I was visiting Jantar Mantar in Jaipur, the largest stone observatory in the world. I had just started a tour of the place with the local Hindi-speaking guide, whom I had hired to take me around, when a man, neatly dressed in grey pants and a shirt, and followed by a tall woman in a bright yellow sari, approached me, smiled, and asked whether he and his wife could join me. I said I didn’t mind. The facilities were built in the 18th century by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, a Rajput ruler, who was a reputed astronomer, and were commissioned by Emperor Muhammad Shah to correct the astronomical tables. In order to obtain accurate readings, he built several gigantic geometrical architectural units in a beautiful park, and to the unschooled eye these appeared as a complex of futuristic structures made of red sandstone with stairs inside or on the side and with segments painted in red and yellow, or white and black, all covered with scales, graphs, diagrams and symbols. They were used as instruments for calculating the time of day, for measuring the longitude and latitude of planetary bodies, for creating the lunar calendar, for predicting eclipses and the start of the monsoon season, for devising astronomical tables, and for following the sun’s longitude and latitude in order to determine which zodiacal sign it was passing through. The guide claimed that these instruments could accurately calculate to the second.
The man and his wife quietly followed us around the grounds of the observatory. After the tour was over, he thanked me for letting them accompany me and introduced himself:
“Namaste, I am Mr. Pramod Mehta, a namologist, numerologist and personal growth guide, and this is my wife Kalyani.” He asked me a couple of questions, wanted to know why I had hired a Hindi-speaking guide and what my purpose was here. He went on to explain that he was not an astronomer, but said that he had worked in the field of astrology for many years and that he advised people, even celebrities and politicians, based on their personal numbers, names and horoscopes. He said he also lectured at the Jaipur University and often came to this place for research, but today he had come to relax with his wife and he thought that the guided tour would be interesting for her. We went back to a few of the instruments because he wanted to demonstrate their workings in greater detail. Afterward we went for tea at a restaurant near Hawa Mahal (The Air/Wind Palace). We talked about Indian astronomy and astrology and agreed that they were the oldest, most accurate and uninterrupted traditions in the world, lasting for nearly more than three thousand years.
“In India, in order to be an astrologist you need education in other disciplines as well,” He said.
“Why?” I asked.
“Well, for instance, in order to write a prescription for a patient, you need to know what the planetary positions are, because the medicine could either have an effect or no effect depending on where the sun or the moon, or Jupiter or Mercury are…”
“I’ve heard that based on the time and day of your birth astrologists can tell even your blood group, right?” His wife asked.
“Absolutely!” Mr. Mehta answered.
“Is it true that only 3 types of blood are recognized here?” I asked.
“Yes! This method is used to find out whether a couple is potentially matched or not. This is the most basic matching, then, the character or the mental makeup compatibility, progeny capability, health, etc., is considered.”
“Do you do that yourself?” I was intrigued.
“No, but I can predict what your future is. I can help you face it in a rational way and I can provide advice to help people avoid certain failures or obstacles. Haven’t you had your horoscope done?”
“Not really, not here”.
“Hm, you need this done, definitely. It’s never too late to fix what is not going right.”
“What do you mean? How do you know something is not going right?”
“Well, if nothing is wrong, it could be even better…You know that family pandits prepare a thorough horoscope for the newborn baby. In this way the parents know what their child will be like, what tendencies to expect in terms of character or health, what name would fit best, what education and profession is most suitable, when the most important ceremonies and rituals are to be performed, when and to whom they should be married…”
Suddenly I remembered a very unusual experience I had on December 10, 2006 on my way from Bangalore to Delhi. We were informed that our flight would be delayed because of heavy traffic and for more than an hour we circled above the city waiting for permission to land. However, no one on board was bored, because a dazzling spectacle of fireworks was taking place below us. Vibrant colors gleaming through the metropolis swaddled in suffocating grey winter smog, filled the sky and illuminated the air under us with mystical glow. The flight captain continued to inform us on the audio-speaker system about the best view of the next magical blaze of luminous colors. Some passengers on the plane immediately assumed that India must have won an important cricket match against its most despised rival Pakistan.
But those who read newspapers already knew that according to the most trusted pundits, during a couple of weeks in the month of December the planets were configured in an exceptionally auspicious alignment with Delhi and that this was a period extremely favorable for weddings and for the good fortune of the bride and groom. Therefore, families, relatives, friends and guests from all over the country were flooding the city to rejoice the promising unions of brides and grooms as they began their lives on a single path toward a prosperous future, one that was predicted by astrologists. An estimated 15,000 couples tied the knot on that day only. Everyone on the plane was offered one more drink, as if to suggest that the passengers were joining the tens and thousands of celebrations that took place that month. Several days in a row bright divine radiance filled the night skies above Delhi, accompanied by the music of hope and joy and mixed with the aromas of richly spiced feasts.
Mr. Mehta continued:
“You know that the planets and constellations have a certain influence on the path of every individual, but did you know that it can be overruled or further enhanced by precious and semi-precious stones?”
I had only heard about it and he continued:
“Well, gems are classified according to color, luster, density, and other specific physical properties and when chosen properly, they can be therapeutic; they can reduce a negative planetary effect or amplify the positive. Sometimes an individual needs more inner peace in life, sometime more determination, or more focus, all of which depends on the individual’s personality traits, the period, the goals…you read their palm and you assign a stone – the emerald relates to Mercury and it influences trade and business; the diamond is ruled by Venus and it affects opposite sex attraction and creative inspiration; the ruby is the Sun’s stone and it brings self-confidence, authority and power; the pearl is linked to the Moon and it increases happiness, prosperity, love, but also reduces pain; the coral is Mars and it is needed for more courage and determination, particularly useful for engineers, doctors and politicians. But each of them is prescribed in a particular shape and size, in a gold or silver bed, where it is supposed to be worn – which finger or in a pouch made of fabric tied on the arm above the elbow or around the neck. Alexander the Great, Caesar, and Napoleon Bonaparte were very interested in all this.”
Some years later Mr. Mehta visited New York City and I invited him to have lunch with my students and introduce them to namology, the science of naming using astrology and numerology. He first explained to them that family names are based on caste or sub-caste, Aggarwal, Patel, Iyengar, Tilak, for instance, or religion, some examples being Singh, Jain, or on place of origin, with names like Goankar, Aluru, etc. First names, on the other hand, have meanings derived from the Sanskrit language and they need to be compatible with the individual’s birth chart and personality. For example, his own previous name was Pravir, which meant ‘brave hero’, of which only the initial sound ‘p’ was suggested by the family pandit, but the rest was his father’s choice. However, after he grew up and studied all these sciences, he realized that it didn’t correspond either to his nature nor to his personal numbers, so he changed it to Prashant, which means ‘peace’, and he elaborated that he believed he gave the people he communicated with a piece of his inner harmony. His wife’s name Kalyani, ‘fortunate’, he didn’t change because it complemented her perfectly. He recommended a different name for one student after she volunteered to get her birth numbers and her name numbers calculated. She was quite fascinated by his analysis of her personality and, although she did not change her name, in class she started to sign her assignments with it.
Mr. Mehta made me remove my favorite ring with the amber stone I had on my ring finger. He told me that I was not supposed to wear it, especially, on this finger and that it had a negative influence on the social recognition aspect of my fate and the opposite needed to be stimulated. I’m not sure I will ever wear it again. Not that I can recall any noticeable changes afterwards, but what he said is always in the back of my mind. I feel the same about having a diamond ring. Unless it is recommended specifically, I won’t wear one. It is considered here as the most influential stone, which can drastically change the course of someone’s life and some say that the reason for such a high rate of unhappy marriages and divorces in the west is because the wedding ring of choice traditionally is a diamond one regardless of whether it is appropriate for the individual or not.
About three years ago I met a woman in Jaipur, who had done plenty to reverse her bad fortune. She was the wife of the owner of a small family hotel where I was staying after it was recommended by a friend for its welcoming and professional atmosphere. I noticed that on her right hand she was wearing four rings each sporting large stones. She was supposed to be wearing these rings on her left hand. In addition, two of them had big diamonds, which indicated to me an extreme situation. I asked her what all that meant and she gladly told me her story. Her new name was Shashi, which means ‘moon’ and it governs the thought process. She used to be Leela, namely ‘divine play’. She was wearing the rings on the right hand to support her husband Rajan. A few years ago he was fighting with his family about the property. According to them he had married the wrong woman, because there were cases of vitiligo (a permanent skin de-pigmentation problem) in her family. Although his two daughters were clean, his son Surya had the disease, so his siblings considered him a shameful stain on their reputation and did not think he was morally entitled to any of the inheritance he was supposed to receive by law. One evening their dispute turned into a physical fight. Shashi had to call the police to end it, but Rajan was badly beaten and hurt. They took the case to court and won the small family hotel, in which I was staying. They had problems getting customers in the beginning because of all the publicity that surrounded them, but slowly they were able to attract regular clients from out of town, guests who traveled on business.
However, the main challenge was finding a suitable boy to marry off their oldest daughter and then their younger one. People came to see her, but because they knew about the problems and the ruined name of the family, they demanded so much money and gold for her dowry that it became impossible to arrange a match. Once a family came to visit from another town, sat for tea and chatted with them for an hour and seemed to like her, but when their son came in and they noticed the white patch on his face, they just got up and left right away without saying a word, as if he was contagious. This was the last humiliating experience they exposed their daughters to. After this, Shashi and her husband consulted a famous pandit. He advised them to send the kids off to study abroad, to Sidney, Australia, where their fate would be different, because the planets had different positions there and thus would have a different effect on them. The oldest daughter fell in love with a colleague of hers from Hyderabad from a Brahmin family, who did not
reject her because she was from the lower vaisha caste, and she was expecting a baby soon. The younger daughter also found someone through the Internet. He lived in the U.S. and his parents were very nice, so she is also married. Surya was finalizing all the paperwork and was about to leave for Sidney.
“He has no future here. Unfortunately!” Shashi sighed. “We can find him a girl, but this is not the point. He is marked for life! A few times he was not allowed to enter a store, people finger-point him on the street, at school kids ridicule him, and stay away from him. He used to cry every day! It will be tough for him even to find a job one day. What is his fault? It is not easy for a parent to send away all the children and to advise them not to come back. We must have a really bad karma! There is no other explanation for what is happening to us. I hope that our next life will be better.”
Rebirth and karma are central concepts in the system of Hindu thought, probably formulated about 9-5th BC in the Upanishads, a vast collection of esoteric texts with ritual, cosmological and philosophical speculations. According to these concepts every living being goes through a chain of rebirths, called samsara, and not only in the form of a human each time. A discourse between a famous sage, Yajnavalkya, and a wise king, Janaka, rendered in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad reveals the idea that everyone has an indestructible soul or Self, atman, independent of the physical body. It changes the material body in which it lives as the caterpillar moves on to the next blade of grass when it reaches the end of the previous one or as the weaver cuts the colored yarn and changes patterns, and each new cycle depends on the actions and conduct of the individual (4.4.1.-7)6. In other terms this is the law of accumulative cause and effect, or karma. It entails a mechanism through which good and bad actions performed in the previous life have positive and negative effects in the next life. Moral behavior is a cause for better conditions and upper social rank in the next life. The higher in the hierarchy the individual is, the better the chance to achieve the ultimate goal – expanding the knowledge about the universe, overcoming all desires, and perceiving one’s Self not as different and separate, but as the finest essence of the all-pervasive truth and reality, brahman. In the Chandogya Upanishad Uddalaka, a great sage and guru teaches his disciple-son Shvetaketu that the honey has different nectars, which are undistinguishable, the ocean engulfs rivers that are imperceptible, the seed of a fruit in the banyan tree is unnoticeable, the salt is completely dissolved in the water and is unperceivable, thus the truth is that atman is the subtle essence that constitutes the self of the whole world (6.9-13)7. Thus, the soul able to understand this Truth can attain liberation, moksha, from all earthly limitations and ultimately from the chain of rebirths8.
I was not sure whether Shashi was thinking about all this while she was narrating her story. She just said, “I hope in our next life, we will not have to suffer so much…” and rotated the ring with the biggest diamond around her finger swiftly, as if to transfer its energy to her fortune. Several years later I met her again and she was a happy grandma of four grand kids, “We are lucky now with God’s blessing”, she said, “I cannot ask for more – my kids are married with children.” The rings were still on her right hand except for the diamond one.
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6 Upanishads. Trans. Olivelle Patrick. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. 64-65
7 Upanishads. Trans. Olivelle Patrick. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. 153-155
8 See for more Long, J. Bruce.. “The Concept of Human Action and Rebirth in the Mahabharata”. Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions. Ed. Wendy Doniger. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980. 38-60