Osho On astrology_2

[Guest guest]

Osho : Hidden Mysteries : Chapter #6

Chapter title: Astrology: A Door to Religiousness

10 July 1971 pm in Woodlands, Bombay, India

Translation from Hindi

 

It is necessary that some matters be understood. First, it is

necessary to know that from a scientific point of view the whole solar

family is born out of the sun. The moon, Mars, Jupiter, and the rest

of the planets, including this earth, are all organic parts of the

sun. Slowly, life on earth came into being -- from plants to man. Man

is an organic part of the earth; the earth is an organic part of the

sun. It is like a mother who has a daughter, who in turn also has a

daughter, and in all three of them the same blood flows. Their bodies

are made up of similar cells. The scientists use a word, empathy,

meaning shared sensitivity. Those things that are born from the same

source have a sort of shared inner experience.

Out of the sun the earth is born, and out of the earth our bodies are

born, and far away the sun is our great grandparent. Whatsoever

happens on the sun creates a vibration in every cell of our bodies. It

must be that way because our cells are all born out of the sun. The

sun appears to be a great distance away but it is not so far. In every

element of our blood and in every particle of our bones, live the

atoms of the sun. We are part of the sun, so it is no wonder that in

our lives we are influenced by the sun. There is a sort of empathy

between the sun and ourselves. If we understand this empathy properly,

we shall enter into one dimension of astrology.

Some experiments on empathy can be conducted when two children born of

the some egg are placed in separate rooms. During the last fifty years

many of these kind of experiments have been conducted. The twins were

put into separate rooms, a bell was rung, and the children told to

write or draw whatsoever they first thought of when the bell was rung.

This was repeated twenty times, and it was observed with great wonder

that ninety percent of the pictures drawn by the twins were similar.

The thought stream produced in one child on the ringing of the bell,

and the word or picture brought about by that thought, would be the

same as in the other twin.

This similarity of experience is described by scientists as empathy.

There is so much similarity between twins that they even speak alike.

Within the bodies of two such children there is an inner communication

or dialogue which flows through some unknown channels.

Between the sun and the earth also there are communication bridges

like this, and every moment messages are being passed across these

bridges. And similarly, communication bridges exist between the earth

and man. So there is a continuous communication between man, the earth

and the sun. But that communication is very mysterious; it is inner

and subtle. Let us understand something about this also.

There is a research center in America known as the Tree Ring Research

Center. If you cut down a tree you will find a number of rings or

circles drawn across the cut surface. The beautiful decorative designs

in the grain of wooden furniture are due to these circles. This

research center has been working for the last fifty years on the

formation of these rings.

Professor Douglas, the center's director, who has spent a major part

of his life studying them, has discovered a number of facts.

Ordinarily, all of us know that the age of the tree can be calculated

from the number of these circles. Every year one new ring is born; one

new layer is made within the tree every year. If the tree is fifty

years old, if it has seen fifty autumns, then there are fifty rings

formed inside the tree. But it is surprising to know that these rings

also indicate what sort of seasons there were in a particular year. If

the seasons were more hot or wetter than usual, the ring formation is

broader. If the seasons were cold and dry, the ring is not so wide. It

is possible to know when there were strong rains, when there was

drought and when the seasons were very cold. If Buddha said that there

was good rainfall in a particular year, the bodhi tree under which he

sat would confirm the truth of it. Buddha might have made a mistake,

but the tree could not. The tree ring will be wider or thinner,

indicating the type of season that particular year.

While conducting his research, Professor Douglas reached still another

conclusion which was far beyond anything he could have anticipated. He

observed that the rings are wider every eleventh year -- and every

eleventh year there is maximum nuclear activity on the sun, the sun

becomes more active. It is as if it has a periodic rhythm and its

radioactivity is at a maximum then. During such a year a tree makes a

wider ring -- not in one forest or in one place or country, but all

over the earth all trees behave similarly in order to protect

themselves from the intensified radioactivity. To protect itself from

the excessive power that is released by the sun, the tree grows a

thicker skin every eleventh year.

Due to this phenomenon, a new phrase, " climate of the earth, " has been

coined by scientists. The seasons are different at different places:

somewhere it is raining, somewhere it is extremely cold and somewhere

it is very hot. But with regard to this eleventh year, this new term,

" climate of the earth " was coined by Professor Douglas. Due to the

sun's radioactivity every eleventh year, there is a similarity of

experience all over the earth. We might not notice it, but the trees

do. There is a gradual decrease in the width of the tree rings that

are formed after the eleventh year, and after five years there is

again a gradual increasing in width up to the eleventh year.

If the trees are so sensitive that they can carefully record an event

happening on the sun, then isn't it possible that in the mind of man

also there might be some layer indicative of the sun's activity? Isn't

it possible that man's body might have a subtle sensitivity to the

sun's activity? Isn't it possible that in some way rings take shape

deep within the human personality? Until now scientists have not been

able to find such records in man's body, but it doesn't seem possible

that man's body wouldn't record such activity.

Astrology is an investigation into the possibility that changes in the

universe have also been recorded in man. But it is not as easy to

investigate the body of man because it cannot be cut open like a tree.

To cut open a human being is a very delicate and dangerous affair. And

because man has a mind, it is not the body which registers events in

this way, but the mind. The tree has no mind, and so its body has to

register the events.

One more point is also worth noting.... Just as there are radio-active

storms on the sun every eleventh year, similarly, there is another

periodic rhythm of ninety years on the sun. This has only come to

light recently, but it is a scientific fact and it is as surprising as

the periodic rhythm occurring each eleven years. Astrologers do not

mention anything about this, but I am telling you to make it easier

for you to understand astrology in a scientific manner. There is a

cycle of ninety years which has been experienced, and its story is

quite amazing.

Four thousand years ago, an Egyptian pharaoh told his scientists to

keep a record of how often the water in the River Nile increases or

decreases and by how much. The River Nile is the only river in the

world with a biography four thousand years old. A record has been kept

of when the water level in the river increased or decreased by even

one inch. This record runs from the time of the pharaohs, four

thousand years ago, until today.

" Pharaoh " is the name given to an Egyptian emperor and means the sun

in the Egyptian language. There was a belief in Egypt that a

continuous dialogue existed between the sun and the River Nile. The

pharaohs, who were devotees of the sun, declared that a complete

record of the Nile should be kept. They said, " We know nothing about

the sun at present, but some day we will, and this record will be useful. "

So everything about the River Nile for four thousand years has been

recorded: the increase in the water level, when there were floods and

when there were none.... And one Egyptian scholar, Tasman, compiled

its history. Some things that were not known in the times of the

pharaohs are now known and everything that has happened in the Nile

has been compared with events on the sun. A ninety-year rhythm has

been clearly indicated to relate to happenings on the sun. These

events are quite similar to what we call birth and death.

Understand it this way: the sun grows for forty-five years and then

begins to decline in age for forty-five years. For forty-five years

the energy flow within the sun increases towards a peak of youth.

After forty-five years there is a receding flow of energy, as within a

human being. After ninety years the sun becomes very old. During the

later forty-five years, the earth is struck with earthquakes.

Earthquakes are related to this ninety-year cycle. At the end of the

ninetieth year, the sun again becomes youthful.

This is a very important cyclical occurrence. There are such immense

changes happening on the sun that it is natural for the earth also to

be shaken. When a body as huge as the earth becomes upset by

earthquakes because of changes on the sun, how can the small body of a

man remain unaffected? This is the question astrologers have been

asking. They say it is impossible for the body of man to remain

unaffected. Children that are born during those forty-five years when

the sun is growing in youth are wonderfully healthy. But those

children that are born during the forty-five years when the sun is

growing old cannot be in sound health.

The condition of children born during the period when the sun is on

the downward path is like that of a ship that has to travel east when

the winds are blowing west -- a great deal of physical effort is

needed to move the oars. The sails do not work so the helmsman has to

work harder. It is like swimming against the current. The sun is the

vital energy source for the whole solar family. When it is old,

whosoever happens to be young has to swim against the current. He has

to undergo a great strain.

When the sun is in its youthful period, the entire solar family is

filled with energy and is moving toward its peak. Whosoever is born

then is in a ship that is sailing in the direction of the wind. No

effort is necessary. Neither the oars nor the rudder have to be moved:

the sails have only to be opened and the ship is moved by the winds.

During this period there is a minimum of disease prevalent on the

earth. When the sun is growing old there are the maximum number of

diseases.

The River Nile's historical record of four thousand years shows that

there is an increase of water flowing in it during the forty-five

years when the sun is in its youth. When the sun is becoming old, the

water level in the Nile drops. It also becomes weaker and older then.

Man is not separate from this world, he is one united whole with it.

Not even the best watches tell the time accurately. It takes

twenty-three hours and fifty-six minutes for the earth to make one

revolution around its axis. On the basis of this time period we have

devised a day of twenty-four hours. Our man-made watches may falter,

but so far the earth has not been known to have ever taken one second

more or less in completing a revolution. We did not have any totally

accurate means to study this phenomenon, so we only made rough

estimates. But when the sun's cycle of ninety years is completed, and

when the sun readjusts for a new cycle, the timing of the clocks on

the earth is disturbed.

At the time when the sun experiences increased radioactivity, during

its eleven-year cycle, our clocks falter. Whenever the earth comes

under the influence of such external forces its inner rhythm is

disturbed. New cosmic influences like a star, a meteor, or a comet

passing near the earth also disturbs it. On a cosmic scale, things

very far away in the sky are really very near, because everything is

interconnected in an invisible way. However, the ability of our

language to express this phenomenon is very weak, because when we say

that a star has come a little nearer to our sun, we think about this

in the ordinary sense of one person coming nearer to another. However,

the distances are very great. But even a slight change in the

distances between cosmic objects and the axis of the earth will be

disturbed -- although we may not even be aware of this. To disturb the

earth, a great force is required. Even for a one-inch deviation on the

earth, powerful cosmic bodies are required to pass near its orbit.

When these great cosmic bodies pass near the earth, they also pass

near us. When the earth is shaken, it is not possible that the trees

that grow on it are not shaken. It is not possible that the human

being living and walking on it is not shaken. But the shaking is very

minute, and so far we have not had any instruments to measure it. But

now we have such sensitive electronic instruments that a vibration of

a thousandth of a second's duration can also be measured. But the

vibration of the human being still cannot be measured. So far we have

not yet made any instruments for measuring that.

Man is a very limited creature -- and it is necessary for him to be

that way, otherwise it would be difficult for him to live on the

earth. If you were able to experience and know the influence of all

the surrounding forces that act upon you twenty-four hours a day you

would not be able to live. We are able to live because we do not know

everything that is happening around us.

There is another law also. That law is that we come to know neither

influences below a certain limit nor those above a certain limit. The

range of our experience is limited. For example, suppose that we

measure the body's temperature as being between ninety-eight degrees

at the lowest point and one hundred and ten degrees at the highest

point; then it shows that we are living within these twelve degrees.

If the temperature drops below ninety-eight degrees we will die, and

if it shoots up above one hundred and ten degrees we will also die.

But do you think that the is limited to a twelve degrees variation of

temperature, that beyond this we will die? Man lives within the

limited range of twelve degrees, and beyond this range, he will die.

Man lives in a sort of balance. He has to fluctuate between

ninety-eight and one hundred and ten degrees. Similarly, there are

balances for everything.

I am speaking to you and you can hear. If I speak in a very low tone,

a point will come where you will not be able to hear me. This you can

understand, but you will not be able to imagine that there is a higher

point of audibility beyond which you cannot hear. It will be difficult

to imagine that a louder noise can also be inaudible.

Scientists say that we have a certain range of hearing, and that we

cannot hear anything below or above it. All around us great thundering

noises are occurring, but we can't hear them. If a star disintegrates

or a new planet is born, tremendous thundering noises are created

around the earth. If we were to hear them, then at that very moment we

would become deaf. But because our ears cannot hear them, we are

protected. We cannot hear below certain decibels and we cannot hear

above certain decibels -- we can only hear within a certain range.

There are even limits to seeing. The senses of all human beings are

operating within a particular range. For example, a dog is able to

smell much more than you can. Its range of smell is wider, and what we

are not able to smell, a dog can. What we are not able to hear, a

horse can. A horse's sense of hearing and smelling is much sharper.

From a distance of one and a half miles a horse can smell the approach

of a lion. It will suddenly stop, and we will not understand why it

has. Its sense of smell is very powerful. But if you had such a strong

sense of smell that you could experience all the smells pervading your

surroundings, you would go mad. A human being is closed within a sort

of capsule -- he has boundaries.

When you switch on your radio, you can listen to many stations. Do you

think that the music begins only when the radio is switched on? The

radio waves of music and speech are continuously flowing in the air

whether you switch on your radio or not. But only when the radio is

switched on can you hear them. In this very room, the radio waves of

all the broadcasting stations of the world are flowing continuously,

but only when you switch on your radio can you hear them. Those radio

waves are there even when your radio is not switched on, but you

cannot hear them.

In this world many sounds are passing by all around us. There is a

great tumult. We are not able to hear it, but we cannot escape being

affected by it. We are influenced by all these noises -- in every

nerve, in every heartbeat, in every muscle. These noises are working

in us unnoticed. The smells we are not able to recognize also affect

us. If those smells bring with them some disease, you will catch the

disease. Your awareness or recognition of it is not necessary for

something to exist.

Astrology says that around us there are energy fields which go on

influencing us continuously. As soon as a child is born, it is subject

to all the influences of the world. In the language of science, we can

describe birth as a process of exposure.

It is just as though we expose a film in a camera. You press the

exposure button of a camera and within a split second the lens window

opens and closes, and whatsoever was in front of that camera is

immediately registered on the film. The film is exposed without

affecting the previous exposure. The film has captured the image of

the scene forever.

Similarly, when a child is conceived in the mother's womb, this is a

first exposure for that child. On the day the child is born there is a

second exposure. These two exposures are registered upon the sensitive

mind of the child as if on a film. The world as it is at that moment

is imprinted upon the child, and so there is an empathy in the child

for the world as it is at that moment.

You will be surprised to know that ninety percent of children are born

at night. Ordinarily -- in accordance with mathematical probability --

the percentage of births would be fifty-fifty for night and day. There

can be a fluctuation of four to five percent here and there, but why

should ninety percent be born during the night? Only ten percent of

births, at the most, occur during the day. This cannot be without any

reason. There are many reasons for this. Let me explain....

When a child is born at night, the first exposure of the world upon

its mind is not of light, but of darkness. I am telling you this only

by way of illustration, because the matter is really much deeper. Only

by way of illustration am I telling you that the first impression upon

the mind of the child is that of darkness. The sun is absent, its

energy is absent. All around, the world is sleeping; nothing is

actually awake. This is the first impact on the child.

If we ask Buddha or Mahavira about the reason for this, they will say

that most souls take birth at night because they are sleeping when

they are born. These souls cannot choose the moment of their birth.

There are hundreds of other reasons, but this is important, that most

people are asleep. They are in darkness and inactivity.

Whosoever is born after sunrise will be born with energy. After

sunset, in the darkness of night, only sleeping beings can take birth.

The birth that takes place at the time of the rising of the sun will

be a birth under the influence of energy; the birth that takes place

after sunset under the cover of darkness will be a birth under the

influence of sleep. The exposure will be different for a film exposed

at night and one exposed during light. It is necessary to understand

this point about exposure more clearly, because astrology is very

deeply related to it.

The scientists who are conducting research on this subject of birth

exposure say that it is a happening of the utmost importance. That

exposure will follow you throughout your life.

When a chicken is born to a hen, it immediately starts running after

the hen. We say that it is running after the mother, but scientists

say that this has nothing to do with the mother, that it is only a

question of exposure and imprinting. Scientists have now conducted

hundreds of experiments -- one experiment was on chickens about to be

born. The chickens' beaks were emerging from the eggs, and just then

the hen was removed from the scene, and a balloon was placed in front

of the chickens instead. When the chickens opened their eyes they saw

the balloon. You will be surprised to know that the chickens loved the

balloon as if it was their mother.

Wherever that balloon moved in the air, they would run after it. They

did not care for the mother, wherever she might be, but they became

surprisingly sensitive towards the balloon. When the chickens became

tired, they would go and sit beside the balloon. They would try to

love the balloon, they would try to peck at the balloon -- not at the

mother.

In this connection, a lot of work has been done by the scientist

Konrad Lorenz. He says that the first moment of exposure is the most

important. The child becomes intimately related to the mother, but

because of the first exposure. It runs after the mother only because

she was available to it first.

Now some more experiments are being conducted.... Those male children

who are not brought up in the presence of the mother are not capable

of loving any woman. There has been no proper exposure; the image of a

woman has not been properly imprinted in such a child's mind. If

homosexuality is increasing in the West, one fundamental reason is

insufficient exposure to one of the parents. Heterosexual love, love

between opposite sexes, is becoming less and less in the West, and

love between members of the same sex is increasing. Although this is

an unnatural happening, it is bound to be there.

The sexual attraction between a man and a woman is also conditioned in

another manner. To whom a child should be first exposed is a matter to

be considered. A woman will not be happy in life if, as a baby girl,

she was first exposed to the mother. Her exposure should be to a man.

The first impact on the mind of a girl should be of her father; then

only will she be capable of loving a man fully. If men always surpass

women it is because boys and girls are both first exposed to and

brought up by the mother.

The exposure of the boy is correct, but that of the girl is not. So,

as long as a baby girl's first exposure is not to her father, it will

not be possible for her to become equal to a man. Neither through

politics, nor through employment, nor through economic independence

can she become equal, because from a psychological angle the weakness

in the personality of a girl remains. No civilization so far has been

able to overcome this weakness.

If a small balloon can exert so much influence on a chicken, if it can

enter so indelibly into its mind, astrology suggests that whatsoever

surrounds us -- the whole universe -- also enters into our

consciousness at that moment of exposure at birth, when the mental

film is exposed to the world. This determines forever your sympathies

and antipathies for the entire life. All the constellations that are

encircling the earth at that moment also, in a very deep way, imprint

their influence on that newly born consciousness. The constellations

are in certain positions: the basic significance of these

constellations lies in the influence of their radioactivity which

falls upon the earth at the moment of birth.

Now scientists believe that every celestial body has its own unique

radioactivity. The planet Venus throws out rays which are tranquil,

whereas the moon has quite a different type of radio wave. The radio

waves that reach us from Jupiter are different from those that reach

us from the sun. The reason for the difference is that each planet has

a different combination of gaseous layers encircling it, and from each

planet a different combination of rays comes towards the earth. And

when the child is born, whatever constellations, stars, planets or

distant super-suns are encircling the horizon, all enter deep within

the mind of the child at the time of its exposure. The cosmic

situation at that moment -- with all its weaknesses, strengths and

capabilities -- influences the child for his whole life.

It is like knowing the exact effect of what would happen when an atom

bomb explodes amidst a populated area like Hiroshima. Before the atom

bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, it was only known that hundreds of

thousands of people would die. But it was not known that this would

also effect the future generations and everything else too. For those

who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki it was just a matter of one moment.

But the trees that remained behind, the animals, the birds, the fish

and the human beings that remained behind, were all permanently

affected in an unknown manner. The total effect of this will be known

only after about ten generations pass, because deep radioactive forces

are still at work.

A woman who survived had all her ova affected by radioactivity. Now

these ova are incapable of reproducing normal children such as they

would have done before they were affected by the radioactivity. A

child born of these ova could be lame or blind, it could have four or

even eight eyes; it could be anything -- one cannot say. Its brain may

be diseased or it may be a genius such as has never been before. We

are not certain what it will be like; only one thing we know for

certain is that it will not be like an ordinary normal being.

If the power of an atomic bomb -- which is comparatively not a very

great power -- can cause such great harm to life on earth, then you

can imagine the power of the sun. It is as if millions of atom bombs

are bursting on it simultaneously. In Hiroshima and Nagasaki an atom

bomb killed one hundred and twenty thousand human beings -- in

comparison, can you imagine how much radioactivity exists on the sun?

The sun has been heating the earth for four billion years, and

scientists say that there is no possibility of its beginning to grow

cool for millions of years. Each day it gives out tremendous heat to

the earth, and that too from a distance of almost one hundred million

miles. Whatever happened in Hiroshima could have an effect only up to

a radius of ten miles, whereas the sun has been giving us heat from a

distance of one hundred million miles and for so long; still it is not

exhausted. But compared with other suns in the universe our sun is

just a tiny star. The stars that we see in the sky are much bigger

than our sun, and each one of them has its own individual radiation

which is flowing towards us.

One great scientist, Michael Gacquilin, has been carrying out research

on the forces in the universe. He tells us that we are not able to

understand even one percent of the things that are caused by the

forces coming within our experience. Since we have begun to send space

satellites beyond the earth, so much information has been transmitted

to us that we have neither the words to describe it, nor are we able

to develop the science to decipher the transmitted information. We

never imagined that so much energy and so many forces might be

operating all around us.

In this context, let us understand one more thing. Astrology is not a

new science that is still developing. The position is quite the

reverse. If you have seen the Taj Mahal, you may have noticed some

incomplete walls beyond the opposite bank of the River Yamuna. The

current story is that Shahjehan not only made the Taj Mahal for his

wife Mumtaj, but that he was also constructing a tomb for himself,

from the same marble stone as the Taj Mahal, on the opposite bank of

the River Yamuna. However, that tomb could not be completed, according

to the story. But now some historians have done research, and they

tell us that those walls which look incomplete are not the walls of

some tomb that was being constructed, but are the remains of a big

palace that existed long ago.

We have been told for the last three hundred years that those walls

were the incomplete walls of a tomb that Shahjehan had begun to

construct. But the walls of a tomb being newly built and the remains

of some old palace would look similar, so it is very difficult to

decide what exactly those walls are. Historical research now indicates

that not only were they once a complete palace, but that the Taj Mahal

itself was not constructed by Shahjehan. It was an old palace

constructed by Hindus which Shahjehan converted into a tomb. But it

often happens that we can't believe anything that contradicts what we

have always heard.

No tomb like the Taj Mahal has been constructed anywhere else in this

world. A tomb is never constructed like that. All around the Taj Mahal

there are places for soldiers to stand, and for installing rifles and

guns. Tombs are not needed to be protected by rifles and guns. It was

an old palace that was converted. On the opposite bank of the Yamuna

there was also an old palace which collapsed, and its ruins remain as

a witness.

Astrology is also like the ruins of a great building that once

existed. It was a complete science which is lost. It is neither new

nor is it in the process of construction. From the walls that have

remained it is not possible to judge how big that building once might

have been. Many times truths are realized, only to become lost again.

About two hundred years before Christ, Aristarchus, a Greek scientist,

discovered that the sun is the center of our universe and not the

earth. This principle of Aristarchus became known as the heliocentric

principle -- that the sun is in the center. But afterwards, about 100

A.D., Ptolemy again changed this discovery and said that the earth was

the center. After that, it took over one thousand years until Kepler

and Copernicus again established that the sun is the center of our

universe. The truth discovered by Aristarchus remained hidden for a

very long time, until Copernicus opened the old book of Aristarchus

and declared it again -- and people were shocked.

Westerners say that America was discovered by Columbus. Oscar Wilde

made a joke about it that has become well known when he went to

America. He said that America had been discovered much earlier by

someone else. This is true -- America was discovered many times and

was lost again and again when relations with it were cut off. Someone

asked Oscar Wilde, " If Columbus did not discover it the first time --

if it had already been discovered -- why did it become lost every time? "

Oscar Wilde jokingly replied, " He did discover America, it was

discovered many times, but every time it was hushed up. Every time it

was necessary to keep it quiet, because such a troublesome thing is

best forgotten and put away! "

In the Mahabharata epic there are references to America -- one of

Arjuna's wives was from Mexico. There are ancient Hindu temples in

Mexico with idols of Ganesh chiseled on them.

It happens many times that the truth comes within our grip and then is

lost again. Astrology was one such great truth: it was once known

about, but was subsequently lost. There are difficulties in the way of

knowing it again -- that is why I am talking to you from many

different points of view.

My intention in talking on astrology could be misunderstood. It is not

as if I intend to talk on the same subjects that are discussed by an

ordinary astrologer. To such an astrologer you can pay a coin and be

told your fortune. Perhaps you think that I am going to talk about him

or be in support of him. In the name of astrology, ninety-nine percent

of astrologers only bluff. Only one percent will not dogmatically

assert that an event will definitely happen. They know that astrology

is a vast subject -- so vast that someone can only hesitatingly enter

into it.

When I am talking about astrology, I want show you to have a picture

of the whole science from many angles so that you can enter it without

any fear or hesitation. When I talk about astrology, I am not talking

about the ordinary astrologer -- such small matters. But the average

man's curiosity regarding astrology is just to know whether his

daughter will get married or not....

Astrology can be divided into three parts. The first part is the core,

the essence; it is the essentials, and cannot be changed. It is the

part which is most difficult to understand. The second part is the

middle layer, in which one can make whatever changes one wants. It is

the semi-essential portion in which you can make changes if you know

how, but without knowing, no changes are possible at all. The third

part is the outermost layer which is nonessential, but about which we

are all very curious.

The first is the essence, in which no changes can be made. When it is

known, the only way is to cooperate with it. Religions have devised

astrology in order to know and decipher this essential destiny. The

semi-essential part of astrology is such that if we know about it we

can change our lives -- otherwise not.

If we do not know, then whatsoever was going to happen will happen. If

there is knowledge, there are alternatives to choose between. There is

a possibility of transformation if the right choice is made. The

third, nonessential part is just the periphery, the outer surface.

There is nothing essential in it; everything is circumstantial.

But we go to consult astrologers only for the nonessential things.

Someone goes and asks an astrologer when he will get employment --

there is no relationship between your employment and the moon and

stars. Someone asks whether he will marry or not.... There can be a

society without marriage. Someone asks whether he will remain poor or

become rich.... There can be a socialist or communist society where

there will be no rich and no poor people. So these are nonessential

questions....

An eighty years old man was walking along when his foot slipped on

some orange peel thrown onto the road. Now, is it possible to inquire

of an astrologer and know from the moon and stars on which road and on

which orange peel the foot will slip? Such queries are foolish, but

you are curious to know in advance whether your foot will land on an

orange skin and slip if you go out on the road today. This is

nonessential. This has nothing to do with your being or your soul.

These events happen on the periphery, and astrology has nothing to do

with them. But because the astrologers were busy talking only about

such things, the great establishment of astrology collapsed. This was

the only reason.

No intelligent person will be prepared to believe that when he was

born it was written by destiny that on a particular day on Marine

Drive his foot would land on some orange peel and he would fall....

Neither the falling down nor the orange peel have any relationship to

the stars. Astrology has lost respect because it became connected with

such things. At one time or the other we all have wanted to know such

things from astrologers -- but these things are nonessential. But

there are certain semi-essential matters such as the birth or death of

a person: if you can know everything about these, you can take

precautionary measures. If you do not know anything, you can't do

anything.

If our knowledge about the diagnosis of disease is increased, we will

be able to increase the life-span of human beings. We have been doing

it. If our research to make deadlier atom bombs succeeds, we will be

able to kill hundreds of thousands of people at a time -- we have done

it. This semi-essential world presents a possibility for our being

able to do certain things, if we know in advance what is going to

happen. If we do not know, nothing can be done. By our knowing in

advance, alternatives can be sorted out and selected.

Beyond this, the world of the essential exists -- you cannot do

anything about it. However, our curiosity is to know only about

nonessential things. Seldom does someone reach out to know the

semi-essential. Our curiosity or desire never extends to knowing that

which is essential and unavoidable, that which cannot be changed even

if known.

Mahavira was passing through a village with his disciple, Goshalak,

who later became his opponent, when they came across a small plant.

Goshalak said to Mahavira, " Listen, here is a plant. What do you

think: Will it grow enough to produce a flower, or will it die before

it can flower? What is its future? "

Mahavira immediately closed his eyes and sat in front of the plant.

Goshalak cunningly said, " Do not evade the issue. What will happen by

closing your eyes? " He did not know why Mahavira had become silent and

closed his eyes, and that he was looking for the essential. It was

necessary to go deep down into the being, into the soul of that plant.

Without doing so, it was not possible to say what would happen.

After a while, Mahavira opened his eyes and said, " This plant will

survive to flower. "

Goshalak immediately pulled the plant up by its roots, threw it away

and laughed derisively. There was no better way to falsify the

statement of Mahavira?

Mahavira had nothing more to say now, because Goshalak had uprooted

the plant and thrown it away as a challenge. He was laughing, Mahavira

was smiling, and they continued their journey. It began to rain

heavily. There was a storm and for seven days continuously torrential

rains fell, so they were not able to go out for seven whole days.

When the rains had subsided and they were returning, on the way they

reached the same spot where seven days previously Mahavira had closed

his eyes to know the inner being of the plant. They saw that the plant

was again standing with its roots well below the ground. Due to the

heavy rains and winds the earth had become wet and loose, and the

roots of the plant had dug in.

Mahavira again closed his eyes and stood by the plant. Goshalak became

very embarrassed -- he had uprooted and thrown away that plant. When

Mahavira opened his eyes, Goshalak said, " I am surprised and confused.

I uprooted this plant and threw it away, and it is growing again. "

Mahavira replied, " It will survive to flower. I closed my eyes to see

the inner potentiality and condition of the seed -- whether it was

capable of taking root again even though it was uprooted, whether it

was suicidal or not, whether it had a strong instinct or desire for

death. If its instinct was suicidal it would have used your help to

die. I wanted to see whether it was yearning to live -- if it was

determined to live, it would live. I knew that you were going to

uproot it and throw it away. "

Goshalak asked, " What are you saying? "

Mahavira said, " When I was looking into the inner being of the plant

with my eyes closed, I also saw you standing by, determined to uproot

it. I knew that you would uproot the plant -- that is why it was

necessary for me to know the inner capacity of the plant to live, how

much self-confidence and will power it had. If it was waiting to die

and looking for an excuse, your excuse would be enough for it to die;

otherwise, the uprooted plant would take root again. "

Goshalak lacked the courage to uproot the plant again; he was afraid.

Previously Goshalak had gone laughing to the village; this time,

Mahavira marched ahead with a knowing smile.

Goshalak then asked, " Why are you laughing? "

Mahavira said, " I was watching, just thinking about your capability --

whether you could uproot the plant a second time or not. "

Goshalak said, " You could see whether I would do it or not? "

Mahavira replied, " It was nonessential. You might have uprooted it,

you might not have uprooted it. But it was essential and unavoidable

that the plant still wanted to live. Its whole being, its whole

vitality, wanted to live. That was essential. What was nonessential

was your throwing it away or not, and that was dependent on you. But

you have proven weaker and less determined than the plant. You are

defeated. "

One of the reasons for Goshalak being displeased with Mahavira was

this incident concerning the plant.

The astrology I am talking about concerns the essential, the

fundamental. At best your curiosity as far as the semi-essential. You

want to know how long you will live or whether or not you will

suddenly die. But you are not curious to know what you will do if you

live -- how you will live. You do want to know how you will die when

the time comes or what you will be doing at that time. Your curiosity

extends to events, not to the soul. That I am living is just an event,

but what I am doing while living, or what I am, is my soul. When I die

it will be an event, but at the moment of death, how I will be, what I

will do, is my soul. We shall all die, the event of death is similar

for all, but the manner of dying, the moment of death, will be

different for everyone -- someone can even die smiling.

At the time of death, someone asked Mulla Nasruddin, " What do you

think, Mulla? -- when people are born from where do they come?

Mulla replied, " I've seen every child weeping at the time of birth,

and at the time of death also everyone seems to be weeping. So, I

surmise that people are neither coming from nor going to a good place.

While they come they are weeping, while they go they are also weeping! "

But people like Nasruddin die laughing.... Death is an event, but that

which is laughing at the time of death is the soul. So, when you go to

an astrologer, ask him how you will die -- weeping or laughing? This

is worthwhile asking -- but it is connected to essential astrology.

No one on this earth has asked an astrologer whether he will die

weeping or smiling. You are asking when you will die -- as if dying is

of value in itself. You are asking how long you will live -- as if

just living is sufficient.

Why will I live? For what shall I live? What shall I do while living?

What shall I become if I live? Such questions are not asked by anyone.

That is why the structure of astrology has collapsed. Anything which

is constructed on nonessential foundations will certainly collapse.

The astrology I am talking about, and what you understand to be

astrology, are different. The astrology about which I am talking is

qualitatively different and of much more depth. Its dimensions are

different. I am discussing that which is essential in your life -- in

total harmony. It is not separate, the whole world participates in it

-- you are not alone in it.

When Buddha became enlightened, he placed his hands together in

salutation and bowed his head until it touched the ground. The story

goes on to say that the gods came from heaven to pay their respects to

Buddha because he had found the ultimate truth, but upon seeing him

with his head touching the ground, they were surprised. They asked

Buddha to whom he was bowing. They said that they had come from heaven

to offer greetings to him because he was enlightened and that they did

not know that there could be something to which even Buddha had to

offer salutations, as enlightenment is the ultimate attainment.

Buddha then opened his eyes and said, " In whatsoever has happened to

me, I am not alone, the world has also participated. So I bowed down

to the earth in thanksgiving to the whole world. "

This is a matter connected with essential astrology. That is why

Buddha told his disciples that whenever they attained the inner bliss

they should immediately give thanks to the whole world, because they

were not alone in that experience. If the sun had not risen or if the

moon had not risen, or if the chain of events had differed just

slightly, the experience that they had would have been missed. It is

true it was they who had had the experience, but everything was

instrumental in it -- the whole existence contributed to it. The name

of this interconnected cosmic relationship is astrology.

Buddha would never say, " I have become enlightened " ; he would only

say, " The world has experienced through me -- this event of

enlightenment, this supreme light, is known to the world through me. I

am only an excuse, a pretext. I am only a crossing where all roads of

the world have met. "

Have you ever thought that though a crossroads looks significant, by

itself it is nothing? If the four roads that meet are removed, the

significance of the crossroads will also disappear. We are each a

crossroads where the forces of the world touch and meet at a point. At

that point an individual is formed, a person is born.

The meaning and essence of astrology is that we are not separate, we

are one with the universe. Not only are we one with the universe, we

are also participants in every situation and event.

So Buddha replied that he was offering greetings to all the buddhas

who had come before him, and even to those who would come after him.

Then someone said to him that it was understandable that he offer

greetings to those born before him, because knowingly or unknowingly

Buddha might be in their debt -- their knowledge might have helped him

-- but why should he salute those who were not yet born? What could he

have gained from them?

Buddha replied that he had received help not only from those buddhas

who were born before him, but also from those who would be born after

him -- because from where he stood at that moment, the past and the

future had met and become one. Those who had passed were meeting those

that were coming right to where he was. The sunrise and the sunset

were meeting at one point. So Buddha was also offering greetings to

those who were still to be born. He was indebted to them also --

because if they had not been projected into the future, Buddha could

not have occurred.

This is a little difficult to understand. This is connected with the

essential astrology. I will not be if anything from my past is dropped

or lost -- I am a link in a long chain. It is understandable that if

my father were not born I could not be born, because my father is an

essential link in the chain reaching up to me. Even if my grandfather

were not there I could not be born, because the link is essential. But

it is difficult to understand that if there were no link attached to

me leading into the future, then also I could not be born.

What have I to do with that future link? -- I am already born. But

Buddha says that if whatsoever is going to happen in the future were

not already there, then I could not be born because I am a link

between the past and the future. If there were even a slight change in

the past or the future, I could not be the same as I am now. Yesterday

has made me and tomorrow has also made me: this is astrology. Not only

yesterday, but also tomorrow; not only what has already arrived, but

also what is coming; not only the sun that has risen today, but also

the sun that will rise tomorrow -- all are participants.

The projections of the future also determine the present moments. This

present moment could not be if there were no future moments. Only with

the support of future moments can the present moment occur. Our hands

are resting on the shoulders of the future, our feet are on the

shoulders of our past. It is very obvious that if that which is below

me -- on which I am standing and which I can see -- slips away, I will

fall. But if the shoulders of the future -- on which my outstretched

hands are resting -- slip away then I will also fall.

When a person finds himself connected with this inner unity of past

and future he will be able to understand astrology. Then astrology

becomes a religion, then astrology becomes spiritual. Otherwise, by

becoming related with the nonessential astrology becomes merely a

subject for pseudo fortune-tellers on the roadside, and then it is of

no value. Even the highest science is just dust in the hands of those

who are ignorant. Its value is determined by the use to which we are

able to put the knowledge.

Hence I am trying to push you from many doors so you might understand

that everything is joined together, interconnected. This universe is

like a family, like one organic body. When I am breathing, my whole

body is affected; likewise, when the sun breathes, the earth is

affected. The earth is even affected by what remote suns do. Even the

smallest cell vibrates in unity with those giant suns. If you can

understand this, we shall be able to enter into essential astrology,

and then we shall be spared the uselessness of the nonessential.

We have associated the most trivial matters with astrology. Those

matters have no value, and because of our connecting them with

astrology, difficulties have arisen. For example, we have connected

the matter of a person being born into a poor family or a rich family

with astrology. If you do not understand that such things are

nonessential, astrology will remain connected with them. Astrology can

become a tool in your hands only if you distinguish the essential from

the nonessential.

I will tell you a very interesting story so that you may

understand.... Mohammed had a disciple named Ali. Ali once asked

Mohammed's opinion about whether a man is independent and free to do

what he wants, or whether he is bound by his destiny in everything he

does. Ali asked, " Can one do as one wants or not? " -- and man has

been asking this question for a long, long time. " If a man is not able

to do as he desires, " Ali said, " then it is useless and foolish to

preach to him not to steal, not to tell lies, not to be dishonest. Or

is it destiny that one man should always be there to preach to others

not to steal or not to do this or that, knowing full well that it is

also destiny for a dishonest man to remain dishonest, for a thief to

remain a thief, for a murderer to remain a murderer? All this appears

absurd. If everything is predestined, all education is useless -- all

prophets, all saints and all teachers are useless. "

People have asked such questions to Mahavira and to Buddha also. If

what is going to happen is predestined, why should Mahavira or Buddha

take so much trouble to explain what is right and what is wrong? So,

Ali asked Mohammed what he thought about this controversial matter. If

such a question was asked to Mahavira or Buddha, they would have given

a very complicated and deep reply, but Mohammed gave a reply which Ali

could understand. Many of Mohammed's replies were direct and

straightforward. Ordinarily, answers given by people who are

uneducated or less educated, or who are simple villagers, are direct

and frank. People like Kabir, Nanak, Mohammed and Jesus were simple in

that way. Answers by people like Buddha, Mahavira and Krishna were

complex -- Buddha and Mahavira were the cream of a rich and highly

developed civilization. The words of Jesus were direct, like a blow on

the head. Kabir has actually sung: " Kabir is standing in the open

market with a hammer in his hand to hit you! " If anyone came near him

he would, so to speak, break open his head to remove all the rubbish

that was lying inside.

Mohammed did not give any metaphysical reply. He asked Ali to lift one

leg and stand on it. Ali had asked a question about whether a man is

free to do what he wants. Why should Ali stand on one leg? Mohammed

said, " First lift one leg. "

Poor Ali lifted his left leg and stood there on one leg.

Mohammed then asked him, " Now lift the right leg also. "

Ali was puzzled and asked how it was possible. Then Mohammed said, " If

you had wanted to, you could have lifted the right leg first, but now

you cannot.... A man is always free to lift the first leg -- it can be

whichever he wants -- but no sooner has the first been lifted when the

other becomes bound to the earth. "

With regard to the nonessential part of life, we are always free to

lift the first leg. But once that is done it becomes a bondage for the

essential part. We take steps that are nonessential, become entangled,

and then we are not able to do the essential. So Mohammed said to Ali

that he had all the freedom to lift the right or the left leg first.

But once he exercised that freedom and lifted one left leg, he was

incapable of lifting the other leg. So freedom is there within certain

limits, but beyond those limits there is bondage.

This is an old conflict for the human mind. If man is a slave of his

destiny -- as the astrologers seem to assert -- if everything is

predestined and happens inevitably, then all the religions are of no

use. If a man is free to do everything, as all so-called rationalists

say, and if nothing is predetermined or inevitable, then life will

become just a chaos and an anarchy. Then it is also possible that a

man may steal and still attain liberation, that he may murder people

and still realize the divine. When nothing is related, when one step

is not related to the other, then there are no laws and nothing is

binding anywhere.

I remember a story about Mulla Nasruddin.... Mulla was passing by a

mosque, when suddenly someone fell down from the minaret of the mosque

where he had climbed to say his prayers. The man fell right onto the

shoulders of Mulla, and Mulla's spine was broken. So Mulla was taken

to a hospital for treatment.

Some of his disciples came to see him, because Mulla used to interpret

all events. They asked him, " How do you interpret this event? What

does it mean? "

Mulla replied, " It is very clear that there is no relationship between

an act and its fruit. One person falls down, and the spine of someone

else breaks. And so from now onwards you should not enter into the

controversy of the doctrine of karma. It has been proved that one

person may fall down and that the spine of another can break. That

person who fell down was hale and hearty: he fell on me and I got in a

mess. I had not climbed the minaret to say prayers, I was just

returning home. I was not in any way concerned with the prayers -- but

still I got involved. So, from now onwards no more talk about the

doctrine of karma. Anything can happen. There is no law; it is all

anarchy. "

Mulla was very unhappy, naturally, because his spine had been broken

unnecessarily.

 

There are two hypotheses. On the one hand there is the astrologer who

is sitting on the side of the road being asked about the

nonessential.... Whether he is the astrologer of a poor man or of

Morarji Desai it does not make any difference -- all ordinary

astrologers are asked about nonessentials. An ordinary astrologer is

asked questions like: " Shall we win the elections or not? " How are the

elections connected with the moon and the stars? The ordinary

astrologer who replies, " Everything is predetermined, and no changes,

not even as much as one inch, can be made, " is making a false statement.

On the other hand there is the rationalist. He says that nothing is

connected inevitably: whatsoever happens is coincidental,

circumstantial and a matter of chance. There is no law, everything is

anarchic. He is also making a false statement.

There is a law: A rationalist is never found so full of joy and bliss

as a buddha.

The rationalist denies God, soul and religion with the help of logic,

but he can never attain the joy of Mahavira. It is definite that

Mahavira must have done something that earned him his joy, Buddha must

have done something that liberated him, and Krishna must also have

done something which made it possible for him to give out such

distinctly unique magical notes through his flute.

The real thing is the third, which is the quintessence of everything,

which belongs to the innermost and which is absolutely predetermined.

The more one moves toward one's center, the nearer one comes to the

essential, predetermined part. As we move towards the periphery, we

move towards coincidence. The more we talk about external happenings,

the more there is coincidence. When we talk about inner phenomena,

things begin to appear scientific, as if based on a certain law, and

they become more and more decisive.

Between these two conditions -- the essential and the peripheral --

there is ample room for changes through the exercise of choice. Here,

a person of knowledge makes the correct choice, while a person who is

without knowledge, who is in the darkness of ignorance, drifts to his

destiny. In darkness, circumstance catches hold of him.

So there are three areas of life. In one area, that which is the

essential core, everything is predetermined. Knowing this is knowing

the essence of astrology. In another area, that which is peripheral,

everything is uncertain. To know this is to know the everyday

unpredictable world. There is another area which is in the middle. By

knowing this, a person can save himself from trying to do the

impossible, and can do what is possible. If a person lives in the

peripheral and middle areas in such a way that he begins to move

towards the center, he will become religious. But if he lives in such

a way that he is never able to move towards the center, his life will

remain irreligious.

For example, a person is preparing to steal. Stealing is not

predetermined; it can't be claimed that stealing is inevitable or

unavoidable, there is complete freedom whether to steal or not. But

once stealing has been committed, it is as if one foot has been lifted

and the other foot remains on the earth: after doing it, you cannot

undo the act. And the total effect of the act of stealing will spread

over the personality of the person who did it. But as long as stealing

is not done, the other alternative is present and available.

The mind of a person swings between yes and no. If he says yes, he

will be thrown towards the periphery; if he says no, he will move

towards the center. Thus, in the middle, there is a choice. If he

makes a wrong choice he is thrown towards the periphery; if he makes a

right choice he moves towards the center, towards that part of

astrology which is essential in life.

I have told you certain things. I have told you that we are the

outstretched hands of the sun, that the earth is born of the sun and

we are born of the earth. We are not separate, we are all united. We

are branches and leaves that have spread out from the sun. Whatsoever

happens in the roots of the sun will vibrate and spread throughout and

within one's being, through every cell and nerve. If we can understand

this properly then in this world we will realize that we are one

family. Then we have no need to live encased within ego and pride.

The heaviest blow of astrology is upon the ego. If astrology is right,

the ego is wrong. Let us understand it this way: if astrology is

wrong, then nothing else remains -- but the ego -- that can be right.

If astrology is right then the world is right, and only I can be

wrong. I am only an infinitesimal and negligible part of the world --

I cannot even be included in the count, I am so minute. If astrology

is right, then I am not there. There is a big flow of forces in which

I am only a small ripple.

Sometimes, as we ride on a big wave, we have the impression that we

too are something special and that big wave is forgotten. That big

wave too is riding upon some sea, but even that sea is forgotten. If

that sea gives way underneath, the wave will disappear and we will

also disappear. We unnecessarily become unhappy over the possibility

of our disappearance because we became artificially happy through our

belief in our own existence. We should have realized that there is

only a large wave and a vast sea, and that we are not -- that it is

the wish of the sea that we arise in it, that it is the wish of the

sea that we die.

If an attitude arises in which we realize that we are only a fraction

of the grand desire of the infinite, then there will be no

unhappiness. And with such an attitude, the so-called happiness which

we want to enjoy will also not be present. The feeling of happiness

over such thoughts as, " I have won, I have earned, " will no longer

remain. Nor will there be a feeling of unhappiness over such thoughts

as, " I am dying, I am finished, I have drowned; I have been destroyed

or defeated. " When both happiness and unhappiness no longer remain, we

enter into the world of reality -- the essential -- where there is

bliss. Astrology then becomes the door to bliss.

If we look at astrology as a melting of our pride or as a

disintegration of the ego, then astrology becomes religion.

But we go to the ordinary astrologer, and in order to protect our egos

we ask, " Will I run into loss? Will I win the lottery? In this new

business I am undertaking, will I succeed? " These questions are asked

in order to save our egos, but the fact is that astrology is entirely

in opposition to the ego. The significance of astrology is this --

that you are not but the universe is, that you are not but the cosmos

is. Very powerful forces are operating, and you are absolutely

insignificant.

You can see astrology in this light only if you think and feel that

you are just a very small part of this big world. That is why I have

told you how the whole solar family is united with the sun. If you can

realize this, then you will also realize that our sun is united with

many larger suns in the universe.

Scientists say that there are forty million suns, and all are born

from some bigger sun. We have no knowledge of where that supreme sun

may be. We do not know how this earth is rotating round its axis and

also revolving around the sun, nor do we know where that center is,

around which our sun with its family is revolving. A great universal

merry-go-round is in swing.

In Hindu temples there is the practice of pradakshina, circling around

the image of the deity. This pradakshina is the symbol of the fact

that everything is rotating by itself and also revolving around

something else. Then these two together revolve around a third thing,

then these three together revolve around a fourth thing, and so on, ad

infinitum.

The ultimate center of infinity is referred to by those who know as

" the supreme center of Brahma. " This ultimate is neither rotating, nor

revolving around anything else. Whatsoever is itself rotating will

definitely revolve around something else, but that which neither

rotates nor revolves is the ultimate. It is also known as the supreme

silence or void. This is the axis, the pivot around which the whole

universe expands and contracts.

Hindus thought that just as a bud becomes a flower and the flower

withers, similarly the world also expands and then disintegrates..that

just as there is a day and a night, there is a day of the world and

there is a night of the world also. As I told you earlier, there are

cycles of eleven years and cycles of ninety years. Similarly, Hindus

thought that there are cycles of millions of years: during such a

cycle a universe is born, passes through youth and grows old; earths

are born, moons and stars spread across the universe, populations

grow, and millions of living creatures are born.

This is not only happening on the earth, now scientists say that there

must be a minimum of fifty thousand planets on which there is life.

There may be more, but this is the minimum. In such an infinite

universe it is not possible that only one earth can have life. There

are fifty thousand planets or earths on which there is life -- it is

an infinite expanse. Then everything contracts again.

This earth was not here from the beginning, nor will it last until the

end. Just as I am born and I will be no more, so will this earth and

sun be no more -- and a time will come when these moons, stars and

planets will also be no more. The circle of their being and not being

continues. We are just infinitesimal, rotating and revolving somewhere

on this cosmic wheel. And if we still think that we are separate, then

we are like Mulla Nasruddin who was traveling in an airplane for the

first time....

Mulla Nasruddin entered the airplane, and as it took off he started

walking along the aisle in the plane. He wanted to reach his

destination very fast and was in a great hurry; naturally, if you want

to reach somewhere quickly you will reach sooner if you walk

faster...! His co-passengers stopped him and asked him what he was

doing. Mulla Nasruddin replied that he was in a hurry.

He was traveling in a plane for the first time and he was using the

same logic which worked on the ground. There, he always reached

earlier when he walked faster. He could not realize that walking in

the plane was useless -- the airplane itself was flying and he would

only exhaust himself by walking. He would not arrive any earlier, and

it is possible that by the time he arrived he would be so exhausted

that he would not be able to stand up. He should rest, he should close

his eyes and rest. But neither Mulla nor other pundits would agree to

such advice.

He who achieves rest within this cosmic circular movement of the

world, I call religious. He is religious who knows that universal

forces are at work and there is no hurry -- that his hurry is of no

use. If we can only be one with the universal harmony, it is enough --

and it is blissful.

I have told you some things about astrology -- and if you realize

these things, then astrology can become a door to spiritual attainment.