Sani - Sanaiscarya - Shanaicharya - Shani Bhagavan - Shaneesvara - Saneesvaran - Shani Deva - Sauri - Kala - Chayasuta
the karmic Clean-Up Planet
Discipline, Difficulties, Distance, Delay
Duties, responsibilities, obligations, laws, conformity
Fear, anxiety, punishment
bitter tastes,
dry things
imprisonment, restrictions
enslavement, manual labor, lower castes, service workers, Everyman
poverty,
suffering,
starvation,
scarcity,
exhaustion, annihilation
Third World
stone, skeleton/bones
short stature
Depressed, anxious, fearful
epileptic, neuralgic diseases, fainting
diseases of aging and of the bones
Hierarchical Organizations
Labor Organizations (Union)
Elders, traditions, legacies, customs, the Past [Anukula]
bigotry, prejudice;
dirtiness, filth
separation & delay
structure, steadiness [Anukula]
service ethic (seva), public service,
humility, selflessness, chastity, obedience [Anukula]
work ethic, determination, commitment, perseverance [Anukula]
Hard Work!
Disciplined [if Shani rules Anukula house]
Charitable [Anukula]
devoted and affectionate spouse [Anukula]
technical skill, long training periods, professional education [Anukula]
responsible, self-sacrificing, community-minded [Anukula]
long-lived, durable [Anukula]
humble, aware of human shortcomings [Anukula]
grounded, reliable, leadership [Anukula]
upholder of traditions, respect for elders [Anukula]
stasis, stagnation, resistance
blunt-minded, overly simplistic, even stupid
chronic disappointment
loneliness, alienation, ostracization
negative attitude, worst-case thinker
About Shani (Saturn)
Materialism - Bondage to Five Senses
Resistance to the unpleasant situation is the root of suffering.
~~ Ram Dass
"Whatsoever therefore is consequent to a time of war, where every man is enemy to every man, the same consequent to the time wherein men live without other security than what their own strength and their own invention shall furnish them withal.
In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society;
and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."
- Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, 1651
Saturn in Karaka for lead, zinc, black metals, inferior grains, dead relatives, fools, servants, mean women, salable goods, servants, poor people and self restraint. (Apart from meaning self restraint also means investing with sacred thread which is in vogue to give "second birth" to Brahmins) .
~~ Saravali, Ch. 7-13
Sanaischara, Sauri, Kala, and Chayasuta: these are other names by which Shani is called.
-- Hora Sara Ch. 2, shloka 39
Countless rebirths lie ahead, both good and bad. The effects of karma (actions) are inevitable, and in previous lifetimes we have accumulated negative karma which will inevitably have its fruition in this or future lives.
Just as someone witnessed by police in a criminal act will eventually be caught and punished, so we too must face the consequences of faulty actions we have committed in the past, there is no way to be at ease; those actions are irreversible; we must eventually undergo their effects.
-- H. H. Dalai Lama, Kindness, Clarity, and Insight
"First is ignorance - not knowing the truth and not realizing that we do not know. Second is materialism - the belief that there is nothing but the physical. As spiritual beings, we long for the Divine, but we lose contact with this source of truth if we trust only our senses. There is also hopelessness, which robs us of our joy and movement toward the light."
-- "The Devil" from Joan Bunning's Learn the Tarot
Saturn has an emaciated and long physique, has tawny eyes, is windy in temperament, has big teeth, is indolent & lame, and has coarse hair.
-- BPHS Ch. 3, Shloka 29 (Planetary Characters and Description)
Survival! Retribution! Payout! Cleanup!
Shani gives psychic "serious" energy!
Your mother was right. When you grow up, you have to clean up after yourself. No one else will clean up for you.
Saturn is the planet which shows your destiny to complete unfinished business from past lives, specifically the unfinished cycles of action-reaction caused by ignorant actions which harmed others in your ancient, subconsciously remembered past.
Saturn is the "karma" planet. In the Jyotisha charts He shows the quantity and quality of debts accrued through past-life ignorance. The English word "ignorance" means "lacking knowledge." The Latin word "sine" meaning "lacking, or "without" is the root of our English word "sin".
This ignorance is carried forward, in the kindergarten-simple karmic accounting system, from actions inadvertently committed from a basis of incorrect motivation.
The spirit, ever hopeful that you will achieve the moral consciousness to clean up your act, schedules these ignorant actions for repeat, in the current life. You are forced to re-encounter the people, the scene, the forces, that created the old action. But this time, you have the chance to make a better choice.
"Waiting [is] the great vocation of the dispossessed."
- Mary Gordon, on immigrant-processing center at Ellis Island, NY Times 3 Nov 1885
Uccha or swakshetra Shani in a dusthana can give extraordinary service results. Dignified Shani in a dusthana generally seeks public service engagement, typically through employment in large organizations.
The native is deeply attuned to the plight of the common man, and works diligently in well-structured development of human health and welfare services. There is always a strong component of manual labor with Shani. When dignified His labor does not decrease, but the scope of His service affects many people, the "public".
In sahajasthana/domain-3:
Service tends toward communications in public administration, with the native diligently improving the "customer service" aspect of social aid. Native attends many planning meetings and shapes multitudes of advertising programs which "get the word out" and make resources more accessible to the underserved.
In aristhana/domain-6:
Service tends toward public medicine and public justice. Beneficiaries of Shani's labor are poor and sick people, but anyone suffering severe imbalance such as criminals, police, crime victims, is helped by the native with dignified Shani in house-6. "Bad planet in a bad house" typically gives very good results. Superb for national health service, low-income clinical medicine, police work.
In randhrasthana/domain-8:
Service seeks a hidden venue. Covert but highly structured intelligence gathering, typically in employ of a large but secret or semi-secret public organization. Administers confidential social justice policy and programs, handles undocumented exchanges. Privy to secret plans. Follows rules of alternative governance which may not be understood by the general populace but which are very influential in world affairs (if uccha) or national level of government (if swakshetra). Native's official title may be a decoy; his actual public responsibilities are masked.
In vyayasthana/domain-12:
Service is also hidden here. Employment in national or international security, espionage, prison systems, safe-house systems, and other protective enclosures. Works for public protection, but generally the public is not apprised of his purpose. Native may work diligently to ensure his nation remains a sanctuary of peace and unmolested living. May serve in prison administration,
Shani in dusthana is very hard working behind the scenes. Never a celebrity. (Only rising uccha Shani makes a celebrity, see former US President and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Jimmy Carter for a rising uccha Shani that gives public recognition connected to social justice.)
Shani is in many ways the most important planet in the chart of any person born on Earth, because Shani shows the way we serve others. Seva, or conscious service, is a guaranteed way to burn off the effects of past-life errors. Shani shows how, when, and why we can consciously serve.
Shani reveals what type of experience, what facet of the human condition, is most difficult for the native to understand and accept in this life. Shani shows the location of the person's greatest ignorance, fear, and bondage to material reality. Of these the most key for service is fear.
Shani represents the harm we have inadvertently caused others in past lives. (Even if one willfully harmed another in a past life, we can call it inadvertent because it was done in ignorance of the Karmic Law.)
When we have harmed another then the karmic machine is set in operation. Shani will ensure that we enter a future lifetime positioned to receive precisely that harm we once delivered to another. By and large the harming agent is precisely the person we hurt in that past life.
People reincarnate in karmic groups over and over, specifically to facilitate this karmic payback. Although being in a dysfunctional family, marriage, or workgroup doesn't feel very pleasant, it's actually how we liberate each other.
The nature of one's conscious service offering is known through Shani and his relationship to all the other grahas.
The Shani Finger
Shani in the radix and varga charts corresponds to the Shani finger on the human hand. Saturn's finger is the second-from-index finger - normally the longest finger, mid-way between the thumb and the final finger.
When the hand features a long, sturdy Shani finger, the Jyotisha charts will always contain a strong and effective Shani. Shani may have weight in sign or kendra, or receive powerful aspects. The more distinguished is the Shani finger, the more urgent and capable is the person's will toward Seva, or conscious service.
Abbreviated Shani finger suggests the person is not yet conscious enough to work for the happiness of others as a key to their own liberation. Such a person is often in terrible bondage to their own need and unable to hear the constant messages from beyond the material world which can guide us away from suffering.
Those message all point toward compassionate service as the soul's highest calling.
Better, more conscious choices
There is more liberation potential in those recurring karmic scenes during your Shani mahadasha, bhukti, or transit than in any other transaction. If you have Shani in kendra, where He commands your body, home, marriage, or career you know these ego-challenges are brutal but very purifying.
Shani has some fixed rules. If you are conscious enough to accept the discipline in exchange for a clear mind, here is a general idea of what Shani requires:
Think "responsibility" at every level. Shani rewards *neutral responsibility* - not martyrdom or victim state but responsibility. Neutral responsibility is calm, experienced adult judgment and response, free of guilt or grief.
Be very, very careful. Shani requires neurotic attention to detail. Take responsibility for the "whole enchilada" in your projects/home/marriage etc. - from tiny details up to broad strategy. Shani is a perfectionist.
Clean out cellars. Shani rewards cleanliness. Because Shani works "under the ground", His effects are found in astral memories that are feeding on stuck emotions and negative expectations; and physically in objects that are lurking or lingering in the dark. Check material spheres for evidence of reactive behavior, obsession /compulsion /ritualism, emphasis of form over content, letter of law over spirit of law etc. Diligent work to clean up stored anger, bitterness, grief, victim-attachments will prevent undesirable effects on the material plane.
Think locally. Pull in your aura. Shani is a narrow traditionalist. He's concerned with you and yours, period. Leave the expansive globalist philosophy for another bhukti - like Guru or Chandra. Shani goes beyond conservative. Shani is a survivalist.
Be skillful. Shani rewards time, effort, craft, and professional judgment. If you can do a good job in the service of others with the intelligence and skills you have developed in this lifetime, Shani will reward your industry and dedication to social good. If you are flaky, idealistic, trusting in a general sort of way, waiting for an angel to rescue you... guess what. Whack.
Get serious... but not too serious! Shani is a functional-structuralist. If you look at the structure of the universe you'll see that neutral responsibility is the center point on the serious-joy continuum. A little paranoia is probably a good thing during Shani's periods, but only because one of the few benefits of clinical paranoia is a heightened awareness of detail!
Welcome austerity. Shani is a minimalist. Doing better with less, living simply so that others may simply live, etc. Ignore the self-indulgence messages that blast us from modern media. (Remember you can indulge with impunity under Guru and other permissive house lords.) Shani punishes excess and rewards elegance. Tidy up. Streamline. Jettison. Less is more... or anyway, less is survival.
Do service. Shani, lord of slaves, rewards neutral service. Shani rules poverty, ignorance, filth, darkness, coldness, all those boulders blocking our path to the pure warm light of divine bliss. Follow your inclination to help those suffering poverty or ignorance. But be careful. Shani requires compassion and NOT sympathy. Remember Shani is neutral, neutral, neutral. Shani rewards sound judgment but He punishes judgmentalism, throwing the first stone etc. Shani rewards skillful neutral compassion but He punishes messy emotional sympathy.
Stick to the basics, particularly when serving others. Recite Chapter 48 of the UN charter: right to food, clothing and shelter -and only do things that you know will work. Save speculation and visionary thinking for future bhutki's of Mercury or the Moon :)
Concentrate. Shani, Lord of Time, will not tolerate frivolous waste of any kind, especially waste of time! Shani rewards focus, rigorous attention to matters of rule and principle, and dedication to task.
These are general rules of course but you get the idea: simple, neutral, aware. Apply these rules to your life practice when Shani becomes strong.
Shani is strongest during the times when He is bhukti lord and simultaneously He is also transiting the rashi zone of major planets or kendras in the nativity.
For example, if Shani would be casting a gochara drishti on your Moon (or maximum effect Sade Saati) during a Moon/Shani period, the emotions get VERY serious.
Expect some serious depression to the point of self-loathing, and [isn't it lovely] it lasts for several years. Probably you'll need deep healing, so go get it.
By contrast,
if Shani is only transiting His own natural domain-11 ruling gains
and there are no major planets in lagna, 5th, or 8th houses (which receive drishti during Shani's travel through domain-11),
then expect to be relatively poor and lonely for awhile. Austerity is the conscious principle to apply. Apply it. But fear no serious consequences, really, except less moolah and fewer parties for awhile, you'll be quite OK.
Ignorance, Survival, and the Seven Deadly Sins
Shani's job is to correct moral errors made in past lives. These past errors of judgment and their unfortunate social results are listed in detail in each soul's "Akashic Record". Saturn governs "sin" - from the Latin "sine" meaning "lacking" i.e. ignorance. Sin is another word for ignorance. Sin and the karmic obligation to correct sin results from ignorance of the Golden Rule. Knowledge and conscious practice corrects sin, and gets Shani off your back.
The most popular ways to break the Golden Rule are well-known in the west as the Seven Deadly Sins. (If you grew up Catholic you got this list with your mother's milk or at least with your catechism.) These essential perfections of human ignorance are all rooted in selfishness: survival thinking, scarcity thinking, and fear.
- Pride
- Envy
- Gluttony
- Lust
- Anger
- Greed
- Sloth
Luckily there are also seven virtues which, conscientiously applied, will fix most Saturn-caused problems. In other words, if an action is motivated by these generous, charitable, and compassionate attitudes that act will carry out the Golden Rule. The resulting positive social effect will be recorded in the "credit" column of the Akashic record. Karma is ridiculously simple.
Prudence
Temperance
Justice
Fortitude
Charity
Hope
Faith
If this list is too long or ponderous or you just can't remember the catechism, the seven virtues easily boil down to *Compassion*. Think first about the effect your thought or action will have on others. Saturn's job is to force this pause in thinking. Saturn's role is to make relationships, jobs, families, wealth, health all difficult enough that we must stop and think.
Hey, how did I get into this trouble?
Of course the first instinct is to blame others - our family, our government, "the system".
But in the spirit of neutral awareness, it is possible to skip blaming and move to the next step in liberation:
How can I get out of it without hurting others and setting up a karmic boomerang?
The answer will be "via neutrality and intelligence"
Ensure that present actions & thoughts are motivated by only by Compassion
Vigilantly resist guilt and blame
Skillfully apply your conscious knowledge to negotiate the situation
Karma is resolved when there is no residual ego-attachment - neither praise nor blame
If you still feel that things "should" have been done differently, there is some hidden guilt or blame that needs attention
Saturn is "should" energy
The good news is that through meditation and self-awareness you can catch it before it catches you!
Be proactive - Meditate.
Saturn is definitely the Bad Boy of the Seven Planets because he is the agent for the toughest karma - the painful payback. Yet, without the payback, we can't correct the moral errors of past lives. Shani's job is to force us to chip away at our karmic backlog. We all have a certain amount of debt to repay.
Depending on Shani's angularity in the charts, Shani may force a person to deal with their debt constantly. Shani can be very oppressive, relentlessly creating difficult situations for the soul to struggle with. Shani rules poverty, fear, sickness, ignorance - all the fun stuff. A tough Shani position makes a person quite the expert in the dark truths of the human condition.
But even in charts where Shani is a semi-beneficial agent (such as Libra or Taurus lagna from which Shani is "yoga-karaka" because He rules two good houses) Shani will come down hard during his planetary periods. Saturn mahadasha lasts 19 years, and Saturn bhukti's (sub-periods) within the mahadasha's last from one to three years.
During Saturn periods it's best to just bite the bullet. Shani is a VERY HARD WORKING fellow. When & where He's in charge, He expects you to be hard-working, modest, and responsible too.
Accept responsibility. (Not guilt! Just responsibility.) NEUTRAL non-guilty responsibility. For your role in creating the difficulties you will inevitably face, release any claim to blame others, and set to work applying your intelligence to the solution. This neutral style of problem solving which fully defines the grievance but is not psycho-emotionally attached to perpetuating it, is exactly what Shani wants. Follow the rules and Shani will give you excellent results.
You'll see the full results of Shani's problem-solving and guilt-releasing on your death bed. That's where the rubber meets the road, spiritually speaking. It's a good idea to tidy up as much psychic debris as possible during this blessed lifetime. That's what we're here for.
It's incredibly hard to obtain one of these human bodies. Esoterically it is said that only one in 10,000 candidates will actually receive a human body. Those 10,000 candidate spirits are morally eligible to get a highly desirable earth body, but there is a tremendous shortage and the queue is amazingly huge. Be grateful - if you're reading this with your water-bubble eyes, you got one of those incredible earth bodies! Use it to advantage. Make every thought and action conform to the Golden Rule.
If others hurt you through their ignorance when they ignore the Rule, appreciate that the Rule itself will catch them. You personally do not need to waste your own energy to blame the Rule-breakers. You have bigger fish to fry. They'll pay back at their own pace. Meanwhile, allow Shani to help you remove the boulders blocking your path to God by accepting that the terrible suffering we face here on earth - physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual - is a spiritual privilege in a hideous package. Shani's karma always has an educational message about neutral responsibility; releasing guilt, grief, and blame; and
In order to move ahead on the path to God, the soul requires self-awareness, then awareness of the identity of self with the divine. If these big stupid boulders of ignorance - survival mentality, scarcity thinking, me first-screw you, and general fear-driven decision making continue to dominate the soul's consciousness, that soul will receive only short-term benefits of possible material wealth or power. At the time of death that soul who has awakened to the
Shani rules obstacles which block flow. Health is a condition of free, balanced energy flow. So virtually any type of physical blockage is within the purview of Shani. Such blockage does have psycho-emotional roots; however, during Shani periods, the physical symptoms are acute, and they normally require direct treatment on the physical level.
Shani prefers long-term wasting, drying & hardening effects such as arthritis and osteoporosis - but He can certainly induce a crisis through blockage, if He is virulent enough.
Shani is associated with rigidity, dryness, cold, and exhaustion. Shani's two mortal enemies are Kuja, ruler of blood, muscular flesh and kinetic energy; and Surya, lord of heat, moral confidence, and divine energy.
Shani rules repression, constriction, bones, teeth & fixed structure, and the past. Physical diseases of holding onto the past, like tumors; pain in the teeth & bones, and any illnesses that result from constricted circulation such as atrophy, frostbite & gangrene, are within the portfolio of Shani.
Impact in the Shani's region of lowest chakra, such as colo-rectal disease, and intestinal blockages. Shani rules excessive squeezing, such as being squeezed by snakes - from the inside or outside.
"Heart attacks" which result from congestion of the arteries; compressed nerves such as "pinched disk" of the spine; stress fractures and bone breakage; circulatory
Diseases of poverty and aging, such as effects of malnutrition; arthritis, rheumatism, & osteoporosis, are also within Shani's area of expertise.
Potential Healings:
Remedies such as homeopathic Arnica, which specifically increases blood circulation to compressed tissues (and thus cures bruising) may be useful in acute injury or worsening of chronic conditions during Shani periods.
Ayurvedic quality food oils (olive & sesame) can help counteract Shani's natural drying effects on the body. Massage and hatha yoga will help. Being nice to yourself will help.
Compassionate neutrality in every part of life (especially neutrality to Shani's specialties of old age, disease, and death) will help.
What doesn't help, as a rule, is to combat Shani's effects with the behaviors of His enemies Mangala & Ravi.
Mangala rules vigorous, warlike exercise and aggressive competition. Except possibly in the bhukti of Mars, extremely athletic activity is not a good idea - and will probably lead to breakage in weak body structures. Moderate activity is good.
Surya involves high heat. Although a nice session of warm hatha yoga or a big cup of spicy ginger tea in the winter can be very healing, be careful of counteracting Shani bhukti's constrictions with too much heat. Avoid high excitement in the physical realm by staying out of extremely hot climates (unless you are native there & know the right pace of life). Similarly avoid excitement in the realms of rational discourse by staying away from politics, moral & cultural conflict, & social change in general.
During periods of Shani it is better to stay with the predictable. Remaining with one's own people, in one's familiar climate, and one's customary moral principles, will be easiest. Avoid challenging taboos.
Gently breaking up overly rigorous, survival-driven or conformity-driven routines of all kinds may assist resolution of health problems - especially those that are due to long-term, embedded, sedentary habits.
Perhaps surprisingly, ailments of Shani respond best to the energy of His planetary friend Shukra. Thus, sensual pleasures and bodily indulgences are beneficial aids to Shani's constrictive, drying, aging, permission-denying, rule-bound structure.
Delicious foods prepared with healing pure oils and indulgent spices are very good for Shani conditions! A glass or two of dark wine; a soak in warm healing waters; allowing you (O responsible one) to be taken care of by another for an hour or so... are all marvelously effective antidotes which Shani ACCEPTS because ... He likes Shukra!
Fear embedded in childhood memories tend to ossify in the subconscious. These ancient, but subconsciously masked, fears manifest unconsciously - but tangibly - as anxiety. Anxiety gives Shani-type symptoms like constriction of blood vessels (pin-dot pupils), cardiac seizure, and other types of constricted pranic flow.
Saturn's essence is fear. "Phobia" - from "Phobos" the ancient Greek god of Fear - is irrational fear.
Combined with Rahu, Shani can generate some intense irrational fears stemming from very real past-life experiences. They are only irrational in terms of the current lifetime, which may provide no viable explanation for the person's strange and compulsive fearful reactions. Such psycho behavior often makes perfect sense in terms of past lives, however - so if you see Shani in combination with Rahu in an evil sign (such as Scorpio) and no help from benefics, then it's off to past life regression therapy (or guided vajrayana meditations) for you!
Hard/unskilled labor, servitude, agricultural work, poverty, hard luck, scarcity, stamina, detachment, humiliation, ego destruction, pogrom, conservation, purification, relentlessness, imprisonment, punishment, death sentence, stability, conformity, rules.
Shani reduces & retards but rarely destroys His occupied house
Saturn will normally protect matters of the house it occupies. It slows progress in those areas for sure; things happen slowly in Saturn's occupied house. But, matters of the occupied house are, it's important to note, generally made very detailed and labor-intensive rather than destroyed.
Saturn-caused suffering mainly occurs in the houses He rules and aspects.
Of course, the distance between Shani's natal house and the two houses He rules makes all the difference. If the distance is favorable - say, 4, 5, 9, 10, or 11 houses apart - Shani will give measurable results. They may take awhile to manifest as the person develops mastery over the subject of the occupied and ruled houses, but there will definitely be material results. If the house at stake is putra bhava, for example, we expect children late in life - manifested only after masterful awareness of human limitation is gained.
By contrast Shani occupying a house in 6/8 or 2/12 angle to the houses He rules will be troublesome to the point of denying any results whatsoever. The virtue here will be neutral acceptance.
There is also Jyotisha guideline that a bad planet in a bad house gives good results.
In this case the person with Shani in a dushthana has very low expectations so their ego does not interfere with the work at hand. They apply a simple straightforward craft in their humble contribution to society.
The results are usually favorable for wealth and health -- as Ben Franklin suggests! So even the most downtrodden Shani in those scary dushthana's Ari, Randhra, or Vyava Bhava might give good mental and physical results stemming from Saturn's clear, unsentimental realism -- especially if Shani's dispositor is favorable.
Shani can in special circumstances give incredibly good results. However, all the other planets would need to support Him. The only way for Shani to become a bona fide benefic is for him to occupy His own or exaltation sign (i.e., in Makara, Kumbha, or Thula) *and* occupy a kendra *AND* receive the drishti of Guru.
E.g., Scorpio is rising, with Shani in Kumbha in bandhu bhava while Thula Guru sends a drishti from vyaya bhava. This person will have an eccentric, poor, and visionary mother who provides an excellent social foundation for him in terms of education, emotional security, and class manners (portfolio of the 4th house).
E.g., Shani rises in Libra and Guru sends a drishti from Mithuna in dharma bhava. This is a most excellent leadership situation. Rising exalted Shani gives panch-maha-purusha yoga -- "a great person is born". With the Guru aspect, this great person gets top-level spiritual guidance. Results will be excellent.
Generally Shani denies results when He rules dushthana houses; but delays results when he rules better houses. For example Shani is not a denying force for Thula and Vrishabha lagnas, where He is yoga-karaka. See for example, charts for Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter for an excellent rising yogakaraka exalted Shani. (But also see Shani with Chandra, a controlling mother - remember Miss Lillian?!) Note that Carter's Shani does not receive the aspect of Guru, so his Shani is not a true benefic. Shani makes Carter work very hard in professional diplomacy [thula]. As an exalted angular planet his Shani gives powerful worldly results - status, power, responsibility. But it's not easy. It's real work - real Shani!
Saturn's aspects - 3rd, 7th, and 10th from His occupied house
The more serious limiting and destructive force comes from Shani's drishti, or aspect, onto the houses which lie 3, 7, and 10 away from it. Shani's drishti can destroy the power of even the most flamboyant house.
Yet Shani grants an essential strength, without which few adults will survive. Realism. Shani gives knowledge and acceptance of the dark side of human nature. Shani expects no help from those quarters he damages. Shani is pragmatic, realistic, hard-boiled, sensible, dry-witted, cautious. Shani expects to find weak links in every chain, and He does. His presence grants success in ventures where His mature, curmudgeonly, realistic, and unsurprised mentality is needed.
Drishti cast upon houses 3rd and 10th from Shani is FULL; drishti cast upon house 7th-from-Shani is 75%.
A man with Shani occupying the radix 7th will find that although his spouse may be difficult, she will not be impossible. Once married, he will try to stay married. However, his relationship to his father [Shani's 3rd aspect] and mother [Shani's 10th aspect] has been harmed long before marriage. He has negative marriage-modeling in his mind; this will be very difficult to correct in adulthood. He is physically uncomfortable in his body [Shani's 7th aspect] and may need to keep moving to avoid his (largely emotional) pain. Because it negatively affects both of one's parents and one's own body, Saturn in 7th is a tough row to hoe, too.
Effects of Shani's 3-7-10 drishti, by house location
Shani is all about Negative Expectations (including Fear). Native carries in preconceptions from past lives and is again reinforced in childhood, to expect poor results in the matters of the houses which Shani aspects.
I find in practice that the 3rd aspect is the most negative expectation of all.
If you understand nothing else about your radix chart, pay attention to Shani's position and aspects. Shani is the very definition of your karmic resistance: the acceptance and release work you have set for yourself in the current life.
Shani's impoverishing, restricting, damaging impact can be very significantly improved through Reflective Awareness.
All of use are carrying around inherited negative expectations.
Take a Skillful Pause.
Question the negative training of your upbringing.
Subconsciously driven negative expectations are extremely powerful, which is why Shani's power is traditionally feared.
However as F.D.R. famously said, we have nothing to fear but fear itself.
Consciously re-setting your Psychic Permission Levels whilst working respectfully with inherited restrictions, can advance you step-wise into a much easier, brighter future.
Saturn does better in Swakshetra (own houses)
Shani in Karma bhava
Saturn occupying karmaa bhava [house-10] will drishti 12, 4, & 7 from lagna. From karmaa sthana, Shani's 3rd aspect to the obscure 12th house is less damaging to public life. It damages mainly the native's inner peace by blocking meditation, sanctuary, & dreams (12) and love from the spouse (7). The home (4) is not comfortable so the native may prefer the workplace. Accepts a heavy workload.
S/he suffers some limit on "bed pleasures" (12) and intuition is cramped; but the public, administrative life remains productive & respectable. S/he is a good citizen, strong work ethic & reliable. (Just not happy.) More loyalty to his organization, duties, and hierarchical superiors than to inner truth, home, or spouse. May be "workaholic" transferring emotional anxieties into excessive work.
Seva of Shani-10
In terms of liberation through conscious service, native is uncomfortable with excess publicity. Consider the difference between house-10 which is duty & respectability, versus house-5 which is celebrity and fun.
These natives do not wish their private lives exposed, and much dislike the limelight. But Shani gives Karma, the tough realities we don't like. In some ancient past life s/he caused another to fall from power by exposing personal moral flaws in a public leader. In the past life they "threw the first stone".
The hardest thing in life for the Shani-10 native is moral transparency, which is having the rigorous moral standards of public life relentlessly applied to one's private life. It is an excruciating responsibility to allow people who are much less moral than oneself to be prying into one's personal business at all times. Yet, if the karma-burning potential of Shani-10 is to be fully realized, this is moral transparency - flawless role-modeling of public morals even in private behavior - must be accepted.
Karmaa bhava as 12th-from-11th demands sacrifice of personal attainment, in order to promote the public good . When native's consciousness is awakened, Shani in karmaa bhava will produce a leader who intentionally sacrifices their private-public distinction, and willingly offers their life behavior as a role-model to others. This sacrifice creates, in such a conscious leader, a completely neutral and clear-minded state.
"The wages of sin are death, but by the time taxes are taken out, it's just sort of a tired feeling."
~~ Paula Poundstone
Shani in Labha Bhava
Although not as favorable as occupation of karmaa bhava, Shani in labha sthana also gives good results.
Saturn occupying labha bhava will drishti the lagna, 5th-from-lagna, and 8th-from-lagna. No help from children or spouse's family. From labha sthana, Shani's 3rd aspect to the lagna gives limits on physical vitality which translates to self-discipline and awareness of the Rules from the very earliest days of life.
Any Shani drishti to lagna or Moon can give short stature, physically or psychologically. If Shani aspects both lagna and Moon the person is thin-hipped, lacks fertility. However by carefully following social protocol (Shani) the native develops a marketplace reputation as conservative and reliable. Shani forces a person to go over and over the same details, developing expertise. In the house of associations, networks, connections, the market, Shani gives hard-won expertise in judging associates. The native can create a slow but steady wealth-gain after many early mistakes.
From labha bhava, Saturn's separative effect on speculation [7th aspect] and legacies [10th aspect] shows a lack of lucky money, & reinforces his karma of needing to make his own wealth through present-life diligence. He is preoccupied with networking through friendly associations. Feels a great loyalty to his congregation, political party, lobby, or interest group - but is rarely acknowledged or rewarded by them.
Because Shani from 10th will aspect 12th the meditation house, and from 11th will aspect 8th the occult mystery house, folks with natal Saturn in 10th or 11th rashi generally have little interest in psychic secrets or the grand cosmic perspective. They are practical, market-driven people grounded firmly into the material plane.
As always, check Moon and the individual condition of randhra and vyaya bhava before concluding the extent of Shani's spiritual & emotional repression.
Saturn in Bandhu bhava (4th house)
...will nearly always cause problems in the relationship with the mother or stress in the family home. However, mother may enjoy a long life unless Saturn also afflicts the Moon or there is some other unfavorable influence on house-4 or Moon. (See example of a short-lived mother.)
Generally the mother is unavailable/uncaring and the child feels abandoned or ignored. However in reality she will be accessible by following certain timing rules. The maturing child will develop skills for getting her attention. Often this is a hardworking or over-committed mother. In modern times the mother may have only partial custody. But also the mother may have drug or behavior problems which separate her from the child. The child will have health problem related to the emotional issues with the mother because Saturn will drishti the 6th house. Childhood issues continue into adulthood.
Saturn's aspect from the 4th rashi to karma bhava is generally favorable because it increases the native's sense of duty, self-restraint, and compassion for the common people. Because He aspects the lagna from bandhu bhava, Saturn will stunt body growth somewhat and make the person always work hard for their achievements. All of these drishti effects of course are rooted in being deprived of mothering, but in and of themselves these aspects do no serious harm. Saturn in the 4th house makes a person sober, hard-working, materialistic, and self-reliant. Often also very patriotic. In modern culture those are high virtues!
SHANI the Natural Maraka
Saturn is a natural maraka or killer planet. Saturn plays some role, major or minor, in every death.
We know to examine the 8th and 12th rashi - especially the 22nd decanate, which is the middle third section of randhra bhava - to find the circumstances of death. [Randhra bhava is 8th-from-lagna and Vyaya bhava is 8th-from-4th, showing circumstances of "end of matters".]
But Parashara says that the 8th and 12th from Saturn should also be checked.
"... both the 8th and 12th from Shani stand for consideration .. in respect of ... death."
--- BPHS Ch. 7, Shloka 39-43
Blocks Awareness of How We Affect Others in Groups, in Marriage, & in Leadership
Shani in lagna casts drishti upon "teamwork" house-3, and thus negatively affects small-group awareness, kinship relationships and collaborations.
Shani-in-lagna natives born into highly individualistic, market-driven (primarily Western) cultures will experience dramatically reduced communications within kinship networks. Even persons born into traditional clan societies with strong kinship ties and a good upbringing in kinship reciprocity will nevertheless lack a sense of natural belonging. This loneliness is the impact of Shani on house-3 of small groups.
If no benefic graha intervenes, Shani-in-lagna natives natives may lack kin relationships entirely, or they may experience whatever sibling network they do have as a responsibility which creates much more burden than benefit. In clan societies where self-definition relies on kinship ties (most traditional peoples) the native can suffer a profound lack of identity.
Saturn's aspect to 12th-from-4th house of education often means the isolation of boarding school, or a family ethic of individual achievement that denies the value of collaboration with others. "Every man for himself" becomes the rule.
A psychological keynote: Shani-rising provides a powerful survival instinct which impacts houses 3, 7, and 10. These natives suffer blunted awareness of how they affect
others in their group (3)
the marriage partner (7)
authorities (10)
They are exceptionally independent and often isolated people, although frequently successful materially due to their fear of poverty & failure.
Unless the Moon is healthy, Shani in lagna tends toward emotional illnesses of isolation and limited ability to recognize, interpret, or evaluate the feelings of others. Clearly this situation has negative implications for marriage.
Professional Insensitivity - Demanding, Critical Leadership
Similarly their professional behavior: it is very difficult (until later middle age, when Shani gives fruits of maturity) for Shani-rising people to understand how they affect others in the workplace.
Shani's drishti upon karmaa bhava tends to place heavy leadership responsibilities upon the native. The most common pattern is to acquire responsibility far in excess of their authority, which means that their greatest leadership capabilities are crushed under the burden of a massive tasklist. Being somewhat taciturn in professional life (and life in general!) the Shani-rising native accomplishes much through his nose-to-the-grindstone persistence, but is is rarely well-liked because he demands so much of those around him. (Of course a good Moon, a blessed Guru, or a cheerful Budha can improve this taciturn situation greatly.)
There is a tendency toward criticism of others and their work, which is usually an expression of the native's unconscious fears of his own insufficiency to the task. The Shani voice warns the native that unless everyone is doing their utmost at all times, the ship will sink. Those lacking the intense survival instincts of Shani rising will chafe under the leadership of such a stern, critical, and uncompromising boss because they fail to detect the imminent crisis which Shani is always expecting. Another Great Depression or Natural Disaster is right around the corner, and the Utmost Preparedness is required at All Times. Just ask a Shani rising person, this is exactly what they are planning for!
The good news is that Shani-rising folk often mellow in middle and late middle age. Actually, Shani folk stay the same. It is the non-Shani people around them who are changing, getting older and more fearful through the effects of age. Older people naturally appreciate Shani's work ethic, capacity for austerity, worst-case-scenario planning, and concern for personal and social security. Shani-rising people are not much fun to be around in the younger years, due to their fear-based drives and obsession with work. However, in later years their planning tends to pay off just as they expected. The weakness of old age is protected by their earlier labor investment, and they enjoy the respect of their communities.
These people are never easy to be married to, be a sibling of, or work for. But stick close by them when you get old or you need help. Their fear-based future planning generally yields security & respect.
Seva of Shani-1
The Shani-rising native will be uncomfortable with the very basic experience of inhabiting a physical body in a social group. At some time in their ancient past lives this native robbed another of their social identity or caused another to be ostracized.
In past lives the native caused another to bear painful social stigma, or otherwise cause that victim to have the experience of hating their body, of dreading social rejection, dis-grace, of feeling ugly or unwanted in society. Or perhaps the native was a spiritual authority who taught that material senses are evil, so that his students feared and loathed their fleshly bodies.
This native may liberate him/herself from the present-life fear of being trapped in a negative body experience, by accepting karmic responsibility for healing others less fortunate to live confidently in their own bodies. [Con=with; fide=faith. Confidence = living with faith.]
For example, such a native might choose to serve as a hatha-yoga instructor, director of an education program that helps remove social stigma, a cosmetic surgeon who beautifies bodies, or a spiritual teacher who consciously promotes gratitude for physical bodies.
Shani rising has a natural inclination toward accepting responsibility for the welfare of others. These natives have chosen to be born when Saturn rises on the earth's eastern horizon. This choice indicates their intention to pay off substantial karmic debt in the current lifetime.
If this native achieves consciousness of the particular form of service that is most efficacious - that is, for the lagna position, service directed toward de-stigmatizing or making the fleshly body itself a source of positive spiritual identity - s/he can use the talents provided by their other planets to create a service role that spreads their own humble knowledge downstream, to those hungry-for-positive-body-experience souls who are just now awakening.
For the Conscious Shani-rising native, intentionally unifying the spirit with the physical body through grace of appearance and movement, will create the most profound inner peace.
Shani in domains 1, 5, 7, and 10: Survival & Fear in Marriage
Typically this native experiences some considerable handicap in perceiving the spouse's feelings. One relates to the marriage partnership almost entirely on the basis of material responsibility. The spouse remains an outsider and, increasingly, a work-task or time burden.
This alienation and objectification of the spouse is due to the karmic memory of isolation and rejection stored deep in the native's subconscious. This memory insists that others are fundamentally untrustworthy.
Unless the spouse also has drishti to the marriage house, the spouse may feel rejected, unrecognized, unappreciated, & probably exploited. Marital dissatisfaction is likely to arise despite the fact that Shani native is a hard worker, efficient householder, & solid financial provider who typically earns well through sheer persistence.
(If Budha is favorable that will be persistence plus intelligence, but persistence is always the keynote of Shani!)
It is probably a good thing for one whose nativity shows a strong Shani influence upon the marriage house, to seek a spouse with similar configuration in radix and navamsha. Despite the prognosis for heavy doses of materialism, isolation, and fear in that marriage, the natives will share a neutral and realistic view of time and resource management. They will both be hard workers and appreciate their partner's contribution however scarce it may be.
Only another Shani native will appreciate the heavy realism and fear of failure & death which motivates the alienation behavior in the spouse. Shani marital coldness is not malicious or exploitive but simply the result of lifelong self-reliance, non-collaboration, fear-driven choices, and an urgent need to control scarce resources. It is worth repeating that Shani-in-marriage natives are usually very capable providers.
Ceteris paribus, Shani's negative aspect to the marriage house, which occur when Shani occupies houses 1, 5, & 12, does not break up marriages.
This drishti can make marriage loveless, unhelpful, or full of grief. But it doesn't cause divorce, per se.
Shani occupying domain-7 gives tremendous endurance in loveless marriages to an unsuitable or oppressive spouse. Shani respects tradition above all.
Unless Shani is L-8 (as for Mithuna & Karka lagna) Shani is not a divorce causer. Just a misery causer...
Marriage-wise Shani in lagna and Shani yuti Chandra are equally difficult.
Ceteris paribus, both the Shani aspect to yuvati bhava and Shani aspect to 7th-from -Chandra profile an emotionally cold, unsuitable first spouse.
In the West where we are generally socialized to quest for satisfaction rather than settle for what nature provides, Shani's aspect to the 7th house usually signifies the need for a second marriage, because the first marriage is so unsatisfactory. However Shani does give staying power, and the native who has Shani aspecting either kalatra bhava or 7th-from-Chandra will generally stay in the difficult marriage for many years in order to exhaust all possibilities for agreement. In the end, this harsh drishti forces marital separation and the native feels cut off from social approval as well.
Typically the profile of Shani rising or with yuti Chandra combines heavy labor with emotional stress. It's not an easy life for these folks. Nevertheless, they are responsible and no matter how deep their suffering they will always find the strength to accept responsibility for raising children, caretaking elderly parents, or serving the state. The Shani-afflicted may have lifelong emotional cramping, but they will always be working or ready to work.
Saturn gives the karma of carrying others' burdens, of being the result of others' actions, and of remaining in a state of financial, emotional, physical, or intellectual "survival" throughout life. Shani-afflicted have a deep and often unshakable sense of resource scarcity; yet, thinking they must always be on the run in a state of bare survival, they can rarely save money or build lasting security.
Is there a fix? Sure. release ignorance.
Shani's suffering is caused by Separation from those people, places, and things to which we are most attached in material life. While we will all due to our human natures endure some trauma of constant attachment-separation, attachment-separation in this life, we need not become the victim of it. By developing a knowledge of life outside the ego - by learning to think and perceive "outside the box" of material senses - Shani's suffering can be seen scientifically, as a real but impersonal phenomena of "karma running off."
Shani's portfolio is to call past-life moral errors to our spiritual attention. Once recognized, however, these errors can be quickly and permanently corrected through a simple release process. Standing outside the situation in a neutral, non-judgmental place and accepting moral responsibility (not guilt!) for the situation, humans can easily appreciate our own brilliant creativity in creating the karma, and as soon as we own it we can choose to release it. Making amends to the persons involved may be helpful, but the essential chemical in the release process is simply gratitude.
Steps to release the fear, resistance, repression, and bondage imposed by dutiful Shani:
assume a neutral, non-judgmental state of mind
accept responsibility for making changes to one's own mind & actions
take the "step up" in moral consciousness that will ensure one does not erroneously mistreat oneself or others again
voila! ignorance transformed into wisdom - and karma dissolved
(It's easier than you might think.)
Shani's portfolio is to call past-life moral errors to our spiritual attention. Once recognized, however, these errors can be quickly and permanently corrected through a simple release process. Standing outside the situation in a neutral, non-judgmental place and accepting moral responsibility (not guilt!) for the situation, humans can easily appreciate our own brilliant creativity in creating the karma, and as soon as we own it we can choose to release it. Making amends to the persons involved may be helpful, but the essential chemical in the release process is simply gratitude.
Steps to release the fear, resistance, repression, and bondage imposed by dutiful Shani:
assume a neutral, non-judgmental state of mind
accept responsibility for making changes to one's own mind & actions
take the "step up" in moral consciousness that will ensure one does not erroneously mistreat oneself or others again
voila! ignorance transformed into wisdom - and karma dissolved
(It's easier than you might think.)
If you read Tarot, you might enjoy contemplating the essentially Saturnine features of the Emperor and Justice. Bunning says, "Both cards stand for universal order; the Emperor in its underlying structure, Justice, in the action of karma - cause and effect."
Also consider the Knight of Pentacles . Note how in Joan Bunning's description, the Knight can either use or be used by Saturn's thorough ... or obsessive ... drive.
Shani Mahadasha (see also Parashara's teachings on Shani Mahadasha)
Q:
Letter to a client experiencing the frustration of needing to accept 19 years apprenticeship in your craft - i.e., the Shani mahadasha. Fortunately, this person's Shani is auspiciously located in the radix chart in Shatataraka Nakshatra, in Kumbha, in the tenth house of leadership and public responsibility. But 19 years is a long time to be working on the basics! Even more socially frustrating when Shani Mahadasha occurs in mid-life...
A:
Luckily, due to the superior dharmic nature of your Shani in Shatataraka nakshatra which exposes your spiritual development in past lives, you are capable of consciously accepting austerities - in fact, you relish tapasya for the fruits it brings. Therefore there is no need for you to undergo the "scorched earth" experience of severe ego annihilation that so many people must endure with Lord Shani, who forbids fast progress.
Rather, you will experience the normal and natural effect of Shani mahadasha, which is extremely slow progress using even the best-laid plans, a constant polishing of public presentation, and ruthless elimination of ego from all relationships, especially one's relationship to the public at large.
Although Shani normally is a troublemaker, your personal Shani is transformed into a "good" planet because
- it occupies the character-building tenth rashi ("karmaa-bhava" the house of prestige and professional contribution to society)
- in its own sign of Kumbha (Aquarius)
- **AND** Shani receives a drishti ("focus") from Guru (Jupiter)
- **AND** Shani is "Vargottama" . All these improvements add up to a powerful leadership destiny.
There is a significant downside to your unique Shani position. For you, Shani directly aspects both your commanding Sun and your dramatic Moon. This creates social and emotional tension for nineteen years.
You want a much bigger audience than the spirits will allow, and you want to reach them at a much more profound level than the spirits will approve.
The biggest challenge of Shani mahadasha therefore is to release personal control - always doing your absolute best, of course - but accepting that the performance limitations are in place for a reason. Allowing the spirits to work through you rather than forcing them to impose outside restrictions requires a high level of psycho-spiritual awareness.
Technique:
Setting the energy in a room, making agreements with the spirits that control the physical environments and also with the guardian spirits who attend you and the folks who come to you seeking professional information, will give superior results. Also being as detached as possible from the results of your efforts, whether success or failure, will help immensely in expanding your impact.
The end result of Shani mahadasha will be perfection of public behavior due to profound inner purification. You are probably thinking, what is left to purify? But, because you still have about five years of Shani mahadasha remaining, we know there has to be more laying in wait! You are now in the bhukti of Mars, a difficult place. Beware of criticism of self and others, hypocrisy, passive-aggressive expressions of anger,
Absolute objectivity is required to optimize your planets. For most people, the combination of Shani dasha with sade saati is devastating. Your spirit has determined that such catastrophic measures are not required for you in this lifetime. So, it's exactly as you say: "Jes keepin' on keepin'on!"
When gochara Shani crosses your lagna:
This transit is a "can't" period which oppresses the physical body and social personality, usually involving loneliness and separations, as people find you difficult to live with and work with due to your subconscious low-permission state (manifesting as dysfunctional perfectionism and dominating ego).
You can survive it with maturity and objectivity, consistent with your dedicated spirituality and commitment to serve others.
Regarding the fearful situation of sade saati occurring within Shani mahadasha (especially right at the beginning in the Shani/Shani period)
The swami is absolutely right: if sade saathi does coincide with Shani mahadasha, those 2.3 years of the "white hot core" of sade saathi can be very intense.
However, this event does not occur in your lifetime. Rather, you have the slow and steady polishing and purification, meeting many obstacles and patiently developing the skills to overcome them. Each time gochara Shani changes signs (every 2.3 years) a new set of obstacles arises.
For example, gochara Shani is now transiting your 2nd rashi bhava, and aspecting your Simha Chandra and Meena Budha . This condition gives financial pressure, and troubles of all types connected to the mouth [eating, speaking, oral traditions, teeth, jaw, etc]. Speaking especially -- because of Shani's drishti to Mercury -- requires exquisitely fine attention to detail, and full consideration of effects on others before speaking.
So of course, you are graced to channel a magnificent teaching speech -- but because Shani requires tremendous neutral attention to detail, and Shani who slows everything, resists everything -- rules electro-magnetic communication devices -- your genius will not be electronically captured for posterity unless you personally set up the equipment. It's about mastery.
What Shani does is to create (or more properly, expose) psychic resistance (which can be eliminated by consciously working the spirits in the room) but also He demands that the native accept more personal control of the technology. In other words, if you want it done right, do it yourself. Shani asks for higher and higher levels of leadership responsibility, in order to reach a broader and broader audience with fairly tight control over the medium and the message.
Dear Shani. Each obstacle contains a lesson. The spirits know that you are a born leader with a mission to raise spiritual consciousness in the educator caste. They ask for your conscious partnership as they call your attention to finer levels of detail.
The purification process allows one to eliminate crude ego - i.e., attachment to those social & material results which the ego expects. Then if we can partner effectively with Shani, we are allowed to replace that flimsy and unreliable ego-attachment with the much more powerful and effective directive of the spirits, who have the bigger picture.
Trust the pace of progress under Shani to be perfectly timed and entirely appropriate to who you are - and who you are becoming - in the big picture.
Learn the rules so you will know how to break them properly.
"Sister Mary Katherine entered the Monastery of Silence. The Priest said, "Sister, this is a silent monastery. You are welcome here as long as you like, but you may not speak until I direct you to do so".
Sister Mary Katherine lived in the monastery for 5 years before the Priest said to her, "Sister Mary Katherine, you have been here for 5 years. You can speak two words."
Sister Mary Katherine said, "Hard bed."
"I'm sorry to hear that," the Priest said, "We will get you a better bed."
After another 5 years, Sister Mary Katherine was called by the Priest. "You may say another two words, Sister Mary Katherine.
"Cold food," said Sister Mary Katherine.
The Priest assured her that the food would be better in the future.
On her 15th anniversary at the monastery, the Priest again called Sister Mary Katherine into his office. "You may say two words today."
"I quit," said Sister Mary Katherine.
"It's probably best", said the Priest. "You've done nothing but bitch since you got here."
"When unfortunate things happen in our lives there are two possible results.
One possibility is mental unrest, anxiety, fear, doubt, frustration and eventually depression, and, in the worst case, even suicide. That's one way.
The other possibility is that because of that tragic experience you become more realistic, you become closer to reality.
With the power of investigation, the tragic experience may make you stronger and increase your self-confidence and self-reliance.
The unfortunate event can be source of inner strength."
~~ H.H. Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama's Book of Wisdom . www.snowlionpub.com
When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
"[An] important factor is your determination. You should not imagine that all these developments can take place within a few days or a few years; they may even take several eons, so determination is evidently vital. If you consider yourself a Buddhist and want to really practice Buddha Dharma, then right from the start you must make up your mind to do so until the end, regardless of whether it takes millions or billions of eons.
After all, what is the meaning of our life? In itself, there is no intrinsic meaning. However, if we use life in a positive way, then even the days and the months and the eons can become meaningful. On the other hand, if you just fritter your life away aimlessly then even one day feels too long. You will find that once you have a firm determination and a clear objective, then time is not important."
~~ H. H. Dalai Lama, The Dalai Lama's Book of Awakening
"If we attend continually and promptly to the little that we can do, we shall ere long be surprised to find how little remains that we cannot do."
~~ Samuel Butler
"Inner development comes step by step.
You may think, "Today my inner calmness, my mental peace, is very small," but still, if you compare, if you look five, ten, or fifteen years back, and think "What was my way of thinking then? How much inner peace did I have then and what is it today?"
Comparing it with what it was then, you can realize that there is some progress, there is some value.
This is how you should compare: not with today's feeling and yesterday's feeling, last week, last month, or not even last year, but five years ago. Then you can realize what improvement has occurred internally.
Progress comes by maintaining constant effort in daily practice."
~~ H.H. Dalai Lama, A Policy of Kindness: An Anthology of Writings By and About the Dalai Lama Compiled & edited by Sidney Piburn, foreword by Sen. Claiborne Pell. www.snowlionpub.com
"Your problem is you’re… too busy holding onto your unworthiness."
~~ Ram Dass
updated: 24 September 2008
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