Some people often ask questions like these:

Is everything fixed?

Does free will exist?

Can we create our own destiny?

Why are some people always rich throughout their lives don’t they undergo good and bad
times?

What can we do about changing our life?

My answer is this: LIFE IS A MIX OF FIXED DESTINY AND FREE WILL.

Now how much of it is fixed and how much can we create varies from chart to chart and area
to area. For the starters…you can’t change your parents or your genes or even place of birth.
However, there is a LOT that you can change.

We are not animals doomed to suffering and fixed lives there is a word for it, (Bhogya) most
animals are bound by fixed life patters and can do precious little to change things.

Humans have been given the ultimate blessing: Knowledge, awareness and free will.
Using our freewill and intelligence we can actually MANAGE our destiny and overcome a lot
of difficulties. Without getting in the complexities of Dhrid Karma and Adridh Karma, I often
use the below example to give a simple but powerful metaphor for the ways of destiny:

YOUR HOROSCOPE IS LIKE YOUR VEHICLE: This is a fixed thing more or less. You are
given a cycle, a small car or a monster truck, depending upon the Karma you carry into this
birth. Some people are born with looks, riches, intelligence, and luck. Some seem to be
devoid of all these. Most are somewhere in between. Your genetics, parents, initial financial
background, nationality, etc. is determined the moment you are born. The horoscope is fixed

and you would do well to accept and embrace it. There is precious little you can do about
this…brooding over not being born in a rich family will not make Bill Gates adopt you.

However, remember which ever vehicle you get, maintaining it and keeping it in good shape
is very necessary. And for the sake of god ACCEPT the vehicle you got. If you try to run a
small car like a monster truck, accident is the only outcome. For example, people born with
genetic predisposition for diabetes or fat would do well to eat clean and exercise regularly,
he cannot get pizzas and guzzle them down with beer every day. Similarly, a rich kid can
afford a fancy car, you would do well not to press your middle class parents to keep up with
that kind of thing, instead finding them good deals which save money and taking up a part
time job would do well for you.

MAHADA SHA AND ANTARDASHA ARE LIKE ROADS: A good Mahadasha is like a big
broad highway, on which you cruise through with ease. Yes, a cycle will go at a maximum
speed of 10-20 kmph even on good roads, while a sports car can cruise at 200 kmph. When
a bad road (e.g. typically Shani Rahu and Ketu dasha) comes, ALL vehicles would have to
slow down and face difficulties. A factory worker might face a lock out and worry about daily
meals, a middle class office manager may lose his white collar job and face difficulty with his
EMIs, while the billionaire industrialist may see his profits dip and shares crash. Each would
have their own magnitude and types of problems, depending upon the overall strength of
their horoscopes. That’s why even on our best day we won’t be as rich as Bill Gates on his
worst. And that’s perfectly all right. There are people who spend their entire lives in slums
(including their best dashas), so you and I have a lot to thank for.

YOUR FREE WILL AND INTELLIGENCE IS THE DRIVER: Okay, now this one is BIG. So
you can’t change your stars, but you can “MANAGE” them to a great degree. A well
maintained small car can actually beat a poorly maintained luxury car someday, and that is
what we call and underdog victory.

Here are a few tips to manage your destiny:

Know thyself: If you know your car well, you can drive it accordingly. E.g. if you know that
you have genes that can give you diabetes… it would serve you well to work out and eat
healthy. It you are made for journalism, an engineering job would bring only frustration and
failures. I repeat for the sake of god ACCEPT the vehicle you got. If you try to run a small car
like a monster truck, accident is the only outcome. Don’t expect a third division student to
crack the tough exam. Dont expect the soft tat genetically disadvantaged person to turn into
a sports star. Be realistic, know who you are and embrace yourself, then make the best of it
A good journalist or car mechanic is much more satisfied and happy than a bad surgeon or a
bad rocket engineer. KNOW YOURSELF AND EMBRACE WHO YOU ARE.

Drive Carefully-MANAGE your timings: If you have a small car and going through a rough
road, trust me you don’t want to do any stunts, they can be fatal. Instead you should slow
down, keep a firm grip on the steering and don’t let things go out of control. You do your best

to avoid ditches and road blocks and avoid accidents. You DON’T go fast and furious on the
bad road (this Is the reason we advise clients not to take big steps like buying a house
during bad dashas).

HOWEVER, you can MANAGE the energies of the planets in a way that even the tough
dashas won’t harm you much. E.g. I ask my clients undergoing a Shani dasha to INCREASE
their working hours and take up even weekend assignments. Whereas I advise Ketu dasha
clients to DECREASE their working hours, let go and devote time to spiritual pursuits.
Different strokes for different folks.

PATIENCE AND HOPE: Biggest advantage of using astrology is that you know who you are
and the second biggest is that you KNOW when bad times end and good times start. That
gives you two most important things. hope and patience. If you know that the good road is
10 km ahead, you drive on with patience and hope. Similarly, if you know that your good
dasha IS two years away and you are not doomed forever, it would give you PATIENCE and
HOPE Once you are on a highway (read good dasha), you can pick up your speed and push
ahead with the best of your ability. If people only knew this, it would prevent a lot of
suicides, divorces, and depression.

Don’t blow it: Okay so it works both ways. A good driver can manoeuvre his way out of a
bad road without much harm, but a bad driver can crash even a good car…! Don’t we all
have that one rich cousin who amounted to NOTHING in life? He had it all, money,
background, looks, but did not do anything. THAT IS a bad driver ruining a good car.
However, on the other side of spectrum we have another person born poor but through
sheer hard work and blood sweat and tears reached a good stage in life (l am not talking
about an Ambani style rise, that happens once in a generation) I am talking about normal
people with humble beginnings, whose father did not even have a two wheeler. They studied
and worked odd jobs, and worked the weekends, did well in the job ended in upper middle
class in a position where they can buy a car for their son. That’s good enough.

In the modern day and age, in the times of democracy, smartphones, and Internet, immense
opportunities are there for everyone who wants to learn, work hard, and grow. This is the
best time in humanity’s history to be human. If you are reading this article, you are educated
and have internet access. You have so much power in your hand … do something with it.

After all, what is luck, if not accumulated Karma?

God bless,
G. Vijay Kumar

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