Category Archives: law of attraction

Thoughts on Upaya and Remedial Measures

Lately I have been thinking often on the idea of remedial measures. How some people get great results from a certain astrological remedy that was suggested in the chart, while others do not get such a good result.

There is this idea in Vedic Astrology that if you have issues you can do an “upaya”, or a corrective action that will fix the problem. The word upaya can be thought of as a means of attaining a goal. So if one wants more money they may do a ritual or mantra practice to Laxmi, a goddess of prosperity and wealth. This is the basic idea. And there is a lot of truth to this idea.

It seems like in the past in some ages the masses were not able to comprehend the higher ideals of the vedic religion and as such the wise sages and Rishis of the time had no choice but to issue a general type of recommendation that would be useful to all. So they gave cut and dried rituals and mantras and practices that could be done and yield some good.

In time these rituals may have gotten embellished with more importance than was true of them. Like mixing up the chaff for the wheat. The chaff is important and protects the grain, but it is the grain that is ultimately the most important. If Sri Yukteswar is right and we are in an ascending cycle this would explain why so many are waking up on this planet and finding a renewed appreciation for jyotish. It therefore makes sense to work on shifting this idea of upaya and remedial measures from a habit of relying on “cut and dried”, general prescription, “one size fits all” approaches to a more alive and intelligently informed formula that is catered to the individual and their needs.

Ayurveda is the same way, where at this time it desperately needs practitioners that are experienced and skilled enough to shift away from the cookbook food lists and into a living and inspired form of medical therapy. One catered exactly to the individual and not to “pittas” or “kaphas” exclusively, since no one is a perfect pitta or kapha type, but a unique mix. I have talked with many Ayurveda experts and practitioners about this and they all seem to feel the same way, wanting to keep the tradition alive and human and not based on following a bunch of rules in a book written by someone who never met the client.

So with all this said, that is what I have been focusing on a lot lately with my practice here at Eye of the Veda. Just trying to find the best remedies and approaches to life for the person. But its quite hard because the chart itself seems to show what will work and not work so well for each person, making it require so much personalization. I have made some recent videos talking about different approaches based on the particular chart in question, as well as showing examples of successful remedial measures that have been applied in peoples lives.

Here is one on the idea of planetary remedies in general.

And here is a video on healing through astrology and how that works. I talk about Rahu and Ketu here as well as they are so important for our healing and balancing of our karma.

And in this video I give some examples of people who have had great experiences from mantras or other remedial measures that I have suggested

I hope these videos and thoughts are helpful and give advice to those who have tried upayas and failed or succeeded, and wondered why. Any upaya is good, but it is better to have an upaya that is intelligently selected for you and not just one suggested for the masses as a whole.

Free Course on Omens in Astrology

Astrology itself is just one big system of omen reading. It is the greatest system of omen reading in that we can calculate the past and future with it, and it has a more objective quality than just cards and watching animals in nature. It can get more detailed than other systems like card reading. But sometimes we do not need to get so detailed, and so all jyotishis must be at least somewhat familiar with nimmita, the art of reading omens.

I have composed a short series of videos with examples of how I have read animal omens in life and during readings in order to answer questions. This is useful and fun and an enriching thing to know. We do not always have to stare at the chart, sometimes just looking up and observing nature will help do the trick.

 

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Check out my youtube channel for more videos on astrology

https://www.youtube.com/eyeoftheveda

What is the sign of Cancer all about?

At the time of this writing, the Sun is making its yearly pass through the tropical sign of Cancer (June 21-July 22).  It seems an appropriate time to discuss the qualities of this sign, and its ruler, the Moon.  In Astrology, each planet rules both a positive and a negative sign (or Rasi, in sanskrit) except for the Sun and the Moon. The Sun only rules the masculine sign of Leo, and the Moon likewise only rules the feminine sign of Cancer.  This means that the Sun is the most masculine force in the solar system, and that the Moon is the most feminine force in the solar system.  The Moon is the only aspect of consciousness that is 100% receptive and feminine.  This is the key to understanding the nature of the Moon’s sign, Cancer.

At the point on June 21st that the Sun stops appearing to move north is when the sign of Tropical Cancer is said to have begun.  At this point the Sun appears to not move north but not necessarily move south either…it appears to stall in its point on the ecliptic.  Then it eventually starts to move back south for six months until December 21st on the winter solstice.  This movement is similar to how a crab will move sideways in one direction for a point, and then stop for a moment, only to move back the other way.  The nature of the Moon and its sign Cancer can behave in a very similar way.  People with the ascendant, Moon, or Sun in Cancer are often said to be emotional, moody, fickle, and to change about as quickly as the Moon changes.  One day the Moon is full, a few days later it appears almost empty.  So Cancer can be a sign that on the positive can be quite adaptable, but on the negative side can lack consistency.  We can see why this is because the rasi, or sign of Cancer is the exact point where the Sun, the most stable and consistent force we can see, begins to change motion and direction.  This is very unlike the Sun.  The Sun is the opposite of the Moon’s changeable nature.  The Sun rises and sets like clockwork and is thus what creates the zodiac and the seasons on Earth as we know it.  This point where the Sun changes direction and begins to move back south is very significant, and marks the beginning of summer for the northern hemisphere, where most humans live.

Cancer is therefore the most feminine, Yin, or receptive sign we could say.  Cancer time is thus a good time to stop and enjoy life, and be receptive to all that nature is providing for us at this time.  Its the sign of the Mother, and our family environment and emotional life. Its also the sign of our happiness and contentment overall.  It is more easy and natural to feel provided for and nurtured by life at this time, especially if one has their own garden which is plentiful for most at this time (gardens are another thing that is ruled by cancer).

The Moon is also the ego-mind, and its placement shows what we are comfortable with in life.  If one has the Moon with Mars, one will be more comfortable with aggression and confrontation.  If one has the Moon with Venus they may be the opposite, and be only comfortable with polity and beauty.  Assessing the Moon is how we can see what one will attract by the nature of their own thinking and emotional reactions.

People with a strong Moon, or Moon as the atmakaraka (planet with highest degrees in the chart), or well dignified benefics in Cancer (such as Jupiter) often have a great amount of grace in their life when it comes to this receptivity.  They are the types of people that can really benefit from techniques of creative imagination, and activities that deal with trying to attract things into one’s life.  The truth is that not everyone has the karmic good merit to just pick up a book like the Law of Attraction, apply its principles and actually see a great deal of change in their life…But many people do, and thats why they find that book.  Many others dont though, and many more never pick up that type of book.  This may be because their Moon is not as robust and so they dont have this ability or see this possibility of receptivity.  In that case, they could benefit from developing skills like mental affirmations, and creative imagination.  But each person’s karmic situation is different, and many are meant to make their wealth through hard earned work, or through various means.  This is what Astrology is used for, to shine light on the karmic strengths and weaknesses one has… So if you are skilled at attracting things into your life, now is a great month to exercise that ability!  If you are wanting to develop that skill, this month is a great month to work on that.  Creative imagination, mental affirmations, meditation, prayer and pranayama, and fasting from negative thoughts are some great Cancer/Moon-related ways to attract more good things into one’s life.  This is an overall great month for trying to develop that Lunar side in all of us.