comment about astrology by a practicing psychotherapist friend

Astrology is at best a pseudoscience with little or no empirical evidence to support its claims. However, people are entitled to their beliefs, and if some people find that believing in the powers of planetary alignment or whatever gives them symptomatic relief, then that's just fine by me. I feel the same way about homeopathy, witchcraft, religion, magic, alchemy etc etc. - their placebo effect can be powerful, but to claim that deep-rooted psychological or physical problems can be cured by them is disingenuous at best and potentially dangerous. Counselling doesn't claim to have all the answers, but aims to help individuals to use their own resources to end potentially destructive patterns of behaviour within a safe therapeutic alliance. The relationship between the therapist and client is probably the most powerful element of the process, and the debate still rages on whether or not counselling/psychotherapy is an art or a science. However, where trained practitioners work within a code of ethics laid down by a professional body, (and I wouldn't recommend seeing any practitioner who doesn't) scientific claims must be backed up by scientific evidence. This doesn't seem to be the case for astrology, which seems to call itself a science but then exempts itself from validation criteria generally accepted by the rest of the scientific community.

PRANA, PRANAYAMA, YOGA AND ENLIGHTENMENT

The power called prana which connects us to this world, if regulated properly vitalizes our body and mind to an amazing extent.

but will pranayama ensure the practitioner enlightenment?

pranayama or mantra japa or any such method are only vehicles.

they aren't destinations.

there is no short cut to enlightenment.

it just happens.

it just blooms.

i cant believe that there can be a phase when one gets back to normal mundane mediocre life after enlightenment.

enlightenment brings about a state of mind where all u do is filled with grace.

no effort can bring it.

in zen they say 'effortless effort'.

when you are practising dharma if you get aware of it, it ceases to be dharma.

being conscious of one's karma itself can be a big block to grace.

that is where pranayama and mantras and yoga helps.

it allows the body and mind to be light that energy flows without any blocks.

that karma shines with grace.

SEX and SPIRITUALITY

The more you try to drop sex it grips you tighter.

But then, why should you try to drop sex?

There is a very strong belief that sex is against spirituality.

Let us first try to understand what is spirituality.

Being Spiritual is being positive without being aggressive.

Spirituality is grace that emanates from you, without you being conscious of it.

You can surely be spiritual in sex too.

sex is not a taboo in tantra, one of the greatest contributions of vedic culture to the world.

Spirituality is nothing but a way of life.

And, enlightenment is sweetness of intelligence.(budhi maadhuryam)

to fast, to meditate and to wait..

fasting to keep yourself healthy, is an art/science.

so too is meditation.

but waiting is the toughest of all.

you do all you can do and you don't see any result for a pretty long time,
and you cant wait any longer!

masters say,

effortless effort..

nishkama karma..

the toughest thing to practice, is to do karma without the sense of doing it.

losing ownership of your actions....

yet doing it well..

dharma, the minute you become aware of you conforming to it, becomes hypocrisy!

striking a balance

A successful friend of mine, felt its time to shut down his factory and go to the himalayas.

He left all his material possessions, became free and left in a jiffy.

There he fasted, meditated and waited for 20 years, and once he attained a kind of un-explainable peace, returned to his native land.

Many old friends and acquaintances flocked to see the new avatar.

This man was so friendly and compassionate that he slowly started taking up others problems as his own and got back into the same old entangled situation.

Thanks to his 20 years of practice, he could realize this soon, and he smiled at himself.

He realized, he needs to to be less passionate in his compassion and then on remained as a water drop on lotus leaf.

ramana maharshi horoscope analysed

11) Ramana MAHARSHI

Sri Ramana Maharshi (December 30, 1879 – April 14, 1950) was a Hindu Sage. He primarily advocated Self-enquiry (Atma-Vichara) to attain spiritual realization.

"Here in India, where thousands of so-called holy men claim close tune with the infinite, it is said that the most remarkable thing about Ramana Maharshi was that he never claimed anything remarkable for himself, yet became one of the most loved and respected of all."

Sri Ramana was distinguished for silence and sparse use of speech. He led a modest, open life and depended on visitors and devotees for the barest necessities. His disciples established an Ashram (Sri Ramanashramam) in Tiruvannamalai to propagate his message.

CHART

December 30, 1879 at 1:00 AM in Madurai

SANI	KUJA		CHANDRA KETU
GURU	RAMANA MAHARSHI 30-12-1879, 1 AM MADURAI, INDIA RASI CHART		GULIKAN
SURYA RAHU	BUDHA SUKRA		LAGNA

		KETU	CHANDRA
GURU	NAVAMSA CHART		SUKRA
BUDHA GULIKAN			SURYA
SANI	RAHU	KUJA	LAGNA

Education:

4^th lord, Guru is in 6^th in vargottama. 4^th occupied by 12^th lord Surya who has swakshetramsa and Rahu indicating very afflicted 4^th house giving minimal formal education.

Mind:

The Manokaraka, Chandra is vargottama in 10^th fully aspected by Surya, the 12^th lord. Though krishnapaksha, this Chandra is still powerful as it is only dwiteeya. Chandra is in yogam with Ketu, again indicating love of mysticism.

Knowledge:

2^nd lord Sukra is in 3^rd house along with lagna lord Budha. Its fully aspected by the 3^rd lord Kuja who also happens to be the 8^th lord (death and silence). 2^nd house is aspected by Vargottama Guru indicating Spiritual knowledge.

Karma:

10^th lord Budha is in 3^rd house(8^th of 8th) along with the 9^th lord Sukra aspected by Kuja from the 8^th. (Dharma-Karmadhipa yoga in the death of death house (3^rd), aspected by Kuja from 8^th , death!)

Bhagya:

9^th lord Sukra in 3^rd along with lagna lord Budha, with amsa in 11^th . The significant point is 9^th lord and lagna lord aspecting 9^th house.

Wisdom:

5^th lord Sani in 7^th, gets the special yoga of trikona lord in Kendra. Also note the parivartanam of Sani and Guru which is one of the greatest strengths of this nativity. You must be aware that Maharshi was one of the most modest and silent Gurus India has ever produced.

Summary:

The maharshi who held so much of wisdom within the silence between his words immensely benefited from his 5^th lord, supported well by the 9^th and 10^th lords. The predominance of 8^th (death) and 3^rd (death of death) houses is very significant. The Gnana karaka, Guru too benefited from its vargottama position to help in his effortless effort for wisdom.