Fasting and
Astrology
Being a westerner and a practicing Vedic (Indian)
Astrologer has proven to be a challenge and a blessing as well. Is like having
the best of both worlds !
Vedic
astrology ,according to tradition, has almost a divine origin and is considered
one of the main "darshans" or Indian philosophies. It is as important
as Patanjali's Yoga Sutras or the Bhagavad Gita. No wonder that India has one
the highest ratios of astrologers per person.
One of the
planets that Vedic Astrology studies the
most is the Moon.
Many of the
calculations regarding the native's chart , predictive techniques and planetary
combinations have the Moon as its main
character. Like many ancient cultures, the Moon played an important role in
their lives.
Its cycles
determined the Indian calendar and according to Krishna ..."I become the
Moon and thereby supply the juice of life to all vegetables" (Bhagavad
Gita as it Is Ch15 v.13).
The Moon (Chandra in sanskrit) has so much
influence on life that Krishna also compares it to a Nakshatra or constellation: "among
the stars I am the Moon" ( Bhagavad Gita Ch 16 v.21)
The Moon is
considered gentle if full and not so gentle if waning (two planets in one !!!)
Its path when intersected by the Sun's trajectory around Earth, forms the
Moon's North and South nodes! Two planets as well!!
The north
Node is known as Rahu and the South Node is known as ketu and are considered to be two independent forces or
planets. So we can only begin to ponder the importance of the Moon in our lives
and destiny.
According to
ancient Indian Scriptures the moon also controls the descent of our karma or
destiny if you will. The Sages of India described the way this happens and even
to this day many spiritual traditions follow the lunar calendar to keep their
holidays and religious festivities.
One of the
methods used to get the most out of those Holy Days or Moon-energized days, is fasting.
Fasting has
been recognized as a spiritual practice by many if not all the world
traditions. From the Mexican Shaman to the Imam in Mecca to the Yogi in
Rishikesh all saw fasting as way to get closer to God.
Fasting is a
spiritual technique of biblical proportions. It is mentioned several times in
the Old and New testaments as well.
But
according to Vedic astrology if you do the right thing at the right time with
right intention everything changes for the good.
So when
fasting we use the Moon as our guide to get the most out of our "penance"
and atone for our "sins". The cycles and phases of the Moon are key
to this.
There are
two special days in a lunar month when this is particularly relevant. One is
the eleventh day after the new moon (krishna Paksha) and the eleventh day after
the full moon (Shukla Paksha). By fasting on these days one can begin to manage
the individual karma as the seeds of destiny enter our minds . You may do a
complete fast ( no food, no water ) or do a juice detox those days. For fasting to be effective, no animal products
nor grains (or byproducts including oils) should be consumed.
The eleventh
day after the full and new moon are key to this process and are called Ekadashi
( Eleventh).On these two specific days the seeds of our auspicious and
inauspicious deeds enter our psyche and bear fruit at a later date in our lives.
In other words we receive our karma on those specific days of the month
according to Vedic scriptures and tradition.
As you can
see the Spiritual traditions of Old placed a huge importance on fasting, not
only for our overall well being but also as a technique to "cast out the
devils" of our karma.
So next time
you schedule a detox , think of those Ekadashi days, think of the moon and
think of Krishna.
Happy
Fasting!
Hare Krishna
Jorge
Vrajabasi Torres
