I was explaining to a small gathering on how to use astrology as a diagnostic tool to figure out one’s personality traits — potentials and fault lines, both included. Accordingly, one could make necessary amends to come out with one’s best, and give a positive turn to the life cycle through conscious efforts.
A diehard belief-driven astrologer, who could not digest the idea, shot up a volley of questions: “Sir, in a way it will mean reshaping one’s destiny. How can one’s basic nature be changedIJ How can the planetary implications and thereby one’s course of destiny be interfered withIJ Don’t you think it’s all a fallout of one’s Karmic carryover from the past as arbitrated by the divineIJ If it could be anyway altered, would it not mean interfering with the divine willIJ Experience suggests otherwise, as a being’s roadmap of life could be predicted with a fair amount of precision through the study of one’s birth chart.”
“For the answer, exposure to philosophy of life — the way the living order is made out, which includes human construct, and the norms driving its usual run — becomes imperative,” I responded. Well, if we go by the Vedic perception, the God is perceived formless and without any discernible attributes. So, there is no scope for any form-God administering our life cycle from heaven, judging our Karma on a day-to-day basis. Well, the human order is so made out that one’s Karmic cycle works in a self-automated mode. What you do today sets the premise of the future. In this sense, ordinarily, changing the course of destiny may appear inconceivable. The truth will come out otherwise, if we give a look at the premise on which the theory of Karma works.
It is worth remembering here that all existences, but for human beings, are bound by nature-driven laws driving them, and with no scope for making any exception. So, unerringly, they keep moving in an orderly fashion, carrying forward their individualistic as well as collective assignments, supporting the run of the existential order. If the Sun has to rise at a particular point of time, it will do so exactly at that very moment, with no scope for any exception even to the scale of a micro second.
Human beings, though ordinarily supposed to follow larger orderliness of nature, simultaneously enjoy a certain level of freedom. For, human mind, the prime mover of a being, is driven by a ‘sense of duality’, which can form divergent views about the same thing. In turn, it grants us with the freedom to make choices. But if there is a choice, the probability of its use and misuse becomes equal. And there is nothing like a free lunch in this world. One has to bear with the consequences of the good or bad choices made. This is what sets the premise of our almost never ending Karmic cycle.
The danger in this scheme of things is that an unreasoned individualistic choice, not simply disturbs one’s own wellbeing. In a collective living, it could even make a dent in societal harmony and balance. To overcome this fallibility, human beings are armed with the buddhi — the faculty of discriminate intelligence. Applying this privilege, one could dispassionately analyse, measure the choices in hand, arrive at the right judgment, and strike the most appropriate note. This, coupled with the choice option, also brings in the possibility of making such conscientious choices, as could help make necessary corrections intended to add quality and value to life. If we ignore this privilege, it is our fault.
True, we become due for the consequences of our own doing and undoing in the past, which astrology could predict with a fair amount of precision. The question now is: Should we submit to it blindly, or face it intelligentlyIJ Obviously, one would prefer the latter option, which in the first place would mean intelligently dealing with the consequences of the past. Second, consciously work upon the present to set the terms of the future right.
It is worth adding here that imprints of our past karma are carried over in seed form in our mind. That will find reflection only when a congenial ground is available. Here again, applying the choice option in hand, one could deny ground to the karmic seeds with the help of fresh educative inputs. So, we are not slave to our destiny. The choice of freedom, duly aided by buddhi, also enjoins upon us with the capacity to come out of our Karmic bondage and reshape our destiny.
The writer is an astrologer, vastu consultant and spiritual counsellor. Write to him at G-102, Bharat Nagar, New Friends Colony, New Delhi — 110 025
Tel: 91-11-49848475/9818037273 Email: pioneerqueries@bharatastro.comWebsite: www.bharatastro.com