Worship [Poojas] of the Navagraha Devatas Vs Propitiatory Charities for the Afflicting FMs

VA Sutra: In general, when a planetary Deity [Navagraha Devata], say Surya Bhagavan or Sani Bhagavan, is worshipped through the recitation of Mantras, and through the offering of items pleasing to that Devata with devotion & sincerity, then the energy of the corresponding planet in our natal chart is raised to a higher level. The propitiated Devata corresponding to the planet may be a weak FB or may even be an afflicting FM. If it is a FM and not afflicting in the natal chart, then the worship of the Devata corresponding to the planet along the lines indicated above, will raise the energy of the FM planet. If however the FM planet is afflicting in the natal chart, those are the charts for which the relevant Propitiatory Charities become astrologically mandatory.

The idea behind these charities is the following. The chart shows the individual karma, which in such cases tells us that ‘bad-times’ and misfortunes are on the cards in the coming future, during appropriate sub-periods according to the Vimshottari dasa-bhukti ‘clock-time’. Through the Propitiatory Charities, what is on the cards in the future may well be averted to the extent of 80 to 90%, when the afflicting FM is appeased [i.e., propitiated] through devoted and sincere Charities on a daily basis – of articles & items specially beloved to that Devata. In this way what is karmically due from us in this life [for this is shown in the horoscope] is voluntarily given up as an act of self-sacrifice through the Propitiatory Charities, through a deeper understanding of the inevitability of karma & suffering in life and through a devotional attunement & surrender to Isvara.

When to Worship Navagraha Devatas? From this it follows that when the FM does not afflict in the natal chart, the corresponding Propitiatory Charity is not warranted and in such cases, mere worship of the Devata corresponding to the unafflicting FM would be sufficient – when deemed necessary – for this in itself would raise the energy of the unafflicting FM and make it thereby stronger.

The principle behind the Propitiatory Charities is this: Whenever we desire something from the world, and the desired items do not come to us, then ‘a karmic– conspiracy in our destiny is at work’. Isvara is ‘talking to us’ through the circumstance of this karmic-conspiracy and telling us that our spiritual merit or Punya at just this time in our life is not good enough for us to deserve what we are asking for. For this reason, the ‘karmic-conspiracy’ is gently reminding us that we ought to give more to the world at this time, rather than asking the world to give more to us.

This situation is akin to an individual trying to use his ATM card to withdraw money from his SB a/c, when in fact, his a/c has gone dry! At such times we have to deposit ‘some’ money before we may venture to withdraw using our ATM card. ‘Some’ does not mean more in quantity, rather it means with a large heart and according to our means. ‘Some’ would mean again, within the circumstances of this karmic-conspiracy, more devotion & sincerity towards Isvara & his creation. It is after beginning this fresh cycle of giving with a full heart, to Isvara in the form of his creatures, that we enable a fresh flow of Divine grace – a flow that begins an eternal-circulation, that had momentarily ceased on account of our self-centredness & ignorance. This mechanism of feed-back and resurgence is what is exemplified in the illustrative diagram below.

Picture-Content: Whenever blessings flowing from the world to us suffer an interruption, as exemplified by setbacks in life and through a ‘karmic-conspiracy’ [see the break in the flow of grace at AB]; that’s a sure sign for us that unless we give more to the world at this time, the law of karma will not permit us to receive more from the world. This is the principle underlying Remedial Measures in the form of Propitiatory Charities