Truth or coincidence?

Astrologer Dayanidhi Iyyengar

astrodayanidhi@gmail.com

Call it coincidence, destiny, fate — in one moment, lives can collide and change forever. Yet chance encounters aren't necessarily accidental.

We human being, are uncomfortable with coincidence. We want explanations. Our nature craves a reason. We need to know. We want to know. We are taught in elementary school that for every effect there is a cause. So, for those events that are large enough to warrant our consideration, we search for answers and a relationship to something else. We are looking for a rational cause.

When the cause isn’t obvious, we are anxious and become nervous. It just doesn’t fit into the carefully planned life that we imagine. Some people, when they can’t think of any other reason, call it fate. Maybe they are just lazy, or stupid, or just plain don’t care for a cause. But, for them, fate is an explanation they can understand and rationalize as believable.

The concept of fate is sort of a crutch that people use. It is sort of a “catch-all” explanation that soothes the conscious. It presumes that some sort of orderly plan exists, even if it is beyond our understanding. Fate then can take many forms, among which are gods, demons, or the alignment of planets and stars. Even within those categories are many subforms. For those people who believe in fate, it is infinitely preferable than coincidence.

Humans need to understand and are always seeking answers to their questions. This drive has produced religion, arts, science, occult, and astrology. When we have no rational analysis for the events that take place in our world, we are unsettled and troubled. For those people who believe in a god who sees all and controls all, that explanation causes peace and tranquility to return to their lives.

Astrology, in its traditional form, is a type of divination based on the theory that the positions and movements of celestial bodies (stars, planets, Sun, and Moon) at the time of birth profoundly influence a person's life. Some forms of astrology claim that terrestrial events such as natural disasters are predicted by various celestial arrangements or events. Given the innumerable relationships of celestial items, it would be surprising if one could not find some correlation between earthly events like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, droughts, fires, etc., and an arrangement of planets in relation to the Sun or Moon. Correlation does not prove causality, but it is good enough for most astrologers.

In its psychological form, astrology is a type of New Age therapy used for self-understanding and personality analysis (astrotherapy). In all forms, astrology is a manifestation of magical thinking.

What does our life consist of? Is our existence pre-planned and are we to follow a psychic map in which events and experiences are governed by coincidences therefore creating our destiny?

Some believe our lives are predetermined which poses an interesting question: what would be the point of living if everything was already preset?

Learning anything and working hard in order to achieve would be a waste of time. We may as well sit on the couch and wait for life to happen around us. I wonder what would eventuate if we all did just that? First thing which comes to mind is society falling apart. There would not be anyone getting up and going to work or school in the mornings and we wouldn’t be watching our favourite TV shows as we slouched on our comfy armchair as there wouldn’t be anyone to create the programs we love. So it is quite obvious that, although there may be a life already mapped out for us- and let us assumes it is divinely guided - we are still required to act. But how? How do we know which decisions will coincide with the Master Plan?

Is it a coincidence that you are the way you are? You might say it is the co-incidence of the position of planets and the formation of your psyche which lets a talented astrologer interpret your birth chart and tell you things about yourself which you may not even know yourself. Just as we have a biological DNA which can be interpreted to predict physical traits, we also have a kind of "psychic" DNA which can be interpreted to predict psychological traits. In either case, it is synchronicity which lets us look at one and know the other.

There are many secrets to be revealed in your birth chart, that map of the heavens as they appeared at the time of your birth. It's as if you needed your life map to be stored in the sky, because you came into this world without clothes and couldn't carry it in your pocket! Your horoscope is your map, and Astrology is how you interpret that map. And just as road maps correspond to roads, horoscopes correspond to people. As you can read a map to know the road, you can read a horoscope to know the person. And in both cases, it is synchronicity that ties them together, so you can look at one and know the other.

We will discuss more on this...

Ganapathi Homam

Astrologer Dayanidhi Iyyengar

astrodayanidhi@gmail.com

Our body is built with five elements, earth, fire, water, sky and wind.  Fire is a symbol of energy.  Without energy there is no life.  Hence the fire God “Agni” is worshipped by our ancestors.  In the Rig Veda, the first hymn is in praise of Lord Agni. Lord Agni is a divine messenger.  In Vedic literature, there are hymns in praise of different Lords which are called Mantras.  Who are these Gods?  They are the ones who give us material benefits in life such as wealth, prosperity, education, marital bliss, happiness etc. and also spiritual strength to get off the cycle of rebirth. Lord Ganesha is always worshipped before starting any Pooja or Homa.  Lord Ganesha removes all obstacles. Lord Ganesha is also known as ‘Vigneshwara’ [vigna + Eswara] which means the lord who removes all obstructions (Vighna).

There are many mantras to propitiate Lord Ganesha.  By and large there are 56 different postures and mantras for Lord Vinayaka.  In Shilpa sastra, all the 56 positions are described elaborately.

Ganapathi homam is performed to beget happiness, prosperity and good health. Anyone is desirous of praying to God to remove any obstacles in any of his plan/ work/Business /action and also to be victorious in his deeds can pray to Lord Ganesha. Ganapathi homam can be performed to please Kethu and hence anyone who has Kethu dasa or bhukthi or wishes to appease Kethu can participate in the homam. Performing Ganapathy Homam once every year gives prosperity, health and wealth. Especially in Kerala &Tamilnadu People Starts All Rituals By Performing Ganapathi Homam. As per ganesh puran plenty types of ganapathi homam can be done example: Mahaganapathi Homam, Asthadravya Ganapathi Homam, Sahasra modaka Ganapathi Homam,etc… 

Before starting any new venture or anything afresh, Ganesh Homam is must. If one is suffering from losses, when starting a new business or investments or when one is getting married, or to remove obstacles or for celebration of your or your child's birthday, Maha Ganpathy Homam is recommended.Ganapati or Ganesha, the Lord of Gananas, the elephant faced God, represents the power of the Supreme Being that removes obstacles and ensures success in human endeavors. Ganesha is revered as the son of the Shiva and Parvati, and is always honored first in most worship services and rituals.Ganesha is also known as Ganapati, Vigneswara, Vinayaka, Gajamukha and Ainkaran. He is worshipped for siddhi, success in undertakings, and buddhi, intelligence. He is worshipped before any venture is started. He is also the God of education, knowledge and wisdom, literature, and the fine arts. Ganesha is also one of the five Gods the worship of whom was popularized by Adi Shankaracharya; the other four are Vishnu, Shiva.. The worship of these five deities is called the pancayatan Homam. In some cases, a sixth God, Skanda is also worshipped

The large head of an elephant symbolizes wisdom, understanding, and a discriminating intellect that one must possess to attain perfection in life. The wide mouth represents the natural human desire to enjoy life in the world. The large ears signify that a perfect person is the one who possesses a great capacity to listen to others and assimilate ideas. The trunk relates to the power of human mind, which must be strong enough to face the ups and downs of the external world and yet delicate enough to explore the subtle realms of the inner world. The two tusks denote the two aspects of the human personality, wisdom and emotion. The right tusk represents wisdom left tusk represents emotion. The broken left tusk conveys the idea that one must conquer emotions with wisdom to attain perfection.

Performing Ganapathy Homam once every year gives prosperity, health and wealth. If any one is running Ketu dasa or bhukti or there is some dosha of Ketu in the horoscope, he shall perform Ganapathy Homam and get-relief. Ganapathy Homam should be performed in the early morning and Poornahuthi to be offered during sunrise, unless any other time is specifically mentioned to suit the particular purpose. Normally, only Vedic ways of Homams are performed

Astrological remedies for Diseases

Astrologer Dayanidhi Iyyengar

astrodayanidhi@gmail.com

Planets and other celestial bodies exert their good and adverse effects on every individual. The unfavourable effects of opposing planetary combinations can give mental stress, long illness or push an individual to the brink of bankruptcy.  In case of such complicated situations, astrological remedies are the solutions which can help   a person.  Vedic Astrology identifies few key astrological remedies.

The excellent mixture of art, craft and science is what is known as Astrology. The subject remains mysterious and has no ends, no matter how much of knowledge is acquired on the same. This characteristic of astrology makes it an interesting science. No science or art is more interesting, instructive and useful to mankind in contributing to his advancement than the magnificent science of astrology.

Astrological remedies are the age old practice which have remained a complicated as well as a mysterious practice even today. The astrological remedy is a part of the vedic astrology which has its roots in the ancient vedas.

As far as the astrological remedies are concerned, it can broadly be classified into three parts:

Yantra - Yantra is a kind of an esoteric diagram which is often used as a sign. It is one of the fundamental principles of the practice of Tantra. The practice of Yantra is very much time-consuming and it is used when the remedy is required to be done over a long period of time. The astrologer performs Yantra when the querent is unable to go for any other remedial measures because of his/her ill-health, distance problem, lack of time etc.

Mantra - Mantra is one of the most common forms of astrological remedies practiced not only in India but all over across the universe. Mantra is nothing but the simple chanting of certain holy words or the recitation of a particular sound repeatedly to overcome the problems set forth by the planet which responds to that particular sound. The basis of mind in its objective and structural aspect is the power inherent in different combinations of sounds. How consciousness differentiates into different states of mind is an interesting question and is impossible to know in the real sense until we can raise our consciousness to the level where this differentiation takes place and the manner in which it is brought about. Each root word generates a sound that activates a different centre in the human body that correlates to the particular planet.

Tantra - It does happen at times that even the Mantra fails to work and it is during those times when Tantra is practiced. Because of the malefic effects of certain planets in a person's horoscopes, the Mantra does not work. In those times, the tantric sounds work miracles and helps the querent to overcome all the hurdles.

The Mantra, Yantra and Tantra are very common remedial measures. Besides these, wearing of certain gems in combination with the perfect metals can also help an individual to deluge the malefic effects of certain planets. But however, it must be noted that prescribing gemstones to waive off the planetary afflictions from one's natal chart is quite a delicate issue and a tiring procedure. For the purpose of helping the querent with the perfect gemstone remedy, the name and the birth details of the person along with his/her qualities needs to be taken into consideration before proceeding. The gemstone remedy wards off the bad qualities in a person and enhances the good ones.

Apart from these things puja, homam, fasting are also some other types of astrological remedies which are known to weaken the malefic effects of planets. These practices keep the body, mind and the soul healthy and wards off diseases and ill health.

From this perspective, it can be concluded that there is nothing wrong in applying the astrology and the astrological methods for the purpose of remaining healthy and staying fit.