The festive season is now over. Austere measures observed during the festivity would have brought in a sense of sanity. That provides with an opportunity to begin afresh with a clean state, without any preconditioning whatsoever. It is time now to take charge of oneself, weigh the options in hand with an open mind, and pick up the right lead. You may then be able to negotiate with the callings of emerging times in all strength, and with ease. But bear in mind - mind by nature is fragile and driven by a sense of duality. So, mind by itself can’t maintain its sense of order and direction for long, unless one remains conscious about keeping it in shape. Should one lose the sense of alert, given a trigger, the habit tendencies parked in the form of thought-seeds, will spring into action, and with obvious consequences. For, habits die hard. Here, it is worth recalling the metaphor of “The chariot of knowledge” used in Kathopanishad as well as Bhagvada Gita. Arjun seated in a chariot, is pulled by five horses, which is steered by Lord Shri Krishna as a charioteer. Here, the chariot stands for gross body of a being. Arjuna symbolises the soul within, which holds the key to one’s dynamic existence. The horses imply our five sensory organs of perception. The reins pulling the horses signify the mind. Krishna represents buddhi (the faculty of discriminate intelligence). The chariot, pursuing the right track, has a journey to undertake for its beholder to make it to a desired destination. If the reins are let lose, the horses will enjoy the freedom to be drawn towards grass on the path and around. In the process, the chariot’s movement will get derailed. Grass here stands for temptations in life. Remember, mind is fragile. It can’t control the senses in its own right. If, however, applying buddhi, the reins are controlled, the horses will be in check, and the chariot will be able to make it to the desired destination unhindered. The message, loud and clear is that but for keeping buddhi in active mode all the time, it will be difficult to pick up the right lead in life, and with obvious consequences. Otherwise, our unseemly habit tendencies will continue playing spoil sport with us. That makes it incumbent upon us look within on a regular basis, observe the thoughts flowing within, identify and acknowledge negative patterns if any, and resolve them through educative inputs. Often, our indwelling ego doesn’t let us dispassionately identify the fault lines. Here, astrology serves as a very effective diagnostic tool to identify fault lines, and with a fair amount of precision. For, astrology looks at energy map of the cosmos at the time of birth, which reflects upon Karmic carryover from the past, which sets the trends of mind. Here is the case of an elderly person being a victim of his own self-indulgent habits. It is not only adversely affecting his health but often disturbs ...
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