Worried father of a married girl sought my advice on the prospects of her marital stability. A pundit had hinted turbulence in marriage a few years down the line. He had advised some puja to salvage the situation. Not sure about the probable outcome of belief-driven puja, the old man wished to countercheck. He approached me with a set of questions: “Is my daughter’s marital separation fated? If so, is there any scope to save it? Can heavenly forces be appeased by conducting puja to change the course of anybody’s destiny?”

Let me make it clear that destiny is not something like some independent force that may strike on our lives unrestrained. In fact, it is a related fallout of how we approach life and conduct ourselves. Of course, it is set in motion by karmic imprints carried over from the past, which defines our unique character. But at the same time, we enjoy the scope to modify it through awareness and conscious efforts. Evidently, if our conduct is reasoned, we become due for a smooth run of life. Well, if the couple are in love, conscious about caring for each other’s sensibilities and concerns, there remains no scope for separation. But if we unmindfully submit to our inherent habits and attitudes, its character will define our fate. So, marital separation will not simply happen because it would be so scripted in one’s destiny. What, therefore, is needed is to live consciously, watch out individual specific karmic baggage, and make necessary amends through fresh educative inputs.

Remember, every human being is born unique, each reflecting varying mental orientation — desire trends, likes and dislikes, prejudices and passions, virtues and attributes, habits and attitudes. So, there is nothing unusual if the couple happen to carry varying mental orientation, even conflicting trends. Here comes the role of interpersonal relationship skill, which shows us the way to be accommodative, overriding each other’s limitations. The irony, however, is that invariably we live more in a demanding mode, expecting from the partner to remain true to one’s expectation. And if per chance that doesn’t come about, it becomes difficult for the egotistical mind to digest. And then, one gets fixated to few negatives in the partner, often ignoring many positives, becomes overcritical, and the problem begins.

But remember, human mind is empowered to self-reflect, identify one’s potentials and vulnerabilities, filter the undesirables, and make right choices. Caught up in our usual mills of life, we don’t remain live about exercising this option, and with obvious consequences. Often, our egotistical mind doesn’t let us acknowledge our own fault-lines either. Here comes the role of Astrology, which can dispassionately show your mirror image for necessary correction.

Let us now look at astrological pointers of the partners to figure out their inherent mind-trends, vital to marital harmony and stability. The man’s lagna and Moon, both occupying fixed signs, speak of a stubborn character. Saturn being the lord of lagna, implies that he doesn’t express his emotions as would be usually expected by a female, and so could be misconstrued as being devoid of love. Moon locks horns with Uranus, Jupiter, and Saturn. In the first place, it speaks of his mercurial temperament, and unconventionality of approach. Second, he would be emotionally over sensitive, who may get over exercised even on trivial issue, over which he may unnecessarily keep mulling for long. Third, he would be having a negative and a suspicious mindset carrying nagging tendency, and habitually overcritical of others. Mars conjunct Mercury makes him restless. The positives too are immense that balance out his negatives. Jupiter conjunct Saturn, is beautifully aligned to the Sun, Mercury, and Mars. That speaks of a well-meaning person driven by a value system. He should be clear headed, having clarity in vision and thought. Moon beautifully aligned to Neptune speaks of a refined demeanor. The girl too, seems to be a refined person as Moon is beautifully aligned to Neptune. But her ego level seems to be quite high, given the fact that Mars is placed opposite Jupiter, which makes her stuck to self-assumed dos and don’ts. Anything happening to the contrary, it becomes difficult for her to digest. Saturn conjunct Ketu points to her escapist tendency. If she addresses these infirmities, there would be no scope for separation. Only such remedial measures would work, as could change one’s thought process, which the person alone could do. It is difficult to digest that any third person conducting some belief-driven puja can encroach upon other’s mind-space.

The writer is an astrologer, vastu consultant and spiritual counsellor. Write to him at G-102, Bharat Nagar, New Friends Colony, New Delhi – 110 025Tel: 91-11-49848475/9818037273

Email: pioneerqueries@bharatastro.com

Website: www.bharatastro.com

Astroturf : Watch out for karmic baggage