QnA with Sri Sri

Q: Guruji, astrologically I am under the influence of Rahu-Shani planetary combination. This has made me frustrated, angry, and irritable most of the time. I am going away from the spiritual path and creating trouble for others around me. Please help.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: At least you have this knowledge. If you have understood this much, then you know that all these negative emotions are just a passing phase. You know this is because of some planetary combination. This is where astrology comes to your help in a big way. Suppose you didn’t know that it is because of these planetary combinations, what would happen to you? You would brand the whole world as negative. You will think you are negative and you will feel dejected forever, isn’t it so?
That is why Jyotish (astrology) is called the Eye of Wisdom. It makes you see beyond your immediate situation, and know that it is only for a short time, and it is going to change. You gain some unknown inner strength from this. And you will not start blaming yourself or people around you.
It is always better to blame the planets because they are so far away. You can’t do anything about them. They move at their own pace, you can’t hasten their movement.
Whenever things go wrong, the natural tendency is to blame yourself or blame others. In either case you are at a loss. But when you put the blame on the planets you are free from blaming others and blaming yourself. So a certain degree of sanity comes into your life. This is one advantage of it.
You should know there is always a remedy for this. What is it? Adoring the Divine. On top of all the planets is Lord Shiva or the Shiva Tattva. So by chanting Om Namah Shivaya, you will sail through all this. I tell you, in any of these unfavourable situations there is always an advantage, i.e., turning more inward and becoming more spiritual. In favourable situations your mind is outward, so at least in unfavourable situations you can turn your mind inward and utilize this time for prayer and meditation.
All of these, Rahu Bhukti, Shani Bhukti, Ketu Bhukti, etc., are all very good for spiritual growth. The main purpose ofShani (one of the nine cosmic influencers in Hindu astrology) is to make you more spiritual. And how does he do it? When you are clinging on to the outer, he brings problem there to bring you inward. If you are already inward, he does not have anything much to do. His job is done so there will not be any problem also. Even if problems are there they would be minimum, they will just come and go. So every situation can be used for one’s benefit.