Human Values and Astrology
Value:Truth; Sub-value: Conscience
Planet (graha) The Sun
The Sun is the first Planet (although it is actually a star and the centre of our solar system). One is the number of unity and a prime number. Every planet is the centre of some radiating force or energy. These planetary radiations are absorbed by all the beings in the universe in proportion to their capacity. The planetary forces pass through them along the line of least resistance
In Vedic Astrology, The Sun is the karaka (disposer, energiser, motivator) of Truth and the Conscience within.
The Sun disposes the seven rays to the other planets and to the Earth; as it is self-effulgent, it is the giver of life, the Origin, Guide and Foundation of the human personality. The Sun is sattvic by nature. Sattva is one of the three gunas - ruling energies within which give force to attitude, disposition and behaviour. Sattva is the higher quality of the nature of light, harmony, balance, and intellect. It brings about the upward movement of the soul. Sattva disposition creates peace, love and faith.
Human Values
Our values are our principles, our guides to action. Values are our codes of internal conduct, the principles upon which we run our lives and make our decisions. Our values are first given to us by our parents, and these are developed, expanded, tested in experience. Other people impress values upon us, such as those values given to us by our peers, our teachers, the wider community. Our moral values are often sourced from our faith systems. It is from these that we select the principles which guide our lives and our behaviours.
Our values often include universal principles such as truthfulness, peace, love, right conduct and non-violence. These principles are often essential for our personal and social survival. Putting things back to front, we can often work out what values are present in a situation or an event or a reaction (our own)(someone else's) when we analyse either ourselves or others, for behaviour reveals choices, and choices are based on our values.
In Vedic Astrology, The Sun is the karaka (disposer, energiser, motivator) of Truth and the Conscience within.
The Sun and Truth
Truth is the basis of the Universe; truth is the same in all times, time past, time present, and time future. Truth is eternal, and emerges from the life principle within, the soul-force, which is signified by the Sun in Vedic Astrology. The main Vedic name for the Sun is Surya, which means the energiser, inspirer, enlivener and transformer. It is the Sun, Surya, which sets things in motion, as the guiding force behind the Universe. Surya represents the cosmic force in life towards growth, evolution and the development of consciousness.
Actions which give expression to Truth are reflection, trust, fairness, determination, honesty, creativity, conscience and truthfulness. Truth is primarily known in speech, but is also the origin, guide and foundation for action. Truth emerges from the intellect (Buddhi) which is the internal faculty nearest the Soul (Atma) and derives 90% of its illumination from the Soul (Atma) itself.
What is Conscience?
Conscience is listening to your inner voice. Whatever comes from the depth of your heart will do good for you. Whatever goes against the dictates of your conscience is worldly, whereas inner voice or conscience is that action of truth within you. Whoever follows the inner voice will always be safe. Never go against that inner voice.
What does Conscience look like?
Your Conscience is like a traffic signal. Desires and thoughts may come within you, but we should utilise our power of discrimination. Is it good or bad? Is it right or wrong? When your conscience tells something is right, follow it. Always follow your conscience. It is like a traffic signal. Follow it conscientiously. When your conscience tells something is right, follow it scrupulously, irrespective of what others say. Let people talk whatever they want, but you should remain steady in your mind.
What are the Fruits of Conscience:
The inner feelings you have within indicate the fruits of following your conscience. You know you have done the right thing; you feel peaceful, you feel happiness within. The fruits of following your conscience are good feelings, good thoughts and good behaviour. You are not carried away by others' opinions, not good opinions nor bad opinions. You have your own line of thinking, based on your conscience. When you follow your conscience, you have self-confidence, and there will be self-satisfaction. Where there is self-satisfaction, there will be self-sacrifice. And, through self-sacrifice comes self-realisation.
What is the impact of Conscience?:
Our inner thoughts create our reality; they create reality for other people as well. Everything in this world is reaction, reflection and resound of what is within. The good feelings you evoke within you when you follow conscience evoke the same reactions in other people. It increases their confidence in you, and enables others to build trust in you. You are respected by other persons.
The Sun as the karaka (disposer, energiser, motivator) of Truth and the Conscience within enables courage, bravery, self-confidence and inner strength. Every planet is the centre of some radiating force or energy. These planetary radiations are absorbed by all the beings in the universe in proportion to their capacity. As you develop and practice listening to the inner voice and following its promptings, you draw more energy of the Sun to your personality. Character becomes stronger, and integrity shines through. Integrity is the foundation of conscience itself, for integrity is being true to your self. Integrity is the unity of thoughts, words and actions. When your thoughts, words and actions are in alignment, you are acting out of truth, and following conscience.
Obstacles to Conscience
The mind is a bundle of thoughts. The mind is outward going, motivated by the ego, which seeks to preserve itself and expand its attachments, attitudes, its very existence. An ego left to its own devices will actually lead you to death and kill you. Following the mad monkey mind -- driven by ego -- is ignoring the conscience. The mind-ego complex within has fear and seeks to control its environment at any cost. It has self-doubt, weaknesses and lacks confidence to follow the inner voice within.
Obstacles to following the conscience are an over-active, over-stimulated mind. Over active and over-stimulated minds lack self-discipline and self-control. Over-active minds race around within and seek to generate activity without, in order to satisfy desires externally. Such a mind is weak, copies other people and lives in imitation of others. It has a fear of being ridiculed, lacks self-confidence and has no connection within to the other two-thirds of personality, which lie beyond the sphere of action; the intellect, discrimination and the Divine within.
Follow the Master
The human form, the body, is like a water bubble. It comes and goes, like foam on the ocean, it is there and gone in an instant. We have had many bodies, many forms of life before. The mind is what accompanies the soul forward from body to body. We should be treating the body with respect it deserves as a vehicle of conscious, conscience, consciousness - taking us towards the goal of life.
The Mind is like a mad monkey. It is always outgoing in nature and wants what it sees. Like a very young child sitting on the floor in the kitchen, it reaches out to whatever is at hand. It will crawl across the floor to open cupboards, take out what is within to examine it and possess it. Just as we protect the child on the floor from harming himself or herself, so also, we must set boundaries for the outward going mind and prevent it from harming ourselves. Those boundaries are formed by conscience and discrimination.
So we do not follow the body and its desires, we do not allow the mind-ego complex to have the upper hand in our lives, our thinking, our wishes and desires. We follow the conscience. Your conscience always gives you the right prompting. You lack true humanness, you lack self-respect and self-confidence if you do not follow the dictates of your conscience. Conscience is your master.
Follow the master
Face the devil
Fight to the end
Finish the game.
Your conscience is your master. So, follow your conscience. Life is a game, play it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is love, enjoy it.
Your conscience should assert repeatedly and firmly what you are doing is right.
There are three terms to be discussed here. "Conscience" is one, the other is "conscious" and the third is "consciousness". This consciousness is the all encompassing Divinity. From this all-pervasive consciousness, conscience enters the body. The Atmic principle in your body is conscience. Conscious is the awareness related to the body and the senses. Children play with balloons. These balloons keep blowing to larger and larger size until they burst and the air inside merges with the air outside. So long as the air is in the balloon, it is conscience. When it exceeds the limitations of the wall of the balloon and merges with the air outside, it becomes consciousness. These days people are merely in the body conscious state. The body is like a balloon, a water bubble. The mind is a mad monkey. Don't follow the body or the mind. Follow the dictates of the conscience. Today people are attached more to the body and less to the Atmic principle. Absence of self-confidence is the main cause for all types of weakness. People depend on their wealth, possessions and power, but do not depend on the Self. Sathya Sai Baba, 26 September 2000
The Soul Principle Within signified by the Sun
The Sun is the Soul Principle, the enlivener, the motivator, foundation, guide and the path. We should see good, be good and do good. When we are doing like this in our lives, we are following our conscience. As the Sun moves through the various signs and houses in the book of life, our astrological chart, it aspects other planets and is aspected; it is exalted, debilitated, and sometimes benefic and sometimes maelific. It is wholly within our power as humans to seek goodness, beauty and truth at all times. Human beings have capacity. As we stretch ourselves, we enlarge our capacity. Capacity to follow the Master, the conscience, lies within and may be elicited and become our standard of life through personal effort, which becomes habit, which becomes character, which becomes destiny. It is an obligation to understand the energies of the planets and to harness them to our benefit as we drive down the highway of life.
The Sun follows dharma, at all times, in its journey along the highway of life, during this kala, this yuga. The Sun moves on its axis, has an orbit around the bary-centre, the influence of the other heavenly bodies (notably, Jupiter, Guru), and in turn, influences them. All these influences are made manifest in our lives. Yet, we are not helpless, the spark of the divine exists within all, and all may call for help; any call for help is always answered from the Subtle Realms. We may make the Sun our Guru, guardian and guide as it is amsa, part of, manifestation of the kalapurusha, the Universe which is the body of the Divine.
Earlier we examined the composition of truth. It was found that truthfulness, creativity, honesty, determination, fairness, trust and reflection are all components of this human value. We need to ask ourselves a series of questions in order to see what our values are in action. Consider the image below:
We follow the Master, the inner voice of conscience;
We face the devil - the mind-ego complex with is desires
We fight to the end, maintaining self-respect, self-discipline and self-control
We finish the game with Self-confidence, Self-satisfaction, Self-realisation
A person acting with their conscience is in touch with his or her feelings, thoughts and values. In touch with an active conscience, they are truthful (first to themselves), honest, possess integrity and a sense of fair play and justice. She or he is connected to their family and to a network of relations and friends. He or she is aware of their cultural traditions and religious heritage. The person knows their own truth, is self aware and capable of managing their mental life. This is the fruit of following the Master within, the Conscience.
