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.
Swami
Vivekananda was born with Capricorn Ascendant with the Ascendant lord tucked
away in the 9th House of Spirituality and is conjunct the 7th
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 2nd and his conjunction with Moon (7th
lord) in the 9th 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 (4th, 9th 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 8th lord in his
chart and his conjunction with Venus (9th 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 2nd house of
speech, sanskar, self-esteem and Mercury lords over 9th 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 (3rd
lord and co-lord of 10th) the planet of motivation, inner drive
tenants own Sign Aries endowing him with courage and a fighting spirit. It is
very close to the 4th 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 (12th
lord) - the planet signifying wisdom, religious beliefs is the most elevated
planet and tenants the sign Libra. The 12th lord in 9th
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 10th lord and is in the 4th
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 11th 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 9th
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 4th House and
natural 4th 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 3rd 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 12th at Anaretic degrees of Sagittarius and
is disposed by Jupiter in the 9th 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
11th 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 3rd 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 7th 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 3rd 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 4th (motherland) and 7th
(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 4th 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 5th 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 10th and 11th 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 4th July, 1902 at the age of
39.
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