Human Values and Astrology
Value: Love Sub-value: Patience
Planet (graha) Rahu (North Node)
Pranamami sada rahum, soorpakaram kireetinam,
Saimhikeyam karalasyam, lokanamabhaya pradham.
I always salute Rahu, who holds a winnow, who has a crown,
Who is like a lion and is terrible looking,
And who grants protection to people
Neelambara sira pathu, lalatam loka vanditha,
Chakshushi pathu may Rahu, srothre thwardha sareeravan.
Let my head be protected by he who wears blue silk,
Let my forehead be protected by he who is worshipped by the world,
Let Rahu protect my eyes and semi bodied one protect my ears.
Nasikam may dhoomravarna, soolapanir mukham mama,
Jihwam may simhika sunu, Kantam may katinamgrika.
Let the smoke colured one protect my nose,
And let he who holds the spear protect my face,
Let the son of Simhika protect my tongue,
And let my neck be protected by he who perceives by smell.
Bhujangeso bhujai pathu, neela malyambara karou pathu,
Pathu vaksha sthalam manthri, pathu kuksheem vidhunthuda.
Let the lord of serpents protect my arm,
Let my hands be protected by he who wears blue garlands,
Let the minister protect my breast,
And let the wise one protect my belly.
Katim may vikata pathu, ooru may sura poojitha,
Swarbhanuni januni pathu jange may pathu jadayaha.
Let my hip be protected by the funny one,
Let my thighs be protected by he who is worshiped by devas,
Let my knees be protected by him who makes the sun his own,
Let my calves be protected by him who is sluggish.
Gulphou grahapathi pathu, padhou may bheeshanakruthi,
Sarvanyangani may pathu neela chandana bhooshana.
Let my ankle be protected by the lord of planets,
Let my feet be protected by he who looks terrible,
And let all my limbs be protected by him who wears blue sandal paste.
Raheridham kavacham rhudhi davasthudham yo,
Bhakthya padathyunu dinam niyatha suchi sanu,
Prapnothi keerthimathulam sriyamrudhi maayura,
Aaroghya mathma vijayam cha hi thath prasadath.
He who invests himself in this armour of Rahu,
Daily reads it with devotion according to rules cleanly,
Would get incomparable fame, plenty of wealth, long life,
Health and great victory in life due to his blessings.
Ithi Sri Mahabharathe Drutharasthra jayantha samvade drona parvani rahu kavacham sampoornam
Thus ends the armour of Rahu occurring in the middle of discussion between Drutharashtra and Jayantha which occurs in the chapter on Drona of the Mahabharatha epic.
Rahu, the North Node
Rahu, the node opposite to Ketu, came into being during the churning of the Ocean of Milk. The last gift of that churning was the emergence of the God of Healing, Dhanvantari, with the pot of amrit, the nectar of immortality. Ketu and Rahu were whole at that time, in the form of a demon known as Swarbhanu, who engaged in subterfuge to obtain the nectar whilst it was being served out by the enchantress Mohini. The deception was discovered by the Sun and Moon, who ran a tale-telling to Vishnu, who promptly sent his discus and separated the head from the body; the body is today known as Rahu, North Node of the Moon.
At a glance, Rahu is called the North Node, is exalted in Taurus, debilitated in Scorpio, co-lord of Aquarius (with Saturn) and has digbala (directional strength) in the 10th house. Rahu magnifies the effect of its Lord, and that of any planet it is conjunct. Rahu is of vata (airy) nature and rules the astral and possessions. Medically, Rahu is giver of incurable chronic diseases, snake bite, difficulties in breathing, chronic illness and mental illness. Rahu aspects houses 5, 7 and 9 away from its location. These represent the smoky influence creative celebrity pairings, contractual relationships and ideological patronage. In a word, Rahu is ambitious for personal privilege.
In interaction with others, Rahu exhibits a desire to be admired, and seeks personal importance. This can be sought in many different environments. It can be in the athletic arena, in competition, in innovation in problem solving, pioneering new solutions, so long as Rahu is first, and recognised as special and important. Rahu has a lust for life, desire to compete, and a compulsion to spring ahead of the pack.
In order to propel oneself to higher social station, Rahu the Restless must produce greater passion, more vigorous movement , stronger sexual energy, and higher capacity for sustained warfare. Rahu in the First House is said to follow the dictum of Julius Caesar: veni, vidi, vici (I came, I saw, I conquered).
His goal is obtaining of some type of social privilege. Rahu is always over-reaching. Rahu can be observed working overtime, trying to receive validation in a role for which He is improperly qualified. Rahu’s impatient, often fraudulent, improperly credentialed or illicitly obtained station in life is not sustainable throughout a lifetime.
Human Values
Our values are our principles, our guides to action. Values are our internal codes of conduct, the principles upon which we run our lives and make our decisions. Our values are first given to us by our parents. These values develop, expand and are tested in experience. Other people impress their values upon us. We may take on the values of people we admire, such as our peers, our teachers, or elders in the Community. Our moral values are often sourced from our faith. The practice of human values also includes self-knowledge. This points to an important principle – that of self-inquiry. Up to 70% of our time should be spent in self-inquiry. Without knowing the self, one cannot reach the goal of life.
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. In our observation, when we reverse the order of perception, we can often work out what values are active and guiding a situation or an event or a reaction (our own)(someone else’s) when we analyse the motives of either ourselves or others. We keep in mind that behaviour reveals choices – choices are based on our values. Our values guide our actions.
In Vedic Astrology, Rahu is the head of the dragon, ever seeking to swallow the Sun, to steal the light (read, steal the limelight) and use it for own purposes. The balance for Rahu is Patience, which is a sub-value of Love. Where Rahu appears to create an identity, a persona of rapid achievement and social status, a higher station in life – which does not stand up to scrutiny – along with many other achievements Rahu claims to have, we need to take Rahu to the Sani vat Rahu rule, and to do things slowly, properly and with patience. Patience is not simply the ability to wait; its how we behave while we are waiting. Nature sets a great example with patience. The pace of nature, a natural evolution and achievement.
Rahu and Patience:
Patience is a sub-value of Love. If we love, we will be patient with others. We will be patient with our selves, and our Self. We will be patient with people we work, live and play with, we will be patient as drivers on the road. We can apply patience to all parts of life – from reaching for our goals, getting our daily tasks accomplished, we can be patient with people who serve us, we can be patient with people who take personal care. When we act with patience, when we express patience, when we put ourselves aside and patiently allow others to speak, to finish their tasks, we are acting with love. Love is the practice or quality of being patient.
Given the ambitious trajectory of Rahu, we can learn to be patient and delay gratification. Those who delay gratification are frequently shown to be achieving their goals in life. Where Rahu has ambition and is tempted to resort to duplicity, illicit gains and fraudulent qualification, patience is acting with love, and acting with truth. Love is the foundation of Truth.
Rahu often acts with compulsion of one kind or another to get ahead, to be first in the queue, to be admired for their achievements. Character built achievements come with with calmness and composure; the quality or capacity of so suffering or enduring the long journey to reach the goals set and enjoyment. Rahu – and no other graha nor any other human – can reach the goal of life by illicit or fraudulent means. They are only duping and fooling themselves. There is no spiritual progress without adherence to discipline, na sreyo niyamam vina as the Sanskrit sloka tells.
So we recognise patience as a sub-value of Love with good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence. Patience is enduring trying circumstances with an even temper; it is persevering, enduring, long suffering, forbearing, tolerant, patient, unhurried.
Arthava Veda gives the following mantra
May we get welfare from the planets and Moon. May we get welfare from the Sun as well as Rahu.
How do we obtain welfare from Rahu? It is very clear that we need to take time, delay gratification, exercise our intellect, and join our head and heart. We may choose to express Love in thought, words and actions. We may choose to treat others with Love and Patience. We may act with patience in work, commuting, play and in our family. In order to get welfare from Rahu, we must take the one thing which we have in ample measure, time – taking time is patience – and make our decisions carefully with an eye to validly gained outcomes that bring nobility to our live and to the human state.
Rahu Gayatri Mantra chanted daily is given below:
