In this Issue:
Sri Siva speaks on Saturn and George W. Bush

"Saturn is the most dreaded planet. He can give utmost suffering and ultimately ruin the person if he is ill placed in someone’s horoscope. Vedic astrology says that Saturn is not merely a planet or planetary being. Saturn is given the status of Lord Shiva himself. He is called Sanishwara in Sanskrit. According to mythology, the planetary being Saturn meditated at the banks of the Ganges in Benares for a long,long time. Lord Shiva appeared before him and offered him a boon. Saturn told Shiva that he should be as powerful as the Lord himself. The boon was granted. This is how Saturn became as powerful as Shiva.

Another mythological anecdote maintains that Saturn’s eyes are kept blindfolded. The idea here is to keep Saturn from looking at people. His very sight is supposed to bring misfortune, pain, and difficulties. Nevertheless, one should know that Saturn brings these difficulties only to chastise the human beings.

Being elevated to the level of God himself, Saturn can also confer great blessings on individuals. George W. Bush provides a fine example of the positive influence that Saturn can bestow on a person. Until the year 1987, Bush led a rather eventless life. No doubt he obtained higher education from Yale and Harvard, but never accomplished anything of great importance. He managed an oil business that did not do well and in 1977, he ran for congress and lost the election.

Now, here is the magical help that he received from Saturn. Bush started the Saturn Dasa on May 16th of 1987. This meant Saturn would control Bush’s life for 19 years from that point forward. After Saturn entered into his life, every day proved to be miraculous. Things almost always happened out of the blue. In 1988, he was appointed to advise his father’s Presidential campaign. The beauty of it was that it was a paid job. Following his father’s success in the election, Bush entered into a new business. He bought an equity position in the Texas rangers using money received from an advisory position. An investment of $600,000 turned into a profit of $14 million dollars. Not only that. Bush was also elected as the Governor of Texas and was subsequently reelected for a 2nd term. It was during this time that Saturn put the idea in Bush’s mind that he should compete in the upcoming Presidential election. The $14 million profit in cash from selling the Texas Rangers helped fund campaign expenses.

In October 2000, I was in my ashram in India. A few American students who came to visit me were interested to know who would be the next President of the United States. The Shiva Nadi palm leaves declared that Bush would become the next President. The exact reading found in the ancient palm leaves ran as follows: “With the blessings of Lord Shiva, the son of the man who ruled the country will become the next President.”

Everyone knows that the 2000 election was a big mess. Saturn created miracle after miracle to put Bush in power. Al Gore had over a half million more votes than Bush, but still he did not win. Florida provided 271 electoral votes that proved to be the winning factor for Bush. He needed 270 votes. Saturn provided him 271 – just one vote more than what Bush needed. Is it not a miracle? Also, Saturn got him a victory in the Supreme Court that ultimately decided the Presidency of Bush, again with a thin majority of 5:4.

Saturn had even greater missions for Bush. On September 11, 2001, Bin Laden’s terrorist group attacked the World Trade Center, killing more than 3000 people and creating a loss of nearly 1 trillion dollars. Saturn wanted Bush to assume a leading role to root out terrorism from the face of the earth. It is a humongous and arduous task. George Bush became successful in putting together a worldwide coalition to root out terrorist networks. Bush successfully dispersed the terrorist network of Al Qaeda and liberated Afghanistan from the Taliban’s barbaric regime.

Bush was relentless in his war against terrorism. He openly spelled out who the demons were. He identified Iraq, Iran, and North Korea as the axis of evil. His greatest success was removing the barbaric regime of Saddam Hussein from Iraq. It was not an easy task. The whole world opposed Bush. His own people, including some of his friends and subordinates, did not support him wholeheartedly in his war against Iraq. But the resolution of Bush was as hard as rock. Under no circumstance was he willing to compromise. He declared war against Iraq and apparently won the war. Now Iraq is a free country. Of course there are some problems in Iraq that need to be sorted out. Time will solve these problems and Iraq will certainly emerge as a democracy.

Will Saturn continue to help Bush?

Out of the 19 years of the Saturn Dasa, Bush still has 3 more years of Saturn. His Saturn period ends on May 15th of 2006. Currently, Bush is running a Rahu Bukti in Saturn’s Dasa. Rahu, which is a snake planet, occupies the 11th house in Bush’s horoscope. When Bush was born, Rahu was in Taurus. Today Rahu is also in Taurus. Rahu represents the Muslims. The Muslims in general would look upon Bush as their common enemy. Rahu would attempt many sneaky ways to take away his life. The transit of Saturn into Gemini is not favorable for Bush. Gemini being the 12th house for Cancer and the movement of Saturn into Gemini does not forecast a good security situation.

Saturn governs the life of an individual. The 12th house Saturn does indeed threaten the life of Bush. Nevertheless, Jupiter is in Cancer and Jupiter will protect his life. Jupiter represents God’s grace. Jupiter is also exalted in Cancer. But unfortunately, Jupiter is moving out of Cancer as early as July 30, 2003. This transit of Jupiter will not be favorable for Bush. It is my hope and prayer that the Divine will keep him alive to fulfill his mission to root out terrorism from the world. I urge people to include Bush in their prayers. Prayer can create miracles.

It is my hope that Saturn, being Lord Shiva himself, would find ways not only to protect Bush, but also keep him in power. The last Bukti in Saturn’s Dasa belongs to Jupiter. Bush will run Jupiter’s time between November 3, 2003 and May 16, 2006. Jupiter being a spiritual planet, he would exercise a positive influence in Bush’s life. During this time Saturn and Jupiter can put him back in power giving him a 2nd term. This period will be marked by many changes within Bush’s consciousness. He will become less religious and more spiritual. The world will also see the birth of the Golden Age. Religions will disappear in the upcoming age. Everyone will worship God as Light.

When Bush survives the bad time, Saturn has more miracles in store for him. Saturn has some weird transits beginning September 5, 2004. During this time period, Saturn moves into Cancer, the sign were he was when Bush was born almost 60 years ago. This transit into Cancer happens at a crucial time. America will be steeped in the next race for the President. Undoubtedly this is a very favorable movement for Bush. This is not the regular pattern of movement for Saturn. It is as though he is making this transit into Cancer just for the sake of Bush. Interesting enough, Saturn transits back into Gemini on January 13, 2005. Evidently by this time the election will have been over. It is possible that Saturn could re-elect Bush to serve a 2nd term.