Navagraha

Hinduism and astrology are still intimately connected. In the past it was common that astrology and religion were related, even within Christianity, but over time astrology became separated and even rejected from many religious cultures, including Judaism and Christianity. In the case of Hinduism, however, this never happened, and to this day astrology has remained a vibrant part of the religion. Even now, most educated Hindus will seek astrological advice at some point in their lives. One of the key components of astrology are the Nava Grahas. Most Hindus think of the Nava Grahas as the nine planets. The word nava does mean nine, but graha does not directly mean planet. Instead, graha, comes from the Sanskrit root grih which means “to seize” or “to take hold of.” Literally, these nine "planets"are nine “seizers,” so if we can be seized or taken hold of, we can be influenced. The Nava Grahas are, therefore, the nine influences over our lives. In the early days of Hinduism, the tradition speaks of the enlightened seers, rishis, who looked out across physical reality and saw that life was “influenced” by different forces, and of all the forces that influenced life, nine were the most influential, and so they were called the nava grahas, "the nine influences." These nine influences are: the sun, the moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu. This is the Hindu order and it follows the days of the week in most Indian and even many European languages. Sunday, for example, is governed by the sun, hence the name Sunday. Monday is governed by the moon, (add an extra “o” and you get moon-day); Tuesday by Mars (Martes in Spanish); Wednesday by Mercury (Miércoles); Thursday by Jupiter (Jueves, Jovian for Jupiter); Friday by Venus, (Viernes), and Saturday, of course, is governed by Saturn. In addition, to these seven points of influence, there are two others called Rahu and Ketu that are a little more difficult to understand.