Should a brahmachari change his ashrama if his astrological chart is unfavorable for renunciation?

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Transcript

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Thank you. So if we have joined the ashram, but an astrologer has told us that there is a yoga of marriage in our charts, and that we would be better off practicing bhakti in married life rather than as a brahmachari, then what should we do? There are three different factors involved over there. In principle, Krishna is the controller of all the stars.
So whatever may be ordained in our stars, if we are devoted to Krishna, Krishna can counter that influence. And that is actually, we could say at one level, the meaning of sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja aham tvam sarva-papebhyo mokshe shami ma shuchah that whatever past karmic reactions are there because of which we are meant to go through certain difficult situations, those Krishna can help us to deal with. So that is, in part of the philosophy, we don’t have to base our decisions only on astrology.
Krishna is definitely much more powerful than any other devatas. Now, in the Madhva tradition, they, in fact, they don’t let anyone become a brahmachari or a sannyasi unless they check the horoscope. So now Chaitanya Mahaprabhu when he met the Tattavadis, one of the criticisms that he had for them was that you rely too much on, you give too much emphasis to varna ashram.
That means you give, it’s not specifically varna ashram, but you give too much emphasis to material considerations. So in our path, both the prominent acharyas who set up renounced ashrams, that is Bhakta Siddhanta Sri Thakur and Prabhupada, they never considered astrology when ordaining sannyas, when giving sannyas to their followers. Prabhupada at least never did that.
So and his mission, although there have been problems, it has been overall very successful. So bhakti is powerful enough and not just in principle. We have seen it in practice also that people who would not be considered in any way potential candidates for the renounced order, they have been successful also as renunciates.
Now having said that, Prabhupada in his books, so this is the first point about philosophically bhakti being stronger than any astrological influence. Practically Prabhupada did not defy astrology. That means he did not reject astrology.
So he did talk about our texts. I mean in his books when he is writing, commenting on the scriptures, he does talk about how prophecies are made, horoscopes are seen. So astrology does play a role in our scripture and Prabhupada reports it without either endorsing it or in any way criticizing it.
So for example, say according to astrology, traveling on Thursday is not considered good. Assume for us. So Harishcharya writes in Transcendental Diary that Prabhupada, if he had to plan a schedule, he would often avoid traveling on Thursday.
But if an important program came up which required him to travel on Thursday, he would do that. So he would not avoid traveling. He would go along with astrology if it did not interfere with his service.
But if it interfered with his service, then he would put astrology aside. So that means we don’t knowingly, deliberately reject astrology. But we don’t make bhakti subordinate to astrology.
We find as much as possible how to bring bhakti and astrology together. And if the two don’t work together, then we choose bhakti. So for us, let me complete this.
So for us, as devotees, Prabhupada in that sense was practical. So now this is the third point which I will make is that actually there is astrology and there is also our intention. You know how strong our intention is.
Say for example, somebody is told by astrology, okay, you know, you should not marry this person. And now say the two people are very attracted to each other. And they just feel, you know, we will be together.
So now because of astrology, they say, no, we will not marry. And then they marry some other people. The boy marries someone else, the girl marries someone else.
But in their heart, they are always feeling, oh, if only I had married that person, my life would have been so much better. Then what will happen is if they are half-hearted like that, then that will create problem in their marriage. It’s okay, astrologically, the second match which they come up with is more compatible.
But if emotionally they are half-hearted, they are resentful, then that was also going to affect the marriage in a very practical way. So we cannot, we have to consider our shraddha in astrology also as an important factor in deciding how much weight we give to astrology in making our decisions. So how much weight we give to astrology.
So that means, say for example, basically what does astrology tell us? See astrology, it is like a, what it tells us about future is like a weather forecast. So weather forecast means that on this road, if you go, there’s going to be a storm over here. Therefore, don’t go on this road or you can go over this road.
Now, if it’s not very important for me to go on that road, I’ll decide I’ll not go. But if it turns out that I have to go, if I have to go, because if something is very important for me, and so I have to go, then I should be prepared for whatever difficulty will come along the way. There will be more difficulties, storm means I have to be extremely careful while driving, and I have to be alert.
And if I’m prepared for the extra difficulty, with extra caution, because I consider going along that road is very important, then I may still be able to go along that road. And I will reach that destination. So maybe some more difficulties will be there, but I’ll reach.
So if there was something very important which I had to go for, and I don’t go because of astrology, and then I beat myself up, why didn’t I go over, that was such an important thing, that will also create trouble for me. So in that sense, astrology can tell us something which will be more difficult. So, for example, with respect to marriages, I’ve seen marriages where the couple is completely astrologically compatible, and still they just can’t get along.
Big problem in their life. On the other hand, there are also couples who are astrologically incompatible, and still they feel attracted to each other, they like each other. And they got married and they had difficulties, but they are going on and they are still.
So this means that the strength of our intention is also a very important factor, along with whatever is the astrological prediction or astrological indication. So, applying this to brahmachari life. Many of our devotees, many of the devotees who are brahmacharis, the stalwart brahmacharis living life, they never consulted astrologers.
And they are going on quite well. Many of them have lived fully and left also in a glorious Krishna conscious way. So, some of them, they also came to know that, I know at least one or two devotees, more than one or two, whose charts told them that they are just not compatible.
So, they still continue and they are going on. There are some other devotees who came to know from their charts that this is not compatible. And they were doing very well in brahmachari life, but still they decided to leave.
And now they are living well as grahasthas. But now sometimes they have second thoughts, you know, was it really necessary for me to leave? They had no major problems in their own life as brahmacharis. But they thought maybe because of astrology, future problems will come.
And that’s why better be careful. So, I would say that a lot will depend on the strength of your intention. Having said all this, I have also seen some devotees, some brahmacharis, who are very sickly as brahmacharis.
And after they got married, their health seems to have improved also. So, it could be sometimes that there is a struggle to be a brahmachari. To be physically and emotionally not having a partner.
That may cause such a psychological struggle that has a physical impact. This is possible. It’s not necessary.
Sometimes it’s also possible that, you know, by our past karma, there are some phases when we are meant to be sick. So, maybe six months, one year, that’s the time when we will be sick. And after that we become healthy.
So, it could also be in my own life after I joined for almost four or five years, I was constantly sick. 2002, 2006 or something like that. Constantly sick.
Like Krishna’s mercy. Although my health is not great now, but I have found the limitations of my body and I’m living within those limitations. So, I’m able to move on.
So, sometimes it can also be that the person was in a phase of bad health when they were brahmacharis and they change over. And then that phase of bad health anyway ended. So, it’s not necessary that changing the ashram improved their health.
But I’m telling, that has also been observed. And it could be possible that somebody is psychologically very troubled because of brahmachari life. Then as a grahastha, they might not have that psychological trouble and their health may also improve because of that.
But again, there is no guarantee of this. So, I would say that the most important thing is the strength of one’s intention, one’s conviction, one’s inspiration. So, inclination, inspiration and intention.
Am I actually inclined towards this way of living? Am I inspired? This is how I would like to spend my life. This is how I would like to contribute. And do I have a strong intention? Do I have the determination? So, if we have all these, then there is no need to reconsider the decision of being in the ashram.
But if this indication from astrology has affected us very strongly and it has shaken us very deeply, then we can, rather than taking an immediate decision, can do three things. First is, get the thoughts out of the head onto paper. Write them down.
A, B, C. These are the reasons why I should continue. A, B, C. These are the reasons why I should not continue. And then, don’t let the mind constantly obsess on it.
Instead, A, if you decide every week, this is the important thing in my life, every week I’ll spend one hour thinking about it, praying about it, analyzing about it, writing about it. And apart from that, I won’t, if some thought comes in the mind, I’ll just quickly note it down somewhere, in my phone or on some paper, some diary, but I won’t spend my time thinking about it. Because what happens, to think about such a major life decision, we need some amount of sattva guna.
And when we are running around doing things, we are in rajoguna, tamoguna. Our thinking doesn’t become productive. It simply drains us.
And then, like this, if you keep writing and re-looking at your diary, you decide three months or six months I’m going to do this. And then you find overall your thoughts remain the same for six months. That means this is not just a passing fad of the mind.
This is what I strongly feel, consistently feel. Then whatever decision we take, we will do it with commitment. Because we have got the background understanding.
These are the reasons I’m going to do it. It’s not just because I’m scared because of an astrological prediction or something. This is what I feel.
So, that’s one thing. Your own observation, contemplation. Here, you can discuss with other devotees also.
But use that to add to that discussion. Don’t just be constantly thinking in the background. Be consciously thinking at fixed times.
And build up. So, thoughts, when they come out of the head, they decrease the congestion and confusion here. And then, when you can evaluate them, when they are written down in a diary, then you can be more objective.
Second thing is, consult some other astrologers also. And try to consult some devotee astrologers. So, find out from the devotee community who is a trustworthy astrologer, who also understands the principles of bhakti reasonably well.
And from them, you can get a more balanced picture. That how strong is the astrologer. Because, see, even in marriages, some people are totally incompatible.
These are little incompatible, but not very. So, you can also see how much is that influence. So, get to know more clearly from some other astrologers.
And third is that, try to find out from some senior devotees. Have a heart-to-heart talk with them. And based on that, get their understanding of your situation.
So, how well-suited you are and what would be the best for you. Don’t take that as an instruction. Take that simply as an input.
Because this is a decision which you need to take. So, even if they are senior, you are their authority, you can tell them, I am just at this point contemplating this. So, with that attitude, over a period of time, you will yourself come to a clear understanding.
And when you come to that understanding, whatever it is, don’t think of one particular decision as good, another decision as bad. That being here, being in the ashram or being out of the ashram, this is elevated, this is fallen, nothing like that. You see what is uncool for your bhakti.
And then do it maturely. When you do it with this deliberation, whatever you do, you do it with conviction. And then you will do it confidently.