Graha Śānti

Modifying Karma with Upāya

By Marc Boney M.A.

Copyright: All Rights Reserved 2017

 Dedicated to Shri K.N. Rao

Who ignited in me the light of Jyotiṣa

“Jyotiṣa is the art of seeing light, of guiding, of counseling based on the

truth called the horoscope. Jyotiṣa is the pathway to God through the
mazes of intuitions and the brilliance of an organized science, like any
other science. Jyotiṣa is the fusion of the divine with the mundane, the
metaphysical with the scientific methodology, a divine chorus of the music
of the heavens and the dance of the stars. It is that divine ballet, Jyotiṣa,
which is at once both a divinity and science that we are presenting.”
God and Guru's Grace
My first introduction to the idea of karma getting modified through spiritual practices was from
K.N. Rao's book, Astrology, Destiny, and the Wheel of Time. It begins with the story of the son
of some family well known to him who had gotten involved in a militant political group. They
had committed a violent terrorist act in which people had died. The son was implicated and
wanted by the police for this. Shri Rao knew this family because they shared a common spiritual
guru, Swami Paramananda Sarasvatī. I no longer have the book to confirm the details but
somehow it came about that the son was hiding out in one of the ashrams of this guru who was
having him do pūjā, or ceremonial worship, continuously all day long. Either he was finally
apprehended or eventually turned himself in, and was put on trial. In a famous prediction of
Shri Rao's, he had told the family that their son would be acquitted and released, and gave the
timing within a few days. It proved correct. He entitled this true story "God and Guru's Grace."

Later in the book he tells another story about how one night when he was doing some
astrological researches one of the notebooks where he records charts kept inadvertently opening
to the horoscope of his brother-in-law. Taking it as a cosmic hint, he looked at the current period
and sub-period and did not like what he saw. A clear, upcoming danger was evident. Not
wanting to alarm the family unduly, when he saw them next he merely suggested that it would be
good to include in their daily worship the chanting of a mālā, or 108 repetitions of the Māha
Mrityunjaya Mantra. Out of respect for him and his recommendation they began doing this.

One evening not long afterwards Shri Rao received a phone call. There had been an accident. If
memory serves the brother-in-law was an engineer and while working in a warehouse a large
multi-level shelf of materials, possibly bags of cement or some other building materials, had
toppled over onto him and those who witnessed the accident could not see how he would have
survived. Yet when rescuers dug him out, he was unconscious but still breathing. Later at the
hospital it was discovered that the only injury he suffered, aside from bruises, was a hairline
fracture of his hip. Everyone considered it something of a miracle.

In November of 1996 when I went to stay with Shri Rao in India and sat with him daily, I was
witness to an endless stream of visitors from all parts of the world, most of them seeking
astrological consults. One day a radiantly beautiful young Indian girl appeared. As they spoke
together in Hindi, I could not follow the conversation but got the impression that she was
thanking him profusely. Later I got the story.

Several months earlier she and her mother had come to him, both of them very distraught. The
girl was at that age when her marriage was to be arranged but there were no suitors. Although
quite beautiful, well-educated and from an affluent family, she was suffering from a skin
disorder that had disfigured her. The best skin specialists had been consulted, but to no avail.
No one could say for sure what was causing it and all treatment attempts had failed.

She was running the major period of Mercury, kāraka or indicator of the skin, in a poor
condition in her chart. Mercury was the cosmic agent you might say of a karmic condition that
was thwarting her desire to marry. Seeing this, Shri Rao prescribed an upāya, a spiritual
remedy. He told her to chant The Thousand Names of the Lord (Viṣṇu-Sahasrānama) every day
intensely.

Why? The classical texts of Jyotiṣa give a correlation between each of the grahas or planets and
the main Vedic deities. Mercury is associated with Viṣṇu, the Hindu representation of that
aspect of the Divine that sustains creation. By doing this practice, she could make peace (graha
Śānti) with Mercury, the planet that was “causing” this difficulty. She did it and within a matter
of months, the condition cleared. She was engaged shortly thereafter and had come to invite my
teacher to her wedding in gratitude.

The skeptic would no doubt say that her doing this spiritual practice had nothing to do with her
skin condition disappearing, that it was a case of “spontaneous remission” or at best, a “placebo
effect." They might also contend that the pūjās performed by the man accused of a terrorist act
or the Māha Mrityunjaya mantras chanted by the engineer's family had nothing do with them
getting off rather lightly from situations in which the suffering could have been much more
severe. And of course, there is no way of proving otherwise. However, anecdotal evidence like
this from those who have experimented with Upāya, including myself, suggests that they
oftentimes do have a very powerful effect. The Vedic tradition and its practices are thousands of
years old and have withstood the test of time. For this reason alone they warrant our attention.

Remedial Methods
The potential downside of learning Jyotiṣa is that it reveals how much of our life experience is
conditioned by past-life karma. Indeed, a close observation of our birth charts, in relation to our
life events, shows that planetary periods come and go, and with them predictable events, good or
bad, regardless of whether we desire them or not. If you let it, Jyotiṣa could turn you into quite a
fatalist. Of course, this predictive science is entirely based on the theory of karma and
reincarnation, the notion that the soul creates its own experience through its thoughts, words and
actions in a series of lifetimes. This idea is expressed in its essence in the Christian Bible as "As
you sow, you reap."

The concept of karma, as articulated in the spiritual tradition of India, is quite intricate and
complex. For a fuller exposition of this I refer the reader to my article Astrology, Karma and
Reincarnation available free on my website (www.marcboney.com).
Suffice it to say that our birth chart reflects our prārabhda karma, or allotment of karma due to
come to fruition in this lifetime. In Māharishi Patanjali's Yoga Sutras this whole matter of karma
and its fruition is summed up in a series of three brief aphorisms in the second part dealing with
sādhana or spiritual practice.

Leaving the Sanskrit aside mostly, these are as follows:

2.12 Latent impressions of action (karmāśaya) have their origin in the causes of
suffering (kleśas) and are experienced in the present and future births.

2.13 As long as this root exists, the (karmāśaya) ripens into birth, span of life, and life
experience.

2.14 Pleasure and pain are the fruits of these (birth, span of life, life experience)
according to the merit or demerit (puṇya/apuṇya)

Kleśas or "afflictions" refer to the five causes of suffering enumerated earlier in the text. Chief
among these, and identified also as the kṣetram or "field" of the others, is avidyā, or
"ignorance." Ignorance, in this context, refers to our ignorance of the Higher Self, of our own
true divine nature as being one and the same as puruṣa or pure spirit.

Must we then just passively enjoy or suffer our prārabhda karma? Two sutras later the great
Sage tells us otherwise:

2:16 heyam duhkham anagatam

The sorrow yet to come is to be avoided.

This sutra clearly indicates that karmas from which we are destined to suffer can be avoided.
How? Well, there is a reason that these sutras about karma and its fruition appear in the chapter
entitled Sādhana or "Practice." Later on in this part of the Yoga Sutras, the Sage outlines his
famous aṣṭānga, or "eight limbs" of Yoga, about which he says:

2:28 The sustained practice of the limbs of Yoga destroys impurities of the mind, at
which point the light of knowledge of our own true nature dawns.

The Sanskrit word upāya simply means "method." All of Yoga science, including what is given
in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, is aimed at one thing; permanently ending all suffering of the soul by
achieving spiritual liberation or mokṣa. When this happens all karmic seeds are "roasted" as it
says in the literature, and cannot bear fruit. In fact, all karma is completely transcended. In this
sense, Yoga science is the ultimate upāya, a complete methodology for avoiding any "sorrow yet
to come."

However, for most of us the impulse towards mokṣa, the desire to achieve spiritual liberation in
this lifetime, is not strong enough such that we are inclined to completely devote our lives to this
aim. We are not yogis and yoginis in caves in the Himālāyas or sādhaks in ashrams spending the
majority of our time engaged in spiritual practices. Yet this doesn't mean that we cannot also
benefit from an "upāya" that could help balance/modifying negative karma.

When I first discovered Jyotiṣa, one of the many things that greatly appealed to me is that it had
a prescriptive side which I now consider to be every bit as important as its predictive side. The
Jyotiṣa śāstra makes it very clear that the sages of ancient India cognized this body of
knowledge so that the karmas that were likely to manifest in a person's life could be known,
along with timing. Why? For the same reason a doctor wants to accurately diagnose a health
disorder, which is to say, in order to prescribe an effective remedy. The prescriptions in Jyotiṣa
are practices that come from the spiritual tradition of India and they can be utilized to overcome
negative karmas, or even to enhance positive ones.

In my opinion, this is the best and highest use of Jyotiṣa, and the purpose for which it was most
originally intended. Too often in my view it is used as a mere fortune-telling device, and I say
this as someone long enamored with its predictive power. But I also recognized early on that it
is a powerful tool for diagnosing which cosmic agents (grahas) are delivering what quality of
effects from the soul’s previous actions and how good diagnosis then becomes the basis for an
effective prescription.

The Grahas as Cosmic Agents

It is both purposeful and significant that the word used in Jyotiṣa for the planets is grahas, a
Sanskrit word whose root meaning is “to seize or grasp.” Like all the technical terms used in
Jyotiṣa, this word is plainly suggestive of the universal forces it describes in so far as their
effect. Anyone who has ever been overtaken by a strong feeling, a strange mood, a sudden
notion or an overwhelming desire, knows what it is to be “grasped” by something apparently
beyond their control. In fact, it is a cliché to speak of being “in the grip of desire.”

Yet the Jyotiṣa śāstra makes it clear that the planets merely act as agents, distributing to us the
fruits of our past actions from previous births.

“The Unborn Lord has many incarnations (forms). He has incarnated as the planets to bestow
on the living being the results due to their karmas.”

Brihat Pārāśara Horā Śāstra

Chapter 2, verse 3

If the planets can be said to “grasp” us, it should be clearly understood that they do so with our
own attachments and aversions born of the residue of impressions from experiences over many
lifetimes. These residual impressions, known as karma samskāras in the Vedic tradition of
knowledge, are what the planetary patterns at birth indicate. Through the examination of an
individual’s birth chart, a jyotiṣi assesses the quality and intensity of these karma samskāras, and
what experiences they are likely to give rise to in this lifetime. The prescriptive side of Jyotiṣa is
about methods for pacifying these cosmic agents, which is another way of saying methods by
which karma can be modified. This is what is meant by the phrase graha sānti, or "making
peace with the planets." As we shall see, there are different types of methods given in the
ancient texts.

Different Approaches to Upāya

The Upāya or “remedial measures” of Jyotiṣa consist of many different approaches, but
generally speaking they fall in the following five categories.
The use of sacred hymns and primordial sounds (stotras and mantras)
Ritual ceremonies (pūjās and yagyas)
Acts of charity (dān)
Acts of service (seva)
Austerities (tapas)
The first three are the methods emphasized in the Brihat Pārāśara Horā Śāstra, considered the
most authoritative text on Jyotiṣa,
Some may find it surprising that gemstones are not being listed here since the use of these is very
prevalent in the world of Jyotiṣa. I am not stressing them for two reasons:
1. I am following the example of my teacher who did not favor this approach, stating that
Pārāśara Horā makes no mention of them.
2. Secondly, they are something of a rich person’s upāya. To have the desired effect,
supposedly they should be of at least three carats and of flawless quality, which is
beyond the means of most people.
While not dismissing the idea of some potential benefit, I personally feel that anyone who thinks
they are going to alter their karma significantly by merely wearing a gem stone is misguided. In
his famous Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramahamsa Yogananda in a chapter entitled "Outwitting
the Stars" tells the story of how his guru, Sri Yukteshwar, who was a jyotiṣi, asked him to have
an astrological bangle made of certain metals and precious gems when he foresaw astrologically
a health problem coming up. The predicted problem did occur but was apparently short-lived
and not as severe as it might have been without this upāya. However, what anyone reading this
story should realize is that Yogananda was doing hours of daily sādhana and had the blessing of
a satguru to go along with this. He was also from a wealthy family and could afford it.
References to Upāya in the Brihat Pārāśara Horā Śāstra can be found in the chapters dealing
with the effects of daṣās. Remedial measures are often given when the possible negative effects
of a period are outlined. For example, see the following passage concerning some potential
harmful effects of the Venus major period.
“If Venus be the lord of the 2nd or the 7th (two māraka houses), there will be physical pains and
troubles. To get alleviation from these troubles the person should perform Mrityunjaya Japa in
the prescribed manner and give in charity a cow or female buffalo."
Mrityunjaya Japa refers to the repetition (japa) of the Māha Mrityunjaya Mantra, which means
literally "The Great Mantra for Victory over Death." It is something of a standard prescription
for anyone suffering from any mental or physical ailments. The “giving of a cow or female
buffalo in charity” may appear quaint to us in the modern era, but in the predominantly agrarian
culture of ancient India it would constitute a substantial and valuable gift.
I highlight this passage to show the extent to which the ancient Vedic sages clearly believed that
such practices and actions could modify the karma coming to a person by way of the planetary
periods. Based on his experience of many decades, K.N. Rao strongly prefers the recitation of
stotras or sacred hymns, embedded in which are mantras, or also simply doing mantra japam, as
the most effective Upāya. My own experience and experiments support this view. It is this
method then that I will focus on first in this article.
However, before going into this fascinating topic, it should be said that the traditional approach
to upāya given in the classical texts of Jyotiṣa, all of which is based on the Indian spiritual
tradition, is not necessarily to be recommended to everyone. It is important to adapt the
approach based on the individual you are counseling and their receptivity.
Recommending Vedic mantras or yagyas (ritual ceremonies) to an orthodox Jew, a strict Roman
Catholic, or a devout Muslim may not be the most efficacious approach. They are much more
likely to be receptive to a practice in keeping with their own spiritual tradition. This is the
approach used by Shri Rao and I have oftentimes heard him say that any form of sincere worship
is an effective upāya. Once, when counseling a Roman Catholic woman with a very difficult
Moon, I recommended a practice with which I was familiar centering on Mother Mary, the
archetype of the Divine Mother in that tradition. It appealed to her. On the other hand, I have
found that most people seeking a consultation in Jyotiṣa are usually also receptive to Vedic
spiritual practices.

Mantra
What is a mantra? This Sanskrit word is composed of the two root words, manas, which means,
“mind,” and trai, which means, “to heal or protect.” Mantras can therefore best be defined as
“primordial sounds that have a healing or beneficial effect on the mind and consciousness.”
In the spiritual tradition of India, mantra is a whole science in itself, based on an oral tradition
thousands of years old, and then later a vast literature known as mantra śāstra. It is grounded in
the recognition that specific sounds or vibrations have specific physiological and psychological
effects. Like Jyotiṣa, this science is said to have originated when the enlightened riṣis of the
ancient Vedic civilization cognized or discovered in their higher states of consciousness what
sounds produced what effects.
Probably the simplest way to relate to the idea of mantra having a profound effect on a person is
to think of something with which we are all very familiar—music. We are also very familiar
with how different types of music can affect and sometimes profoundly move us in different
ways, making us feel happy, sad, aroused, sedated, mellow, agitated or many other ways.
Every sound, every vibration, represents a certain kind of energy, and each sound has, you might
say, its own “energetic value.” By saturating the mind in a particular sound this energetic value
affects and can even transform the energy pattern of the subtle body, thus changing an
individual’s attunement to the cosmos and planetary stimuli. Vedic science holds that if you want
a different experience in life then you have to change the vibration of the person having the
experience, and mantra is viewed as one of the most powerful tools for doing that.
As a spiritual teacher of mine once expressed it, the human brain and nervous system and their
correlates in the subtle bodies are the most sensitive receiving and transmitting instruments
imaginable. Think of a highly-sophisticated two-way radio capable of operating at any
frequency. An individual’s planetary pattern at birth shows what frequencies they are dialed into
based on their soul’s karma-samskāras—the psycho-physical-spiritual tendencies generated by
their actions in past lives. If a person wishes to attune to a different set of frequencies, the
vibrations or sounds associated with these can be used to do this. A simple example may serve
to illustrate this concept.
Say that a person has some dāridra yogas, or combinations for impoverishment in their chart,
and the planets involved are currently active in the daṣā sequence. Sure enough, they are having
great difficulty making ends meet. Feeling desperate, they may seek out an astrologer. Why?
So they can hear all about these combinations and get more depressed? Of course not, they want
to be assured that their financial fortunes will immediately improve, and hopefully starting
tomorrow! But what if that is not what the astrologer honestly sees? Better financial periods in
the times ahead can always be highlighted, but this is also an opportune time for a jyotiṣi to offer
a spiritual remedy aimed at modifying that person’s karma which respect to prosperity and
abundance in their life.
Śrīm (pronounced shreem) is said to be the bīja mantra, or “seed sound” of abundance. It is
quite literally the vibration or sound of abundance according to the ancient sages. The goddess
Lakṣmī in the Hindu pantheon personifies this sound and the principle of abundance.
The bīja mantra, Śrīm, could therefore be used to “dial into the frequency” of abundance,
attracting more of that into a person’s life. More often, however, bīja mantras are embedded in
longer mantras that include the name of the associated deity and other meaningful primordial
sounds as well. Thus, one mantra utilized to create more abundance and prosperity is:

OM ŚRĪṂ MAHĀ LAKṢMĪYEI NAMAḤ

This is pronounced:
OM SHREEM MAH-HA LAHKSH-MEE-YEI NAHM-AH-HA)
Of course, “abundance” and “prosperity” come in many forms and can mean different things to
different people. Money has sometimes been referred to as the “root of all evil,” but in actuality
it is just a form of energy, and like any energy it can be used self-indulgently and in ways very
harmful to oneself, others and the environment, or it can be used in a very life-supporting way.
One always needs to be mindful—and careful—about what you create in your life and why.
Sanskrit, the language of mantra, is held to be quite unique and special in that there is said to be
a perfect correlation between name and form in this language. What this means is that the name
of something in Sanskrit is said to be an exact vibratory representation of its essential form and
substance. Thus, the difference between chanting the English word “peace” and the Sanskrit
word śānti is that while they both mean the same thing, chanting the sound “peace” won’t make
you peaceful, while chanting śānti will.
The science of mantra is the science of the specific effects of particular sounds and it should be
understood that it is not faith-based at all. A soaring, female soprano hitting a high C-note can
shatter glass, while a gentle Beethoven sonata can soothe frazzled nerves. These effects are well
known and can be understood and explained according to well-known principles of physics.
From this perspective, the use of mantra transcends any one religious creed or tradition. Whereas
the Sanskrit mantras given here come to us from a spiritual tradition now identified in the world
as “Hinduism,” it should be clearly understood that one doesn’t need to accept or embrace
Hinduism in order to benefit from a mantra practice.

Mantra Japam
There are two basic approaches to working with mantras as a remedial measure (upāya).
One involves a repetition (japa) of the mantra for a prescribed number of times. The other
involves repeating the mantra on a daily basis as often as possible for a certain period of time.

For example, for propitiating the Sun and making peace with this graha, Pārāśara Horā
prescribes 7000 repetitions of the Sun mantra. Theoretically, this could be done in one month,
or over a period of months.

In contrast, if a person were looking to ward off or cure illness, repeating the Māha Mrityunjaya
Mantra 108 times over a period of 40 days would be another approach.

Both approaches are effective, but with regards to any upāya the following formula applies:

Intention + Intensity + Duration = Effect

An effective mantra upāya begins with a good intention, and to make that intention clear and
concrete it is oftentimes helpful to write it down. Whatever it is, this intention should be
completely life supporting.

Secondly, it should be done intensely, meaning with a certain mental focus. Whereas mantra
japam can be performed while doing mindless chores like cleaning the house or what not, the
mind should be focused and absorbed in the sound of the mantra.

Some traditions teach that it is optimum to do your practice at the same time and place each day,
just before rising in the morning and before going to bed at night. However, there is no need to
get hung up on this or be too rigid about it. The most important thing is to just do it with a good
intention and reasonable focus.

“Duration,” as indicated above, can mean either a total number of repetitions, or a certain
number of repetitions for a subscribed number of days. Traditionally, a string of beads called a
mālā is used to facilitate counting the number of repetitions. Normally, these consist of 108
beads, a sacred number that has an astrological basis.

The circle of the Zodiac (Kāla Purūṣa) consists of 27 nakṣatras or lunar mansions, each with
four pādas or parts. 27 x 4 = 108. 108 repetitions represent movement through this entire cycle,
a complete journey of the soul to wholeness. Repeating a mantra this number of times in any
given session or for a day’s period is therefore recommended. If time constraints make this
difficult, 27 repetitions is an alternative option, one for each of the nakṣatras.
However, I want to re-emphasize that one approach to mantra practice is to immerse the mind in
the repetition of it as much as possible for a certain period of time, such as a month or 40 days.
In this case, tracking number of repetitions is not so much the point as taking advantage of every
unoccupied moment to be with the mantra.

Keep these recommendations for using mantras in mind should you choose this type of upāya.

Mantra Selection

As mentioned previously, mantra japam as an upāya begins with a sankalpa or stated intention.
What effect is the practice intended to have in your life? This can range anywhere from the very
general to quite specific. One can also do mantra practices for another, a sick relative for
example.

The chart below is that of a woman friend of mine who has been getting astrological input from
me since 2004. This began in her Ketu major period and as she approached her Venus māhadaṣā
beginning in 2008, she wanted to get my thoughts about it generally. At this time she was a
single mother of two young children struggling financially to make ends meet as a self-employed
Ayurvedic chef with a catering business. Her fondest wish was to find a suitable husband with
whom to share life.

Venus as a major period certainly held the promise of this since this graha is in the 7th house.
However, exam all the factors related to her 7th house of relationship, including an exchange
between the 7th and 8th lords and the influence of malefic 6th and 8th lords, and you see the
astrological picture of her difficult karma in this area of life.

She was semi-aware of these challenging patterns and wanted to know what she could do to
overcome them. In her case I saw that a single recommendation could serve multiple purposes.

Here I must pause and explain that when attempting to propitiate or "make peace" with a
particular graha through a mantra practice there is a choice involved. Mantras for each of the
nine grahas are given in the ancient texts like Pārāśara Horā, along with a prescribed number of
repetitions. The most general approach then is to do the mantra japam of the major period lord
with the intention of enhancing any favorable karmas the period can bring and to ameliorate
negative ones. This is quite a common and efficacious approach within the world of Jyotiṣa.

However, I was taught by K.N. Rao that it was more powerful to do japam using a stotra or
mantra specific to the deity associated with a planet. The story at the beginning of this article
about the young girl of marriageable age with the mysterious skin disease is an example of this.
Afflicted Mercury in her chart was bringing the problem so a practice related to Viṣṇu was
prescribed since Viṣṇu is the deity related to Mercury.

I have emulated this approach, so in this case the Lakṣmī mantra shown previously was
prescribed, as well as the practice of chanting the 100 names of Lakṣmī on Friday, which is the
day of the week associated with this goddess of abundance. This recommendation served
multiple purposes since it is also a practice specific for increasing prosperity, another fond hope
of hers, and since Venus is also the kāraka of love and love relationships and is positioned in her
7th house, it becomes an appropriate choice for this intention as well. In her case though, I was
aware that Shakespeare's line "never did the course of true love run smooth" applied, and the
Venus major period brought more ups and downs in her relationship life, including a marriage
that lasted only briefly. I am glad to report though that she is now happily married and enjoying
much greater prosperity in life after doing these practices faithfully.

Along the way to this greater fulfillment, an occasion arose that illustrates giving an upāya as a
specific prescription for a particular problem. Her ex-husband, with whom she had her children,
was repeatedly trying to take them away from her, taking her to court again and again with
totally false charges of her being an unfit mother. It has been more sheer harassment than
anything else. He is someone who suffers from untreated bi-polar disorder, is unable to maintain
consistent employment and has been chronically delinquent in his child support payments. This
has made her life at times a living hell, and at one point she asked me to recommend a practice
aimed at protecting her and warding off these attacks, as well as empowering her to defend
herself. Durga is a feminine deity in the Vedic tradition that represents fierce protecting
energy. One translation of her name that I have seen is "the invincible." I prescribed the simple
Durga mantra.

OṂ DUM DURGAYE NAMAḤ

It is pronounced:

OM DOOM DUR-GA-YE NAHM-AH-HA

She is very disciplined in her application of these practices and doing this made her feel strong
enough to fight this battle and not be intimidated. After several spurious incidents of this the
courts ruled that her ex-husband was abusing the system and that they would not hear any such
allegations again.

The chart below is of another woman friend of mine who has also had a very challenging
relationship history. Examine her 7th lord and kāraka, Venus, and you should be able to see
why. I had predicted that a relationship would come into her life in the Rahu-Jupiter period that
could mean a marriage or marriage-like situation. It proved correct but before Rahu-Saturn
ended it was over.

Her problem has never been attracting men, but rather attracting the right man, someone with
whom she feels romantic love, but who also shares her spiritual values and passionate interest in
spiritual life. She has had great difficulty finding the two together.

Having heard of this concept of Upāya, she asked me to recommend one for her, especially for
attracting such a suitable mate. As it happens, there is a mantra practice in the Vedic tradition
specifically designed for a woman wanting to attract a suitable mate into her life. It is as follows:

SAT PATIM DEHI PARAMEŚVARA

It is pronounced:

SAT PAHTEEM DAY-HEE PAH-RAHM-ESH-WAH-RAH

It can be loosely understood to mean, "Please give to me a man of truth who embodies the
perfect masculine"

I saw this as an appropriate prescription not just because it was a mantra practice specific for her
intention, but also because she was running her Rahu major period. Rahu, as a chāyā graha or
shadowy planet, gives the results of the lord of the sign it is in and the strongest planets with
which it is connected. In her chart, Rahu is in the Sun's sign and with a swakshetra Sun. The
Sun correlates to the Vedic deity, Śiva, who is referred to as Parameśvara. She obtained a CD
which has a beautiful musical rendition of this mantra and listened to it constantly while working
in her jewelry designing business.

Sometime later I asked her about this, and she reported that no such suitable mate had appeared
in her life, but that a curious thing had happened. For the first time since she could remember she
felt at peace about it, and didn't feel like she was suffering as a result of not having a love
relationship. This brings me to another point about Upāya that I have observed. They do not
always bring about the desired change in the external circumstances but oftentimes do bring a
change in your internal relationship and/or attitude to those external circumstances, as it did in
her case.

Later I predicted a major love affair and potential marriage or marriage-like situation in Rahu-
Venus that did happened. It has sustained itself over a period of years, but has also been quite
thorny at times. Karma will out.

This is the chart of a woman who in mid-year 2004 consulted with me regarding specific
questions about her career prospects. She was nearing completion of a course of study to
become a practitioner of Tradition Chinese Medicine and an acupuncturist. She would then need
to pass a rigorous examination to become licensed in California. Subsequently she wished to
establish her own clinical practice. She was running her Mercury-Saturn period.

For the successful completion of her studies and passing the examination, I recommended a
Sarasvatī mantra japam as follows:

OṂ AIM ŚRĪM HRIM SARASVATĪ DEVYAI NAMAḤ

It is pronounced:

OM EYEM SHREEM HREEM SARASVATĪ DEV-YAI NAMĀHA

Sarasvatī is the Vedic deity of learning and knowledge whose bījashara or seed syllable is aim.
Contained within this mantra are also the seed sounds for Lakṣmī (Śrīm) and Pārvatī or Mother
Divine (hrim), such that chanting the mantra invokes the blessing of all three aspects of the
Divine Feminine.

After seeing her siddhāmśa and daṣāmśa, I predicted that she would successfully complete her
course of study, pass the examination and get established in her own practice based on the
exchange of signs between Mercury and Saturn in her D-24, and their conjunction together in her
D-10 lagna.

She passed her examination in Mercury-Saturn-Sun, with the Sun exalted in the D-24. Mercury,
Saturn and the Sun are also the three graha sambandha along with 1-7 axis of the D-10 and her
newfound professional status as a licensed acupuncturist occurred at this time. She also went on
to establish her own successful practice during this period and sub-period. She had done the
recommended practice, and reported that she felt it helped her gain confidence.

Correlation Between Grahas and Vedic Deities

These examples of mantra practices selected and recommended based on a person running a
particular planetary period or on a specific intention require an understanding of the different
Vedic deities and also their correlation to the grahas. This is a little problematic because there is
some conflicting information regarding this in the ancient texts, though mostly agreement. I go
primarily go by what is given in the Jaimini Sutras, as I consider this to be very authoritative.

1.2.72. raviketubhyām śive bhaktih

The Sun with Ketu – devotion to Śiva

1.2.73. candrena gauryām

The Moon – to Gaurī

(Gaurī is another name for Pārvatī, Śiva's consort, representing the gentle aspect of Divine
Mother.)

1.2.74. śukrena lakṣmyām

Venus – to Lakṣmī

1.2.75. kujena skande

Mars – to Skanda

(Skanda is the son of Śiva and Pārvatī, along with Gaṇeśa. He is the celestial general of the
angelic forces and is also called Kārtikeya, and Subramanya)

1.2.76. budhaśanibyām viṣnau

Mercury and Saturn - to Viṣṇu

1.2.77. gurunā sāmbaśive

Jupiter – to Sambaśiva
(Sambaśiva refers to Śiva along with the goddess Pārvatī, his śakti or powers of expression)

1.2.78. rāhunā tāmasyām durgāyām ca

Rahu – to Tāmasī and Durgā

(Tāmasī is another name for goddess Kali)

1.2.79. ketunā gaṇeśe skande ca

Ketu – to Gaṇeśa and Skanda

In the Vedic tradition there is the concept of the iṣṭa devatā, or "preferred form of the Divine." I
have also seen these two words translated as "soul-guiding deity." The tradition recognizes that
people have different psychological make-ups, such that a particular form of the Divine may
resonate more with their souls. As a result, the bhakti or worship of this form of the Divine may
then be particularly efficacious for them. The Jaimini sutras listed above refer to this idea, and
are given in the chapter on the effects of planets in the 12th house from kārakāmśa lagna.

For example, sutra 1.2.72 states that if the Sun and Ketu are together in the 12th from kārakāmśa
lagna, then a person is devoted to Śiva, and so on. I can remember feeling quite excited when I
first came across these sutras, as they suggested an astrological method for determining a
person's iṣṭa devatā. However, as I began testing this idea with the charts of individuals famous
for being devotees of particular Vedic deities, I found it working only occasionally.

Swami Prabhupada, the founder of ISKON, is probably the most famous Kṛṣṇa devotee in the
modern era, Kṛṣṇa being an avatar of Viṣṇu. He does have a very exalted Mercury in the 9th
house of devatā, but if you see the planetary influences on the 12th house from both kārakāmśa
lagna in the birth chart and swamsha lagna in his navāmśa, devotion to Kṛṣṇa is not what is
indicated based on these Jaimini sutras.
His AK is the Moon which goes to Virgo in the D-9, making this sign his kārakāmśa/swamsha
lagna. In the 12th house from there in the birth chart we find the Sun in its own sign with Ketu
and Jupiter, which should make him a devotee of Śiva according to sutra 1.2.72. Leo in his
navāmśa does get the aspect of Mercury, but of five other grahas as well.

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was known for his devotion to many forms of the Divine in his
lifetime, even Jesus Christ, but is most famous for his mad love of goddess Kali, represented by
Rahu according to sutra 1.2.78.
His Rahu is exalted in his birth chart and gives the results of an exalted 9th lord Venus.
His AK is Mars, going into Cancer in his navāmśa, making this sign his kārakāmśa/swamsha
lagna. Applying this to the birth chart, the 12th from there, Gemini, has Jupiter and the aspect of
Venus, suggesting devotion to Śiva and Lakṣmī. In the D-9 there is the influence of the Sun and
Venus again, suggesting the same.

So I have not found this to be a reliable technique for seeing a person's iṣṭa devatā, but when
asked to prescribe mantra practices aimed at propitiating a particular graha, I do use the
correlations given in the Jaimini Sutras. And it is something that I look at if asked a direct
question, though this is rather rare in my experience. I can remember a time once when I was in
Chicago giving a consultation to a practitioner of Kriya Yoga. He asked my opinion about his
iṣṭa devatā based on his chart. I saw that Ketu was in the 12th from his KL. I told him it
suggested Gaṇeśa, whereupon his face lit up and he said this was his feeling as well and that he
had been using a Gaṇeśa mantra for some time.

More often though when prescribing mantra practices as an upāya, my approach is to see which
planetary period or sub-period a person is running that may be causing problems, or a particular
issue in a person's life that pertains to significations of a planet. Say, for example, a woman
desirous of having a child is having difficulty conceiving and Jupiter, kāraka of children, is not
in a good condition in her chart, such as being afflicted by natural malefics, especially Saturn,
the planet of delay and denial. Since Jupiter correlates with Śiva, a mantra such as OṂ
NAMAḤ ŚIVAYA could be prescribed.

It seems to be my particular karma as an astrologer to be frequently consulted in cases of

unexplained infertility. In fact, the very first prediction I was asked to make using Jyotiṣa
involved such a case in which the hopeful mother had even tried the vitro process in her attempts
to become pregnant, but it had failed. I was able to make a successful prediction, but have long
since lost that chart. Here is the chart of a husband in a more recent case.
He had approached me in early 2014 after he and his wife had been trying to have a child for
some time, but to no avail. Doctors were again calling it a case of unexplained infertility. It
seemed rather unexplained astrologically to me as well when I saw that he was running his
Venus-Mercury period, with Venus in the 5th house, both from the birth lagna and the Moon,
and Mercury in an exchange with kāraka Jupiter. The Sun, a non-fertile planet, with Venus in
the 5th house was not helpful, but there is no combustion.

I saw that Venus-Mercury was a rather long period and sub-period, running up to the end of
2015. It was my astrological assessment that it could bring a child, so then it became a question
of which sub-sub-period, and of cross-checking this indication and timing from the Jaimini
angle. Venus-Mercury-Jupiter, coinciding with the spring of 2015, appealed to me immensely.
Aquarius-Gemini in Chara daṣā confirmed it, and I predicted on this basis. Not many months
afterwards he let me know that his wife was pregnant. They welcomed their child into the world
in the given timeframe.

I am telling this story of a prediction about child birth as a means of highlighting another
effective approach to Upāya involving the use of stotras or hymns, embedded in which are
mantras. In his book, Planets and Children, K.N. Rao recommends the use of the Santan Gopal
Stotram for any couple wanting to have a child. This is essentially a hymn/prayer to Bal Kṛṣṇa
(Kṛṣṇa in his childhood form). I have recommended it on every occasion in which I was
consulted by an Indian couple having difficulty conceiving. It could just be my luck, but I can
think of at least five cases where the predictions I have given such couples who did the practice
faithfully subsequently proved correct. Of course, these were all Hindu couples familiar with it
since it comes from their religious tradition and are therefore more likely to do it. It would not
be an appropriate recommendation for everyone.

Stotras then are also powerful Upāya in my experience and I have personally made use of two
very extensively. I have employed one to try to enhance my astrological abilities, and another to
ward off any negative karmas that my current Saturn major period might bring.

The Sun is the graha that rules vision, both physical sight that happens with our eyes but also
prakāśa or the inner light with which we accurately perceive, know and apprehend. Shri Rao
took me to a Brighu reader in Rājasthan in 1996 and some things that came out in that reading
regarding a future astrological career have come true to some extent. The session was recorded
and I later made a transcript of it for future reference. See the following excerpts:

You will be opening a school for Jyotiṣa, and it will be very successful, very prosperous, and also
very monetarily beneficial.

You will create an institution where you will have satsanga. You will be in charge. A big
astrological institution where you do the teaching.

You will be very famous as an astrologer. You will be writing books on astrology, they will be
very popular, people will like them, and you will get a commission for it.

You will be able to give predictions to people in writing, and you will develop in that manner.

The Āditya Stotra will help you to such an extent, that you will understand the secret meaning of
the planetary combinations, going beyond the textbooks.
I came to understand that statements in Bhṛgu readings like this tend to be hyperbolic, and these
excerpts from mine certainly fit that description. Yet at the same time I marvel 20 years later at
the relative accuracy of these statements. For 12 years now I have led a satsanga. I have written
many articles and now a book that have been popular and sold well. I have given public
predictions in writing that proved correct, and currently I am in the process of founding a school
of Jyotiṣa, having taught online the past couple of years.

Yet what intrigued me the most about these statements at the time and why I mention them now
is the reference to the Āditya Stotram, the full and proper name of which is Ādityahṛdayam.
From Wikipedia:

"Ādityahṛdayam is a devotional hymn associated with Āditya or the mobile Sun God (Surya) and
was recited by the sage Agastya to Rāma on the battlefield before fighting the demon king
Rāvana. This historic hymn starts at the beginning of the duel between Rāma and Rāvana.
Agastya teaches Rāma, who is fatigued after the long battle with various warriors of Lanka, the
procedure of worshiping the Sun God for strength to defeat the enemy. These verses belong to
Yuddha Kānda (Book 6) Canto 107, in the Rāmāyana as composed by Agastya and compiled by
Vālmīki ."

Essentially, the Bhṛgu reading was suggesting an upāya by which I could develop my
astrological perception, a recommendation that I have followed. How effective it has been is
impossible to measure since it cannot be known what my astrological perception would be now
had I not recited this stotram so many times. But I absolutely love doing it. A certain inspired
feeling comes over me and personally I have no doubt that my astrology has greatly benefited
from this practice. I strongly recommended it to all my students who are desirous of developing
astrologically.

Yet since it is specific to the Sun, it is also my preferred recommendation when a person is
running the Sun's major period, or if the Sun is problematic in their chart or if they have chronic
life problems related to the different significations of the Sun like self-confidence, father,
authority figures, personal empowerment, the government, pitta imbalances and the like.

The Ādityahṛdayam Stotram is composed of some 31 verses of Sanskrit which can be

intimidating at first, but recordings of Vedic pundits chanting it are available online with
transliteration. I put my headphones on with the transliteration in front of me and chant along
with these pundits. It engenders a rather blissful feeling within me.

The other stotra of which I have made extensive use is the Hanumān Chalīsā, or Forty Verses in
Praise of Hanumān. It was composed in a dialect of Hindi by the legendary saint and poet
Tulsidas in the 16th century. My involvement with this practice also began with this same Bhṛgu
reading. It indicated that I could overcome obstacles in my life through Hanumān bhakti.
Hearing this, Shri Rao immediately made a cassette tape of him chanting it. Upon my return to
the U.S., I would play it and chant along while commuting in my car to and from work. I did
this for years, such that eventually the tape wore out and broke.
Hanumān figures prominently in the Hindu epic, the Rāmāyana, as an ardent devotee and chief
aid to the avatar, Rām, the solar incarnation of Viṣṇu. He symbolizes perfect, selfless service to
the Lord. He is said to be the son of Pavan, the Wind-god which symbolically refers to prāṇa or
the life force within the subtle body, the mastery of which gives rise to superhuman powers and
which when harnessed in service to the Divine leads to spiritual liberation. Astrologically,
Hanumān is associated with both Mars and Saturn, which is why he is most often worshipped on
Tuesday (Mars Day) and Saturday (Saturn's Day).

After chanting the Hanumān Chalīsā for many years I discovered that there is a popular belief
that worshiping Hanumān will help in removing the hardships caused by Saturn. There is an
interesting story regarding why worshipping Hanumān will help in overcoming the affliction of
Saturn. From Hindu-Blog.com:

"Rāvan, the demon-king in the Rāmāyana, had defeated all the Devas and had brought all the
grahas under his control. He kept all the grahas suppressed beneath his leg. Rāvaṇa was also a
great astrologer. When his eldest son, Indrajit, was about to be born he forcefully kept all the
grahas in the most favorable astrological position.

Devas were worried that if Rāvaṇa’s son was born in a favorable astrological position, he would
be invincible. So the Devas asked all the grahas to move from the favorable position. But they
were unable to escape from the foot of Rāvaṇa. Śani agreed to help provided he was able to
glance upon Rāvaṇa’s face.

There is a popular belief that Śani Dṛṣṭi, or Śani’s glance, is as deadly as his position. Śani is
believed to cast an evil eye and this causes deep trouble. The Devas took the help of Saint
Narada to achieve Śani Dṛṣṭi. Saint Narada reached the palace of Rāvaṇa and saw Śani and
other planets under the feet of Rāvaṇa. Saint Narada praised Rāvaṇa’s victory over the grahas
and said that he should stamp on their chest as this is true symbol of victory and not on their
back as he was doing now. Rāvaṇa agreed to Narada’s observation and immediately got the
planets turned up. As Śani turned up, his glance fell on Rāvaṇa’s face and this kick-started his
hardships. To take revenge on Śani, Rāvaṇa kept him in a tiny prison that had no opening so
that no one will again see Śani’s face.

After several years, when Hanumān arrived in Lanka – Rāvan’s kingdom – as a messenger from
Sri Rām to Mata Sita, he heard the cry of Śani from a dark prison with no holes. Hanumān broke
open the prison and rescued Śani. Śani was very thankful for Hanumān's help but since he had
looked at the face of Hanumān there would be the hardships of Sade Sati or Śani Doṣa for
Hanumān. It is the divine scheme of things and no one can escape from it.

Hanumān wanted to know what sufferings he will have to face. Śani explained that first I will
come upon your head and this will make you leave your home, wife and sons and go about
suffering. Hanumān said that Śani can definitely come upon his head as he had no family and
his abode was at the feet of Rām. Śani took refuge on Hanumān’s head.

Hanumān then began to fight the demons that chased him in Lanka. In the process, Hanumān
began to head heavy boulders, trees and rocks. He crushed huge rocks with his head and Śani
was getting hurt and suffering in the process. Finally, Śani got away from Hanumān’s head and
said that he was the only one who will have no effect of inauspiciousness from him. Since
Hanumān had saved him from Rāvaṇa’s prison he would give him a boon. As a boon, Hanumān
asked Śani not to trouble or cast an evil eye on his devotees. Śani promised not to trouble or
cause hardships to Hanumān devotees. From that day people started worshiping Hanumān to
escape from Śani."

As with all such myths in the Vedic tradition, this one is a "teaching tale" that imparts spiritual
truths and wisdom in an engaging, story-telling way. To me the message is clear; align yourself
with Hanumān and become like him, a perfect servant to the Divine will. If you do so, then you
will generate no negative karmas that Saturn can deliver.

When assessing the karmas that my own Saturn could bring in its major period, which started in
July of 2009, I saw the potential of it giving both rāja and dhana yoga, and this has happened to
a degree. I also saw it giving the potentials of the good Viriñci Yoga in which it participates.
These have manifested as well. But as a mūlatrikoṇa 6th lord in the lagna, disposited by the
lagna lord Mercury in the 8th with the 8th lord, I saw the ariṣṭa potentials also. In Saturn-
Mercury these had to happen, and they did.
But since entering this period I have chanted the Hanumān Chalīsā extensively and by in large I
have felt incredibly blessed in this Māhadaṣā. I feel like the favorable indications have been
enhanced and the unfavorable indications softened. Again, there is no way of knowing this for
sure, or proving it empirically. What I do know for sure is that doing the practice is invariably
uplifting and makes me feel good. If it is only a placebo effect then I am fine with this, though I
don't really believe that it is.
What I am highlighting here is that in the Vedic tradition Hanumān bhakti is seen as an effective
antidote against the suffering that Saturn's influence can bring, and it has become my standard
recommendation whenever a person is running their sade-sati, or when Saturn in their chart is
causing obstruction to fulfillment in some area of their life, regardless of whether they are
running Saturn periods. See a recent example.

This chart belongs to a friend and member of the aforementioned satsanga. His Moon is at the
very earliest degrees of Sagittarius, the current position of Saturn in transit. He has therefore
entered the peak phase of the seven and half year transit of Śani in the signs before, of and after
the position of his natal Moon. The favorable points about his Moon are:
 It is completely full
It falls in the good 9th house as an angle lord in a trine house
It is in Jupiter's sign forming Kesari Yoga with Jupiter, strong in its own sign.

The unfavorable points are:

It is in a gandanta position
Aspected by Mars
Closely kendra to Saturn

To evaluate the effects of different phases of the sade-sati it is also critically important to see the
ashtakavarga.

This picture reveals that Saturn's transit through Scorpio in the first phase of his sade-sati would
likely prove quite challenging since the SVA total is very how at 21 for this sign, and Saturn's
individual point total is also very low. It was a very difficult time for him, one in which he felt
that all his endeavors were thwarted in some way or another.
There is some improvement during the next two and a half years during which Saturn transits
Sagittarius, but both totals are still below baseline strength. In contrast Capricorn is quite strong.

The theme of the sade-sati is oftentimes "loss." In his mid-sixties now, he was able to purchase a
small home in 2015 during his Rahu-Venus period, the first property he has ever owned. Note
the position of Venus in the 4th house. However, presently his income from a business has
declined so dramatically that he is very concerned about being able to make his mortgage
payments, and is even considering selling the home as a result. He asked for an upāya
recommendation and I suggested a daily recitation of the Hanumān Chalīsā at a minimum. As
fate would have it, he is now also running a Moon sub-period. Will Jupiter's influence on this
graha help save the day? Very possibly, but it remains to be seen.

Viṣṇusahasrānam

Earlier I mentioned K.N. Rao's comment that the best upāya for all karmic difficulties is any
form of sincere worship. This is something that I have heard him say frequently. If you then
asked him what he would most recommend, invariably his answer would be Viṣṇusahasrānam,
or the chanting of the Thousand Names of the Lord. If you visited him in his Delhi home on a
Wednesday evening (Mercury's Day), you would find it over flowing with devotees and him
leading them in the recitation of this stotram. The reason for his recommendation of
Viṣṇusahasrānam above all others practices is that it is regarded as one of the most powerful and
beneficial among the many in the Indian spiritual tradition. We saw earlier that the Ādityaḥrdaya
Stotram comes for the Rāmāyana whereas Viṣṇusahasrānam comes from the other major Indian
epic, the Mahābhārata.

From Wikipedia:

"According to the 135th chapter of Anushāsanaparva (verses 14 to 120) in the epic

Mahābhārata, the names were handed down to Yudhiṣṭhira by the famous warrior Bhīṣma who
was on his death bed (of arrows) in the battlefield of Kurukṣetra. Yudhiṣṭhira asks Bhīṣma the
following questions:

kimekam daivatam loke kim vāpyekam parāyaṇam stuvantaḥ kam kamarcantaḥ

prāpnuyurmānavāḥ śubham ko dharmaḥ sarva dharmāṇām bhavataḥ paramo mataḥ kim japan
mucyate jantuḥ janmasamsārabandhanāt

"In this universe, Who is the one refuge for all? Who is the greatest Lord in the world ? By
eulogizing Whom can a person reach auspiciousness, peace and prosperity? What is, in thy
opinion, the Greatest Dharma of all Dharmas? By chanting whose name, can a person proceed
beyond the bonds of samsāra?"

Bhīṣma answers by stating that mankind will be free from all sorrows by chanting the
"Viṣṇusahasranāma", which are the thousand names of the all-pervading Supreme Being Viṣṇu,
who is the master of all the worlds, the supreme light, the essence of the universe and who is
Brahman. All matter animate and inanimate reside in him, and he in turn resides within all
matter."

There are two ways in which to recite these 1000 names of the lords. The longer and more time-
consuming method is known as Viṣṇu Sahasranāmavali. In this approach each of the 1000
names is chanted separately preceded by OṂ and followed by NAMAḤ as follows:

1. OṂ Visham NAMAḤ The Lord Who is the Universe Itself

2. OṂ Viṣṇu NAMAḤ The Lord Who Pervades Everywhere
3. OṂ Vashatkara NAMAḤ The Lord Who is Invoked for Oblations etc.

The other method is known as the śloka form consisting of 108 verses in which a number of the
names are included in a single verse.

viśvaṁ viṣṇurvaṣaṭkārō bhūtabhavyabhavatprabhuḥ |

bhūtakṛdbhūtabhṛdbhāvō bhūtātmā bhūtabhāvanaḥ || 1 ||

For example, this first śloka or verse contains nine of the 1000 names.

1 Viśvaṁ
2 Viṣṇuḥ
3 Vaṣaṭkāraḥ .
4 Bhūta-bhavya-bhavat-prabhuḥ
5 Bhūtakṛd
6 Bhāvaḥ
7 Bhūtātmā
9 Bhūta-bhāvanaḥ

Either practice can be rather intimidating because of the amount of Sanskrit pronunciation
involved and the length of time is takes. But again there are many resources online where one
can chant along with Vedic pundits while seeing the transliteration. The separate chanting of the
names, which is the form I prefer, can be done in approximately 45 minutes, while the śloka
form can be completed in about one half hour. There is also an astrological "short cut."

Each of the 27 nakṣatras of Jyotiṣa has four pādas or parts consisting of a navāmśa of 3 degrees
20 minutes. For example, the four pādas of the first nakṣatra, Aśvinī, encompassing the first 13-
20 of the sign Aries, are as follows:

1st pāda: 0 to 3-20

2nd pāda: 3-20 to 6-40
3rd pāda: 6-40 to 10-00
4th pāda: 10-00 to 13-20

Since there are 27 nakṣatras, each having four pādas, there are a total of 108 pādas (27 x 4 =
108)

Each of these 108 pādas correlates with one of the 108 ślokas of Viṣṇusahasranāma as follows:
 1. Aśvinī verses 1 to 4 

2. Bharaṇi verses 5 to 8
3. Kṛittikā verses 9 to 12 

4. Rohiṇī verses13 to 16 

5. Mṛigaśīrṣa verses 17 to 20 

6. Ārdrā verses21 to 24 

7. Punarvasu verses 25 to 28 

8. Puṣya verses 29 to 32 

9. Āśleṣā verses 33 to 36 

10. Maghā verses 37 to 40 

11. Pūrvā-Phalgunī verses 41 to 44 

12. Uttarā-Phalgunī verses 45 to 48 

13. Hasta verses 49 to 52 

14. Citrā verses 53 to 56 

15. Svātī verses 57 to 60 

16. Viśākhā verses 61 to 64 

17. Anurādhā verses65 to 68 

18. Jyeṣṭhā verses69 to 72 

19. Mūla verses 73 to 76 

20. Pūrvā-Āṣāḍhā verses 77 to 80 

21. Uttarā- Āṣāḍhā verses 81 to 84 

22. Śravaṇa verses 85 to 88 

23. Dhaniṣṭhā verses 89 to 92 

24. Śatabhiṣā verses 93 to 96 

25. Pūrvā-Bhādrapadā verses97 to 100 

26. Uttarā-Bhādrapadā verses 101 to 104 

27. Revatī verses 105 to 108

In the Vedic tradition, a person's janma nakṣatra or "birth star" is the Moon's nakṣatra
at birth. The exact degrees and minutes of the Moon indicate which pāda it falls into within this
nakṣatra. For example, my Moon at birth was at 25-51 of Leo, falling in the fourth pāda of
Pūrvā-Phalgunī. When consulting the list above, this means that the corresponding śloka in
Viṣṇusahasranāma is verse 44.

vaikuṇṭhaḥ puruṣaḥ prāṇaḥ prāṇadaḥ praṇamaḥ pṛthuḥ | hiraṇya-garbhaḥ śatrughno vyāpto

vāyur adhokṣajaḥ || 44 ||
The idea here is that I would derive maximum benefit from focusing on chanting this specific
verse. Learning just two lines of Sanskrit should not be intimidating at all, and then one can
make a practice of chanting this verse 27 times daily or even 108. It is also then worthwhile to
comprehend the meaning of the names of the Lord contained within your verse. For this śloka
they are:
405. Vaikuṇṭhaḥ –“One who prevents men from going astray into wrong paths (Vikunthaḥ).”
In Mahābhārata it is mentioned, “I united the Earth with Water, Space with Air with Fire, hence,
the name ‘Vaikunthaḥ’ has come to Me.
406. P uruṣaḥ –“One who dwells in all bodies (Puris).” In Brihadaranyaka Upaniṣad (3-4-1) it
is said, “because He as the first (Pūrvā) of all of them consumed (Aushad) by fire, all sins,
therefore, He is called Puruṣaḥ.” In short, He is the One Self which thrills all living creatures
everywhere at all times.

407. Paanah –“One who is the form of ‘Prāṇa’ exits in the body, propels all sense organs to act
in their appointed fields, it is the Lord Viṣṇu that activates the body as the 5 prāṇas’, is found in
the Viṣṇupurāṇa. As Prāṇa, He causes movements.

408. Prāṇadaḥ –This can mean “One who gives ‘Prāṇa’ or as one who takes away ‘Prāṇa’,
because the root ‘da’ has both the meanings, ‘to give’ and to break.’ Therefore, Viṣṇu is the
supreme being who gives Prāṇa to all creatures in the beginning of the creation, and He alone is
again the one who destroys all the Prāṇas (movements) at the time of the dissolution.

409. Prāṇavaḥ –“That which is praised or adorned by even the gods.” There is a declaration of
Sanatkumara, “because it is being worshipped and adorned by the gods, the self is called as
Prānavaḥ. This great reality is indicated in Vedas by the symbol OṂ and, therefore ‘Omkāra’ is
called as Prāṇava. Thus the supreme self, ‘Omkāra’ is Viṣṇu.

410. Pṛthuḥ –“The expanded.” He whose expanse is expressed as the world of infinite forms. In
short, “He who is All-pervasive.” Looking at the world, through Purāṇas, it suggests, “the one
who is born as the king Pṛthuḥ , the son of the king vena –for bringing prosperity to the country,
is Lord Nārāyaṇa.”

411. Hiraṇyagarbhaḥ –It is the term used in Vedanta for the “creator.” He is the expression of
the creative urge of the lord Nārāyaṇa. “The Golden-egg” means here that from which all the
objective world had emerged out, indicating the creator.” The term thereby suggests that the
entire creative power of the creator is but the expression of the Self, Nārāyaṇa.

412. Śatru-ghnaḥ –“The destroyer of he enemies.” The lord is the one who annihilates all the
enemies of the gods, meaning, He is the one who destroys all the negative tendencies in all
serious seekers totally devoted to Him.

413. Vyāptaḥ –“The Pervader.” The effects can never remain without the Cause; the Cause is
concurrent, and inherent in it, effects. And thus, the world that has risen from the Infinite, should
be pervaded by the Infinite. He who thus pervades everything is Nārāyaṇa.

414. Vāyuḥ –“One who in the form of the atmospheric air, sustains all life everywhere.” He is
not the air, but He is the life-giving rower in the air.
415. Adhokṣajaḥ - Māhabhārata says, “at no time My vitality flows downwards, and hence, I am
called, Adhokṣajaḥ. The term can also mean, “One who is not available for the powers of the
sense organs to perceive.” Or, it can also mean, “He who remains under both the atmosphere and
the earth as the Supporter of the entire universe.”
All such extensive information about each verse of Viṣṇusahasranāma can be found online.
Another "short cut" approach would be to identify the verse associated with the nakṣatra/pāda of
your current major period lord. For example, I am currently running my Saturn Māhadaṣā.
Saturn is at 3-40 of Virgo, putting it in the third pāda of Uttarā Phalgunī. When consulting the
list above, this correlates with verse 47 of Viṣṇusahasranāma. Chanting this śloka then becomes
an appropriate upāya for the Saturn period.
Whereas my first and strongest recommendation is the full recitation of all 1000 names in one of
the two forms, these "short cut" approaches can be practical yet powerful alternatives, even if
one just recites the verse once a day, preferably before or after meditation.
Māha Mrityunjaya Mantra
At the beginning of this article when recounting K.N. Rao's Upāya stories, I mention his
recommendation to a family that they do japam using the Māha Mrityunjaya Mantra. It is the
great healing/protecting mantra of the Vedic tradition related to Śiva, the dissolving/destroying
aspect of the Divine. It is therefore my standard recommendation when individuals are suffering
from mental or physical ill health.
A psychiatrist woman friend of mine once shared with me the birth data of a patient of hers who
was often so severely depressed that she would become suicidal. This patient also reported that
she had nightmares every single evening when she slept.

Her Moon is in its debilitation sign Scorpio in a sarpa drekkāṇa and closely conjunct the 6th lord
Saturn, while aspected by the 8th lord Mars. Three benefics are in her lagna including the lagna
lord Mercury, but these grahas are all hemmed, along with her ascendant, by natural malefics
forming Pāpa Kartarī Yoga. This poor soul has suffered greatly from mental/emotional illness
throughout her life.
My psychiatrist friend was learning Jyotiṣa from me and when she became aware of the Māha
Mrityunjaya Mantra as a healing upāya, she asked me how I would prescribe it for her patient. I
shared with her a compact disc of the mantra being chanted over and over again in a very
resonant, powerful way and suggested that she have her patient listen to it with headphones for at
least one half hour before going to bed, preferably longer. Through sheer repetition she would
soon learn it and be able to chant along as well.
This was a very foreign idea to the patient since she had no background in Eastern spiritual
traditions, but she had great faith in her psychiatrist so she readily agreed. Remarkably, after the
very first "treatment" she slept a full night without being awakened by a nightmare. She
continued with the practice and this, along with good psychiatric treatment, brought her
significant relief from her suffering.
Though this is not an article about mantras per se, I consider this mantra to be so important as an
upāya, that I am presenting it here in greater detail. Like many of the great mantras of the Vedic
tradition, this one's origin in expressed in a story. From Wikipedia:
"Riṣi Markandeya was the only one in the world who knew this mantra. The Moon was once in
trouble, cursed by King Daksha. Riṣi Markandeya gave the Māha Mritryunjaya Mantra to Sati,
Daksha's daughter, for the Moon. According to another version this is the Bīja mantra as
revealed to Riṣi Kahola that was given by Lord Śiva to sage Sukracharya, who taught it to Riṣi
Dadhichi, who gave it to King Kshuva, through whom it reached the Śiva Purāṇa.
It is also called the Rudra mantra, referring to the furious aspect of Lord Śiva; the Tryambakam
mantra, alluding to Śiva's three eyes; and it is sometimes known as the Mrita-Sanjivini mantra
because it is a component of the "life-restoring" practice given to the primordial sage
Sukracharya after he had completed an exhausting period of austerity. Its Devatā is Rudra or
Lord Śiva in his fiercest and most destructive rūpa or aspect. In the Vedas it finds its place in
three texts - a) the Rig Veda VII.59.12, b) the Yajur Veda III.60, and c) the Atharva Veda
XIV.1.17"
When I learned this mantra from Shri Rao, he emphasized that its power is a result of having
been made potent by the sages and saints of India who have chanted it over a period of thousands
of years. It is as follows:
Om tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭivardhanam
urvārukamiva bandhanānmṛtyormukṣīya mā'mṛtāt
Word-By-Word Meaning of the Māha Mrityunjaya Mantra

From Wikipedia:

aum = is a sacred/mystical syllable in Sanatan Dharma or Hindu religions, i.e. Hinduism,

Jainism, Buddhism & Sikhism.

tryambakam = the three-eyed one (accusative case),

yajāmahe = We worship, adore, honour, revere,

sugandhim = sweet fragrance, fragrant (accusative case),

puṣṭi = A well-nourished condition, thriving, prosperous, fullness of life,

vardhanam = One who nourishes, strengthens, causes to increase (in health, wealth, well-being);
who gladdens, exhilarates, and restores health; a good gardener,

urvārukam-iva = like the cucumber or melon (in the accusative case); or like a big peach.
Note: Some people have decomposed the compound urvārukam in this way: 'urva' means
"vishal" or big and powerful or deadly; 'arukam' means 'disease'. But urvā (उवा) does not mean
'vishal' in Sanskrit;

bandhanān = "from captivity" {i.e. from the stem of the cucumber} (of the gourd); (the ending
is actually long a, then -t, which changes to n/anusvara because of sandhi)

Note: bandhanān means bound down. Thus, read with urvārukam iva, it means 'I am bound
down just like a cucumber (to a vine)'. If you read it with mṛtyormukṣīya it means 'liberate from
the bounds of death'

mṛtyormukṣīya = Free, liberate From death

mā'mṛtāt can be translated in a number of different ways:

1) mā + amṛtāt = not + immortality, nectar

Translation would be: (Free me from death but) not from immortality.

2) mā (short form of mām) + amṛtāt = myself + immortality

Translation would be: Give me some life rejuvenating nectar

3) mā (short form of mām) + amṛtāt = myself + sure, definitely

Translation would be: Free me from certain death.

Full Translation:
"We meditate on Śiva, the three-eyed one, of sweet fragrance, who expands spiritual growth.
Like the fully-ripened cucumber easily snapped from its stem, may I be free from the bondage of
death, and given the nectar of immortality"
Whereas the mantra can be translated in this way, in which case it appears like a prayer, Shri
Rao emphasized that its efficacy lies not in its intellectual content but rather its vibratory value,
its combination of primordial sounds and their effect on the subtle body. Many renditions of the
mantra being chanted in different ways can be found online and anyone wanting to learn it can
select one that appeals to them. I learned it by repeatedly listening to a cassette tape of Shri Rao
chanting it.
Ritual/Ceremonial Worship
Following my teacher's example, I have primarily prescribed the recitation of stotras and
chanting of mantras as Upāya. This is not to say, however, that the other methods mentioned at
the beginning of this article are not effective as well. Methods are also not mutually exclusive.
You can utilize them together, as I have often done, combining mantra japam with ritual
worship, for example.
The two main forms of ceremonial worship in the Vedic tradition are pūjā and yajna. Both
involve offerings, with water in the case of pūjā, and into fire with respect to yajnas. These
range from the incredibly elaborate, involving many elements and taking hours, to simple
ceremonies that anyone can learn to do that take just a few minutes.
Mostly they are performed by Brahmin priests at temples, and if being used as an individual
upāya, a person "sponsors" these for a "donation."
Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-Gita speaks of the power of these Vedic rituals and this is
unquestionably true, but as Shri Rao pointed out to me once when I asked him about it, the
effects greatly depend on the level of sattva or purity of the person performing the ritual and
their motivation. Unfortunately, whenever there is money to be made and the profit-motive gets
involved, things can become corrupt. Many times I heard him speak openly about how the
prescription of gemstones and even rituals has become a "racket" in India. This could be where
an astrologer, in league with the jeweler or the priest, warns the client of some dire consequence
yet hanging in their stars, which he then says can only be avoided through the expenditure of
large sums of money on such Upāya. This is one of the reasons he favored Upāya that one
performs oneself like mantra japam.
No doubt, there are sattvic, non-mercenary priests that one can find to perform these rituals as an
individual upāya, and I have had the good fortunate to have known two that I've employed in this
way for myself and members of the satsanga. I also have a long-time friend who has made this
his life's work, and his chart is instructive this way. He has had the unusual karma as a westerner
of being formally initiated as a Brahmin priest and being trained by Indian Brahmin priests in the
performance of Vedic rituals.

This began intensively in his Jupiter-Venus period, the two Brahmin planets situated in the 8th
house of past-life profession, with Venus as the 9th lord of worship and religious rituals. These
two grahas are in a mutual glance with an exalted 5th lord of pūrva puṇya.
Since the Jupiter-Venus period, and now well into his Saturn Māhadaṣā, his life's work has been
making arrangements for individuals and groups to have pūjās and yagyas done as Upāya for a
wide range of purposes by priests in India that he considers of a sattvic nature and motivation.
He has also participated in the performance of many of these rituals himself. Pārāśara Horā
gives the vimśāmśa or D-20 as the varga pertaining to upāsana or worship. See his.
Note that Jupiter is exalted, Venus is vargottama relative to this division and the current major
period lord Saturn is in the lagna of the D-20. For a good portion of Jupiter and all of Saturn
thus far, his whole life has been about Vedic ritual worship.
I have referred astrological clients to his service who have expressed interest in these rituals as
Upāya for a wide variety of life difficulties and/or specific intentions like removing karmic
obstacles to getting well married, having a child, increasing prosperity and the like. His website
is www.pūjā.net.
It needs to be said, however, that there are simple pūjās and yajnas that anyone can easily learn
to perform. One that I particularly enjoy is the simplest of homams or fire rituals known as Agni
Hotra. It involves offering rice into a cooper kund or small vessel wherein a fire has been made
from dried cow's dung and ghee. This is done at the exact moment of sunrise and sunset at your
locality, while intoning some simple mantras.
At these important transition and balance points in the day, the ritual is symbolically
acknowledging that the light of the Sun is to the macrocosm as the light of pure consciousness
within us is to the microcosm of our souls. In enacting this ritual you offer your individual spirit
into the Great Spirit. The ritual is said to have a very positive effect on the surrounding area,
increasing sattva in the atmosphere. It takes only a matter of minutes and I invariably feel very
uplifted thereafter. There are equally simple pūjās that can be learned where fruit and flowers
are offered.
I did once hear Shri Rao say that one’s inclination to engage in such ritual worship will be more
so in periods of Jupiter, who is kāraka of such activities, and in those of planets in or ruling the
9th and 5th houses, the latter being the 9th from the 9th. The placement of planets in the D-20
will also have a strong bearing on this as well. These predictive parameters certainly held true in
my case.
Upon entering my Moon period, coinciding with early grade school, I was sent to a Catholic
institution where the day began with attendance at Mass, the main religious ritual. Later in this
period I became an "altar boy" assisting the priest. It can be seen in the birth chart if you note
that the Moon is in a subtle nakṣatra exchange with the 9th lord Venus in the 9th house. In
Moon-Saturn, with the latter being the 5th lord of the birth chart, I was selected to serve in the
more elaborate rituals that took place at Christmas and Easter. The vimśāmśa shows it very
clearly where the Moon is in its exaltation sign in the 5th house and Saturn is an exalted lagna
lord.

I first learned to perform a pūjā when I became a teacher of Transcendental Meditation in Rahu-
Rahu. In the birth chart, Rahu gives the results of the 5th lord Saturn and its nakṣatra lord,
Jupiter. Yet it has been in my Saturn major period that I have been most involved with Vedic
rituals, which is obvious in both the rāśi and vimśāmśa.
See the chart of Pope John Paul II, who as a priest of the Catholic Church, then Bishop, then
Cardinal and finally the Pope, performed innumerable rituals throughout his life, starting with his
Rahu major period and ending at the very end of his Mercury period when he died.
In his vimśāmśa, Rahu is in the lagna, Jupiter is strong by virtue of an exchange, Saturn is
vargottama, and Mercury is exalted.
Dān and Seva
The Sanskrit word dān refers to acts of charity. Shri Rao always translated it in the broader
sense of any act of helping a needy person in some way, not necessarily through a monetary gift.
I quoted earlier a verse from Pārāśara Horā in which donating a cow is given as a upāya against
potential suffering resulting from Venus falling in the 2nd or 7th house where it would become a
māraka. This is not something we would do today in our modern urban society, but there can an
endless number of equivalents.
In Deepak Chopra's little gem of a book, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, the second one is
what he calls The Law of Giving. He goes on to say that it should actually be called the law of
giving and receiving because if a person truly understands the law of karma and the truth of "as
you sow, you reap," then they would know that the universe operates through dynamic
exchange. Therefore, this might also be called the law of reciprocity. Chopra points out that the
word affluent comes from the Latin "affluere" which means "to flow to." Affluence comes about
through the continuous flow and exchange of giving and receiving.
My favorite true story about this concerns a group of Tibetan Buddhist monks who established a
Dharma Center in Southern California and relied a good deal on donations to sustain it. The
center thrived for a long time but then went through a period in which donations dried up.
Rather than hold some fund-raising event like most other religious groups or non-for-profit
organizations might do, the monks concluded that they must not be giving to the community
sufficiently to deserve its support. So they quite literally began giving things away, their own
material possessions, but then they also re-doubled their efforts to serve the community in
various ways. Upon first hearing this story, it actually brought tears to my eyes. What an
absolutely brilliant response to their dilemma based an understanding of cosmic law! Not long
thereafter, donations began to flow again.
The concept is really so simple and it is what we all heard growing up. "Give and you shall
receive." And I can remember the advice of one of my spiritual guru, Māharishi Mahesh Yogi,
who told his students that one should try to give something to everyone you encounter. This
could be simply a warm greeting and a smile to a stranger you pass while taking your morning
walk, or a sympathetic ear to a friend going through a difficult time. It could be removing the
snow from the walkways of a very elderly neighbor after you've shoveled your own, as I once
saw my father do.
Of course, if you can afford it, donating financially to some worthy cause is, in my view, a
powerful upāya. It doesn't have to be anything big. Maybe it is just the cookies you buy from
the Girl Scouts who knock on your door, even when you don't really eat them, simply because it
is a worthwhile organization to support. We all have clothes in our closets that we don't ever
wear and probably never will. Organizations like the Salvation Army and The Goodwill would
happily distribute these to people in need, but, of course, it means making the effort to get them
there.
Probably the most precious thing we have to give is our time and expertise and giving that gratis
to a worthy cause or recipient creates a powerful cosmic wave of reciprocity. Seva, or selfless
service, is another form of graha śānti rather akin to dān. An example would be a woman I know
who devotes some time each week to delivering food to shut-ins through a program called
"Meals on Wheels," or another of my acquaintance with considerable astrological skill who does
consultations for the benefit of others without charging a fee.
Dān and seva as Upāya can be made more specific astrologically by making the beneficiaries
individuals signified by troublesome grahas in a chart. For example, if you have a dark, afflicted
Moon including the strong influence of Saturn, you could direct your charitable contributions or
services to elderly women in need. Or if Saturn is a problem in the chart, an appropriate upāya
might be supporting organizations that serve the poor and indigent There is an endless number
of people in need in this world, so there is an endless number of opportunity to be give and to
serve.
Tapas
The Sanskrit word tapas means "heat" and has different meanings in different contexts. In Yoga
science it refers to intensity in spiritual practice that creates a heat that purifies much in the way
that heating gold removes impurities. The word is often seen translated as "austerities" and in
this context refers to another category of Upāya. In every spiritual/religious tradition of which I
am aware, you will find the concept of engaging in austerities as a means of atonement for past
cosmic transgressions. Some of these have been extreme like self-flagellation in the Christian
tradition and extreme forms can be found in other traditions as well. The only thing I have
practiced myself this way and have recommended to others is fasting. This can be made
astrologically specific as well by fasting on the day of the week associated with the major period
lord. If a person is running the major period of the Moon they could do a 24 hour water or juice
fast on this day, or if the māhadaṣā lord is Mars, on Tuesdays etc.
Fixed, Firm and Flexible
When considering upāya the question naturally arises as to whether any karma can be altered
through these methods. I would like to think so and it certainly never hurts to try, but practical
experience over a period of 20 years has led me to the view that it is likely not so. At the
beginning of this article I mentioned that the theory of karma, as articulated in the Vedic
tradition, is quite elaborate. A part of that elaboration is the notion that karma has three degrees
of intensity as follows:
1. Dṛḍa fixed
2. Dṛḍa-Adṛḍa fixed/non-fixed
3. Adṛḍa non-fixed
I translate these degrees of karmic intensity as "fixed, firm, and flexible." It can be seen then that
the tradition recognizes how some karmas are really quite fixed and therefore very difficult or
maybe even impossible to alter, and must simply be suffered if of a negative kind. The
astrological question then becomes how such fixed karmas can be seen in a birth chart. There is
no simple and easy answer. However, when considering some factor in a chart from many
different perspectives, if you find that all indications point in the same direction, this reflects a
more fixed karma in my experience. Earlier I showed a chart of a woman friend, now in her
mid-fifties, who as neither ever married or had children, though she has been in a lot of
relationships which don't last.

With regards to relationship karma, see that:

Kāraka Venus is in its debilitation sign and is aspected by Saturn
From the birth lagna, 7th lord Moon goes into the 12th house with the 12th lord conjunct
Saturn and aspected by Mars
From Chandra lagna, the 7th lord Mercury goes to a mild dussthāna with Rahu and
aspected by Mars
From kāraka Venus, the 7th lord Jupiter is with Saturn aspected by Mars
With regards to children:
Kāraka Jupiter is in the 12th with Saturn and aspected by Mars
From the birth lagna, the 5th house has Mars and the 5th lord Venus is debilitated and
aspected by Saturn
From the Moon and kāraka Jupiter, the 5th lord becomes Mars in the 6th house
This is a confluent picture that shows a rather fixed karma when it comes to marriage and
children. You have seen my chart in this article. Go back to it now and do a similar analysis
and you will again see a confluent picture that has resulted in no marriage or children.
The Guru's Hidden Agenda
K.N. Rao has mentioned in his writing how there were times in his life when he thought
seriously of giving up astrology. He recounts in his book Yogis, Destiny, and the Wheel of
Time, how he was told by one of his spiritual advisors, Mookananda-ji, that he should not
and would not because it was his destiny to help bring about something of a revival of this
veda vidyā that was getting lost and corrupted. This saint predicted that Shri Rao would
create and become head of a big teaching institution and travel to foreign countries to spread
the light of Jyotiṣa. It has all come true.
What is also true is that through his incredible output as an astrological researcher, author,
teacher and practitioner, he has all along had what might be called a "hidden agenda."
Through astrology, his intention has been to influence people to live more sattvic lives and to
engage in spiritual practices like those discussed in this article, and in this he has been
hugely successful. There are thousands upon thousands of people that have gone through the
two-year program of the Institute of Astrology, Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan in New Delhi over
the past 20 years, and I would venture to say that as a result most have been inspired to do
such practices as a means of dealing with their own karmas. How many more thousands,
maybe even millions, world-wide have read his books and have been inspired to do
likewise? If memory serves, there is even a video that can be found on YouTube where he
openly acknowledges this "hidden agenda." "Like teacher, like student" as the saying goes,
and so now, dear reader, this is my own not-so-hidden agenda. I will candidly confess that
my sole purpose in writing this article is in the hope of inspiring you to do...Graha Śānti.
All Praise to the Riṣis and their Divine Science of Jyotiṣa

Marc Boney
Cardiff by the Sea, California
Anno Domini
March 2017
About the Author

Marc Boney M.A. is an internationally renowned astrological teacher, writer and consultant. He
has been involved since 1974 with the integration of the ancient wisdom of astrology with the
counseling arts. He received his training in Jyotiṣa primarily from K.N. Rao, one of the world’s
foremost Vedic astrologers. His focus is on using the Vedic system to help guide people in their
lives, as well as training others.

Marc has been a featured speaker at international conferences, is a faculty member of the
American College of Vedic Astrology, and was the main presenter on Jyotiṣa at the Chopra
Center for Well-Being from 2000 to 2002. He is the author of 32 articles on this topic, and a
book, The Essentials of Jaimini, which can be purchased on Amazon.com
The Institute of Astrology, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, of New Delhi, India honored Marc with a
Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to the advancement of Vedic Astrology in the
West.

Marc recently founded the Pacific Institute of Vedic Science, which will be offering quality
educational programs in Yoga, Ayurveda, and Jyotiṣa in the San Diego area where he lives.

Prior to his current full-time involvement with these Vedic sciences, Marc held positions in the
corporate world as a Director of Human Resources, Outplacement Consultant, and Leadership
Consultant.

Marc holds an MA in Counseling Psychology and a BA in English Literature from Northwestern

University in Chicago, Illinois.

He is a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation since 1971 and later trained as a teacher and
taught TM in the late 70’s.

Visit his web-site at www.marcboney.com or contact him at marc@marcboney.