Rahu, Ketu, Saturn & Mars scare people in general & even most astrologers treat them like that. Dr.VinayBajrangi, the top astrologer of India, has divulged many marvels relating to Indian Vedic astrology. Today, Outlook interviewed Dr.Bajrangi to know about the shadowy planet Rahu. Here are the important excerpts of the interview:
Question: What is importance of Rahu Ketu in Indian astrology?
Dr.VinayBajrangi: The two nodes of Moon; Rahu – the Dragon's Head and Ketu – the Dragon's tail – receive considerable importance in Vedic astrology. Despite not being present physically, the two nodes are considered, even revered, as full-fledged planets. Westerners, despite not believing these aspects, still have done immense research on the tides, psyche, and similar other abstract things. During the long research carried out over the decades, the Western scientists have realised that the shadowy vibrations on the Moon have a synodic period of 27 days. Being the cross-roads of the cosmic influences, the Moon's nodes are fully potent, thus deriving the status of planets and having great influence on human lives across the globe. If one wants to identify the Vedic Astrology's real character realistically, one must recognize the impact of these two planets in the correct perspective. Rahu's position signifies an individual's patent qualities, but it also describes his actions so far in the present birth. Quite interestingly, Ketu's position also indicates the qualities an individual possessed during the previous birth.
Question: Is Rahu malefic? What does Hindu astrology says about Rahu?
DVB: As per Hindu Astrology, both the nodes are malefic. While Rahu signifies mundane prosperity, Ketu brings about the spiritual vibrations, which emancipate the individual. These vibrations are also an indicator of the Raja-yoga, of course guided by the permutation and combination of different planets in the native's chart. The role of nodes is manifested through the joy, misery, happiness and difficulties that an individual might face in life. Ancient sages have referred to Rahu as being the diplomat planet while the Ketu is the seer planet. They also believed that both caused the apparent Solar and Lunar eclipses. To sum up, the spirit and mind of the living beings on this Earth is influenced by Rahu and Ketu, irrespective of the species to which they belong. As per experienced astrologers of today, Rahu and Ketu, within two degrees of the Ascendant, affect an unusual personality type and a distinctive appearance in an individual.
Q: What are the qualities of Rahu and Ketu?
DVB: Rahu inherits the combined influence of two planets - Venus and Jupiter. When an individual begins to learn new skills, under the influence of Jupiter or Venus, his vocational orientation is under the influence of Mars or Saturn, and that decides his prospects in term of a suitable job. Rahu, being a feminine planet, rules over 3 asterisms – Aries, Swati and Satabhisha. Ketu, on the other hand, is a eunuch in physique. As per Astrology, Rahu guards the paternal grandfather while Ketu guides the maternal grandmother. Ketu also signifies the influence of Mars conjoint with Saturn. To meet his destiny, an individual must learn the disciplinary influence caused by the Saturn/Mars connotation over Ketu.
Q: How to control Rahu? How to overcome negatives of rahu?
DVB: One thing you need to understand is that despite not having any physical presence, Rahu still manages to influence all the palnets in your horoscope. It is easy to describe these influences through the energies of each planet -
Impressing Rahu the Mercurial way: Rahu signifies intelligence just like Mercury does but that intellect is more intuitive than calculative. Some of the results of Mercury coming in touch with Rahu are unnecessary lying, deceit, trickery, and harmful intent on part of the individual.
Impressing Rahu the Martian way: When in Mars, Rahu appears to be more aggressive, and while boosting the Martian energy, it can also lead to the perversion of sorts. Revolutionaries like the Chhatrapati Shivaji had an impressed Rahu, but he fought for a good cause. So, this means that even though equipped with unnecessary violence, Rahu can also positively impact an individual's energy. However, more often than not, distorted Martian energy at the behest of Rahu can also result in brutality, sadism, insensitivity, and ruthlessness in the individual.
Impressing Rahu the Jupiterian way: Jupiter energy with Rahu in it causes the Guru-Chandal Yoga and results in extremes of misuse of power, religiousness, etc. You can use your free will to let Rahu play with the energy of Jupiter and counter it.
Impressing Rahu the Sun way: Rahu is also known as the 'Artificial Sun' because it reflects the outer personality of an individual, formed in the aftermath of several experiences in the previous births. When Rahu clouds the solar energy, it results in the individual playing power games and suffering from the feeling of self-aggrandizement.
Impressing Rahu, the Moon way: When Rahu eclipses the Moon, it results in hallucination, illusions, and similar mental states in the concerned individual. Emotional disturbances, phobias, isolation, lunacy are all manifestations of Rahu's distortion of the lunar energy.
Impressing Rahu the Saturnine way: When Rahu exaggerates the Saturnine influences, its consequences are unnecessary tortures inflicted upon self, orthodox behaviour, unreasonable authoritarianism in an individual's personality. Rahu is considered the "master of manipulation" and it is considered to be a better politician than Saturn. So, if you can take help from astrology in impressing Rahu the Saturnine way, you can avail the freebies that come with it.
Impressing Rahu the Venus way: Rahu is a feminine planet, so, obviously, it shows itself in an affinity for show and pomp on part of the individual if Rahu has a strong Venusian tinge to it. When Rahu affects Venus, it results in sexual deviations and offenses. The diplomatic nature of Rahu is also very much similar to that of Venus.
Q: What is Rahu Maha Dasha?
DVB: As per Hindu scriptures, Rahu is believed to be the naughty child of Maya, and it, therefore, has a lot of dualities attached, being an offspring of Maya (illusion). The Sanskrit term for a planet – Graha - also translates into 'seizure.' Perhaps that is why planets are able to seize human beings' true nature and make them behave or act in a particular way. Rahu's dual nature and subsequent fusion exist in the realm of illusion, as explained earlier. However, it also has a positive side – the revolutionary authority of Rahu is a result of the fact that it possesses an innate dislike for authority (in this case Sun).
About the Maha Dasha of Rahu -
The first six years of this period are seen as a building period, the middle six years as the time to enjoy the fruits of your efforts, while the last six years are the completion time, which is applicable in some cases.
In my opinion, the Rahu Maha Dasha can be called an 'adventurous period', which enables an individual to explore new territories and step out of the vicious cycle of karmic pattern. This period has the ability to confer fame and fortune, and material prosperity on the individual in question.
Some of the things that need to be dealt with cautiously are –
The beginning of the period is the period of transformation.
You can sense lethargy setting in with the onset of the Rahu period, and you may often find yourself unable to concentrate on work.
New patterns or routines replace old ones.
In extreme cases, an individual even loses everything he has, and by the end of the period, he may need to start all over again.
There are multiple misunderstandings between employers, colleagues, friends and family members too.
However, the Dasha alone is not responsible for the good or the bad in your life. It is the placement of other planets in respect of Rahu that plays a significant role in whether you receive bouquets of brickbats at the end of it.
Q: What are the remedies for Rahu?
DVB: As for everything else, Vedic Astrology has a solution for Rahu's negative influences too. Given below are some of the remedial measures, or as I call these – the Karmic corrections – one must follow to overcome a negative Rahu -
· Avoid too much indulgence in big cities,
· Observe' Technological Fasts' – avoid using gadgets for regular periods of time at regular intervals.
· Avoid blindly following mass trends, whether in dressing, eating, living, etc.
· Keep your aspirations to a minimum and avoid jumping into new experiences without proper deliberation. Always concentrate on the present instead of worrying about the future.
· Avoid taking all types of intoxicating substances because these can cloud your power of thinking, especially with regular use.
· Avoid any extravagant use of media, be it TV, Cinema or the Internet.
· Avoid too much dependency on modern forms of Yoga, Psychotherapy visualization processes.
· A good way to reduce Rahu's psychological effect is to stick to a vegetarian diet at regular intervals.
· Avoid Committing and over-committing on issues beyond your control.
Q: Which is the best house for Rahu to be in?
DVB: I don't want to frighten you by saying this, so I would request the readers to read with an open mind. Rahu is the Karaka or the bringer of disease – be it cancer, mysterious diseases, insanity, general happiness, psychic disturbances, supernatural intervention, alcoholism, drug induced maladies, illusion, hallucinations, dark complexion, tendency to look downwards while talking, skin diseases, pain in the body, hiccups. Having said that, Rahu is also known to offer lots of good things in life, only if it is dealt with properly.
Let me tell you what a powerful and well-placed Rahu in the first house of your horoscope means for you -
Q: What is the relation between Rahu and Ketu
DVB: In scientific language, a "couple" is two forces acting against each other in opposite directions with equal force. An easy to understand example would be the way you unscrew a bottle cap. When one finger and a thumb come into the opposite action, you unscrew the bottle cap. However, if you use just one finger or one thumb, you wouldn't be able to open the bottle ever at a time.
In Vedic Astrology, the Rahu-Ketu form a 'Couple', i.e., acting in the opposite direction with equal force. What you get at the end is the unlocking of your Karma. To go into more detail, Rahu and Ketu, though being oppositely different, are the mutual balancers in depicting different aspects of your life. You can effectively use this 'Couple' to "unlock the miseries" in your destiny in the right manner. But keep in mind that, sometimes, out of curiosity or ignorance, we end up tightening the bottle cap further instead of unscrewing it.
Dr. Vinay Bajrangi is known for practising Vedic astrology in relevance to the present times than the orthodox way. He has written similar insights on different aspects of astrology and has recently released a comprehensive paper on why Love marriages fail more than arranged marriages. For other queries, one can reach him through his website vinaybajrangi.com or call his office on +91 9278 66 5588 or 9278555588.