Perspectives on Astrological Determinism

This theme of astrological determinism has been in existence for as long as astrology itself. They go hand in hand, for although one may be bound by karmic reactions, one still has some free will upon which to call. And Krishna's mercy must be factored into the equation, too.

So naturally, a question arises; up to what degree are we bound and at which point does free will or divine intervention come into play? Unfortunately, the answer to this question is not always understood properly and the science of astrology often ends up being misunderstood.

Typically, there are various grounds upon which the authority of horoscopic indications are mistakenly minimized. For example, some feel that free will reigns supreme in its contest with karmic and horoscopic indications.

But it must be kept in mind that the soul is not possessed of absolute free will. On the contrary, the term " minute free will of the living entity " is often found in Shrila Prabhupada's books.

The disciples of Swami Bhaktivedanta give an appropriate analogy to describe how the living entity bargains away his free will and becomes karmically bound in the 12th canto of Shrimad Bhagavatam. In their commentary, they explain that it is similar to boarding an airplane. When a person boards an airplane that person is bound by such an act. One cannot capriciously decide to change one's fate and walk out the door. The person becomes bound by his or her former decision and must remain aloft for a while.

Furthermore, they explain that this initial decision opens up a whole new array of choices. For example, one may choose coach fare and then decide to change to first class. Or one may decide to view a film or not to do so. The point is that the exercise of free will is never negated, but still karmic environments and specific reactions will manifest. There is little choice unless one wants to walk out of an airplane, so to speak.

Others feel that by taking diksha one's karmas are accepted by the spiritual master and that one's life is guided afterwards by the Supersoul within. Still others feel that through sadhana one's karmas gradually melt away and one is no longer bound by them. In all such cases, the horoscope would come to have less and less validity.

The example of a fan, howevfer, may be appropriately applied. When the plug of a fan is pulled out the blade continues to rotate because of momentum. This is true even though no new impetus is received. Similarly, a practitioner of sadhana may incur no new karma, but he will continue to receive karmic reactions from before.

This actually occurred in the case of the avanti ( district of Malwa ) brahmana mentioned in the 11th canto of the Shrimad Bhagavatam. This brahmana had been materialistic but renounced the world to practice sadhana on the banks of a holy river. For all his efforts he was rewarded by being beaten up and tormented by hooligans. He was not sorry for that, however; he blamed it on his previous impious activities and the root cause of these, his manas. The point is that although he was engaged in spiritual practice, not all of his karmas dropped off immediately.

This seems to be in stark contrast to the instructions of the Vishnudutas to the followers of Yamaraj. While snatching the soul of Ajamil from their grasp, the Vishnudutas explained that even casual mention of the name of Narayana can relieve a soul of more sinful reaction than a soul could possibly commit. They also mentioned that Ajamil's utterance of the holy name was especially efficacious because he did so without offenses and in a pitiable condition.

There are many other statements such as this in shastra. One nice example may be found in the Bhakti-Rasamrita of Rupa Goswami. In the ninth chapter of this work Shree Rupa quotes Narada Muni in the Dvaraka-Mahatmya as saying " From the body of any person who claps and dances before the deity, showing manifestations of ecstacy, all the birds of sinful activity fly away ".

Does this mean that just by attending an aroti ceremony all of one's karma is negated such that the horoscope becomes negligible? Certainly not, but the answer to this conundrum must be fully understood before one can have faith in one's horoscope and make use of it.

First of all, it should be understood that astrology is not simply a study of karmic reactions. Rather, astrology indicates the will of the supreme as expressed through his agency of time. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna explains that " Time I am, the great destroyer of the worlds " ( Kalo'smi Loka Kshaya Krit Pravriddho ). Astrology is principally a study of time.

Actually, Mahamuni Parashara identifies the planets as Vishnu tattva in his hora shastra. This only makes sense because Vishnu is concerned with the sojourn of the spirit soul throughout the material world. In fact, Vishnu creates this material world as a kshetra for the individual soul. Then He expands himself as the Supersoul to accompany each jiva from birth to birth.

But this is not the point. Whether or not we see the planets as identical with Vishnu or as some kind of empowered entities, the point is that they do not represent some kind of separate power from the will of Krishna. Rather, the will of Vishnu is carried out through the planets.

And although it is true that karmas fall off for one who engages in the utterance of Hare Nama and other sadhana, the confusion actually has to do with which karmas are the ones that are cancelled.

A year or two back an essay was generated by the philosophical research committee of the Hare Krishna movement which shines some light on this question. It is entitled " Fate, Freewill and the Law of Karma ".

This essay begins by explaining divisions of karma because not all karmas are of the same nature. Kriyaman karma is defined as newly created karma and sanchita karma as stored-up karma. Sanchita karma is further divided up as anarabdha karma or reactions which have not yet manifested and are lying in a seed-like state and prarabdha karmas or those which have already begun to manifest.

The Vedantra Sutra 4.1.13 is then quoted which states : " Upon obtaining Vidya there takes place the non-clinging of works done in the present life, and the destruction of works stored up which were done in the past life. This is so because it is declared in the Upanishads ". This seems to support the idea that one gets off scot-free by chanting Narayana's name or clapping his or her hands in front of Shree Murti.

But the 15th verse of the same chapter seems to put everything in its perspective. There it is stated that " But only the immature karmas of the former lives, namely, those karmas whose effects have not begun, are destroyed by knowledge ". The sutra seems to suggest that the prarabdha karmas remain even if one were to obtain Vidya.

And it is well known among astrologers that the horoscope refers to one's prarabdha karmas. The horoscope is actually the wheel of time which was set into motion at the moment of birth. The prarabdha karmas it represents have already manifested; it is only a matter of time before they comes to pass. And according to the above verse of Vedanta Sutra, they will come to pass even if one takes up religious sadhana or obtains Vidya.

This truth is reminiscent of Shree Krishna's statement to Arjuna in The Bhagavad Gita wherein He instructs Arjuna that " These soldiers and kings have already been put to death by my arrangement, O Savyasachi, and you can be but an instrument ".

For further understanding we shall refer to the narration of the birth of Maharaj Parikshit in the 1st canto, 12th chapter of the Shrimad Bhagavatam. Parikshit Maharaj was an exalted soul because he was protected by Vishnu in the womb of Uttara from the brahmastra of Ashvattama. The brahmanas of the court of king Yudhistira referred to him as a maha-bhagavat, a pure devotee of the lord. Parikshit was a self-realized soul from his very birth.

Even so, the Bhagavat states that " Thereupon, when all the good signs of the zodiac gradually evolved, the heir apparent of Pandu, who would be exactly like him in prowess, took birth " ( 1.12.12 ). In his commentary on this verse, Shrila Prabhupada states that " Maharaj Parikshit, or even The Personality of Godhead appear in certain constellations of good stars, and thus the influence is exerted upon the body thus born at an auspicious moment... a suitable moment was chosen when all good stars assembled together to exert their influence upon the king ".

The question of whether or not the king carried with him prarabdha karmas when he took his birth becomes immaterial when the following point is understood; that even though Maharaj Parikshit was a maha-bhagavat, a pure devotee of the lord, his horoscope still corresponded to his life. This suggests that astrological phenomena will remain valid for all beings, in spite of one's exercise of free will or spiritual advancement.

As an example of the validity of the king's horoscope, the jataka vipras predicted that King Parikshit " would be true to his promise like Rama, the son of Dasharatha...exactly like King Ikshvaku in maintaining those whose are born...a munificent donor of charity and protector of the surrendered like the famous King Shibi... amongst great bowman the child will be as good as Arjuna... " and even more ( IBID ).

Besides these general predictions, the brahmanas foretold specific incidents to Maharaj Yudhistira, for example: " After hearing about his death, which will be caused by the bite of a snakebird sent by a son of a brahmana, he will get himself freed from all material attachment and surrender unto the Personality of Godhead, taking shelter of him. After inquiring about proper self-knowledge from the son of Vyasadeva, who will be a great philosopher, he will renounce all material attachment and achieve a life of fearlessness " (IBID).

All of this came true in the life of Maharaj Parikshit, from which we may conclude two things. First of all, Maharaj Yudhistira knew some tremendous astrologers! The astrologers of kaliyuga are not on a par with the astrologers of the court of Maharaj Yudhistira.

Secondly, we can conclude that astrological indications strongly correspond to the lives of pure souls and even incarnations of Godhead such as Shree Krishna. What then, to speak of souls which are still in the conditioned state, even if they have begun to tread the path of self realization.

Anyway, I hope that this essay has shined some light on the question of astrological determinism. Horoscopes are valid for all and can even be useful in devotional service.