The Horoscope of HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupada
BY: DHARMAPAD DAS
Sep 01, 2010 — BRAZIL (SUN) — The horoscope of Abhay Charan Bhaktivedanta Swami, Prabhupada, will serve as an example chart which allows us to bring together the component parts of Vedic astrology and see how it functions as a system of judgment. Hopefully, the reader will be able to recognize the correspondence of the life events of this saint to the astrological indicators.
A contention exists about which is the true horoscope of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Prabhupada. More specifically, the contention centers on whether the true rising sign is Sagittarius or Capricorn. A little bit of background in relation to the contention helps to understand the controversy and sort things out. Towards the end of his life, there was some attempt by his disciples to identify the horoscope of their guru. They were concerned about his health and longevity as he had been sick. He was confronted with three different horoscopes, each with a different rising sign: Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn.
It has been said that A.C. Bhaktivedanta recognized the Capricorn chart when it was presented by Pandit Ojha, and that a ring with a blue sapphire was presented to him by his disciples upon Ojha's recommendation.
Tom Hopke, aka Nalini Kanta das of the ISKCON Hare Krishna movement, revealed the following on the matter in writing:
"A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Prabhupada, said that he was born "around 4:00 pm." Anyone with astrological experience knows that this can refer to 3:15 or 4:45. In fact, when Srila Prabhupada asked devotees to go around India and hear from different astrologers, there were five reports brought back to Vrndavan, and there were three different ascendants - Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Capricorn - amongst those five opinions.
I've read these five papers because Daivishakti Mataji unlocked the case and showed them to me. One of these reports (the one with Sagittarius rising) glorified him as a saktya-avesh avatar, whereas the others were rather perfunctory. When I was discussing this with Yasodanandana Prabhu, he told me that he was in the room with Srila Prabhupada when these readings were being discussed, and that Prabhupada pointed to one chart and commented, "This is the correct one." Yasodanandana copied it and told me that it was the one with Sagittarius on the ascendant."
And in fact, a significant section of the astrological community feels that Sagittarius is his true rising sign. In face of conflicting reports involving none other than A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami himself, how can anyone justify one or the other? Well, remember that Bhaktivedanta Swami himself was not an astrologer, and never claimed to have studied astrology. That he recognized the horoscope with Capricorn as the rising sign when Pandit Ojha presented it to him is hardly proof at all. This could just mean that the Pandit Ojha was indulged by A.C. Bhaktivedanta. There were circumstances surrounding that interpretation, for example, Pandit Ojha made the interpretation as a gesture of goodwill and had been picked out and fetched by Bhaktivedanta Swami's disciple, Hamsadutta. It is not hard to imagine that A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami was being considerate.
It is difficult enough for an actual astrologer rectify a chart by matching the events of a person's life to the chart, what to speak of having a lay person in astrology "recognize" or "identify" which chart corresponded to his life. As far as we know, Bhaktivedanta Swami didn't invoke any type of clairvoyance or contact with the Supersoul to confirm Capricorn as the ascendant.
An interesting point is that Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami's guru, was a great astrologer, but we have never heard of any discussion between A.C. Bhaktivedanta and Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati about A.C. Bhaktivedanta's horoscope. And actually, by the time that they met, Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati had left astrology by the wayside in favor of full-time Vaishnava evangelism. We just don't know what the opinion of Bhaktivedanta Swami's own guru, an astrologer, was or would have been.
The lay person reading this may not understand the reason for the contention, but it is very simple; if Shrila Prabhupada's reported birth time was off by a very short amount of time, less than half an hour or so, then the calculated ascendant would change from Capricorn to Sagittarius.
Let us understand this issue fully. First of all, what do we mean by "reported time?" We are referring to a time zone in India where, at the time, the city of Calcutta was on one time zone, and the surrounding province of Bengal on another. This is confusing! What if a person lived in the outskirts of town? Which time zone would he use? Were things strict and uniform in this regard back then in India? I imagine not. In those days, even in The United States of America, towns were known to use different time zones from one train station to another!
And then who was it that reported the time? Probably Shrila Prabhupada's parents. Were they so concerned in the first place, and did they know to record the exact birth time? Had they been schooled about the possible astrological implications? Were they able to call the telephone company and get an accurate time check? (No) Did the clocks of the 1890s in India keep good time? Or were they like the old grandfather clocks which had to be periodically adjusted or re-set? It is a recorded fact in the time zone literature that not all of Bengal was observing the same time zone back in those days; there were even half hour differences.
When faced with an ascendant near the borderline between two signs, all astrologers have to investigate the possibility of what they call rectification. This means that they have to see if the horoscope truly corresponds to the life of the native. If not, then they have to consider the possibilities offered by the other rising sign. It is more accurate to start by investigating the chart itself, interrogate, check both ascendants to see if the life events correspond, and then confirm or change the birth time; rather than to take a borderline birth time for granted. All practiced astrologers understand this and have dealt with this problem.
The astrologers in the Sagittarius camp feel the need to raise objections when Capricorn is presented as the true rising sign. The contention is more delicate than it might seem insofar as a phenomenon might seem justifiable from both charts. For example, one could at least argue a case for the existence of children, and business along pharmaceutical lines, from both charts. (Earlier in his life, Bhaktivedanta Swami worked as a pharmacist, both in a laboratory as well as in his own pharmacy) But there are other major life events which can only be reasonably explained by the Sagittarius chart. They are: Shrila Prabhupada's authorship, the type of success that his Hare Krishna movement had during the Seventies, and the fact that he had only one older sibling, a sister.
When one examines any action or event, there are several basic elements of a chart which must be considered. On one hand, we look at the house which stands for the affair or event in question, its occupants, any aspects which it might receive and the position of its lord.
At the same time, we examine the karaka or natural significator. I will give a few examples of karakas to review the meaning of karaka. The Moon is the karaka of one's mother, the Sun is the karaka of one's father, also of the king, Mars is the karaka of brothers and Venus is the karaka of one's love life. So, just as any issue has a house which represents it, there is a corresponding planetary indicator which naturally represents it, too. With this in mind, let's examine the authorship issue from Bhaktivedanta Swami's two supposed charts.
The Vedic astrological literature unequivocally indicates Mercury as the indicator of writing, authorship and books. In the Capricorn chart, Mercury occupies its sign of exaltation, Virgo, in a benefic and pious house, the ninth. It forms raj yoga there with Venus, raj yoga being a tremendous combination for power and influence. So at first glance, the Capricorn chart supports the type of religious authorship that Shrila Prabhupada enjoyed.
But the lord of the house of authorship, Jupiter, occupies the eighth house. The eighth is the most evil house in any horoscope. The affairs represented by any planet or lord who falls there are said to disintegrate and the strength of such a planet is described in the Vedic astrological literature by adjectives such as "feeble." In spite of the strength of one of the indicators, the karaka Mercury, and the fact that Mercury aspects or throws its influence on the house of authors, the absolute weakness of the lord of that house does not support the idea of a world-famous author who wrote and organized the distribution of so many millions of his books.
And the nature of any religious writings indicated by Jupiter in the evil eighth house, afflicted by the Rahu - Ketu axis, would not be of the nature of the pure devotion to Krishna of which Shrila Prabhupada wrote. The Rahu-Ketu combination together with Jupiter goes by the name of Guru-Chandala yoga in Vedic astrology, and is indicative of dharmas of lesser understandings. For example, when this combination is prominent in a horoscope, the traditional texts indicate that the person takes up Islam or Christianity, religions of the meat-eaters. I have seen this combination indicate comprehension troubles in the charts of many people investigating Vedic dharma, without carrying the added affliction of occurring in the evil eighth, as in the case of the Capricorn chart. So this afflicted third-lord Jupiter with the Rahu-Ketu axis, in an evil house, is not indicative of Bhaktivedanta Swami's writings, which follow a strict, devotional line.
Nor does the idea of a vipreet raj yoga save the day for Capricorn as the ascendant. A vipreet raj yoga results when the lords of evil houses occupy another evil house, the evil destroying the evil, thereby producing good. It is true that the lord of the twelfth and third house, Jupiter, occupies the evil eighth. But the Sun also occupies the house in its own sign. This is a source of traditional strength such that the vipreet raj yoga does not occur. This situation of the lord of the house of authors, Jupiter, simply does not support the quantity and quality of authorship karma which A.C. Bhaktivedanta enjoyed.
On the other hand, the Sagittarius chart has four resounding indications which suggest great literary success, with no blemishes. They are:
1. Again, the natural indicator Mercury occupies his sign of exaltation- that doesn't change from one chart to the next. But the house which Mercury occupies does change- Mercury occupies the house of occupation and career, which is certainly a natural place for it to be in Bhaktivedanta Swami's chart, Bhaktivedanta Swami being a writer.
2. Rahu occupies the house of authorship. Rahu gives very good results from that house, the third.
3. Jupiter and the Sun aspect the house of authors, as good lords, from the ninth house, a very pious and benefic house, wherefrom they form a great raj yoga. This aspect greatly strengthens the house of authors and spiritualizes Rahu.
4. Finally, the lord of the house of authors occupies his sign of exaltation, this lord being Saturn in the eleventh. Not only is Libra the best sign for this planet, but the eleventh is the best house for Saturn!
Now these are the kind of indications which would (and did) make an author a million-book seller over and over again. One just doesn't see planetary combinations like this every day. Unfortunately, the indications for authorship according to the Capricorn chart wane pale.
Another issue has to do with the fact that the heyday of the Hare Krishna movement took place during the major planetary period of Ketu. During the period of a planet, the indications promised by it in the chart become activated. The Ketu period started in May of 1971. Previous to that, the major period corresponded to Mercury, the minor period belonging to Saturn from August of ‘68 until May of ‘71.
In the Capricorn chart, does Ketu in the evil eighth house with Jupiter and the ninth lord, the Sun, indicate any great spirituality? We have already responded to that question by identifying the combination as an afflicted, Guru-Chandala yoga, so the answer to this question is no.
Does Ketu in the eighth suggest any type of strong success? Not according to the Capricorn chart. There is no vipreet effect occurring, such that the eighth is simply a terrible house placement for Ketu. Nothing overcomes this evil in the Capricorn chart.
In the Sagittarius chart, however, any natural evil of the Rahu - Ketu axis would be transformed by dint of the fact that Ketu sits in the pious house of religion, by the fact that Ketu is with a strong Jupiter, who is the karaka of religion and spiritual understanding (Jupiter is Brihaspati), and because Ketu sits with the lord of the house of religion, the satvic Sun.
Ketu would not only reflect the piety of this ninth house situation in the Sagittarius chart, but would reflect and intensify the force and power of that house and its occupants, and give success in his period. I say this because it is the nature of both Rahu and Ketu to reflect the results of the planet in whose sign they are placed. They are, to a large degree, chameleons in this respect. They soak up and intensify the indications around them. Remember the story from the Puranas about Rahu? Although he was not one of them, he went to the assembly house of the gods to drink their nectar. He disguised himself as one of the gods in order to do this. In other words, he reflected his surroundings. In predictive astrology also,
Rahu and Ketu act like the planets with which they are associated and reflect the indications of their sign lord. So in the Sagittarius chart, it is only natural and consonant with general astrological principles for Ketu to reflect and intensify the great success and piety of the raj yoga which Ketu sits next to. It is Ketu who would be overwhelmed by and reflective of the strong planets around him. In the Capricorn chart, Ketu would only reflect and intensify the negative indications of the evil eighth house.
Ketu's encompassing reflection would give results over and above those given in the major Jupiter period (in the Sagittarius chart ). The major Jupiter period took place in the 1920s, but Bhaktivedanta Swami didn't have such success along spiritual lines back then. In other words, what Ketu did was to synthesize and reflect the combined effects of Jupiter and the Sun in a synergistic way. This is typical of the nature of Rahu and Ketu and requires no great stretch of the imagination on the part of any astrologer; we are used to seeing planets manifest their results through Rahu and Ketu. In the Capricorn chart, however, everything requires a bit of stretching. A much more tenable and natural interpretation results from the Sagittarius chart.
Finally, there is the question of a sister. Bhaktivedanta Swami had a younger sister, Pishima. In the Capricorn chart, Jupiter is the lord of the house of younger siblings, the third. Jupiter sits in the evil eighth in a masculine sign with two masculine planets and receives an aspect from the masculine Mars. The situation from Capricorn ascendant would not permit the existence of a younger sibling, period; nor would it permit the esteense of a sister.
From Sagittarius as ascendant, we have a much better picture. The lord of the house of younger siblings sits in the eleventh in exaltation, and a nice trio of planets aspect the third. Rahu sits in the third; this has limited the number of siblings and, in fact, this is a typical quality of Rahu-the-eclipser. The planetary karaka/indicador of siblings, Mars, sits in the negative sixth in a female sign with a female planet, the Moon. The situation of Mars also limits the number of siblings and indicates a sister.
In fact, with Sagittarius as ascendant, we have all-round congruency. The fact that the native distributed millions of books, became a world-famous religious leader who commanded much wealth during the Ketu period, along with the fact that he had a younger sister, all go to indicate that only Sagittarius could be the ascendant. It is surprising that several members of the astrological community in good standing have accepted that Capricorn was the true rising sign.
Hopefully, Bhaktivedanta Swami's horoscope is a good example of how the different component parts of Vedic astrology come together in confirmation of his life events. The thoughtful student will gain from studying it as it contains interesting combinations, such as the one found in the ninth house.
By Dharmapad das (Dean Dominic De Lucia)
HiddenMysteries.com
AstroVedica @ YahooGroups
(This article is currently appearing in Modern Astrology, published in Bangalore, India, managing editor: Gayatri Devi Vasudev - gayatridevivasudev@yahoo.co.in
