Swami Vivekandanda- A True Luminary

On 12th January, we will be celebrating the 158th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. This essay is just my way of paying an obeisance to this great patriot saint of Modern India. It aims at decoding his mystic yet charming persona and his “leap into fame” at the Parliament of Religions held at Chicago in 1893 at which he represented Hinduism. This is a very simplistic tropical scrutiny based on aspectual analysis of the natal and the progressed chart.

The data has been procured from Astro Data Bank which gives it AA rating.

As per Wikipedia page, Swami Vivekananda (12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindu monk. He was a chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramkrishna. He was a key figure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world, and is credited with raising interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion during the late 19th century. He was a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India, and contributed to the concept of Indian Nationalism. 

Swami Vivekananda was born with Capricorn Ascendant with the Ascendant lord tucked away in the 9^th House of Spirituality and is conjunct the 7^th lord Moon in the Sign Libra. The Ascendant reflected the ability to genuflect before God so through which inspiration could flow. Saturn and Moon in Libra imparted an industrious nature, a strong sense of duty and sociable nature respectively. Saturn is also the co-lord of 2^nd and his conjunction with Moon (7^th lord) in the 9^th House promised fame through speech on religious matters and an international standing. This Saturn-Moon conjunction is disposed by Venus which is on Anaretic degree in the Ascendant in Capricorn thus underlining karmic significance and major change in the lifetime. Young Narendra was destined to end relation with his personal self to explore into the unknown, unchartered waters. The mutual exchange between Ascendant lord Saturn and Venus (4^th, 9^th lord) rendered both of them very strong.

Sun- the planet of vitality, how you express your identity is in Capricorn in the Ascendant (very close to the rising point). Thus he was destined to receive recognition in worldly sense. This Sun imparted strong will power, magnetism, singleness of purpose and leadership skills. It did impart humour- dead pan variety. His witty verbal exchanges with Mr. Peters while studying law at University College, London are well known. Sun is the 8^th lord in his chart and his conjunction with Venus (9^th lord) promised spiritual metamorphosis in this lifetime.

There is another mutual exchange between planet of intelligence, communication, reasoning- Mercury and the planet of intuition, originality Uranus in the 1-5 Houses. As per the chart, Uranus has the lordship of 2^nd house of speech, sanskar, self-esteem and Mercury lords over 9^th H of religion, faith, philosophy. Uranus in Gemini gave him convincing oratory, unique thinking abilities and quick comprehension skills. Mercury is also involved in a Sesqui-quadrate aspect with Uranus which helped him create deeper awareness of the self in relation to others. Further the trine aspect between Mercury and Saturn-Moon combine in 1-9 H imparted perseverance to his steadfastness. It not only enhanced his intellect but imparted enlightenment, ingenuity. We all have read about Vivekananda’s prodigious memory and ability towards speed reading. He was an avid reader of wide range of subjects and had studied Hindu scriptures, Sanskrit literature as well as Western philosophers from a very young age. The mutual exchange of involved planets and the houses and the aspectual relation does give a clue for this aspect of intelligence and it must have helped him “break the barriers” in terms of acceptance on international forum later in life.

This Mercury sextiles Neptune- the planet of inspiration, creativity, imagination and spiritual enlightenment. It helped him in putting his audience at ease while delivering speeches/ giving discourses as he was able to intuitively understand them. Neptune in own sign endowed him with mysticism, talent for music, poetry (He was trained in Indian classical music).

Mars (3^rd lord and co-lord of 10^th) the planet of motivation, inner drive tenants own Sign Aries endowing him with courage and a fighting spirit. It is very close to the 4^th cusp. This increased the possibility of him being a natural and a community leader (in lager sense). Mars and Sun share a unique relation as Mars is in the exaltation Sign of Sun and Sun is in the exaltation Sign of Mars and the Square aspect between the two ensured that he enjoyed challenges and pioneering action. Thus he had powerful stores of energy that he could draw upon when needed (as a child it helped him participate in sports, physical exercise and organised activities and later for his spiritual practices and for deep meditation).

Jupiter (12^th lord) - the planet signifying wisdom, religious beliefs is the most elevated planet and tenants the sign Libra. The 12^th lord in 9^th enhanced the religious instincts, his search of spirituality through solitude, foreign travels and later in life international standing because of inherent grace and a charming personality. It also imparted sense of Justice, gift of conversation and popularity.

The T-Square aspectual relation between Sun, Venus- Mars- Jupiter in Cardinal Signs gave him the zeal to go in search of truth, to delve deep within to understand religious and philosophical principles. At later stage in life this aspect imparted confidence, charm, physical strength and stamina to express these matters (the teachings of his homeland) to the world.

Pluto- the planet of transformation is his 10^th lord and is in the 4^th house in Sign Taurus- signalling a steadfast soul and perseverance to change and transform self. This highlights his karmas for the motherland. There is an exact Quincunx aspectual relation between Pluto and Moon which helped him tune his intuition and conscious mind for great change and empowerment. Further it paved way for getting rid of the old (his life as Narendra) to make way for the new. This aspect also boosted spiritual growth and imparted him with a great sense of pride about his roots- here India, Hinduism.

The North Node in 11^th in Sagittarius indicated a person who could appeal to masses and bring to them some enlightenment. It surely hinted that he was guided by the principle that humanity has a nobility and must be upheld.

The Sun-Venus-Mercury conjunction in Ascendant and Saturn-Moon conjunction in 9^th house render these two personal houses of the chart very strong and the involved planets further point to a firm steady desire to explore the secrets of nature, human life and religion. This made Narendranath an ascetic, a deep thinker and philosophical in nature from a very young age. The Sun-Venus relation and Mercury-Venus conjunction in Capricorn in Ascendant imparted purity as crystal and made him generous, virtuous and truthful and contributed its share in making him a Sansyasi.

The Mars- Jupiter- Saturn trio are connected strongly to the 4^th House and natural 4^th lord Moon further pointing that his karmas or his birth was to promote the teachings of his motherland/ his roots/ origin.

Chiron- an asteroid is in 3^rd H in Pisces and semi-sextiles Mercury (exact). This helped him in his mission to communicate to the world our ethos, religious values and the spirituality associated with it.

A few subtle or minor aspects that must be mentioned as they too contributed in his evolution as a mystic spiritual person are the Qunitile aspect between Sun-Pluto and Ascendant- Neptune, the Bi-Quintile aspect between Sun- South Node and the Septile aspect between Mars- Uranus.

The pre-natal New Moon is in 12^th at Anaretic degrees of Sagittarius and is disposed by Jupiter in the 9^th H hinting at destiny associated with religious devotion.

A few fixed stars that too need a mention are of Moon on Vindemiatrix (often associated with widowhood) which let him work on his fear of exploring within in search of the ultimate truth, North Node on RasAlgethi- gave him boldness and the power to reach out to the world, South Node on Rigel- ensured increase in vigour, inherent will power, rise in life (popularity) and the ability to reach the set aim and last but not the least Mercury on Bos granted sharp piercing intellect and “wheel of Fortune”.

A few mid-points that contributed their bit in shaping his persona are

1.   Natal North Node on Mercury-Jupiter that imparted Sociable nature, cultivation of thought exchange and the ability to carry an enterprise to a successful end

2.   Natal Moon on Mercury- Uranus/ Mercury- South Node made him an excitable soul with logical thinking who could instinctively grasp a subject

3.   Natal North Node on Venus- Jupiter gave him the ability to share joy together with other people (here the joy of ultimate truth and an unselfish disposition).

Thus the planetary positions, their aspectual relation unfold the mystic persona of Narendranath and his quest for the ultimate truth that made him take initial apprecentiship with Brahmo Samaj and later under the tutelage of Shri Ramkrishna Paramhans who became his spiritual focus after his father’s death in 1884.

In 1888, Narendranath dawned the role of Parivrajaka and travelled extensively in India for five years. However his leap to fame came when he left for Chicago with the name Vivekananda- the bliss of discerning wisdom. His aim was to represent our country, our religion, its’ teachings in the “Parliament of Religions”. He was initially rejected but he persisted (he contacted Prof. Henry…) and finally got a chance to speak initially just on the opening day of this conference i.e. on 11^th of September 1893.

An attempt to analyse this remarkable day in his life on the basis of the progressed chart and the transits of the day is being made.

In the progressed chart, the 3^rd lord Venus is in the sign of exaltation in the Ascendant. This Venus is involved on one hand in a quincunx aspect with Saturn and a trine aspect with transit Uranus (Scorpio 8°). Thus his oratory was flavoured with practicality yet quite unconventional and helped him to break the boundaries.

Sun which continues to be conjunct Ascendant is the 7^th lord in the progressed chart and it trines the transit Venus (Libra 23°). His charming personality and the way he expressed and identified himself ensured acceptance in International arena.

The two fiery planets- Mars and Pluto in 3^rd House ensured that his style of communication was direct, laden with motivation. This made people take notice of him and his motherland.

Mercury –the planet of communication and lord of 4^th (motherland) and 7^th (public) is almost conjunct the progressed rising point. This aspect highlights he was set to arrive on the world stage due to his communication skills and his intellect.

The progressed Ascendant, its lord Uranus(in 4^th house) both are on critical degrees still in mutual exchange thus stressing on his focus on presenting the Indian ethos to the world.

The natal Mars is involved in a separating opposition with progressed Jupiter (which had turned retro about a year earlier). This imparted him the daring to explore the unknown territory (going to Chicago to present his thoughts in a world conference). Initially this adventure of his was met with opposition and resulted in denial in gaining entry as he did not have “ merit ’’. However the same aspect gave him the drive to persist and find a successful way out. Similarly Natal Sun in semi-square aspect with Progressed Venus pointed to difficulties in realising his potential. There were obstacles to his will power. His self- worth was challenged but the trine aspects from transit Sun to natal Sun and transit Uranus to progressed Venus were the saviours.

In natal chart, there is a Sentagon aspect between the luminaries which got re-enforced because of transit Saturn over natal Moon- thus a life altering event unfolded.

Transit Neptune over natal Uranus in 5^th house inspired him, enhanced his creativity to begin his speech with “Sisters and brothers of America” which invited a thunderous applause and a standing ovation for about 2 minutes.

The transit Nodes were in 3-9 axis and transit Venus, transit South Node over Jupiter ensured that he was endowed with psychic ability in harmoniously presenting to the world our religion, its philosophy.

 

Transit Jupiter (Gemini 2°) trined natal Mercury(Aquarius 3°) as well as progressed Saturn (Libra 4°) and further kite aspects were generated as progressed M.C. is at Sagittarius 2° and progressed Neptune at Pisces 2°. The kite aspect is always termed as “Grand trine with a perspective”. It helped him take advantage of all his genius to manifest his creative energy beautifully. The grand trine in personal houses with the help of Progressed M.C. and progressed Neptune made him “leap to fame” and ensured that people abroad accept India as mother of all religions. The progressed 10^th and 11^th lord Jupiter was supported by the transiting Venus and Saturn thus permanently establishing him as a talented Spiritual Guru with abundant knowledge.

A few mid-points that must be mentioned as they too contributed their share are

1.   Progressed Saturn on Sun-Uranus giving him the power to rebel against limitation of freedom and ability to undertake extra ordinary efforts to overcome difficulties

2.  Transit Mars on Sun- Pluto, Mercury-Mars, Uranus-North Node which gave a strong drive to perform record achievements and also the ability to act with lightning speed (on being denied a chance to speak at Chicago, he swiftly undertook other measures)

3.   Progressed Moon on the point opposite to Uranus-Neptune endowed him with high degree of impressionability, a very receptive soul and openness to mystical and spiritual influences and last but not the least

4.   Progressed M.C. on Sun-Moon ensured karmas connected with prominent public life.

Thus the progressed chart and the transits of the day/that period unfold the natal promise of him being crowned as the “cyclonic monk from India”- a patriotic saint who introduced to the Western world the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western World.

After the record breaking speech, Swami Vivekananda attracted widespread attention in the press. He continued with his lecture tours in U.S. and U.K. and later returned to India in 1897. In India, he repeatedly addressed social issues: uplifting the people, eliminating the caste system, promoting science and industrialisation, addressing widespread poverty and ending colonial rule. Swami Vivekananda attained Mahasamadhi at Belur Math on 4^th July, 1902 at the age of 39.

                                                 ---