Sri Aurobindo was a great scholar, freedom fighter and a philosopher of the 20th century. He had tremendous insight into the Hindu scriptures and was extremely talented author. He wrote scores of books and commentaries on Indian philosophy, Yoga, Vedas, Upanishadas, Bhagavad Gita and poetry. His major literary work include ‘The life divine’ , ‘Integral Yoga ‘, and a poetry work ‘Savitri: A legend and a symbol’. In the Karka (Cancer) lagna horoscope of Sri Aurobindo the conjunction of 5th lord Mars and the 9th lord Jupiter in the ascendant is a great combination of authorship and spiritual practises. In Jaimini system the conjunction of Amatayakaraka Saturn and the Putrakaraka Moon in the 2nd house from Karakamsha, which is Scorpio in the horoscope of Aurobindo, is the classical yoga for authorship. The Karakamsha has Ketu placed in it under the aspect of Jupiter and Mars which gave him great logical ability in his interpretation of ancient scriptures and in literary work. The conjunction of Mars and Jupiter as per Sage Jaimini is a yoga for doing great work in ‘Mimamsa’ i.e. critical investigation of philosophical theories.
Horoscope of Sri Aurobindo
15 August 1872, 05:00 a.m. at Calcutta
Time Zone: Calcutta time +05 hours and 54 minutes
Longitude 88 E 22′ and Latitude 22 N 32′
Source of data: https://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Aurobindo,_Sri
Balance of Dasha in Vimshottari: 4 years 1 month and 8 days
Aurobindo Ghosh was born in an affluent Bengali Kayastha family of Calcutta on 15th of August 1872. Aurobindo had two elder brother and a young sister. His father Krishna Dhun Ghose was a surgeon who had done his medical studies from Britain. His mother Swarnalata Devi had develop some mental illness soon after the birth of her first child. Aurobindo’s father use to believe that British culture is superior than the Indian culture thus he brought-up his children teaching them to speak in English language. The exalted 9th lord Jupiter in the ascendant and the strong 2nd house in the horoscope of Aurobindo astrologically explain his aristocratic upbringing. He and his two elder brothers were send to the English speaking Loreto house boarding school in Darjeeling.
Study in England ( 1879 to 1893) and death of father
During the major part of the dasha of Venus from September 1876 to September 1896 , Aurobindo studied the subjects like history, English literature, French, Lain, geography and arithmetic. Ketu in the 5th house under the aspect of Jupiter gives the studies of humanities and languages. In Navamsha the 5th lord Venus is with Rahu explaining the knowledge of foreign languages. His father wanted to keep him away from Indian traditions. The entire family was moved to London in 1879 when Aurobindo was just 7 years of age. He was under the dasha of Venus-Venus in Vimshottari.
Venus is conjoined with the 12th lord Mercury in Rashi chart and in Navamsha it is with Rahu giving aspect to the 12th house of foreign land. His father wanted his sons to join the Indian Civil Services (ICS) the elite origination of bureaucrats serving under then British rule in India. But destiny had some other plans for him. Aurobindo easily cleared the written examination for the ICS with 11th ranking among the 250 competitors. He could have joined the civil services and become the class I officer. But he deliberately came late in the horse racing practical examination to get himself disqualified for the services. He had no interest in working for the British government in India. It happen in the Venus-Mercury dasha in Vimshottari during the second half of 1892. In the sub period of 12th lord Mercury he moved back to India in February 1893.
In India his father Krishna Dhun Ghose was waiting to receive his son. But he was misinformed in Bombay that the ship on which Aurobindo had been travelling had sunk off the coast of Portugal. His father died upon hearing this heartbreaking news which though later came out to be false. This was the period of Venus-Mercury in the horoscope of Aurobindo. Mercury is the lord of 7th house from the 9th house of father. Mercury is also the 2nd lord from Sun the Karaka for father. In Dwadamsha, which is not given here, the Pisces sign is rising and Mercury thus become the ‘Maraka’ there also. In the Rashi chart the 9th lord Jupiter is exalted but it is debliteated in Navamsha. The 9th lord in Navamsha is Mercury which is with Saturn and receives the malefic aspect of Mars from the 8th house showing early death of father during its sub-period.
Jobs in Baroda and Calcutta ( 1892 to 1910)
Aurobindo went to Baroda state to join the office of then Maharaja Gaekwad III where he worked until 1897. During his stay in Baroda he also started working as a part time French teacher in the Baroda collage. The Venus dasha has to give him a prestigious job as it is in a very strong Dhana yoga as the 11th lord conjoined with the 2nd lord Sun in the 2nd house itself. Venus is the lord of Dashamsha lagna also. He was later promoted to the post of vice principal in Baroda college.
During the dasha of Sun from September 1896 to 1902 he started taking part in the freedom struggle movement of India by linking up resistance groups in Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. He did this thing from behind the scene only as he was still in the service of Baroda state.
Delay Marriage of Aurobindo and death of his wife
In Sun-Mercury dasha he got married at the age of 28 when he was on a visit to Calcutta in 1901. Sun as the lord of 2nd house in Rashi chart explain his marital alliance. The conjunction of lagna lord Moon and 7th lord Saturn, which is retrograde, explain his delay marriage. In Navamsha the 7th sign of the Rashi chart is rising and the lord of 1/7 houses are under affliction which is a classical yoga of late marriage. This was an unconventional marriage in the sense that he was 28 whereas his wife was only 14 years of age. Later his wife died in December 1918 due to influenza when Aurobindo was going through Mars-Sun dasha in Vimshottari. Mars afflicting the 7th house in Rashi chart and in Navamsha it is in the 8th house in mutual aspect with the lord of lagna Saturn which is a bad yoga for marriage.
Aurobindo’s evolution from politics to spirituality
During the maha dasha of lagna lord Moon from September 1902 to September 1912 Aurobindo was deeply involve in the freedom struggle of India. But in the later part of Moon maha dasha his life was radically change due to some spiritual experiences when he was in jail. Moon here is in the exchange of house with the 6th lord Jupiter. The exchange between the lagna and 6th house gave him courage to join revolutionary movement which started after the partition of Bengal in July 1905. During the Moon-Mercury dasha in the second half of 1908 Aurobindo was in a jail in the Calcutta city in connection with Alipore Bomb Case. During the one year stay in Jail he started moving towards spiritual practises. Mercury as the 12th lord shows imprisonment. But since Mercury is not afflicted here so he acquitted from the case on the 9th of May 1909 due to lack of evidences. Later he moved to Pondicherry in 1910 during the Moon-Ketu period in Vimshottari. The Ketu in the 12th house of Moon under the benefic aspect of Jupiter is a well known combination of spiritual practises.
In Navamsha the Ketu is in the 12th house receiving the aspect of 5th lord Venus gave him a divine signal during its sub period to bring a transformation in his life. The Moon-Ketu period in Vimshottari was the turning point in the life of Aurobindo when he moved to Pondicherry to dedicate his life towards spiritual and philosophical pursuits. In transit the Saturn was in Pisces at his 9th house and Jupiter was in Virgo giving aspect to it. The dasha of Moon-Ketu and the double transit of Saturn-Jupiter over the 9th house of Aurobindo brought him towards the path of religion in 1910.
His writings and establishing Aurobindo Ashram
In the dasha of 5th lord Mars from September 1912 to September 1919 he devoted much of his time towards practicing yoga and in his writings. Mars here is the lord of 5th house which as per Sage Parashara is the house signifying ‘Yantra, Tantra, Mantra and Vidya’. The maha dasha of 5th lord is the most important time in the life of a spiritual person for doing an intense ‘Sadhana’. Ketu in the 5th house under the aspect of 9th lord Jupiter gave him great command over many languages and exotic writing ability. Mars is also the lord of 10th house and is conjoined with the 9th lord Jupiter which gave him an excellent ability to write on mystical subjects. He started a magazine named ‘Arya’ in 1914.
Later during the dasha of Rahu from 1919 to 1937 he started publishing his works in the series of books. In the dasha of Rahu placed in the 11th house the number of his followers also started to grew and this led to the formation of Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1926 at Pondicherry. In was the dasha of Rahu-Saturn in Vimshottari which are at 6/8 position in both Rashi and Navamsha. Saturn as the 5th lord in Dashamsha in the 10th house shows getting dignified disciples. During this period he went into seclusion and gave the responsibility of managing the Ashram to Mira Richard, a French devotee, whom he considered as his spiritual equal.
In the dasha of Jupiter started in September 1937 Sri Aurobindo devoted much of his time in literary work, answering to the letters of his followers around the world and in doing yogic practices. Jupiter as the 9th lord in the close degree of ascendant shows the growth of his soul during its dasha. But Jupiter is also debliteated in the Navamsha and is in bad exchange with Moon. In the horoscope of Sri Aurobindo the classical ‘Sanyasa yoga’ mention by Sage Parashara and Acharya Varahamihira is not present. OSHO in his discourse the ‘the point of no return‘ has mention that Sri Aurobindo didn’t experience the enlightenment though he was a great philosopher and scholar.
On 5 December 1950 , Sri Aurobindo left this world at the age of 78 . National and international news papers commemorated on his death. It was the period of Jupiter-Mars in Vimshottari when he left this mortal world. Mars is giving aspect to the 8th house of death in Rashi chart and in Navamsha it is in the 8th house it self.
Mira Richard know as the ‘Mother’ continued the spiritual work of Sri Aurobindo , managed the Ashram and guided their disciples.
Horoscope of Mira Richard or the ‘Mother’
21 February 1878, 10:13 hours at France (Paris)
Longitude 2 E 20′ and Latitude 48 N 52′
Source: https://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Richard,_Mira
Balance of Dasha in Vimshottari : Mars 0 year 6 months and 7 days
In the birth chart of Mira Richards or the Mother the lagan lord Venus is in the 10th house along with the 10th lord Saturn which is a well known astrological yoga for the establishment of an institution. The Venus here is though combust by Sun but since the Sun is the lord of 4th house so it creates a good yoga here. The conjunction of lagan, 4th lord, 9th and 10th lord at the 10th house astrologically explain why Mira Richard was destined to manage a big religious institution. A deep combust Venus is a blessing for spirituality. The materialistic significations of Venus are burned under the ‘Sattvik’ rays of Sun which helps a person to overcome sex torments. Venus here is also the Rashi lord of Moon which is in Kemadruma yoga. A Kemadruma Moon square by Jupiter and Mercury gave her inner peace and tranquillity . She left her married life and dedicated herself towards the spiritual mission of Sri Aurobindo. The condition of Moon in the horoscope of ‘The Mother’ is more comfortable than that of Sri Aurobindo.
She authored many books on religion and spirituality which is explainable by the position of strong 5th lord Mercury in the 9th house along with Jupiter. Her chart has better yogas for living an exotic spiritual life than that of Sri Aurobindo as her lagna lord is in good condition where as in the horoscope of Sri Aurobindo the lagna lord is Moon which is in a bad exchange.
The dasha order in the horoscope of Mira Richards is excellent as she got the periods of 9th lord Saturn ( from 1912 to 1931), 5th lord Mercury ( from 1931 to 1948) and then of Ketu ( from 1948 to 1955) in succession. In this aspect her chart is better than that of Sri Aurobindo. In the dasha of Saturn she met Aurobindo on 29th of March 1914 at Pondicherry. Later she left the place and went to Japan and came back only in 1920 (Saturn-Venus). On 24 November 1926 she took the activities of the ‘Ashram’ , with handful of disciples, in her hand. Now notice the 10th lord Saturn here giving aspect to the 12th house and its lord Mars, which shows why she was destined to work in a foreign land in founding an institution. In Navamsha the Saturn is the lord of 12th house placed in the 4th house under the aspect of lagna and 10th lord Jupiter.
It was because of her magnificent efforts in spiritual guiding of the community that the Ashram become popular worldwide. She founded the city of Aurovill near Pondicherry as a model universal township for development of human consciousness. At present this beautiful place is managed by a foundation setup by the Indian government. She left this mortal world on 17 November 1973 when she was under Venus-Mercury dasha in Vimshottari. Mercury here as the 2nd lord from the ascendant is a ‘Maraka’ planet.
