Practicing awareness with understanding of Astrology

Astrology is the study of life forces. Generally, people approach Astrology with the curiosity to know their future or to find some ways and means to reduce their pains. That's where they fall into the trap of the cheaters who tell crap to them, frighten them, and then sell heavily priced stones to them. They not only get cheated financially but also psychologically. For life, they remain in constant fear of something or the other going wrong and become permanent clients of these "self-claimed astrologers". 

On the other hand, if somebody is truly inclined to understand the reality of life, astrology offers such deep understanding. Entire Astrology as well as our life revolves around 9 planets and 12 houses. The most significant part, which is generally missed by the "self-claimed astrologers" is the plane of consciousness. All of us operate at different points in this plane of consciousness. 

When we operate with "self-centric consciousness", our awareness is confined to our body and mind. The center of our existence is the self and our actions are focused on the protection, preservation, and promotion of this self. On the other extreme is "universal consciousness", where there is no "I" left and we blend with the universal consciousness. Ramakrishna Paramhansa described this stage in very beautiful words. A nugget of salt entered into the depths of the ocean to understand the nature of the ocean. Initially, the nugget is different from the ocean and that is the "self-centric consciousness". Slowly, as the nugget goes deep into the ocean, it mixes into the ocean and becomes smaller and smaller till the time there is no nugget and the entire salt has become a part of the ocean. That state is "universal consciousness". 

Most of us live life between these two ends. Our center of existence changes with time. Some of our actions are guided by "self-centric consciousness", some by "family consciousness", some by "community or nation consciousness", some by "organization consciousness" and quite rare but some by "universal consciousness". This plane of existence may be called the "vertical plane of consciousness". 

It is the complete free will of the individual where he wants to be across this vertical plane of consciousness. Astrology offers no explanation about the growth of the individual across this plane. 

There is a "horizontal plane of existence" that operates all across this vertical plane which may be roughly understood with the following diagram:

Astrology is the study of the forces of nature operating in this horizontal place. These forces of nature, represented by 9 planets, operate in a very powerful form in the individual when the individual lives life with "self-centric consciousness". It appears that the individual has no free will. As the level of consciousness grows into "universal consciousness", the forces of nature seem to play at the will of the individual. 

There are 9 forces of nature represented by 9 planets (Astrological planets, not the planets of our solar system) which are:

Mental plane

1. Ketu
2. Rahu
3. Mercury

Energy plane

1. Venus
2. Mars
3. Jupiter

Causal plane

1. Saturn
2. Sun
3. Moon

Ketu: Ketu is the planet that represents the "Chitta". This is the storehouse of our past memories. Our past memories generally give direction to our lives. It is often said in spiritual scriptures that "chitta" is like a seed that grows into a big tree of karmas if sowed into the fertile land of life. If somebody can roast this seed, there is no karma left. one becomes liberated. 

Ketu manifests in different forms across the plane of consciousness. In Ramayana, Rama was about to become the king of Ayodhya, as announced by Dashratha, the king of Ayodhya and father of Rama. Everybody is quite happy, including Kaikeyi, the mother of Bharata. But Ketu starts driving the life of Manthara, whose consciousness is quite self-centered. Old mental fixations with self manifest in the form of greed, insecurities, meanness, and jealousy. Ketu becomes active and she persuades Kaikeyi to send Rama to the forest and kingship to Bharata. On the other hand, the same Ketu operates quite differently in our lives when we operate with "universal consciousness", as it operated in Ahilya. Her chitta is so full of Rama that the slightest touch of Rama liberates her from this life. Thus, Ketu may operate in our lives in quite different ways depending upon what we store in our Chitta and where lies the center of our consciousness.

Understanding astrology helps us practice awareness. As we pass through the Ketu dashas, we see the old memories of “Chitta” coming to the surface. We may recall the memories of some bad relationships or some major accident or hospitalization or a tragedy in the family. We may also recall pleasant memories such as the memories of a trip, good times spent with friends, etc. These memories are categorized between pleasant and painful by our self which is fixated on the body and certain concepts created by the mind. So long as we observe the world with this "self-centered consciousness", we remain confined to a very small part of the true self, which is as wide as the universe. 

With awareness, we may observe the content of our “Chitta” without reaction and with equanimity. With such observation, we regain the lost control over our attention and start coming out of the fixations. As the center of observation becomes the true self, the boundaries of the fixated self become porous and it slowly starts growing across the vertical plane of consciousness. 

The question arises of how his center of observation can change. I feel that it's a fairly simple process. For example, some of us have fixations with sweet and oily foods. It's a common sense matter that the more we take these items, the more fat we accumulate. Our rational mind knows this but our emotional mind: conscious or unconscious, gives a damn to such reason and keeps influencing us to take more and more of the sweet and fatty items for the sake of pleasure. One fine day, we see the LIPID profile and develop a fear of getting a disease. These reports give support to the rational mind and slowly it wins over the pleasure-driven emotional mind. Life changes and we become aware of the type of food we eat and consume less of the sweets and fatty items. That is how the process of observation operates. 

We drive pleasure from the actions done with self-centric consciousness. So long as we do not see the future pains of these fixations, we remain fixated. The rational mind always knows that "death" is waiting for all of us. It also knows that all pleasures are temporary. With the pleasure of taste, comes the dangers of diseases. Every pursuit of money brings restrictions on freedom. Every relationship brings a commitment of time and energy. Every power brings responsibilities. However, we sell our freedom very cheaply. The rational mind is no match to the pleasure-centric emotional mind, which operates mostly at the unconscious level. We may spend our entire life with fixations or may start becoming aware, right in this moment. It's always a choice. The more difficult our pleasure-seeking habit patterns are, the more difficult it is to exercise this choice. Generally, strong pleasure-seeking habit patterns do not give way to awareness unless there is some life-turning instance. Tulsidas was obsessed with his wife till she insulted him. Valmiki was a dacoit and fixated on his family till he realized that family is not a partner in any consequences of the crime. So long as one is enjoying the dream, nobody can make one awake. The moment one opens eyes, there is light all around. 

Rahu: Rahu represents the “Mana”. While “Chitta” is the storehouse of past memories, “Mana” contains future aspirations. Rahul also represents mental aggression and restlessness. Fixation with future dreams and aspirations naturally brings restlessness.

Kaikeyi, provoked by Manthara made a plan to fulfill her aspirations. She recalled the battlefield where she helped her husband Dashratha and he offered her two boons. Kaikeyi reserved them for the future. She used those two boons: one to send Rama to the forest for 14 years and the other to make his son Bharata the king of Ayodhya. This is how Rahu influences our decisions while we operate at the lower end of the vertical plane of consciousness.

Rahu can act quite differently while we operate at the other end of the vertical plane. Bharata, for whom Kaikeyi took such a step, got so upset and angry listening to the news. He experienced intolerable pain of anticipated separation from Rama. Dashratha is also not able to bear the pain of separation from Rama. Bharata and Dashratha are so united with Rama that they can not even think of such separation. 

During the Dasha of Rahu, generally, our actions are guided by the content of our "Mana". We make instinctive decisions. During Rahu’s periods, we see our own mental aggression. If we continue to be an observer, we see our fixations with different thoughts that result in mental aggression. This gives us a good opportunity to observe the contents of our minds. The more we focus on any thought, the more it captivates our attention. The more we observe, without reaction, the more we regain union with our true selves.

Mercury: 
Mercury represents "Buddhi" or the intellect. The role of intellect in our lives also depends upon the state of our consciousness on the vertical axis. On the one hand, we see King Janaka's intellect which is able to appreciate the decision of Dashratha to send Rama to the forest. He can also appreciate the decision of Sita, his daughter, to accompany Rama to the forest for 14 years leaving all the comforts of the palace. Mercury operates with "universal consciousness" in Janaka. The same Merury operates in the Washerman in Ayodhya when he raises allegations about Sita which led Rama to send Sita to the forest. He Mercury manifests with "self-centric consciousness". Thus, Mercury may manifest quite differently at different planes of consciousness. 

During the dashas of Mercury, we get an opportunity to observe our intellect. We get to know where our reason or logic is placed. Whether they are supplying logic to the stubbornness of the pleasure-seeking emotional mind or they have established a connection to the truth and universal consciousness.  Where they are fixated. If we observe our fixations at the level of intellect, without reactions, we get an opportunity to work on that and purify the same. Our fixations at the level of intellect fade away and we rise upward on the plane of consciousness. 

Venus:
Venus, Mars, and Jupiter are the planets operating in the plane of energy. They represent energies of a different kind that drive our lives. Venus represents the energy of execution. It helps us in the ground-level execution of the tasks, planning, management, appreciation of the fine arts, and details of the concepts. 

Venus also operates quite differently at different levels of consciousness. When Bharata got the news of Rama going to the forest, he was full of grief and indecisiveness. So many apprehensions came to his mind that he did not find any way to proceed further. As he met Rama in the forest and Rama asked him to rule Ayodhya in his absence as his agent, all the confusion went away. His center of existence changed from "self-centric consciousness" to "universal consciousness". It may raise certain eyebrows that how was Bharata "self-centric"? That's a very pertinent question. When Bharata became indecisive, he was operating with "self-centric consciousness" where "self" included "Rama". The moment, he became the agent of Rama, he just surrendered to Rama and his consciousness grew to "universal consciousness" where he is one with "Rama" and it does not matter where Rama physically is. The Venus manifested in the form of the finest planning and execution, to the extent that he could bring Hanumana flying from the sky of Ayodhya down when Hanumana was bringing Sanjivani booti for Lakshmana.

During the dashas of Venus, we can observe where our energy of Venus is fixated. Observation with equanimity helps us come out of the fixations.

Mars:
Mars represents physical energy. It manifests quite differently along the vertical plane of existence. When Hanuman was a child, he had a lot of energy but no direction. To the extent that once he tried to swallow the Sun, the source of life. That is how the energy of Mars operates when one operates with "self-centric consciousness". Only when Hanuman met Rama, he could search for Sita crossing the ocean and helping Rama win the battle. That is how Mars operates with "universal consciousness". 
During the periods of Mars, one can observe the direction of physical energy. One gets to know where the energy is fixated. With constant observation without reaction, one comes out of these fixations.

Jupiter
Jupiter represents knowledge. In a "self-centric consciousness", operates with arrogance. In "universal consciousness", it operates with peace and sweetness. When Parshurama came to fight with Rama after the bow of lord Shiva was broken by Rama, Lakshmana started fighting Parshurama while Rama stayed calm. That is the difference between the operation of Jupiter across the vertical plane of existence.
During Jupiter dasha, we get to know whether our self is fixated on the knowledge we have acquired. We can observe the resultant arrogance and aggression within and may become free of these fixations with observation.

Saturn
Saturn, Sun, and Moon are 3 planets operating in the causal plane. Saturn is the storehouse of our past Karmas. Kumbhakarna is a very interesting character in Ramayana and the favorite of kids. He used to sleep for 6 months continuously and then stay awake for 6 months and eat all the time. That is how our Saturn operates in a "self-centered consciousness". With such consciousness, we keep accumulating impressions in our unconscious mind undergoing the journey of life. These impressions lie deep in our unconscious. They keep guiding our lives each moment, we are not even aware of their operation.

On the other end of the vertical plane of consciousness lies Vibhishana. He is so devoted to Rama, even while living in Lanka. His unconscious mind is so full of Rama that as soon as he gets the first opportunity to meet Rama, he leaves all positions and comforts of Lanka and joins Rama. During the Dasha of Saturn, we can observe and become aware of the drives of our unconscious. 

Sun: 
Sun is the energy of new causes. It supplies energy for the new creation, to take up new projects, new ventures, etc. On the one end across the plane of consciousness (self-centered), it operated on Meghnatha, who wanted to kill Rama and Lakshmana. He is so full of powers and energy to even win over Indra. On the other end of the plane of consciousness (universal consciousness), it operated in Sugriva who along with all his army fought the battle for Rama. During the Dasha of the Sun, we may observe different causes that drive us. With awareness, we can see our fixations and may regain freedom.

Moon:
The moon is the energy of harmony. We see its self-centered expression in Ravana, who made Lanka a golden city and yet kidnapped Sita. The energy of harmony operating in Ravana is quite narrow. His concept of harmony is confined to Lanka. On the other hand, we see Sita, who even after getting exiled from Ayodhya, brings up Love and Kusha in such a manner that they fight for the cause of "Sita" with Rama, without knowing that "Sita" is their own mother. 
During the moon dasha, we get an opportunity to be aware of our own fixations with harmony or satva. 
In the end, I do not at all wish to say that one can not practice awareness without understanding Astrology. The entire point is that the right understanding of Astrology may be helpful in the spiritual journey.  Due to the selfish interpretations and use of Astrology, it has become untouchable by spiritual seekers. This is not correct since Astrology has been and is used by spiritual seekers in their journey for quite a long. It helps to gain focused awareness of the interplay of the 9 forces of nature in our own internal world.