Ascent via Ketu

In this part we take a 180° turn to meet his other half, the mystic headless eternal spiritual seeker hiding behind the veils of mist. Where Rahu was the descent into chaos, Ketu is the one who rises from that chaos. Ketu’s story is same as Rahu (read: Decent in Chaos). Quick recap — Samudra Mathan is completed and Swarbhanu got killed for his shrewdness and Rahu-Ketu get immortalised.

Ketu is the most tough planet to grasp in terms of understanding, to the point he demands total surrender. Rahu and Ketu are the only planets who have no physical presence in the cosmos, yet they cast shadows which results in darkness on earth. Though they have no physical existence, their mathematical presence is long accepted. These two nodes -ascending (rahu) and descending (ketu) are poles apart-180° away from each other.

This relative positioning makes them appear poles apart, which is why people tend to presume them as two entities, which clearly are not. One is head and other is body. Each works it own, I mean they have their work cut out. Ketu like Rahu has basic malefic makeup, but the expression is different from Rahu. As opposite they are, they purely result in illusion, by that I mean they are same side of a coin, and yet are not.

If you remember from the story, Swarbhanu saw through Mohini’s plan, and acted on it, resulting the split. Ketu as mere body is deprived of that exact vision, is unable to break through illusions, thus wandering in it. Ketu is described as mist covered, through which one cannot see. His cast of illusion is blinding in nature by dowsing the native in mist. Mist has this unique feature, when you see it from away you see a white veil, but from within you are able to see upto certain steps.. Rahu is one who expands your visions, makes see more that you want to, while Ketu blinds you.

Rahu is the one who gulps Sun while Ketu devours Moon. Ketu is associated with mind- the Moon. Mind has no eyes, no brains, all it can do is feel. Ketu relies on mind memory over the brain. We can debate if mind is different from brain? or question where is mind located in the body? There are many answers to it, most people say mind is part of brain, but few have said mind is the whole body. Sportsmen practice and practice so their art becomes their second habit, and so do many other fields use this same procedure. Thats what the body remembers, unlike the active brain. Ketu is that experienced memory, the subconscious of being. Actions (Karma), thereby acquired knowledge through many of the past lives.

Ketu being separate from the brain, acts more intuitively. Since it’s free from the clutches of thoughts, Ketu is excellent for spiritual pursuits. The greed of desires got cut of with Rahu, leaving Ketu empty of those traits. That makes the nature of Ketu laden with detachment, to cut off all that is unnecessary for moksha. Ketu can deem life as something insignificant for Moksha, can make one give up life. His illusion unlike Rahu doesn’t give vision of grandiose, rather Ketu is depressive, gloomy, finds solace in aloofness-cutting off from society, in the depths of jungles, on high mountains, absolutely away from civilisations. Ketu looks within, to borrow immortal words of Saint Kabir,

मोको कहाँ ढूंढें बन्दे,
मैं तो तेरे पास में

hints at what Ketu looks for, the Self that is shrouded in mystery.

Rahu being eyes, nose, mouth, ears and brain is the aware- the Conscious one, while Ketu being the decapitated body is the unaware- the unconscious half. He doesn’t know to value all that he has, thus needs an external force to make him aware of his might. Just like Hanuman was reminded of his powers by Jambavanta, Ketu always needs a Guru. That makes him very impressionable, thus raising him to the stature of being the best student (he never obstructs, just absorbs). Ketu has it all in himself, is stomach is filled, but doesn’t have the brains to be realise it.

Ketu has less interest in material pursuits, yet bestows them on then native only to cut him off from that materialism. He loves being a Sanyasi, thus will force one to get married, only to prove the futility of marriage. He is brutal, doesn’t think twice in breaking marriages, aiming to push the involved parties towards moksha. He sees marriage (and many other life events) as mere targets-to do list items. Just do it and move on, be detached (is motto).

Like Rahu, Ketu also operates only in extremes, either a very risen soul or totally deranged one. Ketu creates fanatics like Osama bin Laden, where they are absolutely blinded by a goal, wherein killing is must. Ketu is all that is hidden, be it knowledge, tantric practices involving healing, hackers, spying through satellites, diseases, anything and everything that human mind has not yet thought of belongs to realm of Ketu. Sitting far away, behind computer screens, hidden from world is perfect fertile ground for Ketu. In modern day all the illness, diseases where a cause cannot be found, or cure cannot be found is all under the influence of Ketu.

Ketu being the tail of the metaphorical snake Swarbhanu desires for its head, and yet detachment is its core. Its excellent planet to realise materialism and move towards moksha, but again handling these energies is not easy. Rahu is undying desire of want, whereas Ketu has dearth of it. Ketu is a slow burn, absolute corrosive, targeting the desires —the Kama, making the soul suffer that burning.

Disclaimer : The views expressed here are not for spread of superstition, rather to share, to break those bonds of mysticism of superstition. The stories are shared just to make one realise how to avoid astrologers traps, and just to enjoy the how the philosophy build up in Indian continent.