by Dr. K. Parvathi Kumar Book Presentation Overview Astrology

The story of son of man transforming as son of God has everything relating to right application of the force. The force is essentially Martian and emanates from the principle of Mars. That is why in the esoteric dimension of astrology Mars is considered as the most positive planet after Sun and Uranus in the whole solar system. Mars presides over the battle of an aspirant to transform into a disciple and an adept. Many think that Mars has little to do with spiritual path and progress. It is utterly incorrect. The positive dynamism of Mars is the first requirement for the journey on the path to Spirit. Fiery aspiration (Tapas) is nothing but the self-generated force to tread the path to Spirit. It requires indomitable courage. The path to the Spirit, to the Truth, to the Light is for the courageous ones, not for the timid. A true spiritual aspirant is as much a soldier whose battlefield is within himself as his own personality. He requires to handle the dragon of his personality and transform it into a white dragon. He has many battles to fight and to win within himself. He is required to overcome the undesirable traits within him, with the power of Mars, wisdom of Jupiter, discrimination of Mercury, felicity of Venus, reflection of Moon and discipline of Saturn. Without Martian force little can be accomplished within. The inner journey to reach the Light is fraught with many impediments. They are lust and desire, uncontrollable anger, possessive attitude, illusion, prejudice and pride. This is but one set. There is the duality of like and dislike, comfort and discomfort, profit and loss, pleasure and pain; this is another set. There is yet another set of aversion, indifference, forgetfulness, fear and ignorance. To overcome these traits, one requires not only the wisdom of Jupiter and discrimination of Mercury but also the force of Mars.

As much as a soldier sacrifices, so much a spiritual aspirant too requires to renounce and sacrifice. He is required to sacrifice all undesirable traits in him. The gateways to Truth are successively opened to those who fight courageously for the light. The battle of Mars never ceases until the victory visits him. Mars conceives not defeat. Lord Krishna says in the sixth chapter of Bhagavad Gita, in the fifth and sixth stanzas, “Self can be lifted up by self. Self can be defeated by self. Self can win over self. Self can be friendly to self. Self can be inimical to self. Self requires to conquer self.” By this he speaks of the need of the martial effort to win over the lower self (personality) for self-realization. Normally in a mundane man and even in an aspirant the lower self is stronger than the higher. The dragon is more powerful. One needs the sharpness and the force of Mars, represented by a spear, to put down the dragon of personality. Krishna says, “Put down your personality of negatives and dualities. Put down your personality of ignorance. Awaken! Utilize the wisdom. Use discrimination and apply the required force.”

Normally aspirants have lukewarm approach towards the path. This is due to their application of inadequate force of Mars. This is the reason why the entry into the field of wisdom is wide open while successful exit to realize is narrow. It is as narrow as the eye of the needle. The final door to realization requires one to walk through the narrow door leaving behind the personality. Until the personality drops itself or fuses itself into the soul, one does not get through the seemingly narrow path of Truth. One’s own personality hinders one’s entry into the field of Truth.

Mars makes one a firm believer or a firm non-believer. Either way Mars fixes. There is a thin line of demarcation between believing and non-believing.

But either way Mars renders the quality extremely strong. The extremely strong believers tend to be extremely devotional. They would not even mind sacrificing their life in gaining their ideal. There are many initiates who demonstrated self-sacrifice. Today we have many terrorists who also sacrifice themselves to their own doctrines whether true or false. In either case, know that it is the power of Mars. It is this power of Mars in Christianity that caused expansion of religion through sword, battle and blood. The theme of blood that Christian religion speaks and promotes is also an aspect of Mars. Expansionism is an aspect of Mars. When such expansionism is associated with aggression, blood and loss of life results. The human history is full of wars and bloodshed, either for political reasons or for religious reasons. This extreme dimension of Mars when turned inwards, one fights over one’s own personality, conquers it and realizes the Truth. The difference between a devotee and a fanatic is that the fanatic tries to fight for his concept of Truth outside, while the devotee fights silently inside with his own personality. The ancient religions and traditions which exist from pre-Kali era believed in inner fighting for light, not in the outer fighting for domination and authority.

Working with Mars can be compared to working with a sharp knife. A knife can be used for constructive purpose or for destructive purpose. Austere practices to purify one’s own lower nature are also Martian. If Mars is weak one cannot subject himself to purification of one’s own animal instincts that impede upon the way to light.

To the aspirants who are to cross the barriers of the lower planes, the vibrations of Mars are of great help. It is in this context the seers gave the higher dimensions of Mars. Utilizing these dimensions, an aspirant can gain the positive vibrations of Mars and progress on the path. The most sublime and divine aspect of Mars is presented in the sublime concepts of Saravanabhava, Subrahmanya, Kartikeya, Visakha, Shanmukha and Skanda. Therefore we turn the teaching towards the sublime dimensions of Mars, the Kumara.