Finding The Perfect Relationship

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What makes a “perfect” relationship? First and foremost there has to be love. What is love? It means caring more for another person than I do for myself. The “purer” or “truer” the love the more extreme that dynamic becomes.

Pure and true love is non-existent in the material world. How can I say that? Because all of us are “hardwired” with survival instincts on physical, practical and emotional levels. This hardwiring results from our attachments to the illusions of who we think we are and are not. Being hardwired with a certain unavoidable amount of selfish instinct, it is not possible to experience true and pure love in a material relationship.

Alright, then. What makes a perfect material relationship?

Again, love, but this time normal love; relative love. Relative to what? Relative to our compatibility.

When we meet a person who is extremely compatible with us, we “fall in love.” Why? Because we have complimentary desires, conceptions, feelings and practical situations. When we meet a person whose desires compliment our own we fall in love as a result of compatibility.

A “perfect” relationship in this world is one in which the two partners have a great deal of compatibility in all four areas: desires, conceptions, feelings and practical situations.

Astrology of Compatibility

Venus is the planet of desire. The Sun is the planet of conceptions. The Moon is the planet of feelings. The Ascendant is the point of practical situations. These are the four most important planets to asses for compatibility, particularly compatibility of a romantic flavor.

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When two people meet who have Venus, the Sun, the Moon, and the Ascendant in “compatible” astrological configurations they feel they have met “the one” for them, and fall deeply in love. When two people meet with significant incompatibility in these four areas they feel spontaneous repulsion and disgust for one another. Real problems happen in between these two extremes.

In between is where it gets really messy; when you meet a person who really is great for you on one level but terrible for you on another. For example compatible Venus may make you have undeniable mutual attraction, yet incompatible Moons will make that mutual attraction give rise mostly to emotional grief.

The value of astrologically figuring out a relationship before tying your heart-strings around someone else’s incompatibilities can not be underestimated.

Astrological Rules of Compatibility

To do compatibility astrology I first need “birth charts” for both people. A birth chart is a map of which planets were in which signs at the time a person was born. Then I evaluate the distance from an specific planet in chart of the first partner to the same planet in the chart of the second partner. For example. If both partners have Venus in Leo, I say that their Venus’s are in the same sign. If one partner has the Sun in Virgo while the other has the Sun in Leo, these Suns are one sign away from each other. If one partner has the Moon in Scorpio, and the other has the Moon in Capricorn, their Moons are 3 signs apart. If one has the Ascendant in Taurus and the other in Scorpio their Ascendants are “opposite.”

Based on these distances I then make basic, fundamental interpretations:

Opposite – When planets are in opposite signs, for example Virgo and Pisces, you have the strongest, most compelling type of compatibility. It is a compatibility brought on by each partner providing what the other lacks and needs. It is a volatile, passionate, strong compatibility.

Same – When planets are in the same sign, you get the is the next strongest compatibility, brought on be the partners sharing things in common. It is not as exciting and dynamic as opposites, but is still strong and good.

Trine - If the planets are four signs apart they can be called “trine.” For example, Leo is trine to Sagittarius and Aries. This is a compatible situation brought about by each partner having a balance of sameness and difference on a given topic. Couples with trine compatibility will quietly, mildly but confidently understand and compliment one another.

Sextile - If the planets are 2 signs apart they are basically “sextile.” This is the least dramatic or desirable of the compatible situations. Couples with sextile compatibility do understand and compliment each other, but do so very passively. For example, Aquarius is sextile to Aries and Sagittarius.

Now, the types of incompatibility:

Neighbors - If the planets you are examining are just 1 sign apart, they are “neighbors.” For example Gemini and Aries are neighbors of Taurus. This is the least dramatic or undesirable of the incompatible situations. It causes couples to passively and mildly misunderstand and interfere with one another on the given subject.

Distance - If the planets are 5 signs apart, they are “distant.” For example Libra and Sagittarius are distant from Taurus. This is an incompatible situation which causes the couple to cancel out their energies and interfere with one another.

Clashing Square - If the planets are 3 signs away from one another they are basically “square.” For example Aries and Libra are square to Capricorn. This is the most incompatible situation. It cause the couple to have mutually strong attitudes towards the given subject, but strong attitudes that clash.

So if we have a couple with opposite Ascendants (one in Taurus the other in Scorpio), we know they have a very dynamic and attractive compatibility in practical ways. That same couple has Venus in the same sign, so we know they understand one another’s desires and share similar wants and goals in life. These two people, however, have the Sun 1 sign away from each other – which means that when it comes to their conceptions about themselves, their ego, their identity, their authority – on those topics they will run into some mild misunderstandings and interference. Finally we see that their Moon’s are sextile, so we know that their emotions and emotional outlook are not incompatible with one another. Overall it appears to be a fundamentally good relationship to pursue.

Omitted Details

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Now you know the basics of how relationship astrology works. Let me stress that these are the basics by pointing to some of the missing details.

It’s not only important how my Venus interacts with your Venus, for example, it is also important how my Venus interacts with your Sun, Moon and Ascendant. The same basic rules of interpretation apply. If your Ascendant is opposite my Venus, for example, we will have compelling compatibility in practical desires. In this manner, an astrologer interprets all the primary nuances of a relationship.

Finally, degrees are crucial. I have a mathematical formula to work it all out, which I will kind of guard like a “trade secret.” But basically the closer the planets are together by degree, the stronger the effect of their particular type of compatibility or incompatibility. I will give one example to help you figure out exactly what I am talking about.

Lets say my Ascendant is about 2º Capricorn, and lets say yours is about 29º Cancer. Well it looks great in one sense because Capricorn and Cancer are “opposite” so we should have the best sort of compatibility in practical (ascendant) matters. But there are 27º of distance between 2º and 29º, right? That is really far, you know, since an entire sign is only 30º in length. That much distance reduces the positive effect of our opposite ascendants pretty near to nil. But if your ascendant was much closer to 2º Cancer you and I would get the full compatibility benefit of having opposite ascendants.

This works on negative alignments too. If Your Venus is at 2º Aries and my Venus at 2º Capricorn it is the worst possible “clash” alignment. But if your Venus is instead at 29º Aries they are not in a strong clash alignment, so the negativity of the clash is minimized almost to nil.

The Divine Couple

Lets get back to talking about the perfect relationship! I mentioned that it is not possible in the material world. It is possible in the spiritual world. The perfect relationship of absolutely pure love exists in the Divine Couple: the Goddess of Devotion, Sri Radha, and the God of Love, Sri Krishna.

Now and then the divine couple manifest their spiritual relationship in the material world so we can get our priorities straight and set our sights on attaining enlightenment. This happens on time scales of hundreds of thousands of years, mind you. So saying that it occurred roughly 5,000 years ago is really saying it was quite a recent event.

Horoscope of Sri Krishna, God of Love

The only authoritative description of Krishna’s full horoscope is cited from a book called kha manik by the enlightened author Sri Vishvanath Chakravarti Thakur in his medieval commentary on the ancient Bhagavat Purana. He gives the following positions.

The Moon rising in Rohini (a portion of Taurus). Jupiter in Pisces. Mars in Capricorn. Rahu in Scorpio. Saturn and Venus in Libra. Mercury in Virgo. Sun in Leo.

Horoscope of Sri Radha, Goddess of Devotion

We know from the same line of enlightened authority that Sri Radha appears exactly one “paksha” after Krishna. That is, she appears in exactly the same phase of the Moon, except Krishna appears when it is waning and she appears while it is waxing. We also know that Krishna’s chart results from a midnight birth, and Radha’s chart results from a midday birth.

Accepting these facts from enlightened souls, to get Sri Radha’s chart all we have to do is progress Krishna’s chart about 2 weeks. However, take note that Krishna’s chart shows the two fast planets, Venus and Mercury placed near their absolute greatest distance from the Sun. Therefore they would be moving very slowly and perhaps not at all during the two weeks between Krishna’s birth and Radha’s. The Sun would have traveled 15 degrees between Krishna’s birth and Radha’s. The other planets would not have moved much at all. The Moon would be exactly opposite, in Anuradha nakshatra, which is a portion of Scorpio. Thus we can calculate Sri Radha’s chart.

Relationship Compatibility of Radha and Krishna

Their Ascendants are opposite. Their Moons are opposite. Their Venus are the Same and their Suns are the Same! Their fundamental compatibility is made of the best ingredients – sameness and opposites.

You might argue that it would be better if all four planets were opposite. But the alignment of opposites has a flaw in that it is too volatile at times. You might than argue that all four planets should be in the same signs. But the alignment of sameness has a flaw of familiarity and boredom. So the divine couple have the perfect balance of opposites and sames – getting the benefits of both and counteracting the flaws of either.

Not just the four basic relationship planets – everything in their chart is either opposite or the same, from perspective of signs or houses. Thus they have an absolute balance of the two best forms of compatibility – opposites attracting and sameness enduring.

If everything is too “perfect,” it detracts from the actual perfection because everything becomes too easy. Therefore you see some small “flaws” in the compatibility – particularly in that relationships of their Venus’ to their Ascendants. This means that a lot of practical considerations about their lives stood in the way of their being able to freely meet all the time and fulfill their mutual desires. This is the catalyst that keeps their relationship always relishable and exciting.

Relationships are best when they face obstacles that can be surmounted, small flaws. If a relationship is too easy it gets boring and flounders like an overwatered plant. If it is too difficult, it withers and dies like an unwatered plant. The small flaws of practical obstacles to their being able to meet and express their mutual love serve to make the flowering vine of their divine love an ever fresh, exciting, enjoyable, thrilling eternal relationship.

The mantra of the divine couple is:

hare krishna, hare krishna

krishna krishna, hare hare

hare rama, hare rama

rama rama, hare hare

Hare is the Goddess Radha. Krishna names her beloved as “all-attractive.” Rama names him “all-pleasing.”

Contemplating this mantra I am delighted to will find abundant beautiful symmetries which perfectly express the realities of the relationship of the Divine Couple, some of which I have just tried to express in evaluating their astrological compatibility. All the balance and symmetry in their relationship reflects in their mantra.

I particularly notice that sometimes “hare” is with “krishna” while sometimes they are separate. This overall astounding beauty and symmetry of the mantra reflects wondrously balanced beauty of their relationship compatibility – while the small balances of union and separation reflect the small apparent “flaws” which serve to heighten and excited the relationship, making it eternally new and enticing.

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

© 2010 Vic DiCara, All Rights Reserved

Natural Eras of Your Life

Every human being, regardless of their horoscope, goes through the same sequence of natural development. These natural eras in human life (“naisargika dasha”) are the same for everyone:

Birth – 1 year: The Moon

1 – 3 years: Mars

3 – 12 years: Mercury

12 – 32 years: Venus

32 – 50 years: Jupiter

50 – 70 years: Sun

70 – 120 years: Saturn

When humans are born, the first thing we do is rapidly build the power of concentration and awareness in our minds. Thus the first year of human life is governed by the Moon.

The next thing that happens is that our bodies grow fantastically and we develop muscular strength. Thus the ages of 1 – 3 are under the governance of Mars.

With our mind and body now ready to function normally we are ready to begin speaking, interacting and learning. This period of primary education begins from the ages of 3 – 12, under the governance of Mercury.

Having primary knowledge under our belts, we move into the next phase of life: vocational and higher education and the building of our own lives by getting married and raising a family of our own. These years 13 – 32 are governed by Venus.

Having accomplished all our education and the bulk of our practical responsibilities we now attain a period characterized by wisdom, prosperity and the ability to guide others. These are the years 33 – 50, governed by Jupiter.

Wisdom and guidance leads to recognition, leadership and fame, which come during the Suns natural period of life: the years 50 – 70.

Finally we detach ourselves from material things and prepare to understand the limitations of life and death. This occurs during Saturn’s natural cycle, the years 70 – 120.

These are non-personal eras of life, in that they apply to everyone equally regardless of who they are. It is said that when an individual has a personal era (“dasha”) in coincidence with a natural era of life, the planet concerned becomes extra effective in a positive way. I have personally experienced this to be a valid logic, making it a fit topic for further consideration.

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

© 2010 Vic DiCara, All Rights Reserved

Vargottama – The Best Spot

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Vargottama means “the best place in the set” – where “the set” is talking about the amsha divisions, specifically in this case about the most important amsha, the navamsha. The “best place” is to be in the same sign in the navamsha as the planet is in in the normal zodiac – you got that correct.

As to what it actually does for planets… “gives a planet extra special strength.” Consider it like this… if I am in new york, I have certain resources at my disposal. Now, if I am in New York CITY within the state of New York – I am “really” deeply in New York, and those resources are very ample. That is what it is like for a planet to be in vargottama. The planet has very deep, full and ample access to the resources specific to whatever sign the planet is in.

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

The Most Fortunate Horoscope – A Tribute to Aindra

The Most Fortunate Horoscope

A Tribute to Sripad Aindra das Babaji

On July 16^th of this year, 2010, at 10:25pm in Sri Vrindaban, India my hero and inspiration in life died. “Died” is not a bad word, but it is a bad word for me because it means I lost my chances to again sit with that man in Kirtan.

His name is “Aindra.” For about 30 years straight he would sit in the temple of the beautiful Radha Shyamasundar and he would sing the Hare Krishna mahamantra:

हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे ।
हरे राम हरे राम राम राम हरे हरे

hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare.
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare.

He organized the “kirtan” (singing of this mantra) so that for 30 years straight it went on continuously for 24 hours. When Aindra sang “Hare Krishna” it was absolutely unique. It was as if a tornado of emotion would form around him. All you or I had to do was want to go sit inside that tornado and it would effortlessly carry us away like Dorothy to a spiritual “Oz” of genuine, real, tangible pure ecstatic love for Krishna.

Birth Data

I am fortunate to have a confidant and friend, Sriman Akincana Krishna das, who spent much time with and developed a close relationship to Aindra. He told me that an astrologer predicted Aindra should have lived about 10 or 20 years longer than what he actually did. When I heard this, I jumped to attention. “You know Aindra’s birth time?!?” With just a short delay Akincana acquired that data and sent it to me:

March 12, 1953 at 4:28:45 am

In Arlington, Virginia (USA)

Exact coordinates given as 77º W 05′ 04″ by 38º N 53′ 25″

The most obvious detail here is that this time has been obviously “tinkered with” by an astrologer, because no one knows their birth time down to the exact second. Obviously some astrologer had put a lot of work into this data. Hopefully it is close to the original. Upon overviewing the horoscope it produces I find no reason to doubt its basic veracity.

About the Man, Aindra

There are a few things about Aindra that are obvious to anyone who even looks at a photo of him.

• Pale with reddish blonde hair, and a fair amount of it on his body
• Neither gaunt nor overweight, but has a healthy amount of padding
• Handsome with softness in his features
• On the short side
• Wild, piercing and hypnotic eyes.
• A renunciate, fully devoted to spiritual practices

Then there are things that anyone who listens to Aindra’s recordings would find obvious.

• An extraordinarily talented musician
• Deep and mysterious voice, is not polished, belabored and schooled.

Anyone familiar with Aindra’s backgrounds knows:

• He is extremely famous and his career accomplishments are outstandingly remarkable.
• He dedicated himself “cent percent” to the specific spiritual practice of hearing the holy names of Krishna in the Hare Krishna mahamantra.

Those who know Aindra more deeply and personally would call your attention to these key traits:

• He was an individualist. He did what he knew was right and what would please his teacher (the great A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada) and didn’t ask for anyone’s approval or support.
• He was, however, not egotistical – but very humble at heart. Thankful for any support and help offered, and worked to make things nicer for others.
• His intellect was outstandingly sharp, piercing and penetrating. He understood the inner workings of extraordinarily esoteric spiritual details, yet applied it all in the most down-to-earth, practical, and tangible manner.

The Fiery Saint

I always thought that there had to be a great deal of Mars in Aindra since he was so reddish, had such piercing eyes and intellect, and was so capable of individuality. Especially when he died in a fire accident, I could not stop wondering about Mars in his horoscope.

Looking at the chart produced by the birth data I have for Aindra I find that Mars is almost literally as exalted as a planet can possibly be. Readers who are not learned in the science of Jyotish (Indian Astrology) will not find this obvious, so I ought to explain.

The zodiac has 12 main sections, “signs,” in its primary division, but there are 16 subdivisions which represent the acoustic resonance and standing waves generated on a degree by degree basis throughout the zodiac. Astrological hobbyists consider a planet’s “dignity” only with reference to its place in the obvious twelve zodiac signs, but real astrologers appropriately factor in the effect of the signs of the harmonic subdivisions as well. The ancient Indian formula for doing so describes dignity as a numeric value on a scale from 0 to 20, where 0 is absolute and utter debilitation and 20 is unequivocal and absolute exaltation.

The dignity of Mars in Aindra’s chart is an almost impossibly exalted 19.8!

In astrology, the dignity of a planet tells us how much “good” or “bad” karma that planet holds for us. The more dignified, the better. A planet still needs potency to be able to make the good or bad karma it holds into a real factor in a human being’s life. Ancient Indian astrology measures this by exhaustively evaluating six categories of strength. I call it the Sixfold Strength system.

In Aindra’s horoscope Mars is not only phenomenally dignified, he is also phenomenally potent, having what Sixfold Strength describes as “191%” of normal strength!

So when I look at Aindra’s red beard, reddish glow, fiery effulgence, fierce self-sufficiency and absolutely undefeatable piercing mind I see the clear manifestations of a Mars with strength and goodness that one does not see even after looking at millions of horoscopes.

In astrology, planets must not only have potency, they must get the opportunity to use that potency. There are a few avenues in Aindra’s horoscope which allow Mars excellent opportunity to use its potency fully. The lord of the house of self, Saturn, is in Chitra nakshatra, which is the domain of Mars. Almost exactly 180º away from the lord of the physical self, Saturn, is Mars. Therefore Mars has opportunity to influence the physical self by an “aspect” at maximum strength, and by controlling the lunar mansion the lord of the physical self occupies.

Any elementary student of astrology should know the term “dispositor” and “final dispositor.” The dispositor is the planet who owns the house occupied by another planet. For example, in Aindra’s horoscope Venus is in Aries, which belongs to Mars. Therefore Mars is the “dispositor” of his Venus. Dispositors create the planet’s attitude or “disposition.” A final dispositor is the planet who creates its own disposition. This planet gains influence in a horoscope by affecting the disposition of all the planets that it disposits.

In Aindra’s horoscope Mars is the final dispositor of every other planet!

So, I see what I expected to see in Aindra’s horoscope: a phenomenally good, powerful and influential Mars.

Penetrating Intellect

His amazing Mars also conjoins the lord of intellect, Venus. That is why Aindra’s intellect was so sharp and piercing. This conjunction between sharpness and intellect occurs in Ashvini, the lunar mansion of “Miraculous Speed.” Aindra could penetrate into fantastically deep understandings with a speed that bordered on instantaneous and miraculous. His grasp of the deepest esoteric details of spiritual truths is literally miraculous for a human being to accomplish.

In Aindra’s horoscope the lord of self is in Chitra nakshatra, the lunar mansion of “multifaceted blueprints.” Chitra is a place where architects understand the detailed inner workings of things. For Aindra, penetrating intellect aspects the self in the lunar mansion of detailed blueprints.

Many people who have piecing intellect and understand things in extreme detail are terribly useless and impractical. Not Aindra. Every detail he understood he put into a tangible, practical form in his everyday life. This is because he was born when Capricorn was rising. As Capricorn suggests, Aindra was never impractical in the slightest, and he was always serious, determined, and steadfast.

Other Physical Traits

There are a few physical traits of Aindra not explained by Mars alone. For example, though he was short, Aindra was not thin or muscular as is characteristic of Mars. This is because all the kapha (fleshy) planets influence his physical body: The Moon sits in the house of the body, while Jupiter and Venus (especially Venus) aspect the lord of the body. Therefore the natural thin physique of a prominent Mars is counterbalanced by the plumpness of Venus, the Moon and Jupiter.

These three benefics also make him a beautiful man with a gentle appearance. They also give him a healthy constitution strong enough to allow an American born man to survive for decades on end amid the different and very strong bacteria and virus of rural India.

Wild, Piercing, Hypnotic Eyes

Using textbook astrology one would say that the second and twelfth houses represent the right and left eyes, and having his Mars conjoined or aspecting both of these lords is a sure indication that Aindra’s glance could be fierce, piercing, and fiery.

There is more to it. The nakshatra (lunar mansion) of hypnotism and hypnotic glances is Aslesha (The Serpentine Embrace). The planet of hypnotic trance is Ketu. Aindra’s horoscope has Ketu in Aslesha. It is no ordinary Ketu either because it is “stationary.” This is a rare occurrence when a planet does not move at all in the sky, neither forward nor backward. Such planets gain extreme potency. Thus Aindra had a gaze which was piercing and fierce yet induced and reflected a hypnotic spiritual trance indicative of the state of his elevated inner consciousness.

If you look into Aindra’s eyes you look directly into the hidden worlds of truly occult spirituality. Ketu in Aslesha already describes this, but also the lord of mysterious spirituality (the lord of the eighth house, the Sun) occupies the house of Aindra’s facial appearance (the second house), which is also the house of the right eye. Meanwhile, the house of the left eye receives a combined aspect from Jupiter and Saturn – the combination which produces spiritual leaders. There was never anything in Aindra’s glance, neither coming in nor going out, that was not purely spiritual and trancelike. Whatever he glanced upon, he glanced with two intentions: (1) To see, in a trance, its connection to meditation upon singing the divine names of Krishna, (2) To see how he might assist the strong spiritual growth of whomever or whatever he looked upon.

Spiritual Renunciate

Aindra renounced all material sense gratification and lived an ideal and exemplary spiritual life. The lord of spirituality occupies his house of wealth, causing Aindra to perceive that true wealth is not material. The lord of renunciation occupies his house of treasures, causing him to treasure spiritual knowledge, detachment and humility. This lord of renunciation conjoins the lord of enjoyment, indicating a person who would renounce ordinary concepts of enjoyment and instead take to an enlightened concept of pleasure and enjoyment.

Despite being a true, hardcore renunciate, Aindra led a life that was anything but bare or spartan. His life was brimming with beauty, art, music, color, sound, smiles, emotions, and vitality. Like an alchemist turning iron to gold, Aindra transmuted ordinary art, beauty, music and emotions into transcendental and enlightened experiences, because he understood that the zenith of all spiritual pursuits was to dedicate his emotions to pleasing the transcendental senses of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna.

An Extraordinarily Talented Musician

Elsewhere, I have described combinations which produce great artistic and musical skill (see: Musical and Artistic Talent in an Astrological Chart). Aindra’s horoscope shows these combinations to the fullest extent. The lord of the 3^rd, 5^th and 11^th houses all join in the 4^th house. There could not be a more stunning example of artistically blessed planetary alignments.

To explain using more common terms: The lords expression and creativity combine in Aindra’s horoscope. This allows creativity the dexterity to be fully expressed. In Aindra’s chart the combined lords of expression and creativity are joined by the lord of performance arts! Greater still, all of them – performance, expression and creativity – they all combine in the house of emotions which is the true root of artistic genius.

To make Aindra’s artistic talent even more extreme, all these planets of performance, creativity, expression and emotion are directly opposite the lord of the self. Thus not only is Aindra full of unsurpassed skill, he also gets to physically and tangibly manifest that skill in his exalted career as a spiritual musician.

Aindra personally attracted dozens if not hundreds extremely adept and skilled musicians to join him in his 24 Hour Kirtan project. Ask any one of them who the greatest musician they ever encountered was and I would be shocked if they did not say, “Aindra.”

Aindra’s musical style was the antithesis of practiced, rehearsed and self-conscious. It was absolute genius! It was absolutely real. His brilliance did not come from any formal training or efforts at mastery. Rather it manifested for mysterious and unknown charismatic and spiritual reasons. Why? One reason is that the lord of the eighth house was in Aindra’s second house, causing his voice (second house) to expressing things coming from the hidden world, the mysterious world of the infinite spirit.

Fame & Power

Aindra’s fame is really quite enormous, especially considering that he lived in a rural town in India as a humble renunciate. Hundreds of thousands of people across the globe listen to his music every day. Hundreds count themselves as his disciples and followers. He published almost a dozen records that have distributed in six digits at the very least.

First, his house of fame (tenth house) holds the exalted lord of the self. As I described just previously – that lord of self is aspected by all his copious artistic talent. Thus he gets tremendous recognition for his career as a spiritual musician.

Aindra’s chart holds a “yoga” (an impressive sounding word meaning “combination” or “alignment”) indicating fame: The lord of the fifth house (a trine) combines with the lord of the fourth house (an angle). The lord of the fourth happens to be Mars, and I have already described to you the towering beneficence, potency, and influence of Mars in Aindra’s horoscope. This allows Mars to powerfully manifest the potentials of this combination for fame.

Furthermore since the Moon is in Aindra’s first house, this alignment exists from the Moon’s viewpoint as well. On top of that, both the fourth and the fifth lords align with the lord of the first house – causing four additional instances of this powerful fame combination (“raja-yoga”). Besides that also the Moon’s conjunction with Rahu creates yet another instance of such a combination. You could easily measure Aindra’s horoscope to have seven or more counts of Power and Fame combinations! This is on a par with huge celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Angelina Jolie, etc.

Although he was more famous than just about anyone else around him, he never once basked in the ego that might come with such karma. Never once. He was not destined to, because his lord of humility conjoined six out of seven of the fame and power combinations he possessed.

This is interesting, too, for it speaks accurately about Aindra’s style of power. He was an enormously powerful person. Many times very powerful people would attempt to change, redirect or alter Aindra’s apparent non-conformity. Despite their own extremely formidable power they never succeeded even one iota. Aindra would indirectly crush their attempts without the slightest malice or intention to harm, and would quietly and assuredly go on becoming exactly what he knew he must become – a pure devotee of the Hare Krishna mahamantra as best as he personally knew how, leaving the other person feeling enlightened in the process.

Shravanam Kirtanam – Complete Dedication to Chanting

All of that was really very interesting (at least for me), but it is only now that we come to the real crux of Aindra. He was perfectly, completely, and absolutely dedicated to the spiritual path of hearing and chanting about Sri Krishna, particularly in hearing and chanting Sri Krishna’s mahamantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

The process of hearing and chanting is summarized in a Sanskrit word, Shravanam. There is one lunar mansion out of the 27 of them which bears this word as it’s title: Shravana.

That mansion, Shravana, was rising over the Eastern horizon when Aindra was born. Moments after his birth, the Moon, also in the mansion of Shravana would rise as a 12^th phase crescent. Moments thereafter Rahu, also in the mansion of Shravana would rise into the sky and glance upon the newborn child.

This means that Aindra was born for hearing and chanting about Sri Krishna, it was his due destiny. According to Parashara and all ancient seers, the Moon represents Sri Krishna. Rahu represents destiny pulling us towards our inevitable future. Both the Moon and Rahu occupied the lunar mansion of hearing. This mansion is not just about the auditory sense! The word “Shravana” has a distinctly spiritual connotation in Sanskrit, and the deity of this mansion is Sri Vishnu / Krishna. Thus Aindra’s ascendant clearly and simply reveals the purpose of his birth: to hear and chant about Sri Krishna as a wildly powerful compulsion.

His Passing

The lord of the physical body occupied a certain degree called mrtyu-bhaga which indicates that Aindra’s body would be subject to a difficulty. Mars, the planet of fire and accidents directly aspects the lord of the body at that difficult degree. Rahu and Ketu, the planets of sudden occurrences, are very dominant in the chart and directly affect the house of the body.

Aindra’s body would be subject to a flaw that would be exploited suddenly by a fiery accident.

That accident took place during the era (“dasha”) of Saturn – the lord of Aindra’s physical body. In the cycle (“bhukti”) of the Moon the lord of the house of death, occupant of the house of the physical body, dispositor of sudden Ketu and housemate of the uncontrollable Rahu. The sub-cycle at the time belonged to Mars, the planet of fire and accidents and the single most dominant planet in Aindra’s chart.

A textbook principle of astrology is that the planets owning the second and seventh houses cause death (because the seventh house is opposite to the house of birth and the second house is opposite to the house of longevity). In Aindra’s case these planets are Saturn and the Moon. Saturn controlled the era and the Moon controlled the cycle when Aindra died. Mars, the natural planet of injury and accidents, controlled the subcycle.

On July 16^th 2010 at 10:20 – 10:30pm we lost Aindra.  At that time Saturn and the Moon exactly conjoined one another in the sky.

This conjunction occurred in Virgo, a sign belonging to Mercury, giving Mercury the power to determine the disposition of the fate indicated by the conjoined Saturn and Moon. At this exact point in time Mercury was precisely conjoined to Aindra’s Ketu – the planet of sudden, drastic events.

Ketu itself transited Gemini, Mercury’s other sign – sealing the strong link between the two planets. Aindra’s lord of material loss, Jupiter, was exactly conjoined with Aindra’s Mercury, who was aspected at full strength by Mars.

So the two planets capable of causing death (Saturn and the Moon) were exactly conjoined, and their disposition was governed by Mercury because they were in Mercury’s sign, Virgo. What disposition did Mercury create for these two death-capable planets? It was thoroughly linked to sudden and dramatic material and physical loss, due to its links with Ketu and the lord of physical loss.

Just as the Sun (the nakshatra dispositor of both Saturn and Moon at the time) entered the border of Cancer (Aindra’s house of disappearance) a gas stove in Aindra’s room exploded as he lit it to cook for his deities. The soundproofing on the door caught fire and consumed the oxygen in the room without letting him escape. He turned to his deity of the most merciful proponent of the Hare Krishna maha mantra, Nityananda Rama and left this world while in prostrated prayer at the feet of this deity.

The influence of Ketu in this death is a sure sign that Aindra was withdrawn from the physical world and taken into the “other world” – not the “afterlife.” The connection of the ninth lord of religion and fortune (Mercury) with Ketu on this event, while Saturn and the Moon occupied that ninth house is another sure signal to us not to look for a “reincarnation” of Aindra. He will not again reincarnate by any stretch of the imagination except in the ways that he has empowered the rest of us to follow his lead.

He has moved to his inescapable future, which is with Sri Vishnu, Sri Krishna, in the mansion of hearing and chanting which is not bound by the limitations of space and time.

I will mourn his loss until by chance of great mercy I might one day find  his perfected identity in the deepest spiritual groves of Sri Vrindaban Dhama and have the supreme blissful fortune of making divine music with him to assist the dances of Sri Sri Radha Shyamasundara. Until then I find solace and inspiration in the many recordings of Aindra that I am lucky to find left behind.

To learn more about Aindra and his path

Please visit the website of his project: 24 Hour Kirtana

There you will find his philosophy, and in the “Media” section of the site you will find a treasure of links to his music and speaking.

- Vic DiCara / Vraja Kishor das

www.vicdicara.com