It poured heavily. The roads were blocked, and water filled the invisible drains. Like a devil, it crept onto the streets and filled the potholes, raising the water level above the car tires. I shut off the car engine, as there was no point in adding carbon to an already suffocated environment. The air seemed to be stuck, just like the traffic.
Walkers were drenched, and bikers were trying to sneak through the little spaces between the cars. Getting bored, I started looking around.
Next to my car, a young auto driver in his mid-twenties, tall and lanky, was leaning forward, trying to inch his way through the traffic. Finally, he gave up. He slipped his hand into his pocket and took out a packet of pan masala and another small, silver-colored packet containing some sticky substance.
He emptied both packets into his palm and started rubbing them together. It was obvious that the substance was something other than tobacco.
I could not resist asking, “Why are you eating this? You know this is not good for you. At such a young age, it will ruin you.”
He looked at me. His eyes were full of sadness and apology. He smiled with a pang of sadness, dusted his left palm, tilted his right palm toward his mouth, and put the substance into it. He then started chewing.
“This will kill you, young man. I hope you know that,” I persisted, not willing to give up.
He gave me a nonchalant smile and turned his face away.
Statistics say that in India, approximately around 10–15 adults out of 100, with tobacco and alcohol accounting for the overwhelming majority of the problem. There so many forms of tobacco, including cigarettes, bidis, nicotine gums, tobacco pan, and pan masala. Alcohol and other forms of drug abuse add to this problem
Addiction is killing. It kills the user and destroys not only the present generation but also the generations to come.
The charts of addicts often indicate the use of drugs or other substances that create dependency. Planets such as Rahu, Ketu, Mars, Venus, and Saturn play a role. Rahu represents very strong material desires. The fifth house is the house of desires, and its connection with Rahu, along with a watery sign, can also indicate drinking.
Venus and Rahu together can give addictive tendencies. Venus rules sex, pleasure, and, in some astrological interpretations, drug addiction. Mars and the sign of Scorpio can also be significant culprits. Mars gives the energy and an adamant mind to go ahead and do harm.
The second house represents food. Malefic planets in the second house, and their relationship with the Lagna and the sixth house, can add fuel to the fire.
But for anyone to become an addict, the Lagna lord, or ascendant lord, has to be weak. The Lagna represents the body, and any kind of substance abuse weakens the body.
The Sun and Moon, as significators of life span, if related to the sixth, eighth, and twelfth houses, are not considered favorable for longevity.
The Moon represents the mind. If the Moon is debilitated, devoid of benefic influence, conjunct with a malefic, or hemmed in by malefic planets, it can affect rationality and emotional well-being.
Saturn is the karaka of misery and thinness. A malefic Saturn can make the native thin and rob the skin of its lustre.
The following chart is that of the famous American celebrity Anna Nicole Smith. Anna was an American model, actress, and television personality. Smith first gained popularity through Playboy, when she won the title of 1993 Playmate of the Year.
She died at the age of 39 due to an overdose of drugs.
In her chart, the ascendant lord, Venus, is in its fall. This robs Venus of some of its good qualities. Though she married a billionaire, he was 89 years old. Her marriage lasted only one year, as he died at the age of 90.
Venus is also in the star of Mars, the ruler of the second house. Rahu is in the sub-lord of Venus, and Venus is the sub-lord of Rahu, connecting them together. Rahu is in the sign of Mars, the lord of the second house. This brings the ascendant lord Venus, Rahu, and Mars together.
There is an exchange between the ascendant lord Venus and the twelfth lord Mercury. This exchange weakens longevity.
The Moon, as the significator of the mind, is in the twelfth house and is hemmed in by Venus, the lord of the eighth house, and Ketu in the first house.
Saturn, as the lord of the fourth and fifth houses, aspects the Lagna lord, Venus.
This brings the ascendant, Venus, Mars, Rahu, Moon, and Saturn together, along with the influence of the first, second, sixth, and twelfth houses.
At the time of her death, on February 7, 2007, she was running the Mahadasha of Jupiter, Antardasha of the Sun, Pratyantardasha of Mercury, and Sookshma Dasha of Saturn.
Jupiter is the sixth lord of the Libra ascendant and is placed in the eleventh house, the Badhak house.
The Sun is the Badhak lord for a Libra ascendant.
Mercury is the lord of the twelfth house, the house associated with the undoing of the physical body.
Saturn sits in the sixth house and aspects the ascendant lord, which represents the body or the native herself, as well as the twelfth house.
In cases of addiction, the native should follow remedies for the Moon.
It is the mind that wants to experience everything. If the mind is under control, half the battle is won.
The second house represents what we eat. What we eat is what we become.
It was in 1826 that the French physician and father of the Paleo and low-carb diets, Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, wrote:
“Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es.”
“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.”
