Download Grahas, Rashis and Bhavas

Grahas, Rashis and Bhavas
‘There are many incarnations of the unborn Lord. Janardana or Vishnu has incarnated as the Nava
Graha (nine planets) to bestow on the living beings the results of their Karmas, He assumed the auspicious form of
grahas to destroy the strength of the demons (evil forces) to sustain the strength of the devas (divine beings) and to
establish dharma. (religion or faith)
-- Brihat Parashara Hora Sastra Ch. V.3-4
The above quote is Sage Parashara, taken from the Bible of Vedic Astrology, “Brihat Parsara
Hora Sastra.” The Maharishi, after a brief introductory Chapter describing the nature of the universe
and matter, proclaims that God (lord Vishnu) has assumed the auspicious forms of the Nava Grahas
(Nine Planets) so that living beings can experience the results due to our karmas, destroy the demons
of our lower nature and sustain our divine nature. It is important to note that before the Sage says
anything about planets, signs or Astrology in general, he defines the purpose of the Science. That
purpose is to unlock the secrets of our karma so that we may awaken to our highest truth from our
current state of illusion, or Maya. (Maya).
Crucial to understanding the Science of Vedic Astrology is retaining its honor and
connection to other Vedic Sciences. In Vedic teaching, the 3 gunas rule the universe through the
principles of form (Tamas), desire (Rajas), and Truth. (Sattwa). Parshara alludes to them in the above
statement as “we living beings (Rajasic) must destroy the demons (Tamasic) and sustain the divine
beings (Sattwic).” These archetypes show in the Astrology chart as Bhavas (Houses) Rasis (Signs) and
Grahas (Planets) .
The Bhavas are related to Tamas, as it is they who mainly show what will be the concrete
results of our worldly karmas. We judge children, career, family life, physical health etc., from the
Bhavas.
The Rashis are related to Rajas, as they show the operating mental/emotional energy
behind the events in our life. How we feel about what is happening with our karmas is read mainly
from the rashis. The rashis contain within them the energy of the Bhavas.
The Grahas are related to Sattwa, as theirs are the fully formed and transcendent qualities
of the universe. These universal energies are felt through the rasis and experienced through the
bhavas. Our deepest core quality is not material or mental - it is spiritual. Accessing this quality has to
do with knowledge, not emotion or experience. This knowledge is shown as the full expression of
each Graha. Suffering is simply our inability to express the Grahas fully due to the filter of our ego,
which is the limited vision of our higher Self. The Grahas contain within them the Rashis and the
Bhavas.
The Grahas
The Grahas are the keepers of our karma and it is their vibrations that compel us into form.
Planetary lordship of the Chakras brings forth the samsaras that compel us to act as they transit the
sky and intersect with our inner environment. The term Graha in Sanskrit literally means, “to grasp”
or “to grab.” It is the Grahas who grab and pull us into a body so that we may experience the fruits
of our karmas as the above quote indicates.
All human suffering is a form of limitation as the infinite quality of the Self, as expressed by
the Sattwic nature of the Grahas, is darkened by the denser forms of thought and matter. As such the
Grahas are just the component qualities of our being. Our lives are lived in hopes of expressing them
fully.
The Sun – The higher Sun is the Self or Soul, the lower is the expression of our false self or ego.
Every heartbeat, thought, inspiration, act of photosynthesis or anything else real or imagined on
Earth has been fueled by Sun’s power. His is the energy of confidence and power, consistency and
inspiration. The strength of the Sun will show our inherent capacity for truth and transformation.
The Sun is the only light in the chart, or in life. The other planets merely reflect the Sun’s Light. It is
the ONE that connects all things – the ocean of light that is our true nature. As such it illuminates
the path of truth, giving the strength to sacrifice our smaller desires so that we may purify and
reclaim our Self as the highest truth.
Keywords: Soul’s energy, Confidence, consistency, Power, Self-growth and development, Ego,
Father
The Moon – The higher Moon reflects the joy and sharing that comes with having peace of mind,
the lower Moon shows the neglect and withdrawal we experience when faced with losing that peace.
The Moon is the Soul as it descends into matter, and it is our connection to this soul through sense
mind and body. It is where we are the most easily hurt and the most vulnerable. The Moon shows
the quality of our nurturing and our capacity to nurture others. It shows the clarity of our perceptions
and how they are distorted as well as our basic desire to have peace of mind. The Moon is like the
window we are looking through. Whatever affects the Moon, deeply affects our life and outlook.
Keywords: Peace of mind, connection or neglect, other people, the public, Mother, nurturing
Mars – The higher Mars is the spiritual warrior, stopping at nothing to know the truth so as to free
the soul from bondage. The Lower Mars is the combative and opinionated nature to which we can
be reduced. Mars gives us the discipline and focus to improve and transform our life through right
action based on our principles. When his principled energy is directed inward toward higher
purposes, he brings the courage to face our internal weaknesses and improve our lives. When
directed toward outer and lower purposes he is the very energy we are struggling against. This lower
nature creates a paradigm of security based on our opinions, not on God’s law (Dharma). These
limiting opinions will bring us into conflict with others and takes us further from the truth he is
seeking.
Keywords: Physical strength, Focus, opinions, aggression, logic, discipline, recklessness, friends and
Brothers
Mercury – The higher Mercury is the God of discrimination, and the capacity of the mind to be fair
and balanced. The lower Mercury can drain our mental energy through over stimulation and trivia,
leaving us unable to recognize the important details to focus on and strengthen. Mercury is
discrimination, for either good or bad. Proper discrimination implies neutrality; such is the nature of
Mercury. This neutrality can lead to a disconnected, ungrounded intellect or one prone to bad
influences. His nature is also to play, be curious and experiment, as it is through these activities that
we hone our skills and through proper speech and clear communication that we are able to manifest
something tangible from them. He governs the detail-oriented nature of the mind. Mercury shows if
we will become ensnared in the details or organize them into a paradigm of truth, which leads to our
freedom.
Keywords: Speech and communication, skills, intellect, dexterity, equanimity, neutrality, curiosity,
playfulness
Jupiter – The higher Jupiter is God’s grace, wisdom, ethics aligned with right behavior and
optimism. The lower Jupiter can be a haughty showman, concerned with appearance, status and the
admiration of others. Jupiter is our capacity to do good, and to always wish to choose the good over
the bad. He is where we expand in life and want to share God’s grace. Through wealth, children and
education we expand externally; through faith and valuing God’s grace we expand internally. Jupiter
rules all of these domains. We all have a higher vision of ourselves that we are expanding toward Jupiter shows that vision and how we would like it to play out in our lives. Jupiter gives us the hope
that things will get better. A weak Jupiter will either lack hope or be unrealistic in expressing it. A
foolhardy optimism is possible. Jupiter aligned with our sense of duty will allow for our higher vision
to not only lead us externally but also expand internally.
Keywords: Knowledge, Expansion, (children, education, spirituality) teachers and teaching,
Optimism
Venus – The higher Venus is Divine Love and devotion through surrender, the lower Venus is
hedonism and over indulgence in sensory pleasures. Much of our human life is learning to transmute
our physical desires, from the animal (sensory pleasure) to the human (human love) to the God
(Spiritual devotion). Venus is key to this transformation as she rules all three of these important
qualities of life. Her Sanskrit name means “sperm”, as it is she who shows how much vitality we will
ultimately have. In truth we all want the same thing in life, which is to be happy. Venus is the planet
that gives us happiness, but maturity with Venus is learning to find happiness in the things that
replenish our energy, not drain it. The main issue with Venus is how high of a price we are willing to
pay for our happiness. Part of this discipline is learning to think of the needs of others, thus the first
lesson of Venus is to respect and value others needs as much as our own. A strong Venus will not
pay too high of a price for happiness and thus not leave our selves and others feeling devalued
through the selfish pursuit of our desires. From this point of selflessness a deeper devotion to God
emerges.
Keywords: Pleasure, love, sex, happiness, sensual desire, service, devotion, courtesy, manners,
vitality, respect, improvement
Saturn – The higher Saturn is a Monk in meditation, the lower is a cold, ruthless individual,
disconnected from his feeling nature and other people. It is through Saturn that we come to
experience ourselves as a separate being and make peace with our limitations or not, the ultimate
limitation being death itself. Saturn rules the nervous system and through it creates painful complexes
that reinforce our separation from God, through form and concept. Anxiety, fear, sorrow, insecurity,
loss and life’s painful lessons are all ways Saturn teaches us to give up attachment to form and not
take things so personally. His neuroses will teach us perseverance and Self-control, as we will hide
behind a wall of self-sufficiency to avoid being seen in our state of weakness. However, at some
point something much bigger than what we can control will force us to our knees, like the death of a
loved one, a chronic illness or an excessive amount of responsibility that was our distraction. These
crises force our pain into the open where we must face them. Those who cannot learn from life and
the hard lessons of Saturn will be reduced to bitterness and foolishness in old age. The greatness of
Saturn is that he teaches us sensitivity to others and a respect for all, for once we have suffered we
become sensitive to all who suffer. Once his ability for control is properly aligned with dharmic
purposes, Saturn gives the perseverance and concentration to put into practice what we have learned,
not just acknowledge it mentally. He allows us to be alone to work through our salvation, which is
the only possibility.
Keywords: Ambition, fear, responsibility, the perseverance and capacity for hard work, stress,
isolation, Old people
Rahu – Rahu , the north node of the moon, shows the main forces of desire that have compelled us
to take a body in this lifetime. Rahu represents material desire, but because he is not a physical planet
he operates on the subconscious level. He distorts our perceptions and colors the world according to
his desires. He tends to obliterate the essence of things, focusing on their material substance. He is
our deepest subconscious material desire. Rahu obsesses over the things we need to learn so we can
eventually be freed of them. There are certain lessons we can only learn in a physical body, in the
physical world, and rahu’s obsessions indicate those things. Rahu will tend to feel like Saturn in that
both of these planets bring stress and fear. The stresses of Saturn are based on the tangible known
things in the universe that can go wrong, the health, the income, etc.; rahu feels stress and worry
about the many unknown, undeveloped qualities of our mind and experience. His obsessions are all
attempts to assuage the undeveloped part of our consciousness. Yet Rahu can be very spiritual when
powerful and aligned with dharmic planets. When we desire truth, Rahu can bring Spiritual progress
very quickly. Rahu affects all Spiritual growth in one way or another, as it is he who represents matter
and the purification of matter.
Keywords: Obsession, attachment, distorted perception, blowing things out of proportion, psychic
ability
Ketu – Ketu, the south node of the moon, is the other half of the demon, the headless
body. Where Rahu obsesses over the things of this world, Ketu seeks to be freed from them. Rahu is
material and loses the essence of things in their substance. Ketu perceives the essence of things but is
unsatisfied with anything substantive in the world. Whereas Rahu shows where we are obsessed to
grow and experience new things, Ketu is where we may want to fall back on familiar patterns and
become stuck in them. Ketu brings doubt and a sharp criticism to the areas of life that he sees,
resulting in us looking ever higher to find the truthful answers to them. Yet he is eternally unsatisfied,
noticing only what is missing from whatever he is influencing, thus those areas of life will be
especially hard to “work on” as we will be filled with our deepest levels of doubt and self - loathing
where Ketu is concerned. Ketu will tend to feel like Mars in that both Ketu and Mars are critical and
opinionated. Ketu has the same sharp and focused nature. His criticism is based on past skill and it is
where we will fall back on a set of ideas of how things should or should not be. These ideas close
him off to the greater and necessary possibilities that must be considered in order for the karmas
with him to be completed. Ketu is the completer of karmas and shows where we must “lose our
head” around what we have experienced and mastered, in order to eventually be freed of it.
Keywords: Dissatisfaction, detachment, solitude, intense scrutiny, liberation, explosive nature.
The Planets and the 3 Gunas
The planets are fully developed forces, operating completely at all times. They are able to
deliver their full power to us at any time. As soon as we awaken to our own potential, it will be so.
That is what it means to be “enlightened.” Yet through our limitations, each planet can only be
expressed commensurate to our level of awareness and skill with it. In this chart the 3 Gunas are
used as a guide to illustrate the traits present as our consciousness evolves with each Planet.
Planet
Tamas (lethargic –
sleeping)
Rajas (passionate –
sleepy)
Sattwa (balanced awake)
Sun
Moon
Uninspired,
Directionless
Emotionally turbulent
Domineering, ego
centric
Clingy
Mars
Mercury
Lacking courage, Weak
Unfocused, Scattered
Aggressive
Over-stimulated
Jupiter
Venus
Saturn
Rahu
Hopeless, Orthodox,
Haughty
Hedonistic, Indulgent
Bitter, Controlling, Cruel
Delusional, Obsessed
Ketu
Hypercritical, In hiding
Seeking approval,
Excessive
Pleasure seeking, Vain
Ambitious, Cumulative
Attached, Filled with
desire
Sharp and discontented
Inspiration and
Sacrifice
Peace and
Connection
Focus and Strength
Skill and
Discrimination
Expansive and Wise
Happy and Devoted
Thriving in Solitude
Purification of desires
Detached, with
inner focus
Chart 1.2
*This chart does not refer to the Gunas of the planets as laid out in the Classics. In this case these
terms are meant more as