Catastrophic Results of a Bad Muhurta
Patita Pavana das Adhikary
Jyotish Shastri
Sat., 14 Aug.2010: What went wrong at an off-road race in California’s Mojave Desert when eight spectators were crushed to death and another dozen injured, mostly seriously? As seen from the video below, neither track rules nor rules of common sense were followed when a speeding Ranger truck went airborne over a jump called “the rockpile” and plowed into a milling crowd of whooping sports fans. According to AP news, “The crash came shortly after the start of the 8 p.m. PDT race called the California 200.” The driver, Brent Sloppy of Misery Motorsports, crawled out of the flipped vehicle, unhurt, but fearfully fled the fuming crowd. Emergency vehicles included 7 ambulances and 10 helicopters.
To watch, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvNyFr_CtiM
Astrology can provide another--and we think, clearer--view of the catastrophe. Disaster struck just minutes after the desert duelers screamed off the line at 8:00 pm. According to the rules of muhurta jyotish, the timing couldn’t have been worse. Note that the literal meaning of dis-aster is “bad star” and there were plenty.
The fixed air sign of Aquarius (11) was rising at the start of the competition. Saturn, lord of Aquarius, was ominously tucked away in the eighth house of death, the feared mrityustan. Saturn, the grim reaper of the skies, was also the lord of the 12th (house of loss) for the muhurta. Since the race began on Saturday (Shaniwar), Saturn was also the day lord. Along with Saturn in the house of death were debilitated Venus (planet of entertainment) and violent Mars. Planets were engaged in graha-yuddha or planetary fights. The sort of violent, deadly entertainment that the three planets in Virgo (8th from Aquarius) had in mind was quite different from what was anticipated. No proper muhurta is ever chosen with any planet in the 8th house of death. For any astrologer worth his dakshina, two malefics and a debilitated benefic there would be unthinkable.
Now, for a few more of the ominous features: Venus, the debilitated lord of the 9th house of fortune, was sitting in the 12th to the 9th, indicating a “loss of fortune.” The 8th house was in Virgo, which is ruled by Mercury. Mercury was 12 houses away from the 8th (again, denoting loss) in the 7th house in Leo. The seventh is called a death-inflictor or maraka-stan. Next, the lord of this house, the Sun, was 12 houses away in the 6th house of disease completing the domino effect. Apparently, the vision of Jupiter to the 8th could do little to help, either because Jupiter was retrograde or the hostile offensive originating in the 8th was just too overpowering.
Earthquake Steve, a devotee-astrologer from Boston, wrote to me just two days before the event with the following words, “Soon we will see what Saturn opposed Jupiter brings, I'll E you if I detect anything for that cosmic event, that happens rarely, around every twenty years.”
Ominously, the disaster struck at the exact point when Saturn and Jupiter were within mere minutes of direct opposition. Jupiter was 8º 34’ Pisces. And Saturn was 8º 17’ Virgo. Since Jupiter is now retrograde, he will turn around and meet Saturn head-on in direct opposition on 28 March 2011. The next such push-pull event between the two titans will be on 22 Dec 2029 while Saturn is retrograde in Aries.
Urgent Need for Muhurta-Vidya
There is a tremendous need for a proper knowledge of muhurta jyotish amongst members of ISKCON. Not long ago, your Mithuna Twiins were invited to a wedding yagna which was begun while the Sun was conjoined a weak Moon both sitting together in a recently-eclipsed nakshatra in the 8th house! The 8th also rules intimacy since procreation is the cause of birth and hence death.
It is the pandit’s duty to see that no couples’ life together should ever be initiated under blighted stars. The brahmana who fails in this solemn duty is guilty as if of a criminal act. A word to all the astrologer hopefuls out there: misinterpreting the message of the planets, it is said, is equal to killing a brahmana. The results of “imbalanced pairing” of couples due to astrological misrepresentation causes endless sorrow and hardship. The reaction to the misreading of the stars will certainly haunt the astrologer.
On another occasion, we were invited to a gala diksha-yagna held under a wholly inappropriate nakshatra. The star in force was of the tikshna (sharp) variety, suitable only for “incantations, imprisonment, separation of friends and murder.” And that, too, the yagna was held on Saturday. Spiritual life means walking the razor’s edge, and beginning it on a field of thorns is asking too much of sincere and trusting new candidates. The new soldiers in the army of Mahaprabhu deserve better.
When Shri Krishna has provided us with this science of light, jyotish shastra, it is only good common sense to let His illumination shine. •
A Pilgrimage and a War-like Omen
In June, we were recently graced by a visit from Abhaya Devi’s talented sister and brother-in-law, Shriji Rasa Lila Devi and Shriman Vrajendra Nandan Das. Taking advantage of the occasion, we trekked high into Bulgaria’s Rila Mountains to visit the mystical Seven Sacred Lakes. Getting to the first lake involves a ski lift, but since that was under repair we hired a 4X4 which somehow managed to navigate the fierce, steep terrain. At the end of the rocky trail, we hired sturdy mountain pack horses. The herds roam free in the winter and are rounded up in the late Spring. Our horses carried us along the edges of steep cliffs overlooking glaciers and set us down at the first lake. I stayed with the backpacks while the three hardy Bulgarians took a japa walk over craggy boulders to the uppermost lake.
Elevations of the lakes range from 6,500 ft to 8,200 ft. Though their spiritual history is lost in the mists of time, they are still a popular pilgrimage destination for local worshippers. In late summer, they are the venue of a festival of religious gathering wherein thousands of vegetarian members of the White Brotherhood dance to a violin playing “Om”. To taste the pristine waters of the uppermost lake (Abhaya tells me!) is to understand Shri Krishna’s words raso’ham apsu kaunteya, “I am the original taste of water.” (BGAI 7.8) Even upon drinking the liquid bliss of the lower lake, my body shook and my legs could provide no support.
After making our way down the mountain, the setting Sun took on the appearance of an angry copper kettle. As he inched into the basin of fertile farmland farm land, Lord Surya Narayana turned a deep crimson red. The globe appeared to take on a sort of oval shape. It jogged a memory of an omen described in a long-forgotten nimmita-shastra (science of portents): “When the Sun appears like a blood-red bow in the sky, it is a sign of war.”
We discussed what it could mean, and concluded that since the Sun was in Cancer, a water sign, there would be some conflict on the high seas in the near future. The next day, 24 July 2010, North Korea promised to rain a “holy war” upon the United States for joining South Korea in massive naval exercises involving 20 nuclear-armed ships and subs and 200 aircraft. According to AP News, Pyongang declared, “The army and people of the (North) will legitimately counter with their powerful nuclear deterrence the largest-ever nuclear war exercise.”
It is said that the same chain of mountains that form the Himalayas links to the great ranges of Europe. One of the beautiful aspects of the Rila Mountains, and other remote hideaways of the Earth, is that even after the demonic governments of the earth are finished with their business of destroying each other, these handiworks of Krishna’s glorious creation will still be here to inspire and shelter future generations:
yajnanam japa-yajno ‘smi sthavatanam himalayah
“Of sacrifices I am japa, the chanting of the holy names, and of immovable things I am the Himalayas.” (BGAI 10.25) -Ed. •
Visit us at: www.vedicastrologers.org
Letters, consultations: dkrishna108@yahoo.com
Jyotish Shastri
Sat., 14 Aug.2010: What went wrong at an off-road race in California’s Mojave Desert when eight spectators were crushed to death and another dozen injured, mostly seriously? As seen from the video below, neither track rules nor rules of common sense were followed when a speeding Ranger truck went airborne over a jump called “the rockpile” and plowed into a milling crowd of whooping sports fans. According to AP news, “The crash came shortly after the start of the 8 p.m. PDT race called the California 200.” The driver, Brent Sloppy of Misery Motorsports, crawled out of the flipped vehicle, unhurt, but fearfully fled the fuming crowd. Emergency vehicles included 7 ambulances and 10 helicopters.
To watch, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvNyFr_CtiM
Astrology can provide another--and we think, clearer--view of the catastrophe. Disaster struck just minutes after the desert duelers screamed off the line at 8:00 pm. According to the rules of muhurta jyotish, the timing couldn’t have been worse. Note that the literal meaning of dis-aster is “bad star” and there were plenty.
The fixed air sign of Aquarius (11) was rising at the start of the competition. Saturn, lord of Aquarius, was ominously tucked away in the eighth house of death, the feared mrityustan. Saturn, the grim reaper of the skies, was also the lord of the 12th (house of loss) for the muhurta. Since the race began on Saturday (Shaniwar), Saturn was also the day lord. Along with Saturn in the house of death were debilitated Venus (planet of entertainment) and violent Mars. Planets were engaged in graha-yuddha or planetary fights. The sort of violent, deadly entertainment that the three planets in Virgo (8th from Aquarius) had in mind was quite different from what was anticipated. No proper muhurta is ever chosen with any planet in the 8th house of death. For any astrologer worth his dakshina, two malefics and a debilitated benefic there would be unthinkable.
Now, for a few more of the ominous features: Venus, the debilitated lord of the 9th house of fortune, was sitting in the 12th to the 9th, indicating a “loss of fortune.” The 8th house was in Virgo, which is ruled by Mercury. Mercury was 12 houses away from the 8th (again, denoting loss) in the 7th house in Leo. The seventh is called a death-inflictor or maraka-stan. Next, the lord of this house, the Sun, was 12 houses away in the 6th house of disease completing the domino effect. Apparently, the vision of Jupiter to the 8th could do little to help, either because Jupiter was retrograde or the hostile offensive originating in the 8th was just too overpowering.
Earthquake Steve, a devotee-astrologer from Boston, wrote to me just two days before the event with the following words, “Soon we will see what Saturn opposed Jupiter brings, I'll E you if I detect anything for that cosmic event, that happens rarely, around every twenty years.”
Ominously, the disaster struck at the exact point when Saturn and Jupiter were within mere minutes of direct opposition. Jupiter was 8º 34’ Pisces. And Saturn was 8º 17’ Virgo. Since Jupiter is now retrograde, he will turn around and meet Saturn head-on in direct opposition on 28 March 2011. The next such push-pull event between the two titans will be on 22 Dec 2029 while Saturn is retrograde in Aries.
Urgent Need for Muhurta-Vidya
There is a tremendous need for a proper knowledge of muhurta jyotish amongst members of ISKCON. Not long ago, your Mithuna Twiins were invited to a wedding yagna which was begun while the Sun was conjoined a weak Moon both sitting together in a recently-eclipsed nakshatra in the 8th house! The 8th also rules intimacy since procreation is the cause of birth and hence death.
It is the pandit’s duty to see that no couples’ life together should ever be initiated under blighted stars. The brahmana who fails in this solemn duty is guilty as if of a criminal act. A word to all the astrologer hopefuls out there: misinterpreting the message of the planets, it is said, is equal to killing a brahmana. The results of “imbalanced pairing” of couples due to astrological misrepresentation causes endless sorrow and hardship. The reaction to the misreading of the stars will certainly haunt the astrologer.
On another occasion, we were invited to a gala diksha-yagna held under a wholly inappropriate nakshatra. The star in force was of the tikshna (sharp) variety, suitable only for “incantations, imprisonment, separation of friends and murder.” And that, too, the yagna was held on Saturday. Spiritual life means walking the razor’s edge, and beginning it on a field of thorns is asking too much of sincere and trusting new candidates. The new soldiers in the army of Mahaprabhu deserve better.
When Shri Krishna has provided us with this science of light, jyotish shastra, it is only good common sense to let His illumination shine. •
A Pilgrimage and a War-like Omen
In June, we were recently graced by a visit from Abhaya Devi’s talented sister and brother-in-law, Shriji Rasa Lila Devi and Shriman Vrajendra Nandan Das. Taking advantage of the occasion, we trekked high into Bulgaria’s Rila Mountains to visit the mystical Seven Sacred Lakes. Getting to the first lake involves a ski lift, but since that was under repair we hired a 4X4 which somehow managed to navigate the fierce, steep terrain. At the end of the rocky trail, we hired sturdy mountain pack horses. The herds roam free in the winter and are rounded up in the late Spring. Our horses carried us along the edges of steep cliffs overlooking glaciers and set us down at the first lake. I stayed with the backpacks while the three hardy Bulgarians took a japa walk over craggy boulders to the uppermost lake.
Elevations of the lakes range from 6,500 ft to 8,200 ft. Though their spiritual history is lost in the mists of time, they are still a popular pilgrimage destination for local worshippers. In late summer, they are the venue of a festival of religious gathering wherein thousands of vegetarian members of the White Brotherhood dance to a violin playing “Om”. To taste the pristine waters of the uppermost lake (Abhaya tells me!) is to understand Shri Krishna’s words raso’ham apsu kaunteya, “I am the original taste of water.” (BGAI 7.8) Even upon drinking the liquid bliss of the lower lake, my body shook and my legs could provide no support.
After making our way down the mountain, the setting Sun took on the appearance of an angry copper kettle. As he inched into the basin of fertile farmland farm land, Lord Surya Narayana turned a deep crimson red. The globe appeared to take on a sort of oval shape. It jogged a memory of an omen described in a long-forgotten nimmita-shastra (science of portents): “When the Sun appears like a blood-red bow in the sky, it is a sign of war.”
We discussed what it could mean, and concluded that since the Sun was in Cancer, a water sign, there would be some conflict on the high seas in the near future. The next day, 24 July 2010, North Korea promised to rain a “holy war” upon the United States for joining South Korea in massive naval exercises involving 20 nuclear-armed ships and subs and 200 aircraft. According to AP News, Pyongang declared, “The army and people of the (North) will legitimately counter with their powerful nuclear deterrence the largest-ever nuclear war exercise.”
It is said that the same chain of mountains that form the Himalayas links to the great ranges of Europe. One of the beautiful aspects of the Rila Mountains, and other remote hideaways of the Earth, is that even after the demonic governments of the earth are finished with their business of destroying each other, these handiworks of Krishna’s glorious creation will still be here to inspire and shelter future generations:
yajnanam japa-yajno ‘smi sthavatanam himalayah
“Of sacrifices I am japa, the chanting of the holy names, and of immovable things I am the Himalayas.” (BGAI 10.25) -Ed. •
Visit us at: www.vedicastrologers.org
Letters, consultations: dkrishna108@yahoo.com
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