Question: You have told us that the planet Saturn has a powerful relationship with us. Is there also a relationship between us and other planets, or are they just beautiful manifestations of the Supreme's multiplicity?

Sri Chinmoy: Very good question. Now, not only Saturn has a connection with us. Other planets also have a connection. Somebody can be more influenced by one planet than another, but each individual has some connection with the planets. Some souls are very powerful or very receptive or very fortunate, and the Supreme is extremely affectionate to those particular souls, so planets become more friendly with those souls. It is like pleasing the manager of a factory. If the manager is pleased with someone, then the subordinates all try to be kind, nice and pleasing to that person because the boss likes him. So if the Supreme Boss is pleased, all the planets make it a point to be kind and affectionate, and to offer their good qualities to the individual soul.

Ordinary people will be afraid of Saturn because Saturn is renunciation. Ordinary householders invoke Saturn so that he will not come to them. They pray to Saturn: “Please do us a favour. Don't come near us.” But when a spiritual person invokes Saturn, he says, “Please come and give me the message of renunciation. I don't want to wallow in the pleasures of ignorance any longer. I want only God. I am wearing millions of ignorance-garments. Please take them away.” At that time Saturn is a great help to the sincere seeker. That is the traditional Indian way. We renounce the things that are not essential to our spiritual life, that are of no use to us in realising God. At that time we invoke Saturn to take away the things that give us no help, such as earthly desires. But people who want to fulfil their earthly desires ask Saturn not to come to them.

Each soul is connected with some planet. Each planet has some influence on the soul, but it cannot be the same for each person. Sometimes it is very little, sometimes very much. But when the seeker becomes spiritually advanced, on the verge of God-realisation, he or she can easily enter into the planet worlds. But some seekers are fortunate because the Absolute Supreme is fond of them. So the planets give them everything in order to make the Absolute Supreme happy. Again, some seekers want to become highly advanced. At that time all the planets may come to help them.