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Masala of Life

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Are we what our planets tell us to be ?


BMA

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Sitting in the train one day on my way back from college, I was joined by a bearded, elderly man who had with him one of those big, man-sized umbrellas which can so conveniently be also used as walking sticks. After making himself comfortable on the seat beside me, he began to recite a series of slokas under his breath.

 

Now this is very unusual behaviour, for slokas are usually recited in front of a holy idol only. Why should a person recite slokas in a train? I asked him whether he was a Brahmin. The world, as our great grandfathers knew it, was divided into four primary castes; the Kshatriyas (kings/warriors), Brahmins (priests/learned men), Vaishyas (traders/businessmen) and Shudras (peasants).

 

Naturally, I assumed that he was from the Brahmin caste. They are the most ardent worshippers of, and are devoted to, our gods and goddesses. But he said, no, he wasn't a Brahmin. He proceeded to tell me that, in fact, he wasn't even a Hindu. He was a Christian by birth, but had read all the religious texts of the three dominant religions. He was an astrologer. I said, great. An astrologer. Can he elaborate upon the faint ideas that I have of astrology having to do with a person's life being determined by the time and place of the person's birth? Why, yes, he told me, that is true. When a newborn baby has its first contact with Earth, the baby's destiny is planned. It has to do with latitudes, longitudes, and the positions of the various planets at the time of birth.

 

What is my nakshatram, he asked. I replied, Chodhi. Hm, hm, hm. You were influenced by bad planets my son, but don't worry, Jupiter will save you until you are about 34. You must have had an unpleasant childhood, yes? (I nodded slightly at this one, not wanting to disappoint him) And, oh yes, - people with Chodhi usually have problems with their studies, so take care.

 

Diplomatic though I usually strive to be, a look of skepticism must have flitted past my face, for he told me that I shouldn't consider what he says to be some fantastic ramblings of a deranged old man. All of this, he said, has a firm basis in science. You see, it's like this: The Sun emits energy. This energy (or some of it), when falling on the planets, if reflected back onto Earth. This is Good. When energy is not reflected, it is Bad. And because of <insert un-understandable physics-related thing here> you see that electrons are involved in the whole process. This combination of Good and Bad (put together by several complex astrological formulas) is what determines, at least in part, what a person is.

 

Sad is my knowledge of Physics, and our conversation was one-sided to so great an extent that I resigned myself to meekly listening to everything he said, and nodding wisely whenever he said anything about electrons and energy. Sigh.

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The best argument for astrology I have heard is that the planets do not affect us at all, but merely mark the passage of profound rhythms in the cosmos, which affect everything, and hence also affect us. So (the argument goes) judging whether the time is right for a business venture by looking at the position of Mercury is no different from judging whether the time is right for planting corn by looking at the flight of wild geese. The geese have no effect on corn (except of course to eat it, but that's not part of the analogy) but they fly north in spring, and spring is time to plant. In other words, astrology is about correlation instead of causality.

 

The person who gave me this argument also told me that it was a very old and traditional one, dating back to Paracelsus. I don't endorse the argument, but I do take from it that questions about how the planets can possibly affect us here on earth are beside the point.

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