“When we consult an astrologer, aren’t we trying to get the fruits of our work? And isn’t that in contradiction to the advice of Krsna in Bhagavad Gita?”

What a really, really wonderful question! Thank you so much for asking this.

First I will note that different people consult astrologers for different reasons. Some consult astrologers in ways that do not violate this principle of the gita. Most, however, do violate this principle in their astrological inquiry. But it is the duty of the astrologer to gently redirect them towards the wisdom of this Gita shloka in the course of addressing their inquiry.

Karmanye-adhikari:
We have a right to act, to do our duties.

Ma phaleshu kadachana:
but we never have such rights over the results of our actions.

Ma karma-phala hetu bhur:
So don’t try to cause results of your action

Ma te sango ‘stv akarmani:
but don’t give up action, either.

The wisdom of this shloka from Bhagavad Gita is saying that we shouldn’t only do things which we think will bring good results to us personally, giving up things that we think will bring us bad results. We should do what we are responsible to do, because we are responsible to do it.

This lifestyle is called “karma-yoga.”

The bulk of the Vedic scripture, however, is a precursor to karma-yoga. Most of the Veda is “karma-kanda.” In other words it is about karma, not karma yoga. It is a manual, a handbook for enjoying the fruits of life. Why? Because this is what the vast majority of the readership of the Veda (humanity) is interested in. By giving them a handbook to get what they want – human beings develop faith in the handbook – the Vedas. Thus eventually they come to the more important, though less proliferate, sections on the yogas: karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, and bhakti-yoga.

Jyotish is an appendix on the main bulk of the Veda, and thus mainly it is part of the system of how people can enjoy or not enjoy the fruits. Therefore yes, you are right; the main bulk of astrology is subordinate and inferior to the level of knowledge being expressed in that verse of Bhagavad-Gita.

Jyotish can and should be used to help people rise to this level of knowledge and beyond – just as the karma-khanda of the Vedas are meant for that purpose. That is why the astrologers, at least, should be interested in higher levels. If the astrologers are in karma-yoga, jnana-yoga or bhakti-yoga – then the less advanced persons who come to the astrologers for guidance about everyday material things can receive a great deal of benefit.

Srikrishnarpanamastu….

Maha Mantra

It is believed that the transcendental vibration that is created during the chanting of Hare KRISHNA, Hare KRISHNA, KRISHNA KRISHNA, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare is the ultimate way of getting the Krishna consciousness revived. All living souls or spiritual souls are considered to be the conscious entities of Lord Krishna. However, the association of human being with matters and properties has polluted the consciousness. The materialistic environment in which every human being resides is called the Maya, which is nothing but an illusion.  As per the experts, Maya is “that which is nothing” or something that has no existence in reality. Then what the illusion means? The illusion means nothing but people’s desire to become the lord of the materialistic world, even though human beings are under the complete grip of the stringent laws of nature. A common example of illusion is a servant trying to get the position of his master, who is all-powerful.  The polluted conception of life has made people to exploit the natural resources in a wide scale, which has entangled them in several complexities. Though human beings are trying hard to conquer nature, they are actually getting even more dependent on nature and to stop this illusionary struggle against nature for material gains, one can only rely on the Krishna consciousness. Krishna consciousness should not be confused with any artificial cover on mind, it is the actual energy of any living being. As and when someone hears the transcendental vibrations, his consciousness gets revived completely. The process is considered to be reliable even by the authorities. Apart from that, any individual can chant the Great Chanting for Deliverance or maha-mantra to get the feel of the revival of his consciousness.  Whenever someone reaches the spiritual understanding plane that surpasses the three stages of intelligence, mind and senses, he starts to reside on the transcendental plane. The mantra of Hare KRISHNA, Hare KRISHNA, KRISHNA KRISHNA, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare has been taken directly from spiritual platform, which is why it exceeds all lower consciousness states, which are intellectual, mental and sensual. Thus, there is no need to get a complete understanding of the languages that are being used in the mantras. There is also no need for any sort of intellectual adjustment or mental speculation for the chanting of the maha-mantra. The spiritual platform of any individual will automatically give rise to the chanting of the mantras and any individual can participate in the chanting even if he does not have any prior qualification. Once he takes part in the chanting, he will understand how his soul dances in the ecstasy. As per the practical experience of many experts, it is believed that a child can also participate in chanting the mantras. Not just that, it is said that animals, including dogs can participate in chanting of mantras. It has been found that people who are too much involved into their material life take more time in getting habituated to the chanting of mantras but they also get the right spiritual platform gradually. Mantra chanted by the pure devotee of Lord creates the greatest effect on the listeners and for immediate effects too, one should try to listen to the chanting from the greatest devotees of the Lord in love. It is always recommended to avoid chanting from the lips of the people who are non-devotees of the lord. One should always remember that milk when touched by serpents’ lips get poisonous. When someone pronounces the word Hara it means he is addressing the Lord’s energy and whenever the words Rama and Krishna are uttered, it means addressing Lord Himself through chanting. Both the words Rama and Krishna refer to “the supreme pleasure”. Hara refers to the Lord’s supreme pleasure energy, which has been altered to Hare while chanting. It has been said that the Lord’s supreme pleasure energy helps in reaching the Lord. Maya, which is known to be the material energy, is also among the multiple energies of the Lord. The living entities or the human beings are also included in the energy- marginal energy- of the Lord. The term superior energy has been used for describing living entities. Whenever any inferior energy comes in contact with any superior energy, it leads to an incompatible condition. The living being gets his normal, happy condition back when superior marginal energy comes in contact with Hara, the superior energy. The maha-mantra has three transcendental seeds, namely Rama, Krishna and Hare. The chanting of the mantra gives spiritual call the Lord as well as His internal energy, Hara for the protection of the conditioned soul. The chanting is similar to the cry of a child for mother. Hara, the mother helps every devotee secure the grace Krishna or Hari, the supreme father. The Lord only gets revealed to the people who sincerely practices chanting of mantras.  There is no other means of spiritual realization, which is as effective as the chanting of maha-mantra.  Hare KRISHNA, Hare KRISHNA, KRISHNA KRISHNA, Hare Hare,      Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Srikrisnarpanamastu…

Yoga:  Guru Tattva- Understanding Guru

The concept of Guru is highly misunderstood in the West, mostly as people in the west want a simplistic definition for everything. But yoga comes from a Sanskrit speaking culture that works with conceptual thinking, the word guru is a concept that must be understood, not a word to be defined. Take a minute to let go of previous definitions and open to the full potential of the guru.

Often people translate guru as the remover of darkness; this is a metaphysical meaning coming from the breakdown of the aksharas (letters) in the word. ‘Ga' stands for darkness and everything that gets in your way, ‘U' stands for suppression and removal. Together ‘GU' means removal of the darkness. ‘Ra' is the fire bija (seed sound), and represents the good and bad of fire: anger and insight. ‘Ru' is the suppression of the negative aspects of fire that disturb your pure vision. So the vibrational meaning of ‘guru' is one who removes darkness and obstacles to our understanding.

The literal meaning of guru is teacher. This can be relative to spirituality or other sciences as well. In yoga and other Vedic sciences there is an understanding of three levels of guru.

1.   The siksa guru teaches you the basics and tells you where to search for information. They basically teach you how to tie your shoes. On a material level this is your primary educators. On a spiritual level it is your local yoga teacher or on a religious level it is the Sunday school teachers. The siksha guru can be the same spiritual level as you but just know things you haven't found yet.

2.   The diksa guru is a teacher who gives you initiation into a mantra or meditation or some kind of sadhana (spiritual practice). They pass on a certain live energy or understanding to you. They must have a high level of accomplishment in the path you wish to learn from them. On a material level this is the mentor you have for a particular field of work who teaches you the final application of your learning. On a spiritual level this is someone who has mastered a spiritual practice and is passing on the teaching. On a religious level it is the priest or rabbi that performs religious rites and initiations.

3.   The Sat Guru is one who has achieved the final goal of the particular path and is a guiding light to the student walking the path. On a material level this is someone like Michael Angelo for an artist. On a spiritual level this is someone like Amachi, or Ramana Maharishi, or the Saints, Mohammad, or the Baal Shem Tov. On a religious level this is divine beings like Jesus, Krishna, or Rama (at this level religious and spiritual levels are similar or vary depending on religious philosophy). The important aspect of the Sat Guru is that they have completely attained the final goal. They can affect you whether they are embodied or not. Thinking of them or mediating on them guides your consciousness and lets you know your goal.

We have many siksha gurus (the more the better), few diksa gurus and one or two Sat gurus. Siksha gurus are easy to find, Sat gurus are transcended and we don't even need to meet them to connect into their guidance. But good diksa gurus are hard to come by and you only get them when you are ready.

Then there is the transcendental aspect of Guru that is very important in Yoga. According to Yogic philosophy the universe and everything in it is made of the five elements. Akash (space), air, fire, water and earth, with akash being the most subtle permeating everything yet containing everything within it (just like god). The planet Jupiter relates to the akash (space element) and in Sanskrit the word for Jupiter is ‘Guru'. So Jupiter (Guru) is the planet ruling akash, that which contains everything and permeates everything. Astrologically, the position of Jupiter shows the relationship with the Guru, and how gurus in your life manifest.

Then there is the Supreme level of Guru called ‘Adi Guru', which means the original Guru. Patanjali said in pada 1 verses 25-27 that Aum is a word denoting Iswara (god). In him (Iswara/Aum) is the seed of all knowledge. Not being limited by time, Aum is the Guru of the earliest teachers. Patanjali, then advises constant repetition of Aum. In this way, the Guru tattva (essence of the Teacher) is brought into our lives. The Guru tattva starts at the level of the Adi Guru, then is seen in the transcendental Guru astrologically, then manifests in our lives as the various levels of gurus we encounter. Knowledge comes through the Guru, whether directly from the highest level or through the physical manifestation of guru in our teacher-student relationships. The yoga texts teach that there is no knowledge without guru, without the removal of darkness/ignorance.

By paying respect to the Supreme Guru we improve and strengthen our guru karma and open the way for more knowledge and understanding to enter our lives. This is often done by chanting Aum before a yoga class. Having teachers' pictures around exalts the teacher/Guru and shows respect. Yoga teaches that the types of gurus we attract to ourselves in our life is a reflection our own guru karma. Thursday has been set as the best day to show appreciation to the Guru and your gurus.

Srikrishnarpanamastu…