Michael Laughrin's North American Jyotish Newsletter Oct/Nov 2009

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Michael Laughrin's North American Jyotish Newsletter October / November 2009

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I offer you this newsletter to enhance and deepen your experience of Vedic

Astrology. In these newsletters, expect to find a combination of helpful

articles, book reviews, Jyotish links and more. The purpose of this newsletter

is to educate and titillate the Jyotish-loving public. The opinions given within

are solely those of the author.

 

In this issue, discover two important yogas that predict special skill and

mastery, explained by Alison Berker. Also, enjoy my review of one of my favorite

books, It's Here Now (Are You?).

 

Please visit my website, www.Jyotish.ws at your convenience. The best articles

from these newsletters are archived on this site. I offer access to an excellent

yagya program.

 

- Michael Laughrin (michael)

 

 

 

Yogas of Skill

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By Alison Berker (premavratini)

 

My Jyotish teacher, Hart deFouw, always stressed the importance of a

considerable knowledge of yogas for correct astrological interpretation.

Whenever I find a chart that initially looks confusing, a review of any number

of things that I learned from deFouw usually makes it come into crystal clear

focus. I cannot thank him enough for his astoundingly brilliant impartation of

this vidya.

 

One yoga that I often heard him expound upon is Kala Nidhi Yoga. It is often

translated as " the Moon " or " treasure of digits. " These two translations hardly

give a glimmer of its true meaning. I can still see Hart shouting, " It means

SKILL. "

 

In the Vedic tradition, there sixty-four classical skills ranging from simplest

to most complex. They begin with butchery and end with Jyotish, the sixty-fourth

and highest skill. Kala can be variously translated as the Moon, because it is a

word for a one-sixteenth portion of the moon, as digits, because it can mean a

small portion of something, but in this context its most relevant translation is

in reference to the sixty-four kalas.

 

This yoga can give massive insight into the level of skill a person possesses in

their chosen field, which will be indicated by the yoga and other relevant

factors in a horoscope.

 

Skill is defined at dictionary.com as:

 

1. the ability, coming from one's knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc., to do

something well: Carpentry was one of his many skills.

2. competent excellence in performance; expertness; dexterity: The dancers

performed with skill.

3. a craft, trade, or job requiring manual dexterity or special training in

which a person has competence and experience: the skill of cabinetmaking.

 

The yoga is defined in two ways. First, as Jupiter in the second house or fifth

house associated or aspected by Mercury and Venus; second, as Jupiter occupying

a rashi of Mercury or Venus. I suspect the latter definition becomes more

significant when Jupiter occupies such a rashi and the second or fifth house, or

at least aspects the second house, fifth house, ascendant, or ascendant lord.

 

However, even if Jupiter simply occupies a rashi of Mercury or Venus in any

house, one will usually find the person has a bit of special skill. They may be

an excellent gardener, graphic artist or something of that nature.

 

Jupiter is the singular planet of knowledge and Venus and Mercury are the two

singular planets that give notable talent and dexterity.

 

This yoga is sort of similar to Saraswati Yoga, a much more well-known yoga

whose definition is that Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury occupy a kendra or kona or

the second house and Jupiter occupies its own, exaltation or friendly rashi and

possesses strength. Very rarely, a person could have both Kala Nidhi Yoga and

Saraswati Yoga if Jupiter were strong in a friendly, own or exaltation sign, in

the second or fifth and Mercury and Venus were in the same rashi, but other than

that instance, the two yogas diverge.

 

And they diverge in meaning as well. Rather than knowledge employed in the

service of a more practical worldly skill, because of the emphasis in Saraswati

Yoga on Jupiter's strength and comfort, it is a yoga of more indicative of

refined wisdom, knowledge for its own sake or some super-refined skill aimed at

carrying people to the transcendent Saraswati Yoga often presents in the charts

of mathematicians, philosophers and writers, although if Jupiter and, to a

lesser extent, Mercury and Venus, have multiple afflictions, it may not give

such a high turn of mind.

 

Kala Nidhi Yoga emphasizes the influence of Mercury and Venus on Jupiter. Since

neither Mercury nor Venus are Jupiter's friends, the planet is uncomfortable in

their signs and its knowledge capacity is conscripted into worldly service, the

development of the ability to DO something well rather than BECOME a bastion of

knowledge and wisdom. Kala Nidhi Yoga carries a stronger connotation of skill

that is applicable to mundane life, although in a chart with other spiritual

indications it may give a transcendental type skill.

 

Below are example charts of both yogas. See charts at

http://jyotish.ws/materials/chartss.html

 

 

Steve Jobs

It is widely accepted that Steve Jobs built a better operating system than did

Bill Gates. Of course, that didn't stop Gates' system from outselling Jobs'

system. The old adage - money and talent do not always flow conjointly. If there

was any doubt about Jobs' superiority before the IPod and the iPhone, that doubt

was erased then. The IPod is one of the most user friendly techno gadgets ever

created. Plus Jobs is also the father of Pixar animations.

 

Jobs DOES have a potent Kala Nidhi Yoga. Jupiter is in Gemini, it is Rx and it

aspects the fifth house from the eleventh. Venus sits in the fifth aspecting

back onto Jupiter. Plus Jupiter aspects the Sun in the seventh, who is the

ascendant lord, thereby tying the yoga directly to Jobs. Gates does not have

this yoga.

 

Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg is one of the most successful, renowned Hollywood directors of

all time. The gross receipts on his movies exceed 8 billion dollars. His movie,

Jaws, was a huge innovation in film style that had not been seen before. He has

made many of America's iconic films, including Jaws, E.T., and The Color Purple.

He also has a great Kala Nidhi Yoga. Jupiter is in Venus sign with Venus in the

fifth house and Jupiter aspects the first house, tying this yoga directly to the

person. The fifth house is the premier house of creativity and also the house of

the intellectual mind. When these two abilities conjoin with skill in a person

not otherwise afflicted the results can be marvelous.

 

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso has FOUR debilitated planets, including a vargottama debilitated

Moon as his ascendant lord. It just goes to show, not all debilitated planets

are alike. All four of his debilitated planets have a neecha bhanga and two have

a neecha bhanga raja yoga. . He also has a Kala Nidhi yoga formed by Jupiter Rx

in Taurus in the eleventh and aspected by Mercury from the fifth house, where

the lord of his chart, the Moon, is sitting. Because his fifth house contains

Mercury, the debilitated Moon and exalted Rahu who conjoin with the Kala Nidhi

Yoga his renowned skill was also highly unusual.

 

Raphael

Raphael is another painter of nonpareil status with a beautiful Kala Nidhi Yoga.

He has Jupiter Rx in the eleventh in Virgo with exalted Rx Venus in the fifth

with Jupiter aspecting ascendant lord Mars. Both Venus and Jupiter are strong,

Venus is just reaching its exact degree of exaltation (27). Venus is totally

combust but this can enhance the inner qualities of a planet and Raphael's

painting was a very high expression.

 

Britney Spears

Britney is no Raphael, but she is a successful singer and she does have a weak

Kala Nidhi Yoga formed by Jupiter in no special condition in Libra in the second

house. The weakness of this yoga makes her popular for the masses but certainly

not a refined timeless production.

 

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa is one of India's greatest saints. He has a Kala Nidhi

Yoga formed by Jupiter Rx in Gemini in the fifth house. In his case, multiple

yogas indicating great spirituality turn his Kala Nidhi Yoga into spiritual

skill.

 

Some other people renowned for skill with a Kala Nidhi Yoga include Fred

Astaire, Roger Abbott, Hank Aaron, Igor Stravinsky, Henry Ford, Carl Jung,

Alexander Graham Bell, and Ammachi.

 

Saraswati Yoga is defined in Phaladipika CH.6 as " Highly intelligent; skilled in

dramatics, prose composition, versifying accounts, poetry, narrative

descriptions, and the exposition of sacred lore. Will be world-renowned,

prosperous, and blessed with wife and progeny. He will be fortunate and

respected by even the best of rulers. "

 

Below are example charts of Saraswati Yoga. See charts at

http://jyotish.ws/materials/chartss.html

 

 

Umberto Eco

Umberto Eco has been described as a " colossus of learning. " He is an Italian

writer, teacher, and researcher. He holds thirteen honorary doctorates, he

speaks five modern languages and has a good grasp of classic Greek and Latin. He

is one of only a few hundred people regarded to have mastered semiotics, the

study of signs and symbols. He has written several enormously large and

successful books and he lives with a library of over 30,000 books. He has a

lovely Saraswati Yoga formed by exalted Rx Jupiter in the ascendant, Venus in

the seventh and Mercury in the fifth. Mercury conjoins his lagna lord in the

fifth, which Jupiter aspects. And Venus aspects his ascendant, so all three

elements of his Saraswati Yoga are tied to the ascendant or the ascendant lord.

 

Omraam Aivanhov

A Bulgarian mystic, philosopher and teacher, he was a leader of the Universal

White Brotherhood, which taught timeless spiritual precepts with a predominantly

Christian flavor. His Saraswati Yoga is formed by Jupiter in the second, Mercury

in the fourth and Venus in the fifth. Because Jupiter conjoins Rahu on his

Kala-Sarpa Yoga axis, forming a Guru-Chandala Yoga he taught in an outfit not

widely respected.

 

Enrico Fermi

A Nobel Prize winner in physics, Fermi discovered nuclear fission, invented the

nuclear reactor and created the first controlled nuclear fission reaction. He

was a child prodigy in math and physics and received his doctorate at the age of

21. His Saraswati Yoga is formed by Mercury and Venus in Libra in the seventh

and Jupiter in Sagittarius in the ninth. The presence of Rahu and Mars with his

Mercury and Venus is probably what made him take up the pursuit of nuclear

fission.

 

Bertrand Russell

Another Nobel Prize winner (in Literature), Bertrand Russell is considered one

of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. He was a mathematician,

logician, social critic and philosopher with strong humanitarian leanings. He

wrote over 3000 publications and 40 books. He is standard fare in any liberal

arts education.

 

His Saraswati Yoga is formed by exalted Jupiter in the tenth and Venus and

Mercury in the seventh. His Saraswati Yoga is completely unafflicted and Jupiter

is in the tenth, making him a strong humanitarian.

 

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci is one of the greatest universal geniuses of all time. He

remains legendary today for his painting, his mathematical abilities and his

inventions, but he was also skilled in numerous fields including writing, music,

botany, sculpture and architecture. He has a Saraswati Yoga formed by Jupiter in

the fourth, Mercury in the fifth and Venus in Taurus in the seventh. His Jupiter

is in Aquarius, only the sign of a neutral planet to Jupiter, but Jupiter can

function like it is exalted in Aquarius so it is a special exception. Mercury is

debilitated but it has neecha bhanga from both Venus and Jupiter. Mercury in

Pisces can represent a diversified thinker because fish, the symbol of Pisces,

breed in hordes, so often the mind of a debilitated Mercury person has hordes of

thoughts. This can make someone ditsy and disorganized or multifaceted and

brilliant depending on other indications in the chart. Albert Einstein also had

a Saraswati Yoga with Jupiter in Aquarius and Mercury in Pisces. One difference

between Einstein and da Vinci is that da Vinci's lagna lord is Mars exalted in

the third house of kalas (skills) whereas Einstein's chart is ruled by

debilitated Mercury, so da Vinci had hands on practical skill as well as

diversified intelligence, whereas Einstein was primarily a thinker and not at

all practical in his own life.

 

 

 

Book Review: " It's Here Now - (Are You?) " by Bhagavan Das

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Review by Michael Laughrin (michael)

 

It's Here Now - (Are You?) by Bhagavan Das is an American spiritual classic. It

has everything you could want in a book: sex, religion (many different

varieties), adventure, famous people, travel, name dropping, drugs, Jesus,

money, family and much, much more. It is a coming-of-age true life story that

tells of the growing up of a not-so-typical " baby boomer. " Generally, I never

read a book more than once ( " so many books, so little time " ), but I have read

this book three times in five months.

 

No matter who you are, whatever you do, if you are a regular reader of my online

newsletter, I can virtually guarantee that you will love this book. Or not. BUT

I do think that you must read it, (to at least me), this book is one of the most

important of our age. Ultimately, this memoir is a love story of a transcendent

love that the author experiences between his soul and God (as the Divine Mother,

as Jesus, as Buddha - the rest you'll just have to discover by reading it).

 

Bhagavan Das says, and I pretty much agree with it, that all of us must create

our own religion. We all worship in the inner Temple of Silence. The author is

definitely one who exemplifies his spiritual life by walking his talk.

 

Buy it.

 

Read it.

 

Learn from it.

 

---

 

Michael Laughrin, Michael, business phone: (440) 582-9848; cell

phone: (440) 263-2159

 

To , send an email to: jyotish_ws-

 

Articles from past issues of this newsletter are archived at the jyotish.ws

website.

 

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