ketu & Moksha

 Ketu is the karaka for moksha, simply because it is the only planet out of the 9 used in Vedic astrology which craves only one thing, which is the 'amritam' or the nectar of immortality.  

Rahu and Ketu are the head and torso of the demon Swarbhanu whose head was cut by Lord Vishnu at the time of churning of the milky ocean. Before his head was cut, Swarbhanu was able to gulp a little of the nectar, but it could not reach the body. So, the nectar could not get assimilated in the system.

Lord Vishnu threw the head (Rahu) towards the north and the rest of the body towards the south. Ever since that time, they are always circling the sky always being 180 degrees apart from each other.

What does this myth represent? It suggests that for liberation or moksha to happen, one needs to drink the'amritam' like the devas or the gods were able to, at the time of the churning of the ocean, but Swarbhanu could not. The question is why did Lord Vishnu not allow the demon Swarbhanu to drink and assimilate the 'amritam'. 

The answer is that 'amritam' (bliss of pure consciousness which is experienced in deep samadhi) is able to be experienced by a meditator only when his head (the ego) is fully surrendered and dissolved in 'brahman' or the ocean of Supreme Consciousness. For that to happen, a seeker has to be willing to surrender his 'ego’ completely to God or Lord Vishnu. Rahu being the factor of illusion, causes one to identify completely with the egoic self forgetting God completely. But Ketu on the other hand being headless is very capable of surrendering the 'ego’. He seeks nothing but enlightenment only in the ultimate sense. So, the message for us is that unless the head (ego or Rahu) bows down completely before God and loves HIM unconditionally, realizes his inability to penetrate beyond the veil of Maya (cosmic illusion) using his intellect, till then one does not become fit to drink the nectar, to realize the 'Self’. The Ketu in us, which will take us to moksha gets truly triggered in a positive way only when our Rahu (pride) realizes it's limitations in reaching the other shore of 'nirvana'. Swarbhanu had not gained that unconditional devotion towards the Lord as the devas (devas stand for satvik devotees of the Lord in this myth) had. That is why the Supreme Lord cut his head before he could drink and assimilate the 'amritam'.

Ketu's connection with moksha is also evident from the nakshatras that it rules. Ketu rules three nakshatras - Ashwini, Magha and Moola. All these three nakshatras are associated deeply with spirituality. The myth associated with Ashwini nakshatra is of the two Ashwini Kumars or the twin devas who rule this nakshatra. These twins are great healers who can heal any disease except reviving the dead. They want to learn this art from the Sage Dadhyac. But Sage Dadhyac has been cursed by Indra that if he tries to teach this vidya to anyone, his head will burst into pieces. So, the Ashwini Kumars replace the Sage's head with that of a horse. Then using the horse's mouth, the sage teaches the Mrit Sanjeevani vidya to them. His horse head splits which is then replaced by the original head of the sage by Ashwini Kumars using the newly learned art of reviving the dead. So, clearly the Ashwini nakshatra is connected with immortality or moksha. Sun, the karaka for soul is exalted at 10 degrees in Aries which falls under the Ashwini nakshatra. This further indicates the connection of this nakshatra with soul's exaltation or attaining moksha.

The second nakshatra that Ketu rules is Magha. Magha is connected with the plane of the ancestors or the pitrloka, the place where most souls go after dropping their body. So again, we can see Ketu's connection with the afterlife or spiritual connection with one's ancestral or karmic roots. Magha again falls in the Leo sign which is ruled by Sun (the soul). So, the soul is at home here. Indeed, a soul is at home with its soulmates when it is in the pitrloka!!

The third and final nakshatra that Ketu rules is Moola. Moola falls in the first part of Sagittarius. Sagittarius is ruled by the divine Jupiter, the Devaguru, the preceptor of the Gods. Of course, Ketu is going to be ecstatic in the house of a Guru who can take him to the goal of enlightenment. Isn't it?

Moola is symbolized by a bunch of roots tied together. What do these roots signify? These roots signify one's sanchit karmas. The deity that rules this nakshatra is the Goddess Nirutti, the granter of spiritual purification. She is said to be the original Goddess which was later depicted as Mother Kali, the Goddess who cuts the sense of ‘I’ or the ego, symbolized by the garland of human skulls that she wears around her neck; and the sense of 'being a doer' symbolized by the garland of hands that she wears as a skirt around her waist. Goddess Kali or Nirutti is the highest symbol associated with Ketu. We can see that like Ketu, this Goddess cuts all attachments to one's ego and one's possessions. She helps us to untie the bundle of our karmic roots which is the symbol for Moola nakshatra. The word Moola means roots in Sanskrit. So, Moola represents one's root karmas or sanchit (accumulated) karmas that cause the bondage of the soul to the cycle of repeated births and deaths.

People born under a heavy influence of Moola in their horoscope are always trying to dig the roots of existence. They keep seeking answers to fundamental questions such as who am I? Who is God? Why has this universe been created etc. In other words, the true spiritual search begins in Moola. It is the 19th nakshatra, and the first in the third set of 9 satvik nakshatras. It is these 9 nakshatras, starting from Moola in Sagittarius and ending with Revati in Pisces that grant enlightenment to a seeker which the planet Ketu seeks all the time.

I hope that it is now clear why Ketu is connected to moksha.