While the terrorists were plotting the 11SEP01 attack on America, several warnings were posted in the skies above by unusual planetary patterns, including Saturn's re-enactment of a rare Vedic astrological war omen that was last observed during the First and Second World Wars only and will not be seen again for another sixty years!

This omen is described in Sanskrit texts on Vedic Astrology as Rohini Shakata Bheda, which literally translates to "splitting the wain (handcart) of Rohini asterism".

The Vedic astronomical treatise, the Surya-siddhanta, possibly the oldest astronomical text extant on this planet, defines Rohini Shakata Bheda combination as: "In Taurus, the 17th degree, a planet, of which the latitude is more than 2 degrees south, will split the wain of Rohini" (8.13). Related to this context, Saturn's current transit of Rohini nakshatra (asterism) comes only about once in 30 years. Saturn splitting, even partially, the wain of Rohini nakshatra is rarer still.

Scientist Sadaputa dasa (Richard L Thompson) gives a description of Rohini nakshatra in his ground-breaking book on the cosmological evidence found in the Vedic scriptural text Srimad Bhagavatam, "Mysteries of the Sacred Universe" (page 77): "The nakshatra Rohini consists of the five principal stars of Taurus, and its yoga-tara or junction-star is Aldebaran (significantly, Rohini means reddish, and Aldebaran is a reddish star). These stars are said to form the icon of a handcart or wagon."

The full effects of Saturn's involvement in Rohini Shakata Bheda was predicted by renowned 6th century Vedic astrologer Varahamihira who wrote thus: "When Saturn splits the wain of Rohini here in this world, then Madhava rains not upon the earth for twelve years. When the wain of Prajapati's nakshatra is split, the earth, having as it were committed a sin, performs, in a manner, her surface being strewn with ashes and bones, the kapalika penance. If Saturn, Mars, or Ketu splits the wain of Rohini, why need I say that, in a sea of misfortune, destruction befalls the world."

Varahamihira's ancient prediction is included in a translation of the Surya-siddhanta (page 249) published in 1860 by Reverend Ebenezer Burgess under the auspices of the Journal of the American Oriental Society.

MAJOR PLANETARY ALIGNMENT OF MAY 2000

While this omen preceded the tragic events of 11SEP01 which has put America and the world on a new war footing, the build-up to the crisis itself started earlier. Remember the major planetary alignment followed by the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in May 2000 which had astrological circles all over the world buzzing with excitement and many predicting the next world war?

The planetary positions at the turn of the millennium, especially the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction, was highlighted and discussed extensively as far back as September 1992 in a special issue of the Astrological Magazine published by the late Dr BV Raman of India, titled "Planets and the next World War" (although the planetary positional data given there does not exactly correspond with ours).

According to our calculations, out of the nine planets called navagraha in Vedic Astrology, six of them were clustered in the sign of Aries in the sidereal zodiac - the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn - on 03MAY00 UT and O4MAY00 UT.

Note that all the planets were within the grip of the Serpent of Time - the rare and inauspicious Kalasarpa combination - due to their being enclosed by the serpentine invisible planets Ketu and Rahu positioned in Capricorn and Cancer respectively. In his book "Three Hundred Important Combinations", Dr Raman described this combination as being more significant in the astrology of nations rather than individual horoscopy and that it has destructive effect on countries and rulers and afflicts masses of people.

SATURN'S CURRENT TRANSIT TRIGGERS PARTIAL ROHINI SHAKATA BHEDA THRICE

If the unusual planetary alignment seen last year marked the clandestine planning and preparatory work behind the terrorist activities unleashed on America on 11SEP01, the trigger was Saturn's partial splitting of the wain of Rohini nakshatra in July 2001.

According to our calculations, Saturn entered Rohini nakshatra on 25MAY01. The critical point of the 17th degree of Taurus on the sidereal zodiac was reached on 14JUL01 and Saturn travelled on this degree of longitude till 23JUL01. Throughout this period, Saturn's latitude was in the south, partially fulfilling the Surya-siddhanta's definition of Rohini Shakata Bheda. Saturn comes close to two degrees south but does not quite reach it, thereby triggering the effects of the dreaded combination to a limited extent.

Where the terrorists are concerned, the point of no return was probably reached during this period when the decision was taken to proceed with the planned attack despite the dire consequences. Within two months, the terrorists launched their attack on America on 11SEP01.

With the anticipated retaliation from America, this is only the beginning of hostilities. Brace yourself, for there are more ominous planetary portents ahead. Saturn is almost stationary now, and will go retrograde on 01OCT01 till 10FEB02.

This means that Saturn passes to and fro across the critical 17th degree of Taurus invoking the partial Rohini Shakata Bheda not once - but three times in a row!!! The next occasions when Saturn travels in the south through this degree of Taurus will be from 05DEC01 till 17DEC01 (retrograde) - which will surely result in an escalation of hostilities - and from 31MAR02 till 11APR02.

OMEN LAST SEEN DURING WORLD WARS ONLY

Such a movement of Saturn in relation to Rohini Shakata Bheda has not been seen for a long time, since the planet generally takes about 30 years to make a full circle and return to a particular point (unless when retrograde).

In fact the last time Saturn did a similar act was nearly sixty years ago during the Second World War when it crossed the 17th degree of Taurus thrice while in southern latitude (just a whisker away from two degrees south at one stage), between the dates 23JUL42-02AUG42, 20NOV42-01DEC42 and 11APR43-20APR43.

In the other amazing coincidence, a partial Rohini Shakata Bheda by Saturn also occurred once prior to the outbreak of the First World War. After travelling, with southern latitude, past the same point from 08JUN13-14JUN13, Saturn again went into retrograde movement in Rohini nakshatra but reverted to forward movement on 12FEB14 just before reaching the critical point.

After completing the present transit, there will not be another Rohini Shakata Bheda omen involving Saturn for nearly sixty years until 2060-61. The current triple occurrence however gives the sinking feeling that war and resultant human slaughter is inevitable for all the sins of man. Varahamihira's prophecy: "the earth, having as it were committed a sin...her surface being strewn with ashes and bones..." will inevitably prevail to some extent - as it was proved during the last two world wars.

MAJOR PLANETARY ALIGNMENT OF MAY 2002

As if this is not enough, the planets are all again moving in such a way as to converge in a line - this time in the sign of Taurus by middle of May 2002. In fact at one point, there will be no less than seven (out of nine) planets within the same sign (of Taurus). An advance projection of our PLANETS9 TODAY daily e-bulletin may give a clearer picture, so here's a snapshot of the planetary movement in the sidereal zodiac between 15MAY02 to 16MAY02 Universal Time (UT).

=====================PLANETS9 TODAY 15MAY02 UT==================== PLANETS9 TODAY tracks the movement of the Nine Planets (NavaGraha) in the sidereal zodiac over a 24-hour period starting from zero hours Universal Time (UT) today. These positions and timings can be applied for any place simply by making local time adjustment. ================================================================== 00:00UT 00:00UT Planet 15MAY02 16MAY02 Travel Rasi movement Nakshatra movement =============================================================== SUN 30.00 30.96 0.96 Aries-Taurus Krittika 1-2 MOON 59.83 72.86 13.03 Taurus-Gemini Mrigashirsha 2 - Aridra 2 MARS 56.74 57.41 0.67 Taurus Mrigashirsha 2 MERCURY 45.55 45.57 0.01 Taurus Rohini 2 JUPITER 79.02 79.20 0.18 Gemini Aridra 4 VENUS 59.01 60.21 1.20 Taurus-Gemini Mrigashirsha 2-3 SATURN 50.85 50.97 0.12 Taurus Rohini 4 RAHU 55.13 55.08 -0.05 Taurus Mrigashirsha 1 KETU 235.13 235.08 -0.05 Scorpio Jyeshtha 3

Note that the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Rahu will all be clustered in Taurus during the early part of 15MAY02 UT as shown above. Only Jupiter will be a sign away in Gemini, apart from Ketu who will always be diametrically opposite Rahu. Note also that the alignment occurs while the Sun is in inauspicious sankranti period having just crossed into the new sign.

(Anybody interested in receiving the above daily bulletin or any of our other free bulletin services may subscribe at http://PLANETS9.com/bulletin.htm For a graphical view of the planetary movement in the sidereal zodiac and a quick take on how they influence your rasi (natal lunar sign), use our free Transit Tracker tool at http://PLANETS9.com/tt)

SITUATION WILL GET WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER

The basic premise from the unusual planetary patterns shown above is that things will get worse than now before they start getting better. If the previous planetary alignment revealed the clandestine groundwork (by the terrorists), the impending planetary alignment in May 2002 signals that the conflict will reach new heights.

The slaughter will intensify. The conflict will widen, drawing in even those countries who had stood aloof on the sidelines, to take one side or the other. Trouble will fester and spread to countries far away from the main battleground. Despite their overwhelming military superiority, America and her allies will have their hands full battling terrorism on home ground.

In the meantime, Saturn continues to course through Rohini nakshatra, including a significant spell of retrograde movement, and this transit by itself is described in both Vedic scriptural as well as astrological texts as highly inauspicious. In the Mahabharata, the wicked king of the demons, Ravana, in the presence of his captive illusory form of the goddess of fortune, Sita, is likened to Saturn in conjunction with Rohini nakshatra (van Buitenen, 1975, page 741).

The Puranas (Vedic history) also mention an incident when the great king Dasaratha (father of Lord Ramachandra), faced with the dilemmna of Saturn's imminent transit of Rohini nakshatra, consulted his ministers on how to avoid the expected tragical consequences for the world. When nobody could come up with a satisfactory solution, king Dasaratha mounted his special chariot and flew into space to block the orbit of Saturn (Shani, in Sanskrit) and confront the ruler of that planet, Lord Shani, in battle. No doubt, an unequal battle between a mortal (king Dasaratha) and a demigod, but such was the stuff the valourous Vedic kings were made of - they were prepared to sacrifice their lives for the welfare of the world.

Before challenging a superior to battle however, king Dasaratha, true to Vedic etiquette, offered obeisances to Lord Shani and a hymn in praise of the planetary ruler. Very much pleased by the courage and conduct of the king of the earthlings, Lord Shani showered him with boons and agreed to reduce the adverse impact on planet Earth. King Dasaratha returned home to Ayodhya, having achieved the objective of his mission.

Today, with no world leader of the calibre of king Dasaratha, the world is vulnerable to the brunt of the effects of Saturn's transit of Rohini nakshatra, commensurate to the reactions from material nature to our own actions.

Saturn is still travelling in Rohini nakshatra and will remain there till the middle of next year when it enters Mrigashirsha nakshatra on 03JUN02. The conflict would be at its peak then and it would take some years before terrorism is finally brought under control, with heavy casualties on both sides.

The good news is, the world will NOT be destroyed. In fact, it will be a much better place after this as people become more spiritual and God-conscious. A new awakening will be born out of the tribulations of war. During the rebuilding process, peace will be highly cherished and there will be a longer period of relative calm on earth. We will elaborate on this in a future article.

LAW OF KARMA

To answer the question on everyone's mind - why all the mindless suffering in the first place? - we have to delve into some important points of Vedic philosophy which are intertwined with the science of Vedic Astrology.

It's the contravention of God's laws, including the commandment - Thou shalt not kill. In spite of those who try to reword "kill" as "murder", the slaughter of innocent animals too is discouraged by the spirit of the commandment. But sadly, it's lost on most Americans and other meat consumers elsewhere.

The Vedic scriptures abhor animal slaughter, especially cow slaughter since the cow is regarded as surrogate mother providing milk to all infants. Needless killing of humans (abortion included) or animals is condemned as a most sinful activity which destroys one of the four pillars of religion - compassion - in this world.

Some well-known American preachers too agree with the view that contravening God's laws inevitably leads to suffering, although their list of what constitutes such travesty may differ. Three days after the attack, Associated Press reported public statements made by Reverend Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson that America was vulnerable to terrorist attacks because the nation has insulted God and lost divine protection.

Robertson, who runs the Christian Broadcasting Network, said that Americans have insulted God by allowing abortion and "rampant Internet pornography" and criticised the American Supreme Court for, among other things, restricting prayer in public schools. He said: "We have a court that has essentially stuck its finger in God's eye...We have insulted God at the highest level of our government. Then, we say, 'Why does this happen?'...God Almighty is lifting his protection from us...We have imagined ourselves invulnerable and have been consumed by the pursuit of...health, wealth, material pleasures and sexuality."

Falwell, a Baptist minister and chancellor of Liberty University, blamed the attacks on pagans, abortionists, feminists, homosexuals, liberals and secularists. He said: "All of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say, 'You helped this happen.'...God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve."

To return to our original point, there is a stated heavy price to pay for the sins of slaughter - strife, war, pestilence, in other words, a chain reaction of suffering unleashed by material nature automatically. Slaughter begets slaughter. This is the infallible law of karma working under the direction of the Supreme Lord Krishna.

The law of karma is binding upon all, individually and collectively. Even a superpower is not immune from punishment from God's laws for its collective sins. America is the world's biggest slaughterhouse. On top of the human death toll due to abortion and crime annually, billions of animals are being killed for food in a country where there is no shortage of grains and other healthy foodstuffs. The figures are truly shocking - Americans slaughter 25 billion animals a year. That's one hundred creatures for every single man, woman or child in America - it betrays the excesses of an overly materialistic society with a colossal disregard for other life forms.

But Nature has its own built-in control system. Somebody has got to pay for the American-sponsored mass terrorism against the other creatures of God (especially mother cow). According to the Vedas, all those directly implicated (butchers and owners of slaughterhouses) as well as indirectly implicated (beef sellers and consumers) will pay the price. It follows that the collective weight of the sins of slaughter hanging over America's head, while more slaughter is being committed daily, will be paid in American blood. Seven thousand dead in the 11SEP01 tragedy pales in comparison to the numbers that Americans are killing daily - 70 million!

This explains what many people find difficult to comprehend - how the world's only superpower can be devastated by a bunch of terrorists. There's a higher law of karma at work.