at dusk. The knowledge required to understand any age/ period in life becomes available only when that epoch draws to an end. Now I have a better understanding of why Guru is debilitated in Makar. There have been few periods in life that I have put in as a sustained effort as when Guru transited Makar. It could be that because my natal Makar (7th house) receives drishti from both Shani and Mangal that Guru was energized to act thus. I worked hard professionally (10th from Chandra), I was able to establish a regular regimen at the gym (transiting Guru drishti to lagna), I worked hard in my garden (Makar guru brought out the farmer in me). For a while the going was extremely rough due to Guru being debilatated and conjunct Rahu - but there was never an expectation on my part for any Grace. A good teacher first completely destroys his students and then builds them from the ground up based on what he thinks correct for them. So the various Gurus that blessed me in this period certainly made me work hard (including my personal trainer at the gym). But at the end of it, now I am considered a subject matter expert at work, the trees in my garden are laden with fruit and I am in much better shape physically than at any time in a the last few years.

For a brief period in 2009 - Guru entered Kumbha in opposition to his lord Shani in Simha at that time. From Simha, Shani aspected my 4th House and so surely enough on one fine Thursday (11th June) a hailstorm came along and totaled my roof. Boy that Simha Shani was rough, but as luck would have it, Guru was transiting the 8th from lagna and so the Insurance kicked in. Shani was the deductible, Guru was the insurance coverage - both aspected my 4th house and so I have a new roof!

Then Guru went retro and back through Makar - and it was nearing the opposition with Surya in Karka and on a fine Thursday I got a speeding ticket driving down Brushy Creek Road on my daily commute. In hindsight, the details of my driving folly seem to me to be a classic case of divine entrapment. But that was a debilitated, overconfident Guru who had the rug pulled from under his feet.

Then Managal moved into karka and started throwing a juvenile aspect on an already down Guru and sure enough on another fine Thursday night, some neighborhood vandals smashed my car window at night to rummage through the contents. They didnt find anything worthwhile but I still had to replace a car window. OK - so I also got the garage door fixed and now park inside. So you can imagine that I was ready Guru to move into Kumbha so my Thursdays could start delivering better luck.

On the positive side, the Guru-Mangal opposition in some way served to reignite my reading habit (novels/fictiton/non-fiction) which had fallen by the wayside years ago when I started my MBA applications. I started reading an assortment of books that I had acquired but never read - Histories, the Manusmriti, Books on the Vedas, and more.

I was in India last December and was browsing at the local bookstore at the beginning of Dhanurmasa - Surya and Chandra were both in Mula nakshatra on Thursday - when my eyes fell on the Aghora trilogy by Dr. Robert Svoboda. I remembered my brother recommending his book "Light on Life" a while back and so I purchased the triology out of curiosity. Growing up in India, I had a vague notion of Tantra but it was very general and very dark - I needed to know more. My dad was with me on the trip to the bookstore and he raised both his eyebrows at my selection - "So now you are going to get into Tantra???" I just shrugged it off, not sure why I had picked up the books. Perhaps I was drawn by the image of Kali on book one. Guru was about to re-enter the 8th house for a more extended period.

During this year, aspirants flock to Prayag in search of a Guru at the Kumbha mela. And when a student is ready, the Guru appears in due course. I will not belabor the point - reading this trilogy has had the most profound impact on me. It has validated some of my core beliefs that were hitherto not articulated, and it has revealed to me truths that will become an integral part of my consciousness going forward. Powerful Stuff - transformational.

Guru was giving additional 8th house (11th from Chandra) results as well - Joint investments, Networking opportunities, Inheritances (aptly enough - of knowledge and family traditions), Extended company of the In-Laws, and happier Thursdays since he enjoys exaltation-like strength in Kumbha. My eighth house is unaspected and unoccupied, apart from of course being the eighth house. So in his transit there, Guru, though stronger and more inclined to being his natural benefic self, produced fewer externally visible results than in his transit through Makar. For the most part, the changes were both profound and internal. I expect the external manifestations to play out over the coming years. He still has some unfinished business in Kumbha apparently and will be back later this year for a month or so - but then I'll be settling into my Shani antardasha.

Having been a student of Jyotish for a while now, I want to explore opportunities to meet other Jyotishi's in the Austin area and engage in discussions. With that in mind, I was browsing the internet and voila - I came across an event hosted by Yoga Yoga of Austin - A weekend with Dr. Svoboda. Apparently this is the last year he is traveling to give public appearances, giving me this wonderful opportunity to meet him in person - and that too in Adhik Maas. Coincidence anyone?

And now of course, dear reader, Guru has moved into Meena Rashi - in my ninth house. Last weekend I heard Dr. Svoboda and met him briefly. I knew from reading his books of his holistic knowledge of all the Vedic disciplines - it was all the more fascinating to hear him in person. He talked of Ayurveda and Yoga and Jyotish and Vaastu, weaving them together with the common thread of his personal experiences. It will enliven all of his books when I read/reread them and lend them deeper meaning given the added insight of his interpretations. Of course, I was also able to connect with other like minded people at the event. Om Guruve Namah!!

Still about a month of my Guru antardasha left. I woke up early today morning around 5:00 AM and opened the front door to gaze at Guru rising and seek his blessings anew. We still have some unfinished business in the days ahead before I submit myself to the TLC of Shani Maharaj!!