John Kerry 2004 — SCD Analysis & Philosophical Digression: What is Lagna?

Philosophical Digression — What is Lagna, Really?

A student interrupted the recap: on one side Lagna is said to be just the body, on the other it is supposed to be some consensus of body, mind and soul. Which is it? The teacher's answer: neither.

PVNR's Clarification

Soul is shown by Sun and Atmakaraka. Not by Lagna, "period." Mind is shown by Moon, and a little by Amatya Karaka — the outer layer of mind that interacts with everything else. Not by Lagna.

Amatya Karaka (AMK): Approximate translation = "minister" but really = "counselor, advisor who guides you." Shows various souls influencing your soul. Can be seen as the outer layer of mind that interfaces with the world.

Lagna is not a consensus of body, mind and soul. It is the sense of "I" — the ID of the container that holds the soul and the mind. Mind is not that "I"; mind processes what the world does to that "I". By default the mind associates with the container and thinks "this container is me, there is nothing beyond."

"That lagna is nothing but the container of the soul and mind. And mind associates with that container. It thinks this container is me."

The student pressed: is this not just a construct of the mind? The teacher: the gathering and synthesising of information is mind; the concept of "this is me" itself is Lagna. It is "a layer above mind" with which the mind associates very closely.

Illustration: hit with a cricket ball on the nose, you feel "I am hurt" — so the "I" includes the body. Now leave the body. Someone mails three people that you are a cruel person; you come across it and feel "I am insulted." No body is touched. He need not even use your name or photo — if you know it is about you, you are still hurt. That sense of "I" which most people have is Lagna. It includes the body but is not limited to it.

The Three Lingas — Levels of Self-Identification (Tantra/Yoga)

Three Lingas exist within each person, corresponding to three levels of self-identification:

Linga means a symbol. The three Lingas are three levels of self-identification. The mapping of the Lingas to Lagna and Atmakaraka is the teacher's own synthesis ("as per my understanding").

Kundalini = the energy of the ego, of your manifestation as a separate being — which is why she is a Devi. In 99.99% of people she hugs the Svayambhu Linga in the Muladhara: self-identification is at the level of Lagna.

When Kundalini rises to the Bana Linga (Anahata, the heart), self-identification shifts to the Atmakaraka, the individual Jivatma. The body becomes a third person — it exists, it is not Maya, but it is not "I". What happens to it is watched dispassionately as if it happened to someone else. This is why traditional literature places the Atmakaraka in the heart.

When Kundalini reaches the Sahasrara there is no Linga left to embrace. Shiva and Shakti unite. No self-identification remains — Nirvikalpa Samadhi. There is no first person at all: body is a third person, even the soul is a third person.

Paka Lagna shows the same level as Lagna. Lagna and Paka Lagna are the basic self-identification of ordinary people — those not realised, not on the path. With evolution the mind slowly stops taking the body as "I".

"Whatever mind thinks this is 'I', that is Lagna… It has nothing to do with mind or soul. These three are three different things."

John Kerry — 2004 Election (D10)

Finding the Dasha

• Born December 1943. On election day (November 2004) he was still in the year that began in December 2003 and ran to December 10, 2004.
• 60 years finished → 61st year → 61 − 60 = 1st house dasha.
• Natal D10: Lagna Pisces, Sun Pisces, Moon Virgo.

SC Dasha: Pisces / Virgo / Pisces. The Surya-chakra sign is Pisces (so is the Lagna-chakra sign). Virgo would show how Kerry felt during the year; the class leaves that aside.

Entry Chart D10 from Pisces — the Count

Count: 7 bad, 1 good, 1 neutral. Against Bush's 4 out of 9.

Yogas from Pisces

• Amavasya Yoga in the 1st — Sun and Moon together. It pulls down the house it falls in. Not good for career and material things (it suits certain sadhanas). Not as bad as Mars–Rahu or Sun–Rahu, but the lagna is weakened.
• Only benefics in the 3rd and 6th (Mercury, Venus), no malefics — a combination for loss.
• Kuja–Rahu Yoga in the 10th — fire and air; the house it occurs in is destroyed. Rahu with Mars, Sun, Moon or Jupiter is always terrible. Rahu pulls down whatever house he occupies, here the 10th, and he is with the 9th lord Mars — bhagya is destroyed.

What is in Kerry's favour (raised by students, accepted by the teacher):

• Mars–Jupiter parivartana (Mars in Sagittarius, Jupiter in Aries). Mars then acts like Jupiter in own sign in the 10th — a Hamsa Yoga. Rahu does not care whether he fights Mars or Jupiter, but they "will not go down without fighting." So the karma sthana does have a good influence.
• Sun, 6th lord (competition), well placed in the 1st with 5th lord Moon. A 5th–6th lord conjunction in lagna normally means intelligence applied well to overcome obstacles. Here it is an Amavasya, so the effort is there but unsure and confused. That was the campaign: with so much resentment against Bush people kept asking what Kerry was doing; the push came late.

Verdict

"It's not that this is a bad year, but overall, if you compare both the persons and see whose career will receive a big boost during this year…"

Kerry's career gets no boost — it looks like a death blow. Bush has the 9th, 10th and 1st lords, all benefics, together in the 9th. "There is absolutely no comparison."

A student asked whether coming into the limelight was not itself good for Kerry. The teacher: debatable. He got his chance and is done; had he come four years later he might have won.