Propitiatory Charities

We have already seen how the FBs have the role of Devas and therefore have the blessings of Isvara for creating auspicious ‘life-structures’. The happy birth of a child, and its subsequent growth; the blessings of an honourable job; the building of one’s house according to Dharmic principles & Vaastu Shastra; a happy marriage being conducted during an auspicious Muhurta; the coming of Dharmic wealth into one’s hands as a result of one’s labours; the opportunity to serve one’s parents when they are old with loving kindness; the opportunity to be educated in the best educational institutions – all these are examples of auspicious ‘life structures’.

The FMs on the other hand tear down & destroy the precious life-structures that the FBs build up. It may happen in a natal chart that the FMs do not afflict any Hs or planets. We have already seen that the horoscope [birth chart] represents ‘the mood of Isvara at the time of birth’ and that strong planets transmit the grace of Isvara more abundantly in the sphere of the Hs over which they rule, irrespective of whether they are FBs or FMs. These are general principles of Vedic astrology.

If in a natal chart the FMs afflict no Hs & planets, then the augury from the mood of Isvara does not portend misfortunes as a general pattern in life. If on the other hand the FMs in a natal chart afflict some planets or Hs, we may deduce from the above general principles that indeed ‘the mood of Isvara at the time of birth’ does portend a pattern of misfortunes in that life. For such natal charts the Remedial Measures in the form of Propitiatory Charities become mandatory and in the event of our not resorting to these Remedial Measures, the afflictions which create the misfortunes in life will have their full say during the appropriate sub-periods.

The word ‘Propitiatory’ implies appeasement & pacification of the afflicting FM. In a chart in which an FM is afflicting, it is an indication that during appropriate sub-periods which will come in the future, the afflicting FM will perform its ‘asuric-swadharma’ of creating tragic damages & misfortunes and it is to avert these unfortunate events which are on the cards that the Propitiatory Charities are resorted to.

The fundamental principle behind the Remedial Measures of Vedic astrology is this: the repercussions of ‘the mood of Isvara at the time of birth’ will come to prevail in an individual’s life, in accordance with the movement of the individual’s astrological ‘clock-time’ given by the Vimsottari dasa-bhukti system. Thus these repercussions of the mood of Isvara may be deemed to be the ‘default values’ of the destiny of the individual at each given moment of his life. [See in this connection, the supporting insight of Edgar Cayce, as presented in Sec. 2 of Part IV]

It is possible for man to intervene in the affairs of his own ‘destiny’, as ordained by the mood of Isvara at the time of his birth. The Vedic Rishis had worked out fairly systematic procedures of how to raise the energies of the FBs and how to appease the afflictions from the FMs, through the disciplined performance of the Remedial Measures corresponding to each of the FMs. We had already seen how in Vedic astrology – unlike as in Vedic astronomy – the planets are aspects of Isvara in the field of our human life and how for this very reason, they are elevated to the exalted status of planetary Deities called Navagraha Devatas. Thus the Propitiatory Charities, which we follow in the SA, are fully in consonance with the last chapters of Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra, Vol. II, which deals with the Remedial Measures & Propitiatory Charities. [Ref. 14, See Sutras 15-16, 26-27, in Ch. 86, in order to appreciate the Remedial Measures as prescribed in the SA]