i am presently reading autobiography of a yogi by paramahansa yogananda.... i have seen the cover of this book for many years while frequenting book stores, but the book came up in conversation a few months ago and i was motivated to read this very interesting book.. this book has been very influencial on a number of well known people.. see the wiki page for info on this..

this book has reminded me of the far reaching stories i read as a young person by baird spaulding 'life and teachings of the masters of the far east'.. these books were instrumental in motivating me to travel to india in january 1998 for 6 weeks with my wife susan.. some of the ideas in these books are hard to believe, but i was and remain very receptive to them...

here are some links to begin with..
https://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Yo ... aramahansa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramahansa_Yogananda
https://yogananda.org/locations-interna ... adquarters

astrodatabank rates the time as C, because there is some question over how the time was recorded.. it essentially boils down to 2 charts to choose from.. one with the moon right on the ascendant and the other with the moon about 6 degrees off the ascendant.. i remember the first time i saw the chart - many years ago - it was moon right on the ascendant.. i was thinking of how it is possible to do some work with the navamsa chart to come up with a more likely chart for p yogananada... i might be dreaming, but i am curious to see what i come up with.. he describes himself as 'devotional' in nature and i think that fits with the moon in emphasis on the ascendant, but either chart could work... below are the two charts to consider..

the first one is the same as shown at adb, but in sidereal zodiac.. i have called it the 20:59 chart due the time given of 20:50.



the 2nd one has moon right on the ascendant and i call it the 20:26 chart.. see the source notes on the adb link to see what i am doing here, if interested..



perhaps before i go further, i would like to quote a section of the astrodatabank entry in the link provided up above which will be interesting to most astrologers here... "A lifelong celibate and mystic, Yogananda wrote that he burned the prophesies about his life written down by the family's astrologer because he did not want to be controlled by its prediction of marrying three times. Though his family pressed him to marry, his determination to follow the spiritual path was resolute. He did not accept deterministic astrology but pointed out that the most difficult times give rise to the greatest achievements."

i would like to also include a wikipedia link to his teacher who played a key role in his initiation and development and who he honoured and revered - Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swami_Sri_Yukteswar_Giri

i will see if i can find the time in the next few days to give my thoughts on the 2 different birth charts for him.. i did examine the time of his first coming to the usa in 1920 and noted the transit of jupiter in the vicinity of his ascendant, but that was not enough of a dive into all of this.. meanwhile, i continue to read the book and am about 1/3rd into it..

regarding the moon rising, it is said that there people make good politicians as they can read the publics mood better, or that they have a knack for sensing the mood of the public more generally.. in both charts, moon rules the 12th house.. the idea of a spiritual leader having a prominent moon on the ascendant and ruling the 12th makes sense to me, as i associate this idea with some of my ideas on what the 12th house is all about - sacrifice, compassion, letting go and generally working behind the scenes to bring to fruition ideas that in to a 45 to saturn...so, i think regardless of which chart is 'correct' - both have merit on this level.. applying to saturn also implies taking on the discipline and hard work needed to balance the emotional ups and downs that come with life generally, and with spiritual practice more specifically..

he was very close to his mother, but unfortunately his mom passed away when he was fairly young.. is this reflected in the moon rising charts? in so far as moon is ruling the 12th, it makes some sense.. the 4th house is often associated with the mother, or the 10th... the 4th ruler is mars, placed in the 8th in pisces..

the idea of foreign work, and living abroad is also a 12th house theme.. i got this from reading books on indian astrology.. again - it makes sense that one would make their home in a faraway land, separated from their place of origin and family and that a 12th house emphasis would highlight this possibility too.. so - again - moon in the ascendant in both charts, as ruler of the 12th - highlights all this.. more later..

okay... a technical problem.. i see solar fire is giving me a slightly different chart for the 2026 timed chart with ascendant at 6 and change leo, and moon remains at 3 and change.. not sure how this works with solar fire settings, but i am running it on the laptop and wanted to look at the D9, or navamsa charts using both times... both charts support yoganandas spiritual quest, but perhaps one of them does better...

below are the 2 charts taken from a screenshot - 2026 first and 2059 second as shown below.. i will see if i can comment in the next day or 2..





and i may as well add the solar fire chart i have with the 2026 time which gives 6 leo rising, as opposed to 3 or 4 leo rising.. see screen shot for this chart down below.. also - included is the close position of chiron - the wounded healer - on the lagna, or ascendant of the chart.. i like working with chiron, but of course morinus doesn't have that option in those blue charts i typically share..

I am not familiar with Paramahansa Yogananda.

Based solely on this astrological chart, Neptune/Pluto (Gemini) (supernatural phenomena)=Venus/Mercury (Sagittarius) (writer), he is an author of spiritual books.

Saturn/Jupiter-Mars=Sun, and also Jupiter/Mars=Saturn, indicating a tendency towards celibacy or abstinence.

thanks wei for taking a look and offering feedback..

he is an author of spiritual type books, but in the grander scheme of things, he has had a bigger impact that a writer of spiritual books typically gets.. maybe it is due the fact he established a school of sorts in north america that has been a big influence on a number of people... using a different example - jk rowling has had a big impact on many given her harry potter books, so maybe the writing is an important basis for it all..

with regard to the tendency towards celibacy and abstinence, i think that is built into the religious or spiritual approach that the person emphasized in their life.. the idea of using the navamsa or 9th harmonic chart - D9 - is that one is said to gleam more insight off this chart on the person from a more spiritual point of view.. perhaps the number 9 has to do with this, as it is the last number and represents the end of the road and a letting go of materiality and reaching for a more spiritual plane of function..

there are whole books written on the navamsa chart in fact so the approach is different in indian astrology then in the west where it would be referred to as the 9th harmonic chart... the placement of the planets and angles can be strengthened or weakened according to where they are placed in the navamsa chart.. for example - having the same rising sign in both charts is said to strengthen the position of the ascendant/rising sign and there is a term for it too - vargottam.. with this in mind, i am leaning towards favouring the 2059 chart, as opposed to the 2026 chart for yogananda.

other considerations that i have observed.. the trikota lords are the rulers of the 1,5, and 9 houses of the natal chart - in both cases - sun, jupiter and mars... one looks to these 3 planets in the navamsa chart to formulate a view on the persons religious dedication... keep in mind - the 9th house is thought to be the house of religion, so the 9th house ruler takes on greater importance over the topic of religious dedication.. in yoganandas chart aries is the 9th house ruler... mars is in the 8th in the sign pisces in a conjunction with the 5th house ruler - jupiter which is strong in pisces.. in the 2059 navamsa chart we see mars in scorpio conjunct the 1st house ruler - sun and in opposition to the exalted moon - ruler of the 12th house of the natal chart.. the moon and mars are both strengthened in the 2059 navamsa chart and on the angles in this chart as well... i think this gives greater credence to the 2059 time, if only using the navamsa chart as a means of doing this.. also - these 1,5,9 house rulers need to be in a relationship to one another to increase the religious merit...

there are a number of other considerations that go into this too which i would discuss here, as it would take up too much writing! i would refer anyone interested to get a copy of vp goels book 'predict with navamsha' which has a chapter at the end discussing some of what i have discussed here..

Hi James,

Since I'm a disciple on Yogananda's spiritual path, of course I'm interested in his birth chart which has been discussed in a number of books by Vedic astrologers. There is a book by Philip Goldberg, The Life of Yogananda, published in 2018 with a number of precise dates that I always wanted to check, but never had the time.

I'd like to respond to points in your posts, but have been so busy lately. I'll keep your topic in mind, and will respond when I'm able. Thanks for noting Yogananda's chart for consideration. His organization in Los Angeles, Self-Realization Fellowship (Yogoda in India), is influential throughout the world with many thousands of followers and disciples who practice Kriya Yoga, a scientific method for spiritual advancement.

james_m wrote: Sat Dec 16, 2023 6:03 pm astrodatabank rates the time as C, because there is some question over how the time was recorded.. it essentially boils down to 2 charts to choose from.. one with the moon right on the ascendant and the other with the moon about 6 degrees off the ascendant.. i remember the first time i saw the chart - many years ago - it was moon right on the ascendant.. i was thinking of how it is possible to do some work with the navamsa chart to come up with a more likely chart for p yogananada... i might be dreaming, but i am curious to see what i come up with.. he describes himself as 'devotional' in nature and i think that fits with the moon in emphasis on the ascendant, but either chart could work... below are the two charts to consider..

the first one is the same as shown at adb, but in sidereal zodiac.. i have called it the 20:59 chart due the time given of 20:50.

the 2nd one has moon right on the ascendant and i call it the 20:26 chart.. see the source notes on the adb link to see what i am doing here, if interested.

Hey James: Good observations; thanks for posting.
Here are some additional thoughts on the times for Yogananda. Firstly, there is a bit of an axe to grind; the source notes by ADB on Yogananda need some work. They are confusing and do not properly relate the history of how they arrived at 2059.

This is a recurring problem with the ADB editors on some of the pages where the source notes are updated but all of the history of the current TOB is redacted.

I have to go on memory here, but the original notes by Louis Rodden had the time as 20:38, but the current source notes only have the original source cited by Rodden, the Mercury Hour, 7/1976, quotes his ashram, the Self Realization Institute. The time for the source is missing, which was 20:38; the notes they provide on the time zone data are not clear at all without it. (See the source notes quoted in full below.)

Self Realization Fellowship continues to give 20:38 as the time of Yogananda’s TOB. As you were able to ferret out from the source notes with the newest time zone data, this would convert to 20:26.

Yet ADB doesn’t give the source of the 20:59 time. I expect better scholarship from ADB editors.

Okay, my axe is sharpened.

There are several conflicting times for Yogananda's birth, but there has never been a disagreement about Yogananda's horoscope that I am aware of, at least in the sidereal camp. Everyone, even if they have not stated a birth time, Yogananda's rising sign is Leo.

I read many years ago that KN Rao used a time of 8:14 a.m. He recounted that he got this chart when he was posted in Calcutta during his service career. He gave no other details about the source, as I remember.

Since ADB does not cite their source for the 2059 time of birth, I will provide you with my source for an alternative time that is within a few minutes of the ADB time.

I have privately mentioned to you that my first Jyotish guru was a disciple of Swami Satyananda Giri, who was a childhood friend of Yogananda and a co-disciple of their guru Sriyukteswarji. He stated that Satyanandaji held that Yogananda was born at 8:57 p.m. I also read many years later that Satyanandaji also mentions this in his book, Yogananda Sangha.

FWIW, this time is the best documented and accurate. Swami Satyanandaji was at least as close to Yogananda and SriYukteswarji as anyone. SRF is wrong, in my opinion, though you would assume they would be the ones to know.

We can talk about why this time very closely matches the events in Yogananda’s life—well, a few of them anyway.

...as it would take up too much writing!
~james m

LOL

Be well.

Here are the brief source notes quoted in full for reference from the ADB page on Yogananda:

Source Notes
Mercury Hour, 7/1976, quotes his ashram, the Self Realization Institute.

(Gorakhpur is on Madras time. As it is 3 degrees 7 min east of Madras, the correction of Gorakhpur to Madras is 12 min 28 sec plus, making the time 20:50 LMT. If the LMT correction had already been made, the original Madras time would have been 20:26 LMT. We are perhaps safest in assuming that the time as given is LMT.)

23 Jan 2021: ADB uses Madras time automatically in a correct way. Adaptation of birth time no longer needed.

https://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Yo ... aramahansa

aj

thanks for going into great detail here and providing the information you've shared.. i appreciate it... it is interesting about how your teacher had the time 857pm and that it is also contained in a book.. that is fairly close to the time adb is now giving of 859pm... the kn rao time - i wonder where that came from? i also wonder what the time was used by the astrologer who made the prediction he would marry 3 times, which leads me to thinking of how an astrologer would arrive at that prediction!

to go back to the navamsa chart that i was using for both times to try to ascertain the more likely time - vp goel says some very relevant ideas in regards the interpretation of the D9 or navamsa chart in his book on this... i said it would take up too much writing to cover it all, but will share 2 ideas he relayed.. one is that the moon has to be debilitated, or in a hard aspect to saturn because for one to be truly devoted and pursing a path of spirituality, one has to not be comfortable.. it seems the moon is the place of our comforts and a comfortable moon is not a person who will dedicate themselves to religion or a spiritual path... now - i am putting this in my own words, but you get the idea.. in the D9 charts for yoganada this condition is not met, as the trine lords don't count... mars rules the 9th, sun rules the 1st and jupiter of course rules the 5th..

another consideration vp goel gives is the position of venus in the D9 chart.. it also must be afflicted to clamp down on lust and luxury.. in yoganandas chart it is in the sign aquarius - not sure if that would qualify, as saturn ruler of aquarius... regardless of this system that vp goel presents, there is more to it and it is all very interesting.. also consideration of the 9th lord from the moon, the 9th lord in the birth chart and jupiter in the navamsa are all important considerations too.. the topic of the moon that i mentioned in the previous paragraph - he states this has to do with mental strength... for devotion of any karma, we need determination. devotion needs concentrated effort for long duration.. moon must have capacity to sustain adversity.. the malefic influence on the moon is required.. okay - you got more out of me by highlighting my flippant comment!

i will return to this later as i have more to say ( rolling eyes surprised, lol ) ....

james_m wrote: Mon Dec 18, 2023 4:29 pm the kn rao time - i wonder where that came from? i also wonder what the time was used by the astrologer who made the prediction he would marry 3 times, which leads me to thinking of how an astrologer would arrive at that prediction!

James: Perhaps Rao back-figured the chart to arrive at the time. Yet, I don't really know, as Rao did not explain further in the piece I read.

As far as the prediction mentioned in his autobiography goes, traditionally, just having Saturn, Lord of the 7th, in the 2nd, a native will have many partners. Time would not matter for this since a Leo Lagna places Saturn in the 2nd house.

Thanks for detailing some points from Goel's book. The logic of it seems sound, yet from what you have explained, beyond the trinal rulers in D9. at least against Yogananda's chart, in your latest post, the last two points don't work.
Yet, I'm not sure why the trinal lords don't count??? And other causes of affliction and weakness aren't taken into consideration beyond Saturn.
[I'm too used to using the North Indian square chart format, especially for the divisionals and using Parashari full aspects.]
Just playing Devil's Advocate here a little, which actually supports Goel's concept for the Moon and Venus.
The Moon in PY's navamsa could be argued to be afflicted by Mars and Ketu in their roles as natural malefics.
Venus, although associated with Jupiter in navamsa, is also afflicted by Mars.

Just some food for thought and encouragement to write more. LOL

"he was eleven years old when his mother died,"

20:59 time

Planetary period : Venus-Mars

Dwadashamsha chart 12th division ( Parents).

Both Venus and Mars is placed in the 8th house of death in the Dwadashamsha chart for parents.

aj and stefan

thanks for your contributions here..

aj

that is indeed possible with kn rao... did i ever tell you the time i met kn rao? lol.. i bet i didn't.. it was uneventful... i met him in feb 98 in delhi and he was involved in the national election at the time.. the trine lords are considered beneficial no matter what as i understand it.. isn't this a general platform that indian astrology professes? goel says the same thing in his book... 1, 5, 9 lords are all beneficial..

okay - about moon and venus being afflicted commentary.. if you remove the 1,5,9 rulers from the issue of affliction, i suppose you could say the moon is afflicted by it ruling the 12th.... maybe you could say venus is afflicted because it is ruled by saturn in cancer in the 12th house too... all these 12th house connections imply affliction of some kind... i can see that..

here is the chart for the D9 2059 time again.




stefan

do you think this chart confirms the validity of the 2059 time for yogananda? thanks..

James: As a very general principle, yes, the trikona lords are beneficial, but if the lord of the trinal house is debilitated, badly placed, and/or afflicted, there is no magic erasure of the negative impact on that planet and house. Trikona lords are not always beneficial in that sense.

Stephan had a good insight into the death of Yogananda's mother using the 2059 chart.

To piggyback on Stephan's post, the death of PY's father on August 1, 1942, was in the main and sub-period of Rahu. Natally, Rahu is in the 9th house of father and in D12 Rahu is in the 9th house associated with D12 8th lord the Sun. The Sun is also a natural karaka for father. PY's father lived to the ripe old age of 89.