Maya
The Glue that keeps us Earth-bound - in the horoscope
by Rohiniranjan ©2003
(excerpt from Rohiniranjan's Jyotishvani CD)
Some years ago, I read about what was described as ‘maya-pada' in Sanjay Rath's postings made to one of the jyotish list. Thereafter, I read about it again in articles written by his student Narasimha Rao and it reappeared also in the latter's textbook, which by the way, is a very well organized presentation for students of jyotish. Getting back to the issue at hand, the concept and associated technical items will be briefly described for those who are not familiar with these.
Maya or illusion is really more of a delusion than an illusion! A delusion being a thought or idea which is not based on observed or perceived reality (the ghost who lives on the peepul tree in a village – never seen by anyone, but everyone ‘knows' it is there), whereas, an illusion is the misperception of an ‘object' (mistaking a rope for a snake). Spiritualists of ancient and modern times state that as we live through our earthly human existence, each of us acquires a personal view of reality. There is often a discrepancy between the absolute reality and what we perceive it to be. This leads to a subjective mis-interpretation of the universe, resulting in our giving more importance to things which obviously are evanescent and impermanent. We chase after things throughout our life, which we are forced to leave behind when we die and cannot bring back with us when we are reborn. We fall in love and become attached to objects, ideas and persons, a liaison based on whims and fancies, to be frustrated and saddened when things do not work out and that leads to disillusionment when glimpses of reality finally dawn upon us. Maya also leads to generation of actions that are also known as ‘karma' and which then take over the reins of our destiny, thus, becoming the charioteer of our spiritual vehicle on this path of spiritual progress that is our soul-goal and the sole reason for our being in this earthly reality.
We often run into individuals who have led quite accomplished lives in our eyes but those in whom they confide would tell us another story. That the individual thinks of himself as a failure! Between the admired role model and us the followers, one of us is obviously not tapped into ‘reality' and hence we see the duality as a consequence of maya. We might judge someone as very brave or very pious, but in reality, they might be very human and quite petty actually.
If our horoscopes are to reflect the different facets of the human experience, then there should be a clear way of discerning the fact that the subjective perceptions of the nativity do not (or do) match the observed reality (which may in turn be different from absolute reality which one can figure out only through the knowledge of things that transcend earthly knowledge!).
In a horoscope, we have twelve houses and nine planetary indicators (5 planets, 2 lights and 2 nodes). These obviously are not adequate for covering all facets of modern human life. Jyotish, therefore, must use a variety of indicators known as karakas or executors. There are three types of karakas described by Parashara: inherent (naisargika) karakas, fixed (sthira) and transitional (chara) karakas. The latter are also utilized extensively in the Jaimini ‘system' which some insist is a separate system and must not be mixed with the mainstream Parashari system. Despite the strength of expression of such statements, such a tight water-tight compartmentation has not been adequately demonstrated and remains a subjective statement, many of which abound in Jyotish. I find it difficult to visualize that the same planet must put on its Parashari cap when looking at another planet, but would take it off and have to put its Jaimini cap to indicate its chara dasha influence or charakaraka role! These kinds of conclusions and statements not backed by clear evidence is unappealing to the modern mind and generally amount to being like a drop of water that falls on a hot saucepan. A momentary sizzle; then it is gone!
There are also several secondary houses described in jyotish. There is the ‘bhavat-bhavam' concept, a term which a sanskritologist claimed to be grammatically incorrect. The concept, regardless of its linguistic accuracy or purity, is what I have called ‘the vedic hopscotch'. The secondary house is located as many houses from the house under consideration, as the house is away from lagna or first house. So, 3rd house is the bhavat-bhavam house for 2nd, 7th is bhavat-bhavam for 4th, 7th is bhavat-bhavam for 10th, etc. lord of a given house, as the lord itself is removed from the house. So, if the lord of first house is in the 2nd house then the house secondarily describing the 2nd house attributes will be the third house. One commonly used utilization of this system of house arrangement is in determining longevity. The primary house for longevity is the 8th house, the 3rd house which is 8th from the 8th is used as a secondary house for longevity and the two houses that represent loss of longevity by being 12th from 8th and 3rd, i.e., the 7th and 2nd represent the killers or maraka houses. In the bhavat-bhavam arrangment, the secondary house can ONLY be in an odd house from lagna! The symbolic ‘yang' aspect in terms of doing, action, execution are male attributes which is represented in astrology as the odd house, the odd sign. Do the bhavat bhavam houses represent the influences and indicators that express the results of the primary houses under consideration? For example, the 3rd (effort, action) leads to replenishing of and provision to 2nd house (family, wealth), the fifth house (creativity, children) being the motivators for action (3rd house), ones bhagya, 9th (bhavat bhavam of 5th) being the determinator for fructification of the 5th house (future karma, children). The two lords, that ruling the primary house and the secondary or bhavat-bhavam house must be in harmony for the primary house to fructify fully and harmoniously. There might be some other deep significance lying within this arrangement as well, but let us move Back to the topic at hand.
Another very popular (more so now than some 30-40 years ago) way of determining the secondary indicators is through using the (Jaimini) padas [also described by Parashara]. Since both Parashara and Jaimini had not mentioned each other in their texts (though Parashara mentions Lord Buddha when describing the planetary representations of awatars – unless this was transplanted later on into BPHS), conflicting views exist as to who came earlier, of these two astrological giants, so it is hard to figure out if Parashara was quoting Jaimini or vice versa. Be that as it may, the padas of a house are calculated in a manner vaguely reminiscent of the bhavat bhavam. If the lord of first house is in the 2nd house and hence one house removed from the first house, the bhavat bhavam and pada will both fall in the 3rd house which is one house removed from the 2nd house, the location of lord of first house in this case. The pada takes into account the placement of the lord and hence is horoscope specific, whereas, bhavat bhavam is fixed (like the fixed karakas) for all charts.
The pada of lagna (1st house) is called aroodha or image (according to Sanjay's translation). This ‘image' or reflection is an important concept to grasp. What we are being told here is that the aroodha or lagna-pada is the "image" of the first house, as seen by others. This is important to understand, because it links directly to the ‘perception' aspect in how others perceive our "image". The lagna, in this case, then would be the ‘true' reality, whereas, the lagna-pada will be the picture of this true reality, as perceived by the world. Just to briefly touch upon how the nativity will see the true reality, according to Narasimha, would be judged from the graha-pada (details given in his writings, but not discussed in this article). An effective alternative to this indicator of the ‘personal reality' view is studying the lagna-oriented house from the lagna lord (dispositors of the lagna and moon, for better definition of the view, a future article perhaps!).
Since the image cannot fall in the same house the pada for which is being considered, as well as in the 7th house therefrom, hence, Parashara (and Jaimini) have recommended that the pada be moved to the tenth house from the ‘obvious' pada. So, if a planet is placed in its own house or in the 7th house therefrom, the pada will not fall in the same house but in the tenth house, therefrom. Likewise, if a planet is in the 4th or 10th house from its own (giving the pada in 7th house; fourth from fourth or tenth from tenth, from the house under consideration), the pada will be considered to be in the tenth house from the seventh, ergo, in the fourth house in the case of lagna pada with lagnesha in fourth or tenth house from lagna. This ‘exception' is recognized and used by a large majority of astrologers, however, one of contemporary writers, K.N. Rao in his book has advised against this, without giving further elaboration or explanations.
The pada of each house, therefore, represents its image or reflection as perceived by others. Simply put, if the 2nd pada is strong, your family life, your wealth and your expression will be perceived by others as effective, strong, positive in your life, even enviable, etc. If the pada of tenth is weak or afflicted by aspect or association with malefics, your good work will simply not leave a mark on others when they judge you; on the other hand, if the pada of tenth is very strong and fortified by benefic influences, then even your half-hearted attempts would be perceived by others as great pieces of work that helped humanity ... etc. Most of us have mixed influences and end up with half the world extolling our virtues while the other half cannot wait but to drag us through mud! And this can change as the dashas change in our life.
It must be immediately apparent that the (maya) pada, while operable in the lives of each of us, would be extremely important in those who lead a public life. The celebrities, politicians, administrators, need a strong pada in order to be charismatically effective and to be considered effective and successful in what they are trying to do. Spiritual leaders, also are very vulnerable to public opinions, scrutiny and so the pada influences their lives and work, considerably.
Very few would perceive Hitler (view his chart in separate window) as anything but a devil-driven tyrant, someone with a mission to force a new form of world-order through means of destruction, terror, tyranny, confinement, etc. Not quite the image that would fit the Libra rising, with Venus, retrograde (retrograde benefics improve in their benefic properties), and despite the ‘cruel' influence of mars and exalted sun (megalomania in its worst possible expression), the hideous picture does not quite gel. If we examine the pada chart, his lagna pada (aroodha) is falling in the 10th house, right where a strong Saturn is placed in cancer. Saturn is bhratrikaraka and is placed in a very inimical sign. Others would perceive him as an enemy, someone to be feared, someone who arrived with a mission to uplift the masses, to teach society a lesson, through the harshest expression of power. He probably thought that he was ‘caring' for his people, strengthening their destiny (gajakeshari in ninth from lagnesha but with ketu), but most others do not perceive him that way.
Bill Cosby, (view his chart in a separate window) the quintessential ‘father' of modern times, has his lagna pada placed in the ninth house, the house that represents father and in doing so sits smack on rahu, the indicator of images and film/television! Rahu represents mars in this chart (occupies Scorpio), hence the somewhat ‘cutting' edge to his humour, the wry, tough-love approach. Mars is also the atmakaraka, by the way, hence fits well. Mercury, the patron lord of comedians casts aspect on aroodha from the 5th house (entertainment, children). Bill is very ‘natural' with children, as seen in his television sitcoms and shows.
Lord of fifth in 6th, lord of 2nd in 8th, Jupiter aspecting from 11th, the
fifth house (partial cancellation due to angular Saturn), are not good indications
for family in personal life (his son was killed a few years ago). Perhaps
saptamamsha will give more indications of this. This chart is a good example
of how deceiving exaltation can be when considered as a sole factor (sometimes
done because of the obvious convenience). In V7 saptamesha, Jupiter is exalted
(retrograde) in 5th house. However, it is weak in shadbala and the putrakaraka
Venus is placed in the 12th house (loss). The 5th pada falls in the 3rd house
with gulika in it. Lord of fifth, moon is placed in 7th (in Jaimini aspect)
from 8th pada (maranapada), again not good for longevity of children. Such
is the maya!
Speaking of ‘maya' and screen personalities and their maya, we cannot but skip past the phenomenal "super-star" of Bollywood, Mr. Angry Young Man, Amitabh Bachchan, (view hischart in a separate window)the heart-throb of my generation and at least one more after mine! His intense, on-screen persona and his immense acting skills that added to his range going from the almost ‘schizoid' poet in "Saat Hindustani" to his role in Zanzeer and the contrasting bubbly roles in other movies have won many a hearts. Before he became the ‘Lovable Mr. Lamboo' from whom the public will take anything, he was brought to notice by his intense, nearly silent roles. His lagna pada is in the 4th house smack on the Saturn which is retrograde in taurus and also lagnesha! Is that the key? His arudha sits on his lagnesha that is the strongest planet in the chart! His screen persona is very genuine and convincing! People just feel that they are experiencing the real Mr. Bachchan and not some conjured up screen image! His phenomenal rise during his Saturn dasha is not some happenstance. October 2003 onwards, gnatikaraka dasha will begin and he may find himself amongst those who are ambitious, not as accomplished but younger. He has of course wisely moved on to other things, already!
Martha Stewert whose name and ‘options' have recently withstood a severe public damage has her lagna pada in 9th house giving that wholesome image of traditional living for many seasons, With cancer chara dasha beginning in August 2002, she has had to see significant losses in business assets and experienced inimical activity (2nd and 6th pada is in cancer in 10th house and contains gnatikaraka mercury and bhratrikaraka sun - indicating an associate who might have brought attention to her dealings). In dashamsha, lagna pada lord mars is in debility in 4th house across from moon and Venus (lords of 4th, 2nd and 7th) and has brought loss and defamation to some extent.
Moving along to the next chart; a saint unquestionably, but it would be correct
to say that this saint was perceived by all as one who knew how to serve God
through serving humanity. A true mother, is it any surprise that the lagna
arudha is placed in the fourth house as she created homes and resting places
(4th) for many weary souls and looked after them with selfless love as only
a mother can. (view
her chart in a separate window) Her spirituality was of genuine love and
sacrifice and little wonder that the pada of 9th house falls in the 12th house
just where Venus is placed. An institution of love and caring. Venus, additionally,
is the matrukaraka in this horoscope. Her life was not easy and the presence
of gnathikaraka sun (in strength) with the third karaka (bhratrikaraka mars)
in 10th house is indicative of this self-chosen life of sacrifice and service
and efforts. this was no airy-fairy saint, but a down to earth and practical
angel, sent to the slums of Calcutta to uplift the human spirit and to earn
her wings. That atmakaraka moon (natural karaka for mother) is in aries in
6th with debilitated Saturn is not accidental but indicative of her self-chosen
mission. That retrograde Saturn happens to be putrakaraka is significant too
in this symbol of motherhood divine that her life represents. Sun is the lord
of 10th and very strong. It is also gnatikaraka and hence cannot promise luxuries
and comfort. Atmakarak moon is in its nakshatra and so the life was intended
to be hard and even harsh. Sun is also the final dispositor of several planets
and this again indicates that despite all the pain and self-denials, this
individual will attain world reknown and she did. Tenth pada in 7th house
hardly is capable of keeping the real worth hidden! So the saint comes to
light, and finds her work just as it was intended (dashamesh in 10th with
lagnesha placed therein) with full personal involvement, though others may
see this as being enacted in a far-off land in a culture that was not her
own (10th pada in 7th house where rahu is placed).
Astrology writers tend to depict in their writings, almost in an unsaid manner, and sometimes directly as if the rules of astrology are rigid and work perfectly each time. However, it is not always true and even after weeding out inaccurate birth times, ayanamshas and other factors, each astrologer would personally experience difficult charts. Difficult because the rules of astrology do not work predictably in those cases, despite all corrections and fixing and tweaking humanly and honestly possible. These charts provide one an opportunity to stop and wonder if there is something beyond the ignorance of the astrologer as well as the perfection of astrology, that may need to be accounted for from time to time. With that always kept in the back of one's mind, when indications behave in a predictable manner, it gives one the satisfaction and reason to pursue astrology as a tool for useful advice. And when one gets stymied by the ‘difficult' charts, that gives the reason to pursue even further with eyes open wider and the mind energized by the challenge that destiny poses or perhaps it is the expression of freedom of choice that challenges the drums of destiny!
© Rohiniranjan Sept 2003
