Rahu and Ketu: Luck, Your Eternal Frenemies and How to Stop Respawning.
Have you wondered why you’re always unlucky in certain aspects of your life but have it easier in other ways? Maybe you always find good partners but you get the absolute worst seats on a plane, or you can never be on good terms with authority but you’ve always lived in nice houses? Past life karma, my friend. In this article, we shall understand how ancient Indian astrology explains luck and karma, more particularly, the two planets affecting it.
Karma is the Sanskrit term for any action performed by the body, mind or soul. In terms of good and bad karma, everything you do is accounted for, like on a metaphorical balance sheet, which is then kept lifetime over lifetime, until you face the consequences of your bad deeds and get rewarded for the good ones. In the simplest of words, the Vedic belief about life and death is this: You were born into the material world to go through the karmic cycle and fulfil your destiny. This can have endless implications, for example, the nicer you are to your wife now, the more luck you will have with women in the next lifetime or if you treat your subordinates poorly in this lifetime, you will get a horrible boss in the next one! It also gives a bizarre explanation of why some things are always wrong in some people’s lives, for example, a person having bad luck with money probably misused the resources he had in a past life and is now bearing the brunt of it. This goes on till the day the score is settled, you have fulfilled your destiny and you get ‘moksha’ or freedom from rebirth and your soul returns to its original state/source.
You may forget your identity or karmas from past lifetimes, but some things always stick, such as certain bonds with people, or artistic abilities… which explains why when you meet someone new and you feel like you already know them, or the talent in child prodigies or a friend’s pet that seems to hate you and only you! In astrology, the placement of every planet can give a clue to your past karmas related to it. A true Vedic astrologer (Jyotish) can evaluate your karmic baggage by looking at your birth chart, which is created using your time, date and place of birth.
In the Vedic system, there are nine planets, each ruling over aspects of your life: your social circle, professional life, your intellectual abilities and so on. The most peculiar of these nine entities, however, are Rahu and Ketu, which aren’t physical planets but the imaginary north and south nodes of the moon respectively. Along with Saturn, the equivalent of a metaphysical accountant of your karma, these two planets form the three malefics: the bad guys that cause problems out of your control. Rahu and Ketu are said to never change their axis in your birth chart, lifetime over lifetime! They are always situated opposite to one another and basically wreak havoc in the houses they are placed in, especially Rahu, the most malefic from the bunch. Wherever Rahu is placed in your chart is said to be your soul’s most primitive desire as well as delusions. Most importantly, it shows the enduring suffering you have to undergo.
Rahu and Ketu can only be witnessed during eclipses, when one of the two luminaries, Sun or Moon is overshadowed. Eclipses, also considered periods of karmic cleansing are known to be very crucial from the Vedic point of view because during these times, Rahu/Ketu are at their most powerful and you are more vulnerable to give in to your materialistic desires, willing to go any lengths to achieve them… even at the price of detriment of your soul. However, without these very desires your mind and soul would be absolutely stagnant, as Rahu is the desire to transform, improve and move forward, by hook or crook. It compels you to defy traditions and authority, it makes you seek the most shallow and materialistic pleasures of the world and above all, it gets you prepared for the bad things in life by pushing you headfirst into the abyss. Our very existence can be credited to Rahu, as we were born from desire itself. In contrast, Ketu is the more easy-going of the two and shows your spiritual side. Karmically, Ketu shows the things you have already achieved an expertise of and have no desire for.
The ravenous nature of the planet is also reflected in the mythological story of how Rahu and Ketu came into being. In the story, the Gods and demons were churning the mythical ocean of milk to extract Amrit, the elixir of immortality. Meanwhile, a demon called Swarbhanu sat amongst the gods as Mohini, one of Vishnu’s female avatars was distributing the elixir for everyone to drink. By the time anyone took notice of Swarbhanu, he had already drunk the elixir and achieved immortality. It made the gods very angry and Mohini beheaded the demon. However, being immortal, he did not die, but remained as two separate entities! The head became Rahu and the body became Ketu. This is why, the deities are always depicted one without a head and the other without a body respectively. The newly appointed gods were then tasked with influencing the daily lives of mortals and being the malefics they are, they not only have a negative impact on our minds but also create obstacles in our general life. The Rahu mahadasha (astrological time period which is majorly influenced by a planet) is 18 years long and these 18 years are filled with rebellion, feelings of loneliness, ending of relationships and friendships, and so on.
So what does one do for respite from this demon-turned-god? Well, like most karmic consequences, you have to face them too. Praying to Rahu or chanting the Rahu mantra can actually benefit one with endless material pleasures, victory over enemies, wealth, fame and all that jazz. However, it is bound to distance you from spiritual growth as a result. The more Rahu lures you in, the more materialistic you are likely to become and the more you steer away from your destiny..
The role Rahu and Ketu play in your attainment of moksha is that you have to become conscious of the illusions of the materialistic world and if not from your birth chart, some self-analysis will point you towards the things you are most obsessed with. Rahu and Ketu are the truest frenemies one can have, life after life, giving you everything you desire and making you desire more until you know how to truly connect with your soul and the path you need to follow.
Karma is the Sanskrit term for any action performed by the body, mind or soul. In terms of good and bad karma, everything you do is accounted for, like on a metaphorical balance sheet, which is then kept lifetime over lifetime, until you face the consequences of your bad deeds and get rewarded for the good ones. In the simplest of words, the Vedic belief about life and death is this: You were born into the material world to go through the karmic cycle and fulfil your destiny. This can have endless implications, for example, the nicer you are to your wife now, the more luck you will have with women in the next lifetime or if you treat your subordinates poorly in this lifetime, you will get a horrible boss in the next one! It also gives a bizarre explanation of why some things are always wrong in some people’s lives, for example, a person having bad luck with money probably misused the resources he had in a past life and is now bearing the brunt of it. This goes on till the day the score is settled, you have fulfilled your destiny and you get ‘moksha’ or freedom from rebirth and your soul returns to its original state/source.
You may forget your identity or karmas from past lifetimes, but some things always stick, such as certain bonds with people, or artistic abilities… which explains why when you meet someone new and you feel like you already know them, or the talent in child prodigies or a friend’s pet that seems to hate you and only you! In astrology, the placement of every planet can give a clue to your past karmas related to it. A true Vedic astrologer (Jyotish) can evaluate your karmic baggage by looking at your birth chart, which is created using your time, date and place of birth.
In the Vedic system, there are nine planets, each ruling over aspects of your life: your social circle, professional life, your intellectual abilities and so on. The most peculiar of these nine entities, however, are Rahu and Ketu, which aren’t physical planets but the imaginary north and south nodes of the moon respectively. Along with Saturn, the equivalent of a metaphysical accountant of your karma, these two planets form the three malefics: the bad guys that cause problems out of your control. Rahu and Ketu are said to never change their axis in your birth chart, lifetime over lifetime! They are always situated opposite to one another and basically wreak havoc in the houses they are placed in, especially Rahu, the most malefic from the bunch. Wherever Rahu is placed in your chart is said to be your soul’s most primitive desire as well as delusions. Most importantly, it shows the enduring suffering you have to undergo.
The ravenous nature of the planet is also reflected in the mythological story of how Rahu and Ketu came into being. In the story, the Gods and demons were churning the mythical ocean of milk to extract Amrit, the elixir of immortality. Meanwhile, a demon called Swarbhanu sat amongst the gods as Mohini, one of Vishnu’s female avatars was distributing the elixir for everyone to drink. By the time anyone took notice of Swarbhanu, he had already drunk the elixir and achieved immortality. It made the gods very angry and Mohini beheaded the demon. However, being immortal, he did not die, but remained as two separate entities! The head became Rahu and the body became Ketu. This is why, the deities are always depicted one without a head and the other without a body respectively. The newly appointed gods were then tasked with influencing the daily lives of mortals and being the malefics they are, they not only have a negative impact on our minds but also create obstacles in our general life. The Rahu mahadasha (astrological time period which is majorly influenced by a planet) is 18 years long and these 18 years are filled with rebellion, feelings of loneliness, ending of relationships and friendships, and so on.
The role Rahu and Ketu play in your attainment of moksha is that you have to become conscious of the illusions of the materialistic world and if not from your birth chart, some self-analysis will point you towards the things you are most obsessed with. Rahu and Ketu are the truest frenemies one can have, life after life, giving you everything you desire and making you desire more until you know how to truly connect with your soul and the path you need to follow.
0 comments: