Navaratri – the Nine Planets

planet

This is the 9th day of the Navaratri celebrations – and the final day of celebration: the day is called Vijaya Dasami, the Day of Victory; it celebrates the victory of Mother Durga against the force of evil. Sai Baba has told that the nine nights of Navaratri refer to the nine planets – so in this festival the forces of the planets are invoked to remind mankind that they should cultivate noble qualities by engaging themselves in activities beneficial to one’s own self and society.

Sai Baba of Puttaparthi went on to say that each planet has its own significance. However, these planets are not outside, they are within. This refers to the cosmic energies of the planets within, which are like our solar system, forces circumambulating the Sol (outer sun) – and within, these same forces are circumambulating the Soul (inner sun). The colour for the 9th and victorious day of Navaratri is PEACOCK GREEN so we scribe in Peacock Green for this 9th day of Navaratri.

Vijaya Dasami, the last day of the festival of the nine nights devoted to the Goddess in her aspects of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati, celebrates the triumph of goodness over evil. It is the nature of the world we live in that there are ups and downs of life, good and bad, celebration and mourning, happiness and weeping. This is built into the nature of the world we have chosen to visit, this time, in human form. There are many life forms, some visible, others not visible but rather, in a formless state. All life is expression of the One, the Divine, who is Creator of life, Sustainer of Life and Receiver of Life when it ends.

The Nine planets are life forms – sources of energy, magnetic energy that is within and without us. We represent these life forms and their energies through the heavenly bodies which follow their orbits in our solar system. The Sun, which is Sol, is the Soul of our solar system, and is also the source of the life force within us, the soul in the human body. Our Mother Earth – Bhudevi (var. Bhoomidevi) – in Sanskrit, is also a life form. There is life within our own planet itself.

All human beings are born and garlanded – an invisible garland is placed around our necks by the Creator (Lord Brahma) – which determines the number of breaths the body will take this time before we leave. We are born, we live, we leave and we move on. In that time of life in our human bodies, we have influences within, the energies of the Nine Planets are with us all, providing energy, strength, valour, courage, innate skills and abilities, attraction and repulsion, our looks, our build, our gender, our eyesight, our magnetism within with its rise and fall, cycles and end.

The Nine Planets influence every aspect of our lives, our family, our schooling, relationships, marriage, children, our occupation, illnesses, promotions, changes of work, changes in living conditions, buying a house, a car, and even the clothes we prefer to wear. We have a soul, we have a soul purpose, we have a soul blueprint. We have the karma we select to spend this lifetime, we have the four goals of life, wealth, righteousness, desires and needs, and our attainment of liberation from the cycle of birth and death. In all these aspects of our lives we also have the polarities of good and evil, ups and downs of life. What can we do with our lives, with our energy, our strengths, our very circumstances and how are the planets related to this?

There is always a choice. It is up to the individual to choose how they will respond to their circumstances and how they will use the energies within them, for good or bad. Events roll out in our lives right on schedule, Mahadasa, Bhukti dasa, pratyantar; it is how you take up your circumstance which will decide the kind of life you will have. Attitude, that is, the seen reflects the seer, largely determines the outcome of any lifetime. For example, how you take up the energies of the Sun within, the divine force which plants the soul within the human form surrounded by its soul blueprint. You may look for the good in a circumstance, you may be victim to the circumstance. You may seek the strengths of the Sun or you may tell yourself you are prey to a malefic planet and give up. The Divine is merely a witness, until you put in all your energies, all your strengths, for effort equals grace. When you can do no more, you may then take up remedies to get the best results of your Sun.

You have the creative energy in you. And so it is possible to achieve many things. Even if the Moon is combust the Sun, or if the Moon is afflicted by aspect or transit of a malefic planet, you always have the choice of how you will respond to the situation. The Moon is the presiding deity of the Mind: master the mind and be a mastermind. This means to take the mind out of the driver’s seat, stop sleepwalking through your life, use your intellect and the voice of conscience within, and take charge of what you will choose to do, what you will not do. You might meditate and fill your mind with light from the Source of All Creation. If you cannot “see” the light, then ask for the light to be given you. The Angelic Realms are always ready to assist, but first, you must call for help, when help is needed.

Mars is the Commander in Chief, the fire, the drive, the action, the goal set in view to be accomplished. Mars is the husband for the wife, and Mars is malefic by aspect in many circumstances. Mars is also karaka for curiosity, for fearlessness. Mars can give a warrior’s strength to clarity in the intellect. Mars can give firmness of mind, firmness of purpose. Mars can also pull us down. How you take up, respond to and manage the energies of Mars is very much your own choice. Mars is not harmful, Mars is energy, it is a matter of how you use the energy of Mars. It is up to everyone to come to understand the energy at his or her disposal, and through self-awareness, use that energy as a force for good, as a force for personal good, a force for social good, a force for good in the world.

Mercury is a quick planet; it is the planet of quick thinking, quick movement, quick communications and quick results. Mercury brings very quick changes in our personal circumstances. How we take up and resolve the demands, interruptions, challenges and flight of Mercury is very much fruit of how we manage our personal energy within. Mercury presents us with life’s timetables, life’s appointments and life’s sudden demands. We have freedom of choice of what our attitude, what our response will be to sudden appointments, disappointments, missed appointments and challenging appointments. And so it is possible to achieve many things greater than what you can ever imagine that you could – but have faith; have a firm foundation, have a firm sense of being the master of how you take up the energies of Mercury within by your attitude. YOU are that manager of your energy and its disposal.

We may take up the energies and magnetism of the largest, strongest benefic planet, Jupiter. We may acquire largesse, the good things in life, good food and good company. We may take the influence of Jupiter and pursue higher education or follow philosophy, the spiritual path, practice rites and rituals. We may also ensure that our energies spent, our thoughts, our attitudes and what is is we do – is good for ourselves – and good for others. Via grace of Jupiter we may discipline ourselves to embed the Golden Rule in our minds, hearts and voices and always give to another what it is we may wish for ourselves. And you could spend the largesse of Jupiter in different ways. But it is not harmful. Only if you misuse the energy.

Illumination of the mind and intellect with aesthetic beauty, art and craftsmanship is certainly the poetry that Venus disposes for us. Illumination within, when we choose goodness, beauty and truth, creates a world of goodness, beauty and truth for others via the artistic skills of Venus. Mankind has a choice, we can respond to the illumination which leads us to love and light, we can respond to the illumination within and make our lives and other lives a debauch of misery, complaints and selfishness. Everything is energy, and the world we live in is a result of the thought energy within and how we take both illumination and thought energy into the outer world.

Saturn is said to be a planet of deprivation. Some would go as far as saying that Saturn gives all but total sensory deprivation and thus blame Saturn as a misery-causing planet. Consider the options – and perhaps the upsides – for deprivation: detachment, awareness, unselfishness, freedom, time, discrimination. The energies of Saturn provide opportunities to discover true humanness within: we may be free of entanglements, possessions, attitudes, assumptions, rights and duties to ourselves and others. When Saturn presents us with such opportunities, we are free to discard all that is non-human within us and free to respond with humility, detachment, discrimination and thus, nobility to our own lives and the lives of those around us. Saturn is a planet which presents us with the opportunities for true humanness and spiritual freedom.

Ketu and Rahu are interruptions of the flow of light, energy and magnetism (from the Sun and Moon) within. They multiply the effects of planets they are in conjunction with. They are ever seeking within and without that eternal union with immortality, blindly, yet, as planets, seizing and grasping energy for recombining and transformation. Human life is action; this action commences with the heart beating and the lungs drawing in the first gasp of air; we can never be action-less beings. We are on a journey to the goal that every life is on a journey toward: union with the source from which we feel we are separated. Separation is an illusion, a curtain of Maya, for in fact, every life-form has the spark of life. Rahu and Ketu – often called poisonous – can poison our feelings, our emotions, our thoughts, our very minds and the world we see. The choice is up to each and every one of us: Mankind has to choose, love and light, darkness and despair. We create the world we live in – and the world others live in too, for thoughts encircle the planet and affect others – you can – you can – create … what you really want upon this Earth. And you have power of choice – a choice – of happiness and love for one another and caring for one another.

The Nine Planets reflect the energies within the human person. Just as Navaratri celebrates over nine nights of the Divine Feminine energies within us, so also, the planetary energies may raise us up – with the light and glory of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati, and they may pull us down with the dark energies of Bhairavi, Smashan Tara and Kali Ma. The Day is Vijaya Dasami, the day of victory over darkness and evil. The Year is Vijaya, a year of victory. This victory may always be an inner victory of how we take up the energies of the planets within and use them for our benefit, and the benefit of others. For, what happens upon this Earth … is up to mankind to undo what has been done upon this Earth; it is their choice – it is your choice. How you take up The Nine Planets and their energies – gifts if you like – for living in the 4th and 5th Dimensions is your choice.

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