60. Yoga and Astrology

I am going to talk about Astrology here; not in support of it, not against it, but about it. I am not even bothered if it works, and if it works how it works. I am only going to say something about it based on the general claim that it works. To be precise, I am going to see what the limit of astrology is. Certainly, one cannot claim that it is unlimitedly potent in its working. Therefore, I just wish to explore its limitation. This is important even for people who study astrology; because no matter what branch of knowledge we study, "What is its limitation?" is also an important aspect of that knowledge. Otherwise there is the common danger of eulogizing it beyond its scope. So, this is an article intending to look at something as it is, and is not meant to oppose it or support it. But because I am talking specifically about its limitation, it may look like I am speaking against it.

There are several things that are involved in Astrology. More fundamentally there are the impersonal aspects — of signifying certain times as auspicious or inauspicious, suitable or unsuitable for certain activities (irrespective of people). For e.g. many Indian festivals are based on specific astronomical positioning of the Sun and the Moon with respect to Earth. This is said to have a certain energy impact upon the planet, and thus upon our system. A simple example is that of a full moon.

And then there are very personalized aspects of Astrology. Based on the date, time and place of birth, a detailed chart known as the horoscope is prepared for an individual. And based on that (or just on certain parameters such as janma nakshatra), astrologers predict what kind of person you will be, and what kind of events are likely to occur in your life in the coming years. And then most of them also prescribe methods which can alleviate the [ill] effects of the planets [footnote 1].

I have two responses to this. You may use these responses as suggested directions for your personal exploration.

___________________________________________________

The first response is more fundamental, direct, and without much spice [for the intellect]. What if I saw that I am not the body or the mind? How astrology describes the personality, which the world identifies me with, became irrelevant; for I saw that I am not it. The events that occur on the outside, what people say and do also became irrelevant, in the sense it does not matter to me if things go this way or that way. Astrology can describe and predict all it wants, to the smallest detail, but 'I' simply do not care. For I know that none of it touches me. This may sound insipid and boring to an onlooker, but the inner experience of the person may be far from it as we will see below.

___________________________________________________

Now for the elaborate response. This includes the above, and more.

Suppose astrology predicts that I will lose a big amount of money today. And I do end up losing some money proving the prediction right. Very well. But can astrology predict and determine what I feel within me? Right this moment, can astrology determine if I feel pleasant or unpleasant within me?

It is only because the outside and the inside are very tightly connected (loss of money = sorrow; gain in money = joy etc.) for most people that planets seems to rule their life. Otherwise astrology is just laying out the course of events on the outside. It actually does not have any say in how I am within me. I may have lost money, but I may still be undisturbed.

Why is the outer and the inner so tightly connected for people? Here is a brief explanation. All of us are looking for intensity and liveliness, none is looking for dullness. When we are not able to crank up our aliveness by ourselves, we will use several external stimuli (people, substances, money, entertainment, recognitions etc.) to come alive, to become intense. Most people are like puppets that are held up alive through these strings.

The moment we rely on the outside for our intensity, the nature of intensity (joy, anger, fear, anxiety, sorrow etc.) is also naturally determined by the outside. If a string snaps, suddenly the puppet slouches in boredom or depression. But if it was possible for us to burst forth our aliveness by ourselves, then naturally the nature of that intensity also will be in our hands, and we would obviously choose to be pleasant and sweet within ourselves. And because we are already so intense, the outside has no further intensity to contribute to it. We can have all those things in our life, but with no strings attached [footnote 2].

So, I can make myself in such a way that astrology has no say in how I am within myself; it can only predict the events outside. I can end the article with this. But this has already opened up new avenues which we can explore. The moment we acknowledge that the outer need not rule the inner, the moment the invasive onslaught of the outer has been neutralized (second circle), forcing the outer on the backfoot also becomes a possibility; or in other words, determining the outside events also becomes a possibility. If you had earlier let the outer influence the inner (first circle), why can't now the inner influence the outer (third circle)? Let me explain.

If I am very alive and pleasant by my own nature, and if the outside cannot contribute any further intensity to it, it means I have no vested interests outside. And therefore I am no more reactive and compulsive. Presently the situation is such that if someone says 'Ping', you say 'Pong' almost automatically. And because you say 'Pong' someone else says 'Dong' and so on. The whole thing is in some kind of automated mode. I have condensed a very complex reaction into just one word here. Because things are very complex in its details, it appears as though we are doing and saying some new things everytime. But fundamentally we are unconsciously doing the same things (driven by self-defence, survival instinct, aggression etc.) in reaction to specific stimuli from the outside. And this ping-pong has created layers and layers of automation upon us, and when eventually some 'Gong' returns to us (after making a long trip), it appears as though something is happening to us randomly for which we are not responsible at all. No, it is just the chain reaction of which our 'Pong' was a link.

So now, if I am no more reactive, I will not do 'Pong', but will consciously respond in some other way. As I am more aware, my clarity of perception is enhanced (about myself and others), and that enhances the quality of my decisions and actions to become more inclusive. Now suddenly the unconscious chain is broken. This different response may give a jolt to and begin to wake up the other people around you too (at least after several such instances). Well, the unconscious chain will not break with just one jerk, for it has grown quite robust in the long absence of awareness. But gradually, the more awake you are, the more you will break this automation. Things around you will also slowly come alive and awake, reciprocate with you, and arrange themselves as you need. While you let unconsciousness from the outside swallow you earlier, now you are swallowing everything around you into your consciousness. Slowly, the reactive Gongs that were coming to you change to responsive Songs. You do not have to wait till the planets sing melodies to you, but can make your own. Thus, you will begin to determine what will happen around you on the outside too.

They say good and bad are always battling. I beg to differ. It is consciousness and unconsciousness that are always at war. You either get swallowed by unconsciousness, or you swallow it.

However, in this process of coming awake, the impersonal aspects mentioned earlier have been used as a support in Yoga. Certain times of the day (the sandhya hours), certain days/months are said to have some significance, and are advocated as conducive for spiritual sadhana. For e.g. in the Bhagavadgita, Sri Krishna says "Among months, I am the Mārgaśīrṣa" (10.35) Mārgaśīrṣa is the time of the year (~ 22 Nov to 21 Dec) when Earth is closest to the Sun (winter solstice), and this is said to have a certain energy impact upon the human system which a spiritual seeker can make use of. But all such support is made use of with the full awareness that one will eventually go beyond these dependencies.

"Astrology is a science" — I have heard this several times. Granted. But a science of what? It is a science of unconsciousness — especially the personal aspects of it. Therefore, this is the limit of astrology — it works only to the extent you are unconscious. It is like this. Physics may be a very robust science; but biological systems go beyond it, and are not ruled just by gross physical laws. A stone has to stay down obeying Gravity, but a plant shoots upward defying it. A plant can very well remain as a stone, thinking that its future can then easily get determined by the laws of motion and Gravity. There is a sense of security and safety in certainty. But the very nature of life is to trascend boundaries and venture into the unknown. This is the very conflict we undergo within ourselves — between the instinct to remain safely unconscious within a certain boundary, and the longing to wake up and transcend them. But note that the safety of the unconsciousness is anyway an illusion. Even if you remain like a stone safely rolling about in your comfort zone, you will never know when another unconscious stone will come and crash at you! And only when that happens do people wake up. But even then most people, through astrology, seek only to somehow avoid getting hit by other stones; they still do not want to be anything more than a stone; they still do not seek to become a plant and shoot upward.

Planets may have their influences upon you. But you are a conscious being; whether you will let inanimate things influence you is still in your hands. The trajectory of your life need not go in cycles like that of the planets. Being cyclical is the fundamental characteristic of the physical; the more rooted we are in the physical the more cyclical we are within ourselves too. And the more conscious we are the freer we are within ourselves from the clutches of the physical and its cycles; the more conscious we are the less vulnerable we are to the influence of the planets [footnote 3]. That means, the more you vouch for astrology, the more you are vouching for unconsciousness. There is nothing right or wrong with it. That is how it is.

If you want the inner to be ruled by the outer, if you are fine remaining compulsive and cyclical, Astrology is a great science to know your future. If you want the inner to rule the outer, if you wish your consciousness to blossom, Yoga is a great science to make your future the way you intend, or at least be untouched by it [footnote 4].

So, apart from the impersonal aspects, is there no other conscious use of astrology at all?  Of course there is. The moment we are fully aware of the limitation and drawback of a certain tool, we will use it discreetly and wisely [footnote 5]. There is surely some use of it at individual discretion (either upon ourselves or upon others), mostly as a last resort like Opioids, but an en masse acknowledgement of it (as is happening today) amounts to an encouragement of it in the social psyche. If you administer opioids extensively and recklessly, you are encouraging people to be unconscious and irresponsible in how they use their body, and come to the doctor demanding pain-relief every other day. They will no more eat in awareness, thinking that if they get a stomach-ache doctors will anyway take care of it. So it is with astrology. If it becomes an everyday affair in a society, it promotes unconsciousness.

One last bit in this regard. I mentioned earlier that astrologers prescribe certain things to people to alleviate the effects of the planets upon them. There are many aspects to these remedial measures, but one aspect of this is — it is precisely to break the unconscious rut that one is in. The astrologer asks you go and feed animals, or give some donation to a temple etc. You open up a bit from your constipation [footnote 6]. And that small change alters the unconscious chain of events, the Gong, that was to unfold. If such small changes in actions can do it, why would you not wish to come awake fully by yourself? Why changing just one action here and there? Why not change the very way you are? Why do you want to wait till astrologers tell you? Why the stinginess in transformation? If you could alleviate the impact of the planets once, if you accept that it is possible to overrule the planets, why don't you get the urge to fully go beyond this bondage?

---

[1] Just noting something that I have observed. In the Mahabharata and the Ramayana I see plenty of instances of the impersonal aspect of astrology at play. But I have not found instances of the personal aspects of astrology, horoscope, matching horoscope for marriage etc. in these ancient texts (correct me if I am wrong). On the contrary it is the latter that is rampant today.

[2] Should we do things on the outside to crackle our aliveness, or should we do things on the outside because we are crackling with aliveness? Which way should it be? Aliveness first or Action first? योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि - Establish yourself in Yoga, and then Act (Gita, 2.48) 

[3] I have heard that traditionally astrologers did not predict anything for you if you are on the spiritual path, because you are waking up and will move away from the unconscious cycles. But not sure if today's astrologers are aware of this.

[4] Why I separate these two possibilities is that there are some Yogis who do not actively engage in the world, and even if they do, they are largely indifferent to things outside.

[5] Some tell me that just like the impersonal aspects, even the personal aspects of Jyotish are used in certain esoteric spiritual schools.

[6] There is much more to explore here. Very briefly: when a cell in an organism tries to live its own exclusive life with no regard to the whole, it is called as a cancerous cell, and it faces resistance and hostility from the rest of the organism; but a healthy cell receives all the support it needs to thrive. Just so, when one's individuality is very constricted and disregardful of the Whole, they experience abundant friction in their life. But healthy individuals who are considerate of the Whole get reciprocated by the Whole; their life seems to go very smoothly with their needs getting fulfilled with ease, almost like magic. This is Cosmic Biology, so to speak.