EXTRACTS FROM THE BOOK /GREATNESS OF SATURN /BY ROBERT E SVOBODA

Jataka Parijata, a renowned classical text on Jyotish, explains that the Sun is the
essence of the soul of the universe, the Moon is the essence of the mind, Mars is the
essence of strength, Mercury is the essence of speech and worldly knowhow, Jupiter
is the essence of all knowledge and happiness, Venus is the essence of all desire,
and Saturn is the essence of misery. The flavour of energy is the essence of a
particular planet expresses itself through those substances, actions, and beings
which resonate with it.
Knowledge has become just one more commodity of commerce, the fuel we burn on
the information highway
Sincere prayer could save us, but most of us in these days have come to doubt that
prayer can change things, for we longer think of Nature as a living being who can be
requested to show us her compassion.
Whenever the mind is called upon to relinquish control and prominence it feels
threatened.
To be truly healthy an individual requires a healthy affect Image of the universal
reality with which to relate, because each of us is an image of the Universal reality.
Each face of God is a deity portion of God, and each plays an important role in the
great cosmic drama.330 million of deities-that everyone of every mental disposition
and temperament would be able to find an appropriate image to visualize.
When you visit an Indian temple you go there for Darshan to look upon that particular
face of God, that wisdom it may enter your personal reality.
Each karmic action will, as soon it ripened produce karmic reaction..Nine planets
see to it. They are the executive officers of the Law of Karma, which is the law of
action and reaction. Each graham acts on you according to his unique job
description
By altering our perceptions the images of nine planets within us induce us in those
peculiar thoughts which inspire those particular actions which inspire those particular
actions which our karma require of us, actions we might otherwise not perform

A horoscope is a map of individuals karmas drawn to specifications of the nine

seizers. Astrologers read this map to discover in which directions success will occur
most effortlessly, and in which areas life will be filled with pitfalls due to impending
reactions to previous actions.
The patterns created in the horoscope by the Nine planets indicate the form and
intensity of the images that will be created within the horoscopes owner, whether he
or she is aware of them.Upayas task is to manipulate these images either by
overwhelming them with healthier images, by strengthening our own self images, or
by creating a healthy relationship between the individuals self image and image of
the Graha.
A partial list of Upayas (which are as innumerable as actions) includes the recitation
of mantras (sacred words) or prayers, the wearing of specific gemstones and other
objects, the consumption of particular foods or other elaborately prepared
substances, the observance of fasts and other vows, specific acts of charity, and the
worship of fire, the planets or other deities.Listeining to or reading planetary myths is
also one method of placating the Grahas.When an individual establishes an upaya
ritual and follows it with full faith, fully believing in its effectivness,his own self image
will be reinforced. This strengthened self image can then outshine any graham
derived images that may lurk within.
When you do something that you enjoy doing which happens to support other beings
in some way, those beings will (generally) bless you for having supported them. This,
which forms part of the rationale for the performance of charitable acts, applies to all
creation. A purposeful charitable donation to a dog or even an ant, puts you in a
chain of receipt which will eventually pay you dividends, both from the plant or
animal that you benefit, and from nature herself, who loves people who are willing to
act as her handmaidens.Conversely, torturing injuring or killing living beings will
(generally) induce them to curse you, which will put you into much desirable cascade
of karmas whose dividends will be less enjoyable. On a subtler and potentially more
far-reaching scale, appropriate offerings can enable you to please deities, be they
major(like planets themselves) or minor(tree,river,mountain and other nature deities)
..If we can learn how to appropriately channel and harness our own desires, we can
use their energy to recreate our won lives. Whether you want to produce an effect in
your own personal microcosm or in the macrocosm outside, you need a strong
desire for your intended result, if you expect it to manifest. The key to any successful
Tantric practice, including upaya is to combine repetition with intensity. For any

remedy to work for you, you must crave your desired outcome as strongly as
drowning person gasps for air, and keep craving it thus until it comes to pass.
Since sweet is in general the most life-enhancing of the tastes many upayas involve
donating sweet food to living beings. The rules for donation can be quite specific but
in general it is advisable to make your offerings in the morning especially if they are
to be made to dumb creatures, which are more likely to be in a receptive mood then.
Fasts and donations are often performed for the number of days or weeks equal to
the persons age. A 39 years old who fasts on a Tuesday will therefore need to fast
for 40 Tuesdays(he has completed 39 years and is living in his 40 th year)to have a
significant effect on the image of Mars which lives within him.
Only when you have tremendous desire will you be able to change your destiny. For
this reason it is generally a waste of time and money to contract with anyone, in India
or elsewhere, to have a third party who does not know you,and very likely could not
care less about you, perform some ritual upaya for you.In most cases the goal
behind the upaya ,and the uypaya itself when possible ,should be done in secret to
prevent the people from generating obstructive energies that might disturb the
process. These obstructions may be overt actions that will impede the maintenance
of the vow or covert psycho-emotional energies such as curiosity, ridicule, jealousy
and the like, all of which can fragment the performers concentration. This is why it is
usually good to be silent and not to speak to others while on the way to perform a
uapaya.
Select an upaya that speaks to you, that you feel strongly about, that you have
confidence in, but remember that your chosen aim should not be one which will act
to detriment of any living being or, of nature in general.
By means of sadhana(spiritual disciplines)yogis locate the internal deities, awaken
them, and bring them into the right relationship with their external counterparts.
Sanskrit which is a dead language in the modern linguists from a mythic point of view
is one of the few living languages for it is one of those rare tongues in which the
knowers of Reality can directly transmit the deep knowledge of living myth into texts
which take on lives of their own.
Katha-those listeners whose devotion is sufficiently deep and sincere and who
visualize the action as it occurs, will have darshana of that image via that
storyteller.Darshan of that graham will cause them to experience its essence, to
some degree, which is likely to lead them, at the storys climax, to some degree
catharsis.may professional storytellers in India tend ot rely on theatrically to
produce cathartic effects.