Vedic astrology: benefics, malefics and overcoming karma

 Hari Aum.

It has been a while since I have written a post on Vedic astrology and I thought it would be interesting to write one on the subject of karma and the planets. This is meant to introduce some concepts of Vedic astrology to those who may be unfamiliar with them but are curious to know more.

As you may be aware, according to Vedic astrology or Jyotisha (meaning 'light of God' in Sanskrit), the placement of specific celestial bodies (there are nine of these as mentioned below) at the time of our birth shines a light upon our karma for this lifetime. 

As mentioned in my previous post, that portion of our vast accumulated karmas to be experienced during our current lifetime on Earth is known as 'prarabdha karma' and this is what the Vedic astrology chart or horoscope indicates.

There are two groups of celestial bodies or 'grahas' (loosely translated as 'planets' though not all are strictly planets)-- the benefic and the malefic. The planets which are by nature 'benefic' are Jupiter, Venus and Mercury. The planets which are by nature 'malefic' are Saturn, Mars, Sun, Rahu and Ketu (the nodes of Moon). The Moon is regarded as being benefic when waxing and malefic when waning.

There is an additional important factor to consider when considering which planets are benefic and malefic in our charts--- and that is the nature of the 'houses' that they rule. There are twelve zodiac signs in our chart and each one represents a particular 'house' or domain of life. 

Each house actually represents many domains in our lives but is mainly associated with one or two key areas of our lives, for example, the 1st house represents the body/health, the 2nd represents wealth/speech/family, the 3rd represents communication/younger siblings, the 4th house represents mother/home, 5th house represents past good karma/children/romance, 6th house represents illness/enemies/debts, 7th house represents spouse/business partners, 8th house represents longevity/death/spiritual liberation, 9th house represents Guru/father/religion/spirituality, 10th house represents career, 11th house represents gains/older siblings/friends, 12th house represents loss of self/seclusion/liberation. There are various other significations of each house but these are some of the main ones.

The zodiac sign that lies in the Eastern-most part of the sky when we are born is granted the position of our 1st house or ascendant. This is the cornerstone of the Vedic astrology chart and the most important house as it represents our very being, our material manifestation on Earth. 

The other zodiac signs are allocated house domains in the the natural sequence that they occur in when counted from the 1st house (the natural sequence of the zodiac, for those unfamiliar is: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces).

Three houses are regarded are especially 'benefic'-- namely the 1st, 5th and 9th. And three houses are regarded as being particularly 'malefic'- namely the 6th, 8th and 12th. 

We need to combine the natural quality of a planet with the natural quality of the house it rules in order to determine its overall benefic or malefic nature in the Vedic chart.

(Note- I will sometimes refer to the planets by the pronoun 'he' as is the habit in Vedic astrology, rather than 'it', as they represent deities and not merely the large spheres of matter that we see with the human eye).

Let us take an example and examine this concept of benefic and malefic planets further.

For a person with Libra ascendant, Venus is the ruler of the 1st and 8th houses, Saturn rules the 4th and 5th houses and Mercury rules the 9th and 12th houses. The 6th house is ruled by Jupiter.

Now, as Venus and Mercury are natural benefics, and also respectively rule the benefic 1st and 9th houses, they are strongly benefic planets for Libra ascendants. 

It is true that Saturn is a natural malefic, but he rules the auspicious 5th house i.e. Capricorn, for a Libra ascendant. Moreover, Saturn regards Venus and Mercury as his dear friends, and therefore is generally well-disposed towards any ascendant ruled by them. Therefore, for a Libra ascendant, Saturn becomes a 'functional benefic' due to rulership of the 5th house.

Now, let us examine the 6th, 8th and 12th houses for a Libra ascendant. Venus and Mercury respectively rule the malefic 8th and 12 houses; however, because they rule also the 1st and 9th houses, this overrides their rulership of these malefic houses and they remain overall benefic. They will give some difficult karma associated with the 8th and 12th houses but overall they are positive planets.

Jupiter is a natural benefic but rules the malefic 6th house for a Libra ascendant. He also rules the 3rd house which is neutral/not especially benefic. Therefore, he becomes a 'functional malefic' planet for a Libra ascendant.

Why does all this business of benefic and malefic planets matter at all? Why should we be concerned with them?

Well, the answer lies in dealing with the karma represented by them. Each planet is allocated a fixed portion of time during which it will give most of the karma related to the domains it represents in our charts. During the period of time ruled by a benefic planet, life will be mostly pleasant. During a period of time ruled by a malefic planet, life will be mostly difficult.

At any point in time, based on Vedic astrology, two planets out of the nine will represent the main karmas that we are going through. One planet of the two will continue to give results for a fixed number of years; this is the primary planet for that period of time. 

The secondary planet will change, typically every few years, so that we get a taste of the karmas represented by each one of the remaining eight planets (in addition to that represented by the primary planet). 

This may sound a bit complicated when one first learns about it, but it isn't really; it is actually quite straightforward once you digest the information a little.  

Furthermore, the planets are constantly on the move in the sky. Their 'transits' in the sky also play an important role in our experience of our karma.

So, in a nutshell, a good period of time in life would be one ruled by a benefic planet in our chart, and the icing on the cake would be if it is also simultaneously in a benefic place in the sky at present.

In contrast, a difficult period of time in life would be one ruled by a malefic planet in our birth chart, with the additional trouble caused by its negative, current position in the sky.

In general, the purpose of studying this subject is to learn how to maximise the benefits from our past karma and minimise the negatives. 

To maximise the benefits of past positive karmas, worship of the higher deities represented by the planets ruling our 1st, 5th and 9th houses would be very helpful. To mitigate the challenges associated with past negative karmas, worship of the deities represented by the planets ruling the 6th, 8th and 12th houses would be very useful. 

One does not need to worship multiple deities to feel the benefits of worship and it is not mandatory to follow the chart. The heart is far more important than the chart say our Gurus. One should select a deity that one feels a natural fondness or affinity towards and worship them daily for both material and spiritual benefits.

As spiritual seekers, we are often warned that periods of time ruled by the highly materialistic planet, Rahu, pose a particular challenge. The periods of time ruled by other natural malefic planets such as Saturn and Ketu can be also be very stressful but they generally support our spiritual lives (in contrast to Rahu which tends to give us karma that drags us away from spiritual life).

In a nutshell, if we want to strengthen a particular domain of our lives, the astrological advice would be to worship the deity associated with the planet ruling that house in our chart (some people worship the planets themselves which is also okay but I would personally advise worshipping the higher deity or aspect of God represented by the planet). For instance, if health poses a particular problem, then the 1st and 6th houses would need to be checked and if one of these is particularly afflicted in the chart, that is the house to be strengthened.

The higher deities associated with the malefic planets are as follows (worship of any of these forms is said to give countless material and spiritual blessings):

Saturn- Narayana, Hanuman; Rahu- Durga; Ketu- Ganesha; Sun- Shiva; Mars- Subramanya

The higher deities associated with the benefic planets are as follows:

Venus- Lakshmi;  Mercury- Vishnu/Krishna/Narayana; Jupiter- Guru, any form of God, Moon- Parvati

If nothing else, daily mantra japa of the deity that is represented by the planet ruling over the ascendant or the 9th house, will bring great blessings for both material and spiritual life.

With regard to malefic planets, I would like to write a bite more about Rahu. The planet, Rahu, is regarded as highly materialistic in nature. He can give good and bad results of past karmas. If he is well-placed in our chart, e.g. in the 6th or 11th house, he can give some positive results in terms of overcoming various challenges in life and giving material blessings. If he is ill-placed in our chart, then there may be a lot of difficulty during his periods of time.  

For spiritual seekers in particular, Rahu can pose a real challenge, a serious spiritual headache. He is the planet of material desire, for literally anything and everything that exists in the material domain. He is also associated with addictions of all kinds, with substance misuse, with excesses in life. He is also known to stir up problems and create issues in family and work relationships, along with ill-health, financial issues and all sorts of difficulties. 

Now, all this sounds a bit theoretical until one actually enters a Rahu period of time. When that occurs, depending upon the dashas/time periods and transits, things can get very challenging indeed. And any spiritual seeker will need to be very careful. 

In my case, for instance, in recent years, I went through a Rahu-Rahu period of time (where Rahu was both the primary and secondary planet), and simultaneously, Rahu entered Taurus (which is my ascendant sign). This was a very heavy dose of Rahu indeed which, I would say, led to a variety of material and spiritual challenges (some of which I have made reference to on this site). On the plus side, I comfort myself that I will never again go through a double dose of Rahu, something I am extremely grateful for.

Various astrology sites describe Rahu as perhaps the most malefic planet of them all, especially for spiritual life. There are numerous alarming descriptions about how this planet can undo much of the good that we have created in our lives. I am generally not a fan of exaggeration or sounding alarmist but I do feel duty-bound to say that, based on my experience of a significant Rahu period, this is a very dangerous planet indeed. It is no exaggeration to say that any spiritual seeker going through a Rahu period must be highly vigilant and watchful over their own mind. 

Spiritual life may be significantly challenged during this time but one absolutely must continue one's spiritual practice. The good part is that, if one continues a daily spiritual practice during the Rahu period (as I have so far managed to do by God's grace), then it gradually becomes easier. The challenges reduce and things actually become quite manageable over time.

My main advice, therefore, for anyone who has a negatively-placed Rahu in their chart, or who is going through a Rahu period of time, is to do some mantra japa of one's favourite deity every single day. If one does not have a favourite deity, then Mother Durga can be worshipped (as She easily vanquishes the negativity of Rahu).

Before I conclude, I would like to say something about the spiritual approach advised by our Gurus with regard to handling our difficult karmas in life. Aside from worship, the attitude with which we face our negative karmas is very important according to them. 

Our Gurus advise us to develop two key qualities with regard to our negative karma-- namely acceptance and indifference. What does this mean?

Well, they tell us to accept our lives, ourselves and those around us as they are (this is not a passive attitude but rather, a positive and proactive approach). Without judgement, without any negativity, they tell us to observe our own minds, to recognise that we are not our minds or thoughts, but rather that we are Atman or souls who are here on a spiritual journey. 

Secondly, when dealing with negative people, they advise us to cultivate an attitude of indifference. Now, this may not always be easy to do, but is very much the approach advised by our Gurus to protect ourselves from creating more negative karma. If we find ourselves dealing with people who are highly negative, the only option may be to walk away or create careful boundaries in our relationships with them. The last thing our Gurus advise is for us to react to their negativity with some of our own.

I would like to relate an interesting story related to the Dalai Lama in this regard. Somebody once asked the Dalai Lama about the challenging experiences that he had faced in life (as you would be aware, he and many of his people had to escape Tibet and flee to India for safety due to the terrible violence that was being perpetrated in their homeland). The Dalai Lama is supposed to have said that, at one time, he was very concerned that he was in grave danger. 

The interviewer asked if he was referring to danger with regard to losing his life while in his homeland. The Dalai Lama replied saying that it was not the danger to his life that he had been greatly concerned about, but rather, it was the danger of possibly losing the compassion and kindness that he felt towards the perpetrators of the atrocities. He was deeply concerned about the risk of negative thoughts arising in his mind as a result of all the violence that had been inflicted upon his homeland. These negative thoughts would have posed a serious problem from a spiritual perspective.

The Dalai Lama therefore presents an excellent example of the attitude that our Gurus advocate-- far from descending to the level of those who may be negative towards us, they tell us to strive to either be indifferent to them, or if possible, even express compassion and positivity instead. This is no easy task as most of us will have found, but is the ideal attitude for a spiritual seeker and we need to keep this as our goal.

During periods of time ruled by the malefic planets such as Rahu, Mars and the like, we may find ourselves at the receiving end of much negativity from various people. These are individuals with whom we have some negative karmic debt and we need to go through these experiences and learn from them. But we need not be afraid if we have our mantra practice.

Mantra literally means 'that which protects the mind' and our Gurus tells us that this is the most effective way of developing the right attitude required to rise above all this karma and continue steadily upon the spiritual path.

They remind us that we are all pilgrims here, and this is not our permanent abode. Instead of embroiling ourselves in various karmas involving others who may have little or no spiritual interest, the best approach would be to slowly and steadily carry on our daily spiritual practice. That is the formula that I have been following by the grace of God, and I can say that it has definitely benefited me. Whatever good in my life has undoubtedly come to me due to the grace of God as a result of daily recitation of my mantra. 

The illusions, the smoke and mirrors of Rahu continue to pursue me, but the good news is that I continue to keep my mantra and thereby, God and Guru, by my side (I am steadily continuing my sixth purascharana at the modest pace of seven malas a day and, in addition to my seated japa practice, also frequently recite the mantra during the day). And, I feel that, as long as they are with me, no Rahu or other malefic planet or any negative karma can ultimately have any victory over me. This is the experience and assurance of our Gurus and I have complete faith that their words are true.

I am also hoping to go on a pilgrimage to India in the coming weeks (I intend to visit some temples and sacred places in Kerala, some of which were favourite destinations of my ancestors). A pilgrimage is a very good way to immerse oneself in sadhana and I am hoping that this will help to recharge my spiritual batteries and keep me firmly on the spiritual path.

Once again, I would like to mention that the present lunar month of Kartika is very auspicious for taking up new mantra sadhana and other spiritual practices. I hope your sadhana is going well, and may it protect you too from any adverse planetary influences and karmas indicated in your own charts.

May God bless us all. May we successfully rise above all karmas and attain Him.

Om Namo Narayanaya.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.