Planets and Their Gods. Ancient Wisdom

Which God or Goddess is connected to each planet? The ancient Maharishis did not give us just one answer. Drawing from Bṛhat Parāśara Horā Śāstra, Jaimini Sūtras and other classical works, this article explores the fascinating connections between the nine Grahas, their presiding deities, the Gods indicated for worship, and the Avatāras of Lord Viṣṇu associated with them.

To save time and space I have created the above PNG. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. 

During more than three decades of my Astrology practice, I have repeatedly heard questions from clients that sound something like this:

“Dear Sir, is Skanda—or Lord Muruga—against me? Is He causing these problems in my life?”

My answer has always been an emphatic No.

Suppose Mars is a functional malefic in your horoscope and indicates difficult karma. This does not mean that the physical planet Mars is your enemy. It certainly does not mean that Skanda or Muruga, the deity associated with Mars, is angry with you.

Your horoscope reveals the Prārabdha Karma that you have brought into this birth. If Mars indicates suffering, it may point towards unresolved karma connected with the significations of Mars—for example, violence, aggression, anger, injury, cruelty, conflict, or physically harming another person. Actions belonging to the past eventually return as experiences in the present.

Mars did not create that karma. You did. Mars merely indicates it.

Think of a thermometer. If the thermometer shows that you have a fever, would you blame the thermometer for causing the fever? Obviously not. The instrument merely reveals a condition that already exists. In much the same way, the planets reveal the karmic conditions with which we have entered this life.

This distinction becomes even more important when we connect planets with Gods and Goddesses. If Mars indicates difficult karma, it would be completely wrong to conclude that Lord Muruga is punishing you. Gods are not sitting somewhere waiting to become angry with us.

Then why does classical Astrology prescribe worship?

When Mars indicates difficult karma, worship of Skanda or Muruga—particularly on Tuesdays or on other traditionally prescribed occasions—can become part of the remedy. But prayer should not be understood as an attempt to persuade an angry God to stop punishing us.

Prayer is meant to change us. Prayers are matters of faith. The life of a faithless man gets more difficult. Prayers give us hope and does the transformation that is essential if one has to overcome a bad habit from a past life. The acceptance of God brings in many more good habits and mindset to a person. I am not saying that atheist always are bad people. In a society, it is always better if more people believe in God and doing Good to people. You can see the God and Good look similar. 

Sincere prayer, worship, discipline, repentance, charity and conscious correction of our behaviour can produce an internal transformation. If Mars represents anger and violence, for example, the remedy cannot merely be lighting a lamp before Muruga while continuing to hurt people. The deeper remedy is to cultivate the higher qualities represented by Mars: courage without aggression, strength without cruelty, discipline without domination, and the power to protect rather than harm.

This is how I understand astrological remedies. We are not trying to change the mind of God. We are trying to change ourselves.

The planet shows the karma. The suffering is the consequence.

The God, The Deity, The Guru, Your Master show  you a path towards transformation. A route you should take to get our of the mess or the maze. 

The French philosopher Voltaire famously wrote, “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him.” Whether one approaches God through faith, philosophy or symbolism, the idea of the Divine has an extraordinary capacity to transform human behaviour. In Astrology too, worship should not be understood as appeasing an angry God. The purpose of prayer is ultimately to bring about a change within ourselves.

If you belong to a different faith, then pray to your One God. Even then prayer works. Believe in doing good to everything in this world. Only in Hinduism there are many forms of the same One God. In the same way One Knowledge exists as Physics, Chemistry, Maths etc. They are all different and yet they all have one thing in common. They are "Knowledge a the Truth".