Navagrahās Control of destiny and the Necessity of their worship.

Astrology has always been a topic of intense debate between people who proclaim Theory of Self Will vs who believe in predetermined Destiny. Propounders of Self Will theory claim that there is nothing as predestined destiny and while astrologers proclaim planets do have influence on the events happening in macrocosm and microcosm. Ravi Guruji has already expressed his views on Astrology through the following articles Free Will vs Divine Will , Why Astrological Predictions Go Wrong. While we also believe that Man has potential to rise beyond the influence of Planets and create His/Her own destiny, the following article has been written for those people who still could not go beyond the influence of planets and seeking some remedial measures from various planetary afflictions.

From time immemorial, mankind has gazed at the stars and wondered in amazement. They were adored, worshipped and also feared. As civilizations advanced, astronomy and astrology went hand in hand and the learned ones outlined various relationships between the heavenly bodies and humans. Nine heavenly bodies were identified and given prominence in the control of human affairs. These are the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn, along with the North and South points of intersection between the moon and the earth’s orbit around the sun. In South Asia, the North node was called Rāhu or Dragon’s head and the South node as Ketu or Dragon’s tail. The outer planets such as Uranus, Nepture and the dwarf planet Pluto are more recent additions to the field of astrology and do not find references in the Greek, Indian and Chinese systems of Astrology.

It appears that the gravitational pull between the heavenly bodies also seems to have some subtle effect on the lifeforms on Earth. We also observe changes in tide during the full moon and new moon days and there is also a mood swing in people who are more sensitive, during these events.

The table below briefly describes some of the influences observed in humans, that has been ascribed to planets in general.

As per astrology, one’s fate is sealed by the planetary placement at the time of birth. Based on the location, the ascendant and the longitudes of the graha-s are calculated accordingly. The graha-s and their placement lends additional attributes to their dominance over the individual’s fate and sometimes even overrides or masks their default behavior. The edict of the karmas is implemented faithfully by the graha-s and their placement not only at the birth time, but also by their transit across various houses of the zodiac, asterisms called Nakṣatra-s etc. and the individual houses defined by the position of the ascendant at the time of birth etc. The bādhaka (misery causing) and māraka (harm inflicting) graha-s per an individual’s horoscope, have the maximum influence in causing all types of miseries and misfortune to an individual and are the most important ones to be appeased, especially during their long transits or periods, called daśa-s, bhukti-s, antara-s etc.

By karmic laws, one is destined to face the karma that has been inherited and also accumulated in one’s birth. By performing certain good deeds, one hopes to override the fate and/or improve one’s life and make the best of the available opportunities. Normally, when things go well, we seldom look at graha-s or any other mantra related practices to make things even better or interfere with what’s going on. But when things go south and miseries abound, we wonder about what went wrong and seek quick remedies to correct the wrongs and come out of the problems.

It is most common to wear talismans, rings of precious stones or mālās of various beads to appease the graha-s and gain their favor. Also, many astrologers, priests and well-wishers advise us to perform rituals to influence the behavior of the graha-s and calm them, to help us overcome the difficulties. Out of all the remedies that are suggested and available, the best and most effective is mantra japa! Mantras combined with the worship of the related yantras on a regular basis, is considered to grant the maximum benefit from the related graha-s. The intensity and the faith play a very important role in the manifestation of the results. Regardless, the benefits accrued from the mantra recitations, far outweigh possessing or wearing any precious stones, beads, talismans or rituals performed on our behalf.

Questions arise as to recite the mantras of graha-s or the higher powers that overrule or control the graha-s. For instance, a commonly prescribed worship of the Daśamahāvidyas assigned to the respective graha-s. It is to be noted that appeasing the Divine Mother and Her various forms through mantras, is not an easy task. Also, every Daśamahāvidya can control the entire gamut of graha-s as well as the Nakṣatra-s, the natural elements and the entire Creation Itself! These deities are to be invoked for greater pursuits such as self-realization and liberation and not necessarily for material aggrandizement. On the other hand, the graha-s themselves are directly responsible for granting the benefits and punishments related to our karmas and they themselves are appeased by various mantras ascribed to them, that seem to hold promise and may be easier to achieve!

A humble effort has been made to introduce some mantras to help with the appeasement of all the graha-s, which we hope may help the sādhakas achieve their desired wishes and lead a happy and contended life!

This article is written by Krishna Reddy. and can be contacted at Krishna@manblunder.com

List of all the Navagraha Mantras

Surya Mantra                                    Chandra Mantra                                      Mangal(Mars)/Angaraka Mantra

Budha(Mercury) Mantra.                  Bruhaspati/Guru Mantra                          Shukra/Venus Mantra

Shani Mantra                                   Rahu Mantra                                            Ketu Mantra