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The God who is seated in your heart and in your devotion, will burn off all curses and all evil influences — this kind of faith you should have. Either you will have a faith or you will have an understanding. Proceed in this manner; do not miss your focus. Thinking about pūrva janmas and all those navagrahas, do not miss your attention!

Bhagavad Gita is actually a jnana sastra. It is also a Yoga sastra. In the path of yoga it discusses many things. It starts with a discussion about the immortal and non-acting nature of the Soul. The gospel of Bhagavad Gita begins from this particular level. That is why I said it is a jnana sastra.

Now, on the basis of immortal and non-acting nature of the Soul, what is the sadhana to be adopted in order to achieve the spiritual fruition and fulfillment? First of all, it emphasizes the jnana itself as a sadhana. Then, in order to clarify the many doubts of Arjuna, it goes on to discuss Karma as a sadhana. Then it speaks about meditation and thereafter it branches off to bhakti or devotion as sadhana. All these are discussed and in the course of the discussion there are many propositions Krishna makes. If you begin to think on the basis of these concepts, no other pursuits or no other considerations like astrology will be necessary.

Yesterday our ‘R’ was asking me, “Do navagrahas have any effect on an individual? Is not a person’s life completely governed by past karmas and will not the karma continue to be operative? I have immense faith in astrology and I think it is also a science, based on facts and figures.” I see. So, you have faith in astrology. Well, let us see what has Bhagavad Gita to say about the purva karmas. You cannot discount Bhagavad Gita. This is also a point which you have to consider and understand. If astrology is a sastra of our land, Bhagavad Gita is the super-sastra of the same land. And Bhagavad Gita says :

अपि चेत्सुदुराचारो भजते मामनन्यभाक् ।
साधुरेव स मन्तव्यः सम्यग्व्यवसितो हि सः ॥
api cetsudurācāro bhajate māmananyabhāk ।
sādhureva sa mantavyaḥ samyagvyavasito hi saḥ ॥
(Bhagavad Gita 9.30)

Even if the worst sinner worships me with exclusive devotion, he should be considered a saint; for he has rightly resolved.

Suppose a person is a mahā-pāpī, or he is a durācārī. What does it mean? He has become so by virtue of his past karmas. If you believe in past karmas, then the past karmas alone are responsible for making him a sinner. Assuming that there is such a one, what does Bhagavad Gita say about him? Bhagavad Gita says, “even if he is a durācārī, or the worst of all durācārīs, the moment he takes to worshipping Me exclusively and completely,… bhajate mām ananyabhāk…, then, sādhureva sa mantavyaḥ… that person is to be considered a sādhu, a mahātmā, a good and noble soul”.

So where is all the pāpa gone now? Even if by virtue of the curses of the navagrahas or by virtue of bad karmas of his previous life, sinful tendencies are at work in him, all these sins will be set right when he starts worshipping God in exclusiveness and completeness. Samyak vyavasito hi saḥ – he has decided his course very well; resolved himself very well in his life. Kṣipraṃ bhavati dharmātmā, very soon after taking up this exclusive worship, he will become a dharmātmā. Imagine!

Ordinarily people are finding it very difficult to become righteous; but here is a mahā-pāpī who takes to the worship of the Lord in an exclusive manner and this worship very soon makes him a dharmātmā ! śaśvat śāntiṃ nigacchati — he attains permanent peace. This mahā-pāpī, taking up the exclusive worship, actualizes peace! So much about a durācārī. What about ordinary people without such mahā-pāpa? Will they not become dharmātmā ? Will they not get enough of peace?

I think this is the answer for ‘R’. It is an answer, no doubt, but whether ‘R’ will accept it and follow it in his life, I have my own doubt. He will still say, “My father died, X is this, Y is that. All, Swamiji, because of my pūrva-karmas.” Pūrva karmas are there — OK. And they have resulted in all these adversities — all right! Even then what? They should all the more prompt you to resort to God with completeness, with exclusiveness. Once you decide to do it and start doing it, you become a dharmātmā.

So, should your interest be in thinking that “my pūrva karmas and navagrahas make me this and make me that”, or should it be in resolving that “In spite of their making me all these, I am going to worship God exclusively and when I do so, I will become a dharmātmā“? What should be your attention on? So, the choice is there. Let nine grahas or ninety grahas — thousands of previous karmas of thousands of janmas be there — let them be! — Now, when you start worshipping God exclusively, all their effects and results, all the ninety grahas and their evil influences — all of them — will be set right.

You should think more of the path of devotion and not the path of navagrahas and pūrva janmas. Unfortunately, you don’t listen to this particular statement of the śāstras that I have been speaking of; but you listen to astrology saying that astrology is a śāstra. Well, this is a bhakti śāstra; this is a dharma śāstra, a jñāna śāstra. If you give value to astrology, jyotiṣa, you should give much greater value to Gītā śāstra.

Once you start giving such value to Gītā śāstra, the Gītā śāstra will look after you, will protect you. And all that you are required to do is to rely upon — exclusively rely upon – God. Which God? That God who is present in you and outside you. That God’s presence is in you like a fire which burns all kinds of impurities.

The God who is seated in your heart and in your devotion, will burn off all curses and all evil influences — this kind of faith you should have. Either you will have a faith or you will have an understanding. Proceed in this manner; do not miss your focus. Thinking about pūrva janmas and all those navagrahas, do not miss your attention! All that you should think of is the one God who is present everywhere. You will become a dharmātmā. Permanent peace will be had. ”Kaunteya, prati jānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati – My dear Arjuna, you swear, you give a pratijñā on My behalf – My devotee will never perish!”

Hariḥ Om Tat Sat

9th October 1998

– From the Book Prabhata Rashmih Volume 1

“Resoluteness and dedication of the intelligence and the mind are the supreme factors which count in your search for Truth and in the fruition of your sādhanā.”