the dominant influence, or spell, of one of the heavenly
bodies is for him to be its slave ever afterwards. And thus the life
of every human being is said to be largely controlled by certain
planets and constellations, some of which are malign, and some benign
in their character and influence.

For it must be remembered that it is not only the _yugas_ that are
possessed of moral attributes; even years, months, days, and hours are
also classified as good and bad, auspicious and inauspicious. For one
to do a thing this month is auspicious, while on the next month it
will be the reverse.

In the same manner, almost every human activity has its "lucky" and
"unlucky" times--occasions when effort is much less, or more safe or
valuable, than at other times. For instance, the Hindu is warned
against going eastward, Mondays and Saturdays; northward, Tuesdays and
Wednesdays; westward, Fridays and Sundays; and southward, Thursdays.
This, we are told, is because Siva's trident is turned against those
points of the compass on those particular days, and one would
therefore be in danger of being transfixed by this divine weapon!

Then a man must not begin any important work on _Rahu-kalam_. This
inauspicious time covers an hour and a half of each day of the week
and is at a different hour every day. The only safe hour is from 6 to
7.30 each morning. That hour is free from the influence of _Rahu_, and
is therefore auspicious. And what is Rahu? It is not a planet at all,
as was thought years ago; nor is it a mighty snake which periodically
swallows the sun or moon. It is merely the ascending node in astronomy
wherein alone the eclipses can take place. And yet this imaginary
monster has a very real place in the life of this great people, and
the foolish dread of it converts a period daily into an inauspicious
occasion for important effort.

I will present only one other illustration with a view to showing how
extensively this moral attribute of time is ascribed and emphasized in
the serious affairs of life in India. For instance, when a man is
engaged in the performance of religious duties, it is regarded as of
supreme moment that he know when certain acts are of no merit, or, on
the other hand, of special merit. Now, there is a regular code of
rules for this special purpose. By observing these rules carefully one
may accumulate religious merit or power with the gods beyond any one
who does not observe them. We are told that a rupee