Thank you all for your helpful contributions. Just wanted to further share some thoughts with you:

Brihat terms sun as a malefic but its very author varahamihira starts his opening verses with prayer
to sun
This make a lot of sense since all grahas ultimately revolve around the Majestic Sun; even ...

astro123, thanks for the input, but please note that what I am referring to is the "natural" characteristics of the Sun, not His functional lordship.

Dear friends,

As you may already know, in most cases astrologers regard Sun as a natural malefic. However, there are well-known astrologers such as Gayatri Devi Vasudev who regard this planet as even a "strong" benefic (somewhere, she calls Sun, Mercury and Jupiter strong benefics). What comes to ...

Dear friends,

Wanted to share the link to this wonderful online book on Jupiter. I especially advise this book to all who have a weak or debilitated Jupiter in their charts since many of the things mentioned in the book are quite applicable and very helpful.

http://www.worldteachertrust.org/bk ...

Before dealing with the issue of pronunciation, one needs to be cautious regarding what mantra they are taking up, for what purpose, and from what source. As an example, Nama mantras (names of God) are generally safe to be chanted by anyone. Tantric mantras (bijas) are very specific and powerful ...

My friend, did I not suggest two remedies? they are based on knowledge of Vastu.

Dear YogiYugesg,

That the house is facing South or North is just one parameter and can't determine the overall Vastu of the dwelling but if you are concerned, one remedy is this: clean your dwelling place as much as you can, remove all clutter, then chant OM; that simple.
Auspicious symbols, e.g ...

Thomas Ashley Ferrand (Namadeva Acharia) has dealt with this issue on his website. I copy it hereunder and also give the link for further study:

Q: I want to do a mantra on behalf of another person. Is this OK?

A: Praying for another person is a good thing to do for anybody at any time. However ...

Dear Yermal,

Since mantras are verbal forms of devatas (various manifestations of Brahman) chanting them with love and respect makes sadhana more effective. This of course is not my personal opinion. Mantra yoga is a truly vast subject. Here are links to some useful info from authoritative figures ...

Thank you very much Tiwari for providing valuable observations.

As of Saturn-Ketu conjunction, In the hope that this subject be dealt with further, I just mention briefly three various interpretations regarding this conjunction that I have so far come across:

1- This combination shows that the ...

Dear Esteemed Members,

Bearing in mind that Lord Saturn is basically austere and disinterested in pleasure, we would naturally conclude that His involvement in such areas of life as love, sex, romance and progeny would be a separative one to a considerable extent. That said, I wanted to ask ...

Dear Vel and dear Krishnagopal1968,

Thank you very much for your kind words.

Warmly,
Dhanvanta

Namaste,

Here are some suggestions to deal with this and similar situations:

1) In the first place, It is very important to not worry about it since when you constantly worry you make the situation even worse instead of solving it.

2) Then, a powerful solution is a heartfelt prayer and asking ...

Dear thcricketfan,

What I mean is that sacred images, like yantras and mandalas, are revealed to sages in higher states of consciousness during meditation. The best way to understand them - which differs from our usual linear intellectual understanding- is to meditate on them. It is also worth ...

Nice thread!

So it could be said that each house from the Moon shows how much satisfaction we are to gain in each aspect of life, whereas each house from the Lagna shows the objective reality in each sphere of life.
There is one thing I am not sure here and I was wondering about: if the planet ...

Dear Murad,

I think you should first consider this very deeply: Why are you interested in Astrology in the first place? Has it revealed to you any truth? If yes, then how could it be against God's will to learn any helpful subject?


Best,
Dhanvanta

Dear all,

As of planetary strength, when it comes to determining friendship and enmity between planets, I wonder if it is I who am not able to grasp this point correctly, or is this a mistake in Jyotish books that cause confusion. I am going to give examples from two successful books that many of ...

Dear Sonu,

There is another version of that story in which Ganesha's head burns because of Saturn's gaze. I can give reference if needed.
Just wanted to add that as an advocate of Advaita Vedanta, it is quite natural for me to use the word "Supreme" for Brahman. To me, the ultimate truth is ...

Dear Sonu,

Thank you very much. It was a delight reading your explanation. Meanwhile, let me come back to one Puranic story I referred to in my first post:
We all know that Ganesha is the remover of obstacles while Saturn is (generally) considered to be the creator of obstacles. When Parvati made ...

Dear anupam,

What you said was not difficult to understand; any person with an average IQ can get it and I clarified myself about it in my very previous post. My question has to to with a technical aspect of Jyotish which happens to be a very tricky one. Again I repeat: if only solving problems is ...

Dear anupam

Rishi Parashara would not say that because Astrology is chiefly meant for common man who is not at that evolutionary state of mind. So, it is better to prescribe him proper mantras of deities relate with particular planet or periods. That will be much easy and comfortable for him ...

Dear Mahesh and friends,

The topic is interesting no doubt but the main issue still remains unattended. To clarify, sage Parashara could say: study your natal chart and when you find out where your problem lies, pray to your Ishta devata! But did he say that? of course faith alone could work ...

Dear harih,

Thank you for the replies;I just needed textual reference regarding Ganesha-Mercury that you provided.

Very best,
Dhanvanta

Dear anupam,

Thank you so much and glad to hear from you again.
I can quite understand what you mention. I personally do not doubt the existence of these deities as different manifestations of the Supreme Brahman and the fact that they can interfere with our karma. But what creates confusion is ...

Thanks harih,

I would like to share these thoughts:

1- Somewhere I read that in deities iconography, all deities bow to some other deity but Ma Durga is an exception: She has "never" bowed to any deity.

2- One may not have access to physical presence of a Guru and if they are not from India or ...