Rahu

Of all the grahas in jyotisha, Rahu is the most shady, literally and psychologically. No physical body but only a point in space, the Northern node of the Moon’s elliptical. The pouranik story says he was a demon who wanted to steal amrita. When the Moon and Sun found out, they informed Visnu who cut off the head of the demon. This head, in the act of consuming amrita, became Rahu, while the body became Ketu.

Many jyotishis say Rahu is an Asura, he is a chandala, he rules fear, psychological complexes, defilement, insects, dark places, holes, subterranean entities, spirits, he is a master of gimmicks and fraud.

That is all true, but there is more to Rahu than this, in my opinion. The above description is judgmental, but one must look at a phenomenon – for a graha is not human, it is a great power, a phenomenon – very calmly, for its true worth, neither running towards it nor running away from it, like a scientist observing a distant star and appreciating its beauty and grandeur.

Rahu is an Asura, he is one of the bravest grahas. In courage Rahu is right next to Mars, the only difference being that Mars has no trace of fear when in full power, Rahu takes into account a sub-current of fear and accordingly plans his moves. For example, if someone tells Mars that if you attack right now the enemy is more powerful and you will suffer injuries, even death maybe, Mars won’t stop. His logic is that I may die, but I will kill ten before I die. Raw, brutal fearlessness like a whip made of lightning. Rahu on the other hand will take the situation into account, then , instead of a frontal attack, he will choose a bomb or a guerrilla technique, cause immense damage to the enemy while not bringing himself into the line of fire.

Yet to the enemy, who does not know Rahu’s true nature, Rahu will come across as a massive, sudden, furious upsurge of power intent on destroying all who stand in his path. He can be amazingly terrifying, for he alone understands the truth of fear, and so he uses all known and unknown psychological techniques to maximize the impact of his force on the intended target. That is Rahu. Psychological warfare is Rahu’s true forte.

Which brings us to the next area of expertise for Rahu. He is the greatest psychologist there is. He does not listen to what men say, he only sees their hidden motivations. Rahu is the only graha with the power to read behind the scenes, see what is invisible to all else, his tears open the human mind in search for all its deepest darkest causes and biases. Equally Rahu can see through any conspiracy. One cannot become an intelligence officer without a powerful Rahu in one’s chart. A weak Rahu on the other hand makes people believe in all kinds of weird conspiracy theories like the Earth is flat. Propaganda is Rahu’s work.

Next, this ability to clearly see what is not seen by others, makes Rahu the greatest graha for Tantra sadhana. Nobody can master Tantra without blessings of a powerful Rahu. Only he can teach how to read into the occult forces, and work accordingly. The original Vedic religion was governed by Sun, while the Tantric religion is governed by Rahu. Be not judgemental as one is prone to be hearing of this division. Sun is brilliant but very distant, most people fool themselves into believing they are staring into the Sun when all they do is merely look at a vague reflection in the water.

Which is why Shiva says because men in Kali have lost the capacity for true understanding of Vedas, hence I give you Tantra shastra.

The combination of fearlessness, ability to see all that is invisible to the naked eye, finding the locus of desires and being able to rightly channelize these forces for greater self-development through skilful means – that is Tantra in a nutshell. Which is why while the Vedic religion spread all across the land, gained a reputation (Sun is ALWAYS famous), Tantra developed in the fringes of society, a heterodox movement often in contradiction with vedic injunctions, sometimes using all that was negated in the vedic path, and always secretive in nature. That is 100% Rahu. In Jyotisha, Sun and Rahu are shatru grahas – no wonder the history of the vedic path and Tantric path were seen to be in conflict with each other at various points.

The next thing Rahu governs is new ideas, futuristic thinking, technological marvels, magic shows and all revolutions. A new order. No revolution anywhere is possible without the power of Rahu. He loves to bring the subaltern upwards and place it in the role of a leader, not because it has any special love for the marginalized, but Rahu loves disrupting settled orders. Without Rahu no scientific progress would have happened, no change in any status quo ever. He is the undisputed lord of all who carry chaos in their hearts. Without Rahu India would never get its independence just like without Rahu Turko-mongol warlords would have never entered India and destroyed the settled structures and equations. Neither would we have the internet and the mobile phone for that matter.

Rahu is also the most perfect cheat. When he wants to commit a fraud he will take the individual to heights of imagination using the desires that drive the individual (remember Rahu can read all your secret desires) and then one fine day pull the rug from under his feet. Crash, bang. In a blink from hero to zero.

There are many more things to be said about Rahu, but perhaps the most vital of them all is this: forget the chart. Anyone born today is already under a severe grasp of Rahu. As Kali Yuga deepens Rahu gains more power and influence at a mass level. Hence every second person will have his own pet conspiracy theory to fall back on. Activism based on half-knowledge, lack of concentration to see a thing through, nurturing different kinds of unrealistic delusions – all this will keep increasing. A time will come when it would be hard to find a man who is not without his pet delusions. These conspiracy theories and delusions are like a mass cloud hovering around in the realm of ideas looking for the next mind to plant roots into, and once it engulfs an individual he will keep following it driven by a subconscious force, and that is the most powerful of all forces. The head without a body means one who is always hungry for ideas and the next high, but does not have the patience to digest the idea. Good or bad is irrelevant. This is what will happen anyway.

One remedy for this is IF, and a BIG IF, one is able to do sincere atma vicara. But frankly for 99.99% it is too difficult a path to follow sincerely. Another way is to be tentative – don’t jump to any conclusions fast. If one practices this diligently, a bit of detachment from external life and all positions, questions all that seems sanguine, Rahu’s grip decreases marginally.

But then again, when the pure force of Rahu blesses an individual they move into the highest zones of Occult and Tantra sadhana at an exceptional speed. Without His blessings one never *succeeds* in Tantra. Never ever.

Rahu also signifies Naga-s and curses from past lives as he rules the domain of politics.

Every day we see Rahu’s magic in action all around us. One must never fail to marvel at the awesome Shakti of Rahu if one is born in this age. It’s truly a thing of great wonder.

The deities who can control Rahu best are two: Durga and Bhairava. And then Hanuman and Ganesha.

And so Vyasa describes Him thus:

अर्धकायं महावीर्य चन्द्रादित्यविमर्दनम ।
सिंहिकागर्भसंभूतं तं राहुं प्रणमाम्यहम ।।

Ardh Kayam maha viryam chandraditya vimardanam
Simhika garbha sambhutam tam rahum pranamamyaham

The One who has half-a-body, filled with valour and courage and is able to subdue the luminaries- Sun and Moon, born from the womb of Simihka, I offer my obeisance to Lord Rahu.