A South Korean who consulted me sought two clarifications against my observation on his chart: “Is being ambitious and dreaming of a good future an illusion? You have talked about my inflated ego. Would it mean that I am groundless and an ungrateful brat?” There is nothing wrong with being ambitious and nursing dreams. In fact, dreams are necessary for reaching the heights one is capable of, since they serve a focus to reach an objective. Since time immemorial, the Moon fascinated and evoked man’s curiosity, seen every day, yet unknown. A longing to know and understand it led scientists to send man on the Moon. All creative persons are dreamers — scientists, philosophers, poets, artists, writers. In fact, dreams drive their innovative ideas and creative spirit. It is, however, equally important to note that not everybody’s dreams are fulfilled. Non-realisation often brings in frustrating experiences. Would it mean that we are so helplessly fated?
Not exactly. More often, it is an individual failure on various counts. External factors also play spoiler at times. Blindly pursuing fanciful wild dreams, distanced from ground realities, will lead you nowhere. Only well-reasoned dreams can prove fruitful. It would be, therefore, desirable to first discriminate whether the dreams nursed are worth pursuing, especially in view of one’s individual worthiness and ground realities. Second, one has to be well geared up to pursue the dreams in the right earnest, as quality efforts need to be put in to successfully make it to the desired destination. Third, one should be alert enough to intelligently combat impending challenges posed by external factors. All these would need an orderly mind. The irony, however, is that blinded to dream perception, seldom does one remain conscious about addressing inherent infirmities beforehand. The result is obvious.
Now coming to the question of ego: Let me make it clear that no ordinary mortal could be ever devoid of ego. For, it is a necessary constituent of the mind that brings in the sense of ‘I’, and which holds the key to how we steer our lives. Any good or bad decision, it is ego’s call. But then ego doesn’t act on its own. It is prompted by the thought feed parked within our mind or the ones picked up from external influences. Invariably, ego identifies itself with the inherent mind trends and then passionately pursues them as if that would be its end game. In the process, it doesn’t feel the necessity to invoke buddhi (the faculty of discriminate intelligence) for due diligence. Often, those with inflated egos become vulnerable and get stuck to the callings of one’s preconditioned mind. Caught up in this, seldom does one care to invoke buddhi for a reality check before jumping into action. So, the probability of failure becomes higher. Evidently, if you look at life within the frame of such a restricted vision, you may also miss out on better opportunities, if any available. If, however, one remains conscious about invoking buddhi, an exclusive human privilege before taking a call, greater chances are that ego may lead you towards a better tomorrow. So, ego is not necessarily a compulsive spoiler. It can take either turn — fruitful or self-defeating — depending on how we use it, and which depends on how orderly our mind is.
On both counts, it becomes incumbent upon us to watch our mind-trends, identify and acknowledge fault-lines, and then make necessary corrections. Having thus purified the mind, one may look at issues at hand in a wider perspective, filter off the undesirables, and pick up the most appropriate lead.
Recently, someone with an inflated ego, as would eighth aspect of Mars on Jupiter imply, got into a self-undoing act because of his mental inconsistencies, which cost him heavily. The Sun placed adverse to Saturn speaks of a negative mindset charged with a sense of fear and insecurity, also having an identity crisis. The Sun conjunct Mars is placed adverse to delusionary Neptune and Moon. It implies, in the first place, that he would be stuck to his fanciful perceptions, distanced from ground realities. He may not acknowledge the truth on its first appearance and continue pursuing his line of thinking till pushed to the wall. Second, he is irritable and temperamental and may blow up on the slightest provocation, losing sense of purpose and order. If that is not enough, his selfish streak playing heavy in his mind doesn’t allow him space to care for others’ sensibilities and concerns. And the result is there to see.
The writer is an astrologer, vastu consultant and spiritual counsellor. Write to him atG-102, Bharat Nagar, New Friends Colony, New Delhi-110 025
Tel: 91-11-49848475/9818037273
Email: pioneerqueries@bharatastro.com
Website: www.bharatastro.com
