Outwitting the Stars

This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramhansa Yogananda. Chapter 16 Outwitting the Stars. the stars mukunda why don't you get an astrological omelette should i master i don't believe in astrology one can take on any subject is whether it is true. The law of gravitation worked as efficiently before Newton as after him. The cosmos would be fairly chaotic if its laws could not operate without the sanction of human belief.

Charlatans have brought the stellar science to its present state of disrepute astrology is too vast a script. That is to be expected in this imperfect world. One should not dismiss the wisdom with the wise. All parts of creation are linked together and interchange their influences. The balanced rhythm of the universe is rooted in reciprocity. My guru continued, man in his human aspect has to combat two sets of forces. First, the tumultuous within his being caused by the admixture of earth, water, fire, air and ethereal elementsereal elements second the outer disintegrating powers of nature so long as man struggles with his mortality he is affected by the myriad mutations of heaven and earth of man's response to planetary stimuli.

The stars have no conscience, benevolence or animosity. They merely send forth positive and negative radiations of themselves. These do not help or harm humanity, but offer a lawful channel for the outward operation of a cause-effect equilibrium which each man has set into motion in the past. A child is born on that day and at that hour when the celestial rays are in mathematical harmony with his individual karma. His horoscope is a challenging portrait revealing his unalterable past good and evil but to arouse man's will escaped from his universal thraldom what he has done he can undo none other than himself was the instigator of the causes of whatever effects are now prevalent in his life.

He can overcome any limitation because he created it by his own actions in the first place, and because he has spiritual resources which are not subject to planetary pressure. Superstitious awe of astrology makes one automated, slavishly dependent on mechanical guidance. The wise man defeats his planets, which is to say, is passed by transferring his allegiance from the creation to the creator. The more he realizes his unity with spirit, the less he can be dominated by matter. The soul is ever free. It is deathless because worthless.

It cannot be regimented by stars. Man is a soul and has a body. When he properly places his sense of identity, he leaves behind all compulsive patterns. So long as he remains confused in his ordinary state of spiritual amnesia, he will know the subtle fetters of environmental law. God is harmony. The devotee who attunes himself will never perform any action amiss his dear master why do you want me to wear an astrological bangle i ventured this question after a long silence during which i had tried to assimilate sri yugteswar's noble exposition.

It is only when a traveller has reached his goal that he is justified in discarding his maps. During the journey, he takes advantage of any convenient shortcut. The ancient Rishis discovered many ways to curtail the period of man's exile in delusion. There are certain mechanical features of the law of karma, which can be skillfully adjusted by the fingers of wisdom. All human ills arise from some transgression of universal law. The scriptures point out that man must satisfy the laws of nature. While not discrediting the divine omnipotence he should say lord i trust in thee and know thou canst help me but i too will do my best to undo any wrong i have done by willpower, by yoga meditation, by consultation with saints, by use of astrological bangles, the adverse effect of past wrongs can be minimized or nullified.

Just as a house can be fitted with a copper rod to absorb the shock of lightning, so the bodily temple can be benefited by various protective measures. Ages ago, our yogis discovered that pure metals emit an astral light which is powerfully counteractive to negative pulls of the planets. Subtle electrical and magnetic radiations are constantly circulating in the universe. When a man's body is being aided, he does not know it. When it's being disintegrated, he is still in ignorance. Can he do anything about it? This problem received attention from our rishis.

They found helpful not only a combination of metals but also of plants and most effective of all faultless jewels of not less than two carats. The preventive usage of astrology has seldom been seriously studied outside of India. One little known fact is that the proper jewels metals or plant preparations are valueless unless the required weight is secured and unless these remedial agents are worn next to the skin i am intrigued at the thought of outwitting a planet for general purpose i counsel the use of an amulet made of gold silver and copper but for a specific purpose i want you to get one of silver and lead purpose do you mean the stars are about to take an unfriendly interest in you mugunda fear not you shall be protected in about a month your liver will cause you much trouble the illness is scheduled to last for six months surgical amlet will shorten the period to twenty-four days i sought out a jeweller the next day and was soon wearing the bangle my health.

The following weeks were a nightmare of excruciating pain. Reluctant to disturb my guru, I thought I would bravely endure my trial alone. But twenty-three days of torture weakened my resolution. I entrained for Benares. There yugteswar greeted me with unusual warmth but gave me no opportunity to tell him my woes in private many devotees visited master that day just for darshan and neglected i sat in a corner it was not until after the evening meal that all guests had departed my guru summoned me to the octagonal balcony of the house you must have come about your liver disorder sri yukteswar's gaze was averted he walked to and fro occasionally intercepting the moonlight let me see you have been ailing for twenty-four days haven't you yes sir please do the stomach exercise i have taught you if you knew the extent of my suffering master you would not ask me to exercise nevertheless i made a feeble attempt to obey him.

You say you have pain. I say you have none. How can such contradictions exist? My guru looked at me inquiringly. I was dazed and then overcome with joyful relief. No longer could I feel the continuous torment that had kept me nearly sleepless for weeks. At Sri Yukteswar's words, the agony vanished as though it had never been. I started to kneel at his feet in gratitude, but he quickly prevented me. Don't be childish. Get up and enjoy the beauty of moon over the ganges but master's eyes were twinkling happily as i stood in silence beside him i understood by his attitude that he wanted me to feel that not he but god had been the healer i wear even now the heavy silver or the bangle, extolling their use as an act of astrological wisdom.

I had been prejudiced against astrology from my childhood, partly because I observed that many people are sequitiously attached to it, and partly because of a prediction made by our family astrologer, you will marry three times, being twice a widower. I brooded over the matter, feeling like a goat awaiting sacrifice before the temple of triple matrimony. You may as well be resigned to your fate, brother ananta had remark fire to the horoscope scroll placing the ashes in a paper bag on which i wrote seeds of past karma cannot germinate if they are roasted in the divine fires of wisdom i put the fall in with the plans the past.

The deeper the self-realization of a man, the more he influences the whole universe by his subtle spiritual vibrations, and the less he himself is affected by the phenomenal flux. These words of Master often return inspiringly to my mind. Occasionally I told astrologers to select my worst periods, according to planetary indications, and I would still accomplish whatever task I set myself. It is true that my success at such times has been accompanied by extraordinary difficulties, but my conviction has always been justified. faith in the divine protection and the right use of man's god to be free from every limitation god created each man as a soul hence essential to the universal structure whether in the temporary rule of pillar or parasite his freedom is final andial cycle to our present age the cycle is divided into ascending arc and a descending arc each of twelve thousand years or ages, called Kali, Dwapara, Treta, and Satya, corresponding to the Greek ideas of Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Golden Ages.

My Guru determined by various calculations that the last Kali Yuga, or Iron Age, of the ascending arc started about AD 500.. 500. The iron age 1200 years in duration is a span of materialism. It ended about A.D. 1700. That year ushered in Dwapar Yoga a 2400 year period of electrical and atomic energy developments, the age of telegraph, radio, airplanes and other space inhalators. The 3600 year period of Treta Yuga will start in AD 4100. Its age will be marked by common knowledge of telepathic communications and other time inhalatorshalators.

During the 4,800 years of Satya-yuga, the final age in an ascending arc, the intelligence of a man will be completely developed. He will work in harmony with the divine plan. A descending arc of 12,000 years, starting with a descending golden age of four thousand eight hundred years then begins for the world man gradually sinks into ignorance these cycles are eternal round of maya the contrasts and relativities of the phenomenal universe man one by one escapes from creation's prison of duality as he awakens to consciousness of his inseparable divine unity with the creator master the scalpel of intuitive reasoning and to separate errors and interpolations of scholars from the truths as originally expressed by the prophets of the nose.

This inaccurate interpretation of a Bhagavad Gita stanza, widely accepted by Eastern pundits and Western translators, used to arouse Master's droll criticism. The path of a yogi is singular enough as it is, he remarked. Why counsel him that he must also make himself cross-eyed the true meaning of nasik gram is origin or god is not true many scholars call the whole philosophy atheistical the verse is not nihilistic sri yugteswar explained it merely signifies that through the unenlightened man dependent on his senses for all final judgments proof of god must remain unknown and therefore non-existent true sankhya followers with unshakable insight born of meditation understand that the lord is both existent and knowable.

Master expounded the Christian Bible with a beautiful clarity. It was from my Hindu guru, unknown to the roll call of Christian membership, that I learned to perceive the deathless essence of the bible and to understand the truth in christ's their lives by the same godly ideals which animated jesus these men are his proclaimed kin whosoever shall do the will of my father which is in heaven the same is my brother and sister and mother if ye continue in my word christ pointed out then are ye my disciples indeed and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free freemen all lords of themselves the yogi christs of india are part of the immortal fraternity those who have attained a liberating knowledge of the one father the adam and eve story is incomprehensible to me allegory.

Why did God punish not only the guilty pair, but also the innocent unborn generations? Master was more amused by my vehemence than my ignorance. Genesis is deeply symbolic and cannot be grasped by a literal interpretation. He explained, its tree of life is the human body the centre of bodily garden up spinal energy which stimulates the sex loves adam is reason and eve is feeling when the emotion or eve consciousness in any human being is overpowered through the force of his will he endowed the new species with the power to create children in a similar immaculate or divine manner because his manifestation in the individualized soul had hitherto been limited to animals instinct bound and lacking the potentialities of aity which underlies the phenomenal worlds reason and feeling remain in a heaven of co-operative joy so long as the human mind is not rigged by the serpentine energy of animal propensities the human body was therefore not solely tremendous mental capacity the thousand petalled lotus of the brain as well as acutely awakened occult centres in the spine present within the first created pair counseled them to enjoy all human sensibilities but not to put their concentration on such sensations these were banned in order to avoid the development of the sex organs which would enmesh humanity in the inferior animal method of propagation the warning not to revive subconsciously present bestial memories was not heulsion falling under the sway of maya being is to restore his parents or dual nature to a unified harmony or eden with new respect at the pages of Genesis.

Dear Master, I said, for the first time I feel a proper filial obligation toward Adam and Eve.