Guest guest Posted June 2, 2006 Report Share Posted June 2, 2006 Namaste friends, I just want to philosophize a little bit here and make some freewheeling comments. Please forgive me if I offend your sensibilities. Starting to worship a deity is a *potentially* life-altering event. If someone is suggested the specific sadhana in which one has already made tremendous progress in the previous lives, results can come very quickly. So choosing an ishta devata to recommend to someone is probably the most important choice a Jyotishi makes. I cannot believe that thumbrules and formulas are sufficient in such a sublime task. I believe that only an astrologer who is pure from within and in touch with his/her own ishta devata can give perfect guidance in a sublime matter such as this. Of course, a wrong suggestion is not disastrous. Worship of any deity will only lead one in the right direction. But a perfect guidance can save one a lot of time. We have various planets associated with various deities, as given in various classics. While many Hindu masters recognize the supreme divinity as nirguna (attribute-less), all manifestations that we can pray to have various gunas (attributes). As planets too represent various attributes, we map planets to devatas. However, there are millions of deities in Hinduism, each representing a different combination of attributes. How can we pick the right deity based just on 9 planets? The same god sometimes has many different forms, with different attributes. For example, take Ganesha. There are different forms of Ganesha - Mohana Ganapathi, Uchchishta Ganapathi, Raaja Ganapathi, Siddhi Ganapathi etc. Obviously, each has different attributes. Can the same planet or planet combination capture all? One can even imagine Ganapthi not as just an obstacle remover, but as the one who is close to Brahman and almost attribute-less. "Ganapathyatharva Seersham" is a prayer to such a form of Ganesha who is lauded to create, sustain and destroy this universe. Isn't such a subtle form of Ganesha grossly different from the standard form we imagine? Can the same planetary combinations capture it? In fact, such a subtle form that is close to formlessness exists for various deities. If Venus shows Lakshmi, does the same Venus show Adyaadi Sri Mahalakshmi, from whom the entire creation - including Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva - is said to have come in the sapta shati rahasyam? With due respect, I feel that our current understanding of Jyotish is not sufficient and not reliable in coming up with the perfect recommendation for a deity worship for making progress towards moksha. That is why I humbly suggest to fellow Jyotishis that sadhana (personal internal practice of whatever spiritual path one chooses) is essential. Only one whose internal light is pure can guide others correctly. Making correct predictions of marriage, job offer, child birth etc is excellent. No doubt. But, if one changes somebody's life by directing one towards the correct form of divinity, there is nothing like it! Though the formula at SJC is to take the occupant of the 12th house from AK in navamsa and to take the lord only if the house is empty, you can never be sure. For example, take Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. To me, it will be absurd to think that Kaali is not his ishta devata. His AK Rahu is in Cp in navamsa. The 12th from him has Sun, but the lord Jupiter in Aq with Mercury and Saturn dominates. Saturn in moolatrikona is his dispositor and Saturn ended up dominating. Through Kaali's worship, he experienced everything that there was to be experienced in this universe and transcended every experience. He is a sadhaka without comparison. Standard rules would not have resulted in Kaali being picked, but, if an astrologer suggested him Kaali worship when he was young, he did a great job! Of course, if Saturn shows Kaali, which variation? Should it be Smasaana Kaali or Bhadra Kaali or Taarana Kaali or some other form? My point is that there are umpteen parameters and the formulas don't work always. Mastering the implications of astrological combinations is difficult and understanding the nature of millions of deities we have is more difficult. So, we cannot rely on our limited understanding of Jyotish alone. There is really no substitute to sincere sadhana and surrendering to one's ishta devata. Then only one will be able to impact the lives of others in a positive way. Ok, there I end my 2 cents of freewheeling thoughts. Good night! May the light of Brahman shine within, Narasimha ------------------------------- Free Jyotish lessons (MP3): http://vedicastro.home.comcast.net Free Jyotish software (Windows): http://www.VedicAstrologer.org Sri Jagannath Centre (SJC) website: http://www.SriJagannath.org ------------------------------- > Dear Paul, > > For Istadevata take the > strongest planet - if any, in > 12H from AK in D9. If there is > no planet, take the lord of > 12H from AK > > Best wishes > > jk > > > sohamsa > [sohamsa > m]On Behalf Of paul_timecharts > Thursday, June 01, 2006 > 5:42 PM > sohamsa > > Spirituality > > > Dear Group, > > I have a chap here who wishes > to know his Ishta Devata. The > problem > is I have not been taught what > to do if there is no direct > connection > between AK (Karakamsha) and > Istha Devata (Jivanmuktamsha). > > AK Shukra in Tula (D9) with > Mangala, Budha and Ketu in > Virgo. No > rashi drshti connects the two > 'grahas'. > > Only thing I thought was > lagnamsa Vrscika has two > lords, one with the > AK, the other with the Ishta. > Could not this Mangala/Ketu > indicate > Deity or would we advise > Vishnu, even though no > connection? > > All the best, > Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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