Example Chart (1953) — Scorpio Dasha (Karma Yoga via 6H), Leo Dasha (2012–2020, Strongest Guru Period), Tapasya Yoga & Aries Formative Dasha

Example chart

Natal chart: Cancer lagna with Mars, Venus, Ketu. Sun and Mercury in Leo. Jupiter in Gemini. Saturn exalted in Libra. Moon in Taurus. Rahu in Capricorn.
Druk Dasha sequence: Pisces, Sagittarius, Virgo, Gemini, Aries (1989–96), Aquarius, Scorpio (running at the time of the class), Leo (2012–2020).

Scorpio Dasha (Running)

Progressed lagna = 5th from Scorpio = Pisces.

Natal chart from Pisces:

• "Work hard" here means work towards spiritual progress, not twelve hours a day at the office. The teacher made this point when a student asked.
• An afflicted 4th gives confusion, because the 4th is direction and how comfortable one feels about one's spiritual activities.

Dasha Pravesha Chakra from Pisces:

• 6th house (Leo): Sun, Mercury, Mars. The 6th lord is in the 6th in both charts.
• Mars (9th lord) and Mercury (7th lord) are together there: a raja yoga of the house of dharmic activity and the house of interacting with people. It shows interaction with people on dharmic activity.
• Jupiter is in the 7th.
• Venus (8th lord) and Saturn (12th lord) are together in the 4th, a moksha trikona. Ketu is in the 8th. Saturn, Venus and Ketu are in mutual trines.

Tapasya yoga. Ketu in the 8th with Saturn and Venus in trines from him is the tapasya yoga. It sits in the Dasha Pravesha Chakra of this dasha, not in the natal chart. It means he can take up any intense practice in this period if he needs to; the planets give the intensity.

Verdict. Putting both charts together, the 6th dominates more than the 5th. The 6th is service, karma yoga. This is a period of sadhana through service, volunteering and helping people. The 6th can also give sickness, and it can give some fruits of sadhana.

"Looking at both of them, actually the 6th house seems to dominate more than the 5th house."

Leo Dasha (2012–2020) — The Best Period

Progressed lagna = 5th from Leo = Sagittarius.

• Natal chart from Sagittarius: the 9th (Leo: Sun, Mercury) is extremely strong and the 8th (Cancer: Ketu, Venus, Mars) is even stronger.
• Dasha Pravesha Chakra from Sagittarius: the 8th is not strong. But Saturn, kāraka of hard work, aspects it by graha dṛṣṭi from Libra, and the 8th lord Moon is in a sign of Saturn. So there will be some serious sadhana.
• More than that, the 9th is extremely strong in both charts, and in both the planets are Sun and Mercury. Excellent guidance will come from someone shown by Sun or Mercury.

The guru rule applied:

• The Bhrātṛkāraka is the Sun. He is in Leo, the dasha sign itself.
• The 9th lord from Jupiter is Saturn. He is exalted in Libra and aspects Leo by rāśi dṛṣṭi.
• So in this dasha he will meet a guru, or, if he has already met him, a lot of guidance will come.

"It is not necessary to work very hard in your spiritual sadhana to make progress. You can either make progress because you do intense sadhana, or you make progress because somebody's blessings are with you. Some guru is giving you a push."

"The period from 2012 to 2020 is a period when you will get some push from some guru."

Advice given: for the five years until then, do not worry too much. Keep helping people. Engage in karma yoga.

Aries Dasha (1989–96) — Formative

Progressed lagna = 5th from Aries = Leo.

• Natal chart from Leo: the lagna holds its own lord, the Sun, so the lagna is very strong. Lagna shows a new beginning and overall growth. The 12th (Cancer) is very strong with Mars, Venus and Ketu: detachment.
• Dasha Pravesha Chakra from Leo: the 12th is not strong, but the lagna again is. It holds four planets: Ketu (mokṣa kāraka), Sun (lord of the sign), Moon (12th lord) and Mars (yogakāraka).
• Natal chart and pravesha chart agree that the lagna dominates. The lagna is the seed of the whole spiritual life. So this is the period in which the spiritual journey was formed.

The native's reply: it began two years earlier. He met his yoga teacher in 1987, and from about 1989 he took it up seriously and began teaching yoga classes, because the teacher asked him to.

Gemini Dasha (Before 1989) — Meeting the Yoga Teacher

The teacher then checked whether 1987 fits the guru rule.

• The dasha sign Gemini contains Jupiter. He is the kāraka of guru and also the 9th lord from the natal lagna. So meeting a guru in Gemini dasha is plausible.
• The progressed lagna is Libra, which holds exalted Saturn, the yogakāraka from Libra. Saturn is the planet of the path of yoga. Saturn in the lagna shows getting started on yoga.

Even so, the teacher held to 1989–96 as the formative period: it takes time for the concepts to become part of one's thinking. All the dashas since then have been good. Leo will be the best.