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Who is Shani Devta?
Under the laws of karma, our actions create consequences. If we perform
good actions, we reap good benefits. If we perform bad actions we reap our
just rewards. But who keeps the record of our actions? According to our
sacred Hindu scriptures, Shani Devta which is represented by the ringed
planet Saturn, keeps the account balances in his ledger. He records our
every action and like the bank manager who keeps monitoring our debt and
repayment schedule, Shani Dev will eventually call us in to discuss our
account balance. And like the bank manager, Shani Dev will give the order
to repossess our status and material wealth when we have abused it and
fail to make our scheduled repayments to the universe.
The Shani Graha
A full Shani Graha (known as the Saturn Cycle) will last for seven and a
half (7.5) years in a person's life. But this period is broken down into
three (3) periods of two and a half (2.5) years each. In the first period
Saturn seize your assets and your material possession. In the second
period it affects your health and personal relationship. In the third
period, depending on the level of realization and understanding
(humility), Saturn will return to you what you have lost and double your
prosperity, if you become more enlightened during the Saturn Cycle. We
must remember that everything is lent to us for our use and enjoyment and
as soon as we become possessive, we fall under the watchful eyes of Shani
Dev and lose it all under his shadow. If the abuse of our wealth or power
was very severe, Shani Dev will hit us for the full repayment term. If our
abuse is not so severe, Shani will bring us back in line with a lesser
sentence. When we hoard our wealth and use it to improve our own power
base, this may allow us to take advantage of others in personal or
business transactions. When we fail to give to charity; when we fail to
contribute to community development; when we fail to share our knowledge
and experiences, we have to stop and ask, "What am I really contributing
to the up-liftment and betterment of the universe?" And if the answer is,
"Nothing, really," then we know we are likely to be called in by Shani Dev
to discuss our account balance. Thus when blow after blow begin to strike
us financially and we see that our business and investments begin to fail,
our job promotions cease or diminish; when our income is less than the
debts we begin to incur, we know that Shani Dev is ringing the bell in our
ears to get our attention. It is the feeling of possession that attracts
Shani in one's life. This situation is like the parent who calls in the
errant child for a disciplinary chat that may perhaps end up with a
'grounding' for a short period of time.
Can we get Relief from a Shani Graha?
In the history of mankind there has always been evidence of leniency when
we humble ourselves. When the young couple who are struggling to make ends
meet welcomes the visiting mother-in-law with open arms and treat her with
great respect and humility, she is likely to grant them their request for
help. They may cook her favourite dish, listen to her stories and perhaps
massage her feet as they put her to sleep in the best bed in the house. In
the morning, they prepare a lavish breakfast of all the foods and
sweetmeats that she likes. As she is getting ready to leave, they ask for
her help to buy a better house for her growing grandchildren. When the
accused accepts responsibility for his actions and throws himself at the
mercy of the court, the magistrate often times will have no hesitation in
reconsidering the severity of the penalty. What are the chances that the
mother-in-law will refuse? In a like manner, when Shani Dev slaps us with
a severe penalty for our own misdeeds, we must accept responsibility for
our actions and go to him with great humility. When we do that, what are
the chances that he will refuse our request?
The Puja to obtain Relief from a Shani
Graha
Step 1. The Shiva Puja
Our sacred Hindu scriptures teach that a Puja is not blessed unless Lord
Shiva (the Cosmic Lord of Time) is invited. Thus our first stage in the
Shani Gra Puja is to go to Lord Shiva and ask for his blessings. This
means that we propitiate: Ganesh - the remover of Obstacles. Gowrie Mata
- to receive the blessings of the universal Mother. Dharti Mata (Earth) -
for accepting us when we took birth. Saraswaty Mata - to ordain us with
true knowledge. Kalash Devta - Ganga, Varuna and Laxmi representing water,
vegetation and light in unity of the Earth. Laxmi Mata - to provide light
in our lives. Nav Graha - the nine planets in the order of Sun (Surya),
Moon (Chandra), Mercury (Budh), Venus (Shukra), Mars (Mangal), Jupiter (Brihaspati),
Saturn (Shani), North Node (Rahu), South Node (Ketu). We beg that they
remove all negative influences from our journey. Lord Shiva - the Cosmic
Lord of time. We beg Lord Shiva for his blessings and then we ask him to
come in the form of his 11th incarnation as Hanuman Devta.
Step 2. The Hanuman Puja
In the Hindu epic the Ramayana, we are told that Hanuman Devta went to the
fortress of the Rakshas King Ravana in Lanka to rescue Sita Mata, the wife
or Lord Rama. But who was Lord Rama and who was Hanuman Devta? They are
none other than the incarnations of Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. Therefore
in the Puja ritual, we must first go to Lord Shiva and ask him to come in
the form of Lord Hanuman before we begin to do the Hanuman Puja. Hanuman
Devta is the rescuer of Shani Dev and thus we must first go to him before
we begin to propitiate Shani Devta.
Step 3. The Shani Puja
As the stories in the Hindu epics continue, we learn that when Lord
Hanuman was crossing the ocean on his way to Lanka to the kingdom of the
Demon King Ravana, he saw the nine planets who were captured. Ravana had
the ability to overcome the planets and they were bound and made to lay
face down. Shani Dev recognized Hanuman-ji and begged Hanuman to release
him. But Hanuman-ji said, "Shani Dev, if I release you, you will get to
look at me and cause me to come under the effects of Sade Sati." The
effects of Sade Sati will cause one to lose their prosperity and suffer
for a period of seven-and-a-half years. Shani Dev then promised Hanuman-ji
that if he is released, that he will not affect any devotee who does Puja
to Hanuman on Saturday - a day dedicated to Shani (Satur(n)-day). So once
the Hanuman Puja is complete, only then must we begin to perform the Shani
Puja because it is through the help of Hanuman Devta that Shani Devta
became free from his bondage. When Shani Dev recognizes that we have
accepted our mistakes and have learned from it; when he sees the great
humility with which we approach him; when he sees the great love and
devotion with which we worship him and beg for forgiveness, he will show
us mercy and lighten our load.
Karran at
first tried to understand his problems by taking a logical and rational
approach, but nothing seems to make sense. On paper, his earnings added
up. He can see clearly where the money was being spent. But he could not
understand why every thing seemed to go wrong one after another. He was on
the verge of losing his job due to down sizing. This seemed very
understandable. He had an accident with his Mercedes Benz. Again very
possible. His sewer drain became clogged and flooded his basement. Drains
do get blocked. He fell in the bathtub and broke an arm. Accidents do
happen. Spousal arguments develop out of the blues. These things happen.
And on and on the list continues. Soon, logic and rationality did not cut
it anymore. Karran began to seek mystical help. He went from one mystic to
another to get quick fixes but soon found that these visits cost him a lot
of money too. He was on the verge of losing hope when he hit upon our
website and got attracted to the teachings of Swami Ram. A few months
later, after Swami-ji performed a proper Shani Puja, Karran's life has
become settled once again. He has learnt the lessons presented by the
Shani Graha and thus his wealth and prosperity was returned to him.
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