I have a confession to make. I hated Ketu for the first half of my Ketu Mahadasha, every tortuous day of it. And I had good reasons to.
During my Mercury period I rose like a meteor, dominating classrooms and boardrooms with consummate ease. Life was good, I had a rocking career, as a family we were doing well. Gadi, Bangla, Bank Balance, even Maa…I had it all.
Along came Ketu…and the hell broke loose. (Read: HEARTBREAK-HUMILIATION-BLESSINGS: MY KETU DAYS)
I had won at almost everything during Mercury but in Ketu I failed to secure a single victory at any front.
In a true Ketu fashion, my grave was dug by my ambition. Chasing the next promotion, in ended up in a punishment posting, where I was made a scapegoat. I had to deal with string of “Horrible Bosses”. I was working much harder, getting humiliated, and was making less money (yes you read that right).
The “Boy Wonder” of yesteryears, who was always rated as a top talent, had become a nervous clueless middle aged man who couldn’t cope up with the “pressure”. Finally it was too much for my mind and body to take. One evening I was rushed to a hospital emergency room from my office floor. That was the end of my beloved corporate career.
While my career crashed, personal relations did not fare any better. I was stabbed in the back by a few “good friends” I had known for years and had done several favors to. A very close friend insulted me gravely and ended the relationship in such a manner that it took me months to recover from sheer depression of it. Then there were family issues…
So by and large, all that I had in Mercury dasha, career, money, health, friends, relationships, etc. etc. etc….all was take away in swift brutal spurts by Ketu.
Ketu had tormented me to the bitter end…or had he?
People are afraid of Ketu because it represents the below:
• Separation: Ketu was born out of separation. Thus it is the Karaka of separation of all kinds. As per my research, while 70% marriages happen in a Rahu period, 80% divorces happen in a Ketu period. No marriage is a happy marriage when either spouse is going through a Ketu period. Engagements break, boyfriends or girlfriends dump each other. Parents throw their children out or vice versa. And on yes, you would lose your friends, most of them anyway.
• Death: Ketu rules death, the ultimate separation, the final liberation. Most people lose one or both their parents during a Ketu dasha. Thoughts and attempts of suicide are far more common in Ketu during any other dasha.
• Losses: Loss is a dirty word (Sorry Pundit Nehru). People don’t like to lose anything or lose at anything. They would rather win all the time. They have been brought up to “win” and are convinced that they are special and “born to win”. Ketu ends the winning streak and brings them back to realizing that they are not all that special and can actually lose. People hate that. (You would want to burn your copy of “Born to Win” “Positive Thinking” and “The Secret” burns into flames one you are two years into Ketu dasha.)
• Unemployment: I am yet to meet a man who has not lost his job during Ketu period. (Even the government employees get transferred). In a world obsessed with career, even the thought of being unemployed scares the wits out of people, especially men as they are taught to measure their worth from their career only. Ketu crashes that.
• Ego – Loss through humiliation: Like moon, the Karaka of Mind is scared of Rahu, Sun the Karaka of ego is scared of Ketu. Ketu being the ultimate annihilator of ego. Hard knocks of Ketu punch the ego out of men. It often comes through extreme humiliation (I have a 1st house Sun and can personally vouch for this). My intellectual arrogance has been replaced by spiritual humility. And I am thankful for that.
• Mind-Lessness: Almost all people in Ketu dasha undergo a transition. Their mind that used to work sharp and clear during Mercury Mahadasha, suddenly starts malfunctioning. There is a lot of BRAIN FOG, confusion, feeling of being lost. They are often unable to put two and two together and struggle at mental tasks that used to be a breeze during mercury. They feel “lost” most of the times. It is like being “somewhere else” mentally.
• Disease: A constant headache is a simple byproduct of a Ketu period which most of the people feel. However, in many cases often a disease like diabetes, amputation, sleep apnea, or something else can crop up.
No wonder Ketu gets such a bad press. I have been at the receiving end of this planet and I know Ketu hits hard. It would take next two years of intense research and experience to understand this planet.
In an accidental discovery, I learned about the true nature of this planet, and the more I learned about him, the more I fell in love with him.
Here is my big announcement. Ketu is….….NOT A MELAFIC:
Ketu is traditionally counted among the top malefics, the Big-3 as I call them, the fearsome trio of Rahu, Ketu and Shani.
Out of these three, Ketu period is the shortest and harshest, however, it is also the most spiritually rewarding, if you only know how to handle it.
In a world dominated by Shani-Rahu kind of materialism, Ketu can look like an utter disaster, but it need NOT be.
Introducing the archetype:
KETU THE MONK…!
If Ketu had been a person, he would have been a Digambar Jain Monk (the one who has given up all, his family, money, and all his possessions up to and including his clothes, in the search for liberation). The most spiritual and detached of all beings.
Many saints and spiritual seekers who know astrology, actually long for Ketu dasha, as it is the best time for spiritual growth where Ketu can guide them towards the higher and divine and take them to the ultimate path of liberation.
REMEMBER YOU ARE A BIRD IN A CAGE AND KETU IS NOT YOUR TORMENTOR, IT IS YOUR LIBERATOR…!
I fought hard to save my job. However, today, my biggest nightmare is to go back to a job.
My needs are more than provided for and my life is so much fun that the very thought of corporate slavery makes me nervous (today I laugh at the pride it took in that job).
Like a bird in a golden cage, we don’t want to come out of our trappings of fake life:
• Our corporate titles (that don’t mean much, one email and you can lose your job),
• Our high salary (which would stop coming the day they automate the job),
• Our lifestyle (living for the weekend only),
• Our relationships (most will last only till the time you are useful)
• Our possessions (you don’t own them THEY own you…EMI is a bitch)
Like a badass Zen master, Ketu shows some tough love and takes away all the unnecessary and useless stuff that has become a hurdle in our spiritual development. And shows us:
2. WHAT YOU HAVE IS NOT WHO YOU ARE….!
Once you have lost that job, ended that relationship, been thrown out of your house, your car has been repossessed, your business has collapsed, your spouse has divorced you; you still survive and realize that you are not a sum total of what you have. You are someone above and beyond every material possession and emotional attachment that you have. You can live happily EVEN without those. And that’s LIBERATING…!
3. HEADLESS AND HARSH OR EGOLESS AND HEARTFUL?
Saints and Avatars have been telling us to be detached and not to fall for material entrapping. But what do we do? We keep praying to them for more money, power, and relationships. Most of the times they are kind enough to oblige. However, Ketu has a different style, and thank god for it.
The headless planet has been compared to the “executioner of God” by yours truly (read here: ). While Shani and Rahu give you some time and space and allow you to somehow manage things, Ketu leaves little option for your maneuvering. He comes swift and harsh.
He doesn’t think (it is headless) and just goes for the proverbial “kill” and is particularly harsh in cases:
• The more you are attached to the material world, the harsher Ketu is going to go on you.
• The bigger your ego, the more humiliation you are going to face
• The harder you fight, the stronger would be the knock out
• Whatever you are most proud of, you are almost sure to lose it.
• One day you would be all alone and realize that there is NOTHING AND NO ONE THAT BELONGS TO YOU.
However, in the long run, people almost always admit that whatever Ketu did to them was for the better.
• The job you lost had become a mindless soul sucker. Ketu made you lose it and brought you to the path of your destiny.
• The spouse you lost was a pain in the life and you were hanging on only for the sake of society. Ketu sets you free to live your life on your own terms.
• The boyfriend/girlfriend you were clinging to was not the right person for you. Ketu did you a favor by ending the relationship
• That toxic friendship that had become and emotional crutch you thought you won’t be able to live without, Ketu takes it away and shows that you would get stronger without it.
• The money power and possessions you madly accumulated, are taken away in a jiffy making you realize that all is temporary and transient. You are better off not clinging to the material possessions. You are something bigger and more divine.
EMBRACING KETU:
I wanted to start with the title “Managing Ketu” but then that would have killed the whole spirit of this article and would have been anti-Ketu. Management is a very Shani concept. Ketu has nothing to do with Management.
The last place you can hope to find Ketu is a corporate office (barring the time they are firing some people).
Ketu has to be respected and embraced for who and what it is…KETU CANNOT BE MANAGED…IT HAS TO BE EMBRACED…!
Many clients ask me how to handle Ketu and my advice sounds very counter intuitive to them, but then it works, it has worked for me, and many of my clients. So, here we go:
• TWO WORDS FOR YOU: LET GO….!: If Rahu is the go-getter, Ketu is the planet of “Let Go”. People who are not ready to let go of whatever Ketu wants to take away (for their own good, by the way), will get hammered and hammered hard. Clinging to my job landed me in a hospital. Clinging to a relationship that Ketu wants to remove, would make it even more toxic. Hanging on to a collapsing business would take you to bankruptcy during Ketu dasha. You CANNOT swim against Ketu but you can FLOAT with it. Let Go is the first mantra. If you let go of whatever Ketu wants to take away, you would arrive at the shores, cleaner, lighter and liberated.
• DON’T TRY TOO HARD: We have been programmed to “never give up” and “never quit” and “try-try again”, unfortunately this is a foolish advice in most circumstances, especially a Ketu dasha. Ketu in particular hates the man who tries too hard. Ketu being the planet of “Akarmanya” (non-action) has a bias against a man who tries too hard. So people undergoing Ketu should NOT try too hard and GO WITH THE FLOW. In a capitalist society we have live by the “harder I work the luckier I get” motto, however, this DOES NOT apply to Ketu. In a Ketu dasha the harder you work, the harder it gets.
• Take it EASY, will you?: You know why Ketu makes you give up your job, business, and often brings unemployment, he wants to you TAKE IT EASY. Since childhood we all are in the mad rat race of accumulating most toys. Ketu reminds us that all the toys would be forfeited before we go to the grave. He wants us to take it easy, take a break and spend some time on something that matters in the LONG RUN…YOUR SOUL…!
• Spiritualism…Yeah Baby: The best method of dealing with Ketu is to take refuge in SPIRITUALITY. Read a spiritual text, listen to your favorite devotional hymns, meditate, think of the Lord…Praise the Lord…Ketu would be pleased and would take care of your material wants as well. Sounds paradoxical?…well that’s Ketu for you.
• Don’t be ambitious: In the modern world, a man is supposed to be ambitious else he is useless. Don’t believe me, here is my own example. I worked 14+ hours a day and ended up in a hospital. But could not save my job. Finally I let go, resigned and felt relieved. Had little idea of what I wanted to do. But I let go and trusted the Lord. Within months, I wrote an article on guess what…KETU MAHADASHA…which went viral and I have been booked for at least two weeks since then.
Ketu brought me wisdom, knowledge and liberation. Today I am a much happier and freer man than I was ever in my life.
I am no longer a corporate boss, but I don’t have a boss anymore.
I drive an old car, but I don’t have any EMIs.
I no longer move around in suits but I love my T-Shirt Pajama lifestyle.
I am no longer the King of the Hill, but I am not a slave any more.
Thank you Ketu, my Liberator.
God Bless,
G. Vijay Kumar
Images: Google
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