Spiritual Understanding of Astrology

by Paramahansa Yogananda
Extracted from God Talks with Arjuna, Chapter 3.

All planets and stars, for example, are in the charge of divine astral beings. The influence of man from the heavenly bodies is the result of a universal symbiosis, governed by laws upheld by these higher beings. Planets and stars of themselves have no conscious power to guide or determine the destiny of man. But as the whole universe consists of and is held in existence by Nature’s creative vibratory power, each individual unit radiates a characteristic electromagnetic vibration that links it with other units in the cosmos. Depending on the interaction, these vibrations are productive of good or ill.

Man is a miniature of the universe in which

he lives. His basic composition – of which his physical body is merely a gross manifestation – is his astral body formed from the thoughts of God, and structured around and from the creative forces and consciousness in his spiritual eye and the subtle cerebrospinal centers. The spiritual eye has a correspondence with the cosmic sun; and the six (twelve by polarity) spinal centers correspond to planetary influence represented by the twelve zodiacal signs of astrology.

The astrological stars of a person are nothing but an environment that he himself has chosen by the karmic pattern he has fashioned by his past-life actions. According to this karmic pattern, he is attracted to be reborn on earth at a given time that is favorable to the fulfillment of that pattern. In that sense, astrology is only a very poor way of finding out what one’s past karma is. It is at best an unsure art when practiced by those who lack divine intuitive perception. I wrote at length about this in Autobiography of a Yogi in the chapter entitled “Outwitting the Stars”.

As commonly calculated today (1950s), an astrological chart is drawn for a person according to the time and place of birth; even a slight inaccuracy in this data affects the accuracy of the chart. Further, one is actually “born” at the moment of conception, when the soul enters the first cell of its new body. One’s karmic pattern has already begun to unfold at this instant. The intuition of wise men, such as my Guru, who was masterful in astrology as the divine science was intended to be, knows how to factor this “birth at conception” into calculating a horoscope.

In any case, it is not the stars themselves that control the happenings of man’s life, but rather his individual karma that, when ripe for fruition, is affected beneficially or adversely by the electromagnetic vibrations of the heavenly bodies. The relation of the stars to the human body and mind is very subtle. The astral forces radiating to earth from the heavens inter-react with those in the spinal centers that sustain man’s body. Ignorant man does not realize how body and mind are changed through his good and bad actions, and how his actions affect (positively or negatively) the centers in the spine. Persons whose bodies and minds and material environment are out of order, the result of transgressions of spiritual law, have disharmony between the energies in the spinal centers and those radiating from the twelve signs of the zodiac.

The true science of astrology, therefore, is mathematics of one’s own actions, not the mathematics of the brainless stars. Karma governs the stars and one’s destiny, but karma is governed by one’s will power. What is to be does not necessarily have to be. Man’s free will and divine determination can change the course of events in his life, or at least mitigate adverse aspects. One whose body and mind are very strong is impervious to adverse astrological influences; there may be no outwardly observable reaction at all, even when evil vibrations may be radiating from negative configurations of the stars. But if body and mind have been weakened by wrong eating, wrong thinking, bad character, and bad company, then the stellar rays have the power to activate latent harmful effects of past karma.

On a cosmic scale, the combined karma of groups of individuals (social or racial groups, or nations, for example) or the world at large, constitute the mass karma of the earth or portions thereof. This mass karma responds to the electromagnetic vibrations of the earth’s cosmic neighbors according to the same laws that affect each individual, thereby inducing beneficial or malevolent changes in the course of world and natural events. A store of good mass karma from living in harmony with divine laws and forces blesses man’s earthly environment with peace, health, and prosperity. Accumulated bad mass karma precipitates wars, diseases, poverty, devastating earthquakes, and other such calamities. During these times of prevalent negative vibratory influences, the individual must thus contend not only with his personal karma, but also with the mass karma affecting the planet on which he lives.

Therefore, it is beneficial to follow certain certain astrological injunctions, based on the mathematical or orderly nature of the unified cosmos – if such advice is received from Self-realized sages, and not from the superficial caster of horoscopes. Horoscopes tend to influence and paralyze the free choice of man’s inherent divine will to conquer. Further, intuition is needed to read correctly the messages of the heavens and to interpret their significance in relation to one’s individual karma. For guidance and support it is far better to appeal to God and His angelic agents. Why look to the mute stars? From them man can receive nether sympathetic response to his plight, nor personal succor in the form of divine Grace.

When one is following God’s path, to give too much thought to such lesser sciences as astrology is a hindrance. The highest way to create the right influences in one’s life, the yogi’s way, is to commune with God. All stars bow down before the presence of God. By meditation, the yogi reinforces the positive spiritual power in the cerebrospinal centers that are acted upon by the planetary influences. In this way, the yogi harmonizes body and mind with the universal laws of God’s divine cosmic agents who govern them. Contact with the gods by attuning the consciousness to these higher forces in meditation elevates man, who may thus avoid the fructification of evil karma; misfortune can be greatly lessened, while the liberating effects of good actions are enhanced.

“With this Yajna (selfless sacrifice), meditate on the gods, and may those gods think of thee; thus communing one with another, thou shalt receive the supreme good. The gods, communed with by selfless sacrifice, will grant thee the gifts of life. He who enjoys benefactions of the universal gods without due offerings to them is indeed a thief” – Bhagavad Gita 03:11