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PitfallS in PRedicting futuRe eventS
1. Pitfalls in predicting future events
13
2. Case study – 1 An overview
27
3. Case study – 2 Trikona-lords in the Kendras
59
4. Case study – 3 Planets in the 11th house
68
5. Case study – 4 Operative and inoperative yogas
76
6. Case study – 5 Ineffective Laganadhi yoga
83
7. Case study – 6 Birth of Twins
88
8. Case study – 7 Defunct yogas
92
9. Case study – 8 Impact of Retrograde planets
98
10. Case study – 9 A life without marriage
106
11. Case study – 10 Combust lord of the 10th house
111
12. Case study – 11 A case of self-destruction
116
13. Case study – 12 Neechabhanga Rajayogas
121
14. Case study – 13 Impermanent effect of Rajayoga
126
15. Case study – 14 Balarishta
130
16. Case study – 15 Impact of yoga-giving Dasas
134
17. Case study – 16 Four-planet combination in the 7th house
138
18. Case study – 17 Maraka Dasas
143
19. Case study – 18 Unstable married life
147
20. Case study – 19 A case of Alpayu
151
21. Case study – 20 Depressed Mars in the 10th house 155
22. Case study – 21 A brief insignificant life
159
23. Case study – 22 The unmaking of a Prime Minister
163
24. Case study – 23 A Krishnapaksha Amavasya birth
167
25. Case study – 24 A tale of unending bad luck
172
26. Case study – 25 A Purnima birth
176
27. Case study – 26 A case of discontented life
180
28. Case study – 27 The horoscope of Rashtriya
184
Swayamsevak Sangh
29. Case study – 28 The adverse effects of the weak lords
191
of two lagnas
English transliteration:
“Raaz e baqaa samajh na sakaa jab baqaid e ziist
Farda ki ik ummid pe insaan fanaa huaa”
“When man, enslaved by life, could not understand the secrets
of his survival, he perished in expectation of his resurgence.”
-Zia Fatehabadi
To my wife,
Shakuntla,
My companion
Of over four decades.
English transliteration:
“grahaadhiinaa yogaah sadsadabhidhaanaa janmitaam
tato yogaadhinam phalamiti puranaih samuditama”
“Our ancient teachers have said that the good and bad yogas are formed by planets, and the good and the bad results of planets are experienced on account of those yogas.”
- Jatakalankara
(Ch.III on Yogas)
futuRe eventS
To predict means to foretell or forecast the future. The future is always uncertain and the uncertainty about it makes it ever so exciting and attractive. There is no one who does not want to know about the future, and there is no one who does not seek to know what the future holds in store. Towards this purposeful end those who practice the science of Astrology are most often approached, and from them astrological predictions about future events are eagerly gained. The experienced practitioner of Astrology knows and understands the language of the stars and the roaming planets, and he also understands what those who consult him desire to know. He takes on the role of a trusted friend and faithful guide, and in some extreme cases assumes the role of a psychiatrist to take the pressure off the minds of those who approach him. He acts as a witness, speaks soothingly and exercising needful patience lends his ears and support. But, predicting future events for even the most experienced astrologer is not an easy task.
Accurate astrological predictions cannot be made without
mastering the art of prediction. To master the art of prediction it takes many years of dedicated in-depth study of the various available texts under the watchful eyes and supervision of an able guru, and thereafter, by putting that learning into actual practice all the while gaining more and more experience and honing of the acquired skills.
All predictions are generally based on statistical inference, by sifting the data in hand and subjecting it to quantitative and qualitative analysis using relevant scientific methods that have as their basis logical consequences of scientific theories and established principles. For a devoted astrologer each act of prediction is a
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learning experience, he always credits successful predictions to the ancient seers and his guru, and whenever he fails he takes it upon himself the task of finding out where he has erred and what more he has to learn in that particular context.
An astrologer predicts future events with the help of the moving planets, and the fixed stars serving as their back-ground. Astrology enables him to discover their varying effects and influences on human and mundane affairs. A sincere astrologer does not allow
his judgement to be influenced by outward appearances; he weighs and re-weighs the evidence afforded by planetary configurations; he carefully maintains the delicate balance in his critical assessment of that evidence, and he does not ignore or set aside any abnormality.
The moving planets and the fixed stars do not by themselves cause the events that are associated with them to occur. All events that unfold expectedly or suddenly for us to experience are actually beyond causation and destined to occur. Verily the planets and the stars dotting the sky indicate the destinies of all human beings which destinies without any exception are guided by the reason of an individual’s present actions and reactions in the context of one or more previous experiences. These actions and reactions, which are not independent but dependent on the physical self, bind a person to this world and shape individual and collective destines.
Destiny is connected with the outer physical body that the results of the previous karmas bind, and which results cannot affect the inner self. Astrology unfolds the results of the previous karmas of man whom it fore-warns to be fore-armed. Existence is a matter
of science and direct perception, and as Adi Sankara had once remarked knowledge is obtained by investigation and not by the
mere acceptance of assertions by others. As a science of tendencies astrology indicates what is likely to happen, it reveals the future but it is not meant to promote fatalistic attitude of resignation to a pre-determined destiny, it is meant to free the confined spaces of the mind stifled by ignorance, delusion and greed. Fear is a kind of delusion, and astrology is meant to make one fearless and be prepared for the worst.
Predictions as per Hindu Astrology, which is indigenous in its
origin, are based on various principles that had long ago dawned upon our ancient seers as a result of supernatural divinations.
Astrology or Jyotisa is a divine science; it has a set format and
Pitfalls in Predicting Future Events
15
follows a well-defined methodology but it is not an empirical science because it deals with the part-less formless non-material entities such as Time and Space in the context of Cause and Effect; its prescribed rules cannot be violated. For effecting accurate predictions the ancient seers deemed as essential the knowledge of the exact determination of the ascendant or lagna at the time of birth or query, the knowledge of the exact positioning of the nine planets, their relative strength and inter-relationship, the nature of query and the judicial application of various rules and principles of mathematics, astronomy and prognostication. Astrological predictions go wrong when these fundamentals are either ignored or are casually applied. In India, it is not rare to see the Pundits, the professional practitioners of Astrology, making predictions on the basis of the Rasi-chart (Horoscope) with reference only to the current planetary dasa and planetary transits; they do not appear to conduct even the required minimum analysis of that rasi-chart.
Predictions made in this fashion are mostly unreliable and invariably go wrong. Incorrect predictions are made not due to any absence of scientific basis, but only to the lack of proper command of the facts. All astrologers have their own percentage of failures. Many astrologers are even seen to apply along with the reading of the birth-charts or query-charts entirely different vidyas such as the study of the thumb based on Ravana Samhita, this kind of approach should be avoided. An astrologer should have a very thorough knowledge of interpretation of horoscopes. Hereditary astrologers acquire skill due to generations of cumulative experience. There are no short-cuts available for an accurate divinisation of future events. Astrology is not considered deterministic for it is the human mind that finally decides even though all forms of desire that the mind projects give rise to pain and pleasure which are at the root of the evolution of the brain. Nevertheless, revelation of what causes specific and significant impacts on all that exists requires a human agency for its own manifestation, and therefore, that human agency must be a trained one.
Hindu Astrology is based on the Fixed Zodiac and the Nirayana
positions of planets. The Nirayana positions of planets are arrived at by firstly ascertaining their Sayana positions and then subtracting the Ayanamsa from such positions. The Bhava Sphutas (Longitude
of the Houses), the Rasimanas (Oblique Ascensions) and all other
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calculations are computed for Sayana Rasis or signs and then subjected to Nirayana reduction. The Ayanamsa or Vishuva, the word used in Vedanga Jyotisa, is the distance between the Hindu First point of the Zodiac and the Vernal Equinox, measured at an epoch, taking into account the very slight rate of Precession of the Equinoxes. The relevant verse of Vedanga Jyotisa is also interpreted as describing the arithmetical method to determine the Tithi and Parva on the day of the Equinox without the observation of or computing the position of the Sun and the Moon. Since the exact date when the fixed and the movable zodiac coincided at the first point is not exactly known the precessional distance varies from nineteen degrees to twenty-three degrees. The adepts in Hindu astrology by using different dates have introduced un-necessary complication and doubts with regard to the true value of the Ayanamsa. The rate of precession is one degree in about 72 years or one Dwadasamsa in 179 years, and is generally taken as fifty and one-third second per annum. The rate of actual precession is 50.2438 seconds per annum but due to error in the length of a Sidereal Year in the Hindu tabulations it is 58.68 seconds per annum. It is generally presumed that the precession is perpetual but there are some who believe that the precession is not perpetual but oscillates up to 70 degrees either side of the First point of Aries in a cycle of 7200 years, and that the rate of precession is not uniform. Vedanga Jyotisa of Lagadha is believed to have used Dhanishta as the fiducial constellation. Chitra nakshatra is used as the fiducial for the present age. The Ayanamsa added to the Vernal-point equals 30 degrees. Some insist that the sixteen-degree wide Zodiac is alien to Hindu astrology because the ancient texts use the term, Rasikootadhruva or the meeting point of all rasis, as referring to the poles of the ecliptic which are 180
degrees apart which distance at any given moment covers rasis and nakshatras and their parts. The dimensions of signs is not the same at all latitudes, and the change in the values of positional parameters of planets due to a change in the co-ordinates do bring about a change in the vargas of occupancy of planets and a shift in the timing of operation of dasas and antra-dasas. The Yogataras are conjunction stars and not the junction stars.
The Vedic people who were fully conversant with the nakshatras
(Rig Veda 8.8.5) were also conversant with the twelve rasis or signs (Rig Veda 1.164.11, 1.164.48) and the five planets or Tara-grahas,
Pitfalls in Predicting Future Events
17
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn (Rig Veda 1.105.10). The division of the zodiac into twenty-seven nakshatras is an exclusive feature of Hindu astrology. The more ancient Hindu texts refer to the nakshatra-wise position of planets with each nakshatra sub-divided into four or more parts. They do not refer to the signs. Planets tend to give results of the lords of the nakshatras occupied by them.
It is essential to find out whether a planet occupies a nakshatra which is benefic and friendly and that the nakshatra-lord is vested with required strength. A planet in the same sign but in different nakshatra behaves differently. Planets conjoining in the same sign and same nakshatra are more effective. The points of the highest exaltation of planets are based on the lordship of the nakshatras covering those very particular points as representing their anti-thesis. The Udu-dasa system is primarily based on the nakshatra occupied by the Moon at the moment of birth or query and the
effects of the dasas and antra-dasas of planets also depend on the quality of the nakshatras ruled and occupied by the dasa-lords and not on the signs and the sub-divisions of the signs alone; the nature and the quality of the nakshatras alter according to the nakshatra occupied by the Moon.
Time has been viewed differently by different schools of thought.
Patanjali tells us that time is the fluctuation of consciousness.
The conscious mind alone is aware of time. Einstein tells us that time is relative to the observer. Time is perceived because there are objects in space and its measurement is not the same at all places in the universe. Astrology deals with the physical time that is expressed as Solar, Sidereal, Standard and Local time, which physical time is provided by the spinning of the earth and has no separate existence because it is a mode of being of concrete objects which cannot be reversed. For all practical purposes the local apparent time of rising and setting of the Sun is taken to be almost correct.
The duration of the signs of the zodiac differs from latitude to latitude; the Hindu Panchanga (Ephemeris) uses the Charkhandas
(accessional differences) of the particular latitude for ascertaining that duration. The horoscope is cast on the basis of the Local Mean Time. Panchanga for the place of birth is usually not available; the birth time is required to be converted into local time of the place for which the consulted Panchanga has been prepared. Most often the pundits prepare horoscopes without effecting this conversion and
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they use the Panchanga prepared for the place other than the place of birth. In Hindu astrology the time of birth is the Ishtam expressed in ghatis and palas elapsed after sun-rise for which purpose the rising and the setting of the centre of the Sun’s disc is taken as the correct sun-rise and sun-set time, which is not the same as that published in most of the daily newspapers.
Kalidasa in his Uttarakalamrita insists that the time of birth must be correctly ascertained, the duration of the day and the duration of the night in terms of time must be known, the correct point of the rising lagna should be determined with the aid of the Sayana location of the Sun and the Ishta-kala, and only thereafter according to the standard methods of calculation the exact location of the planets must be obtained, the bhavas etc; identified; and the lagna determined should be then verified and re-verified by utilising the location of the Moon and Mandi, and rectified if need be. Janardhan Harji in his Mansagari states that foolish people alone who without ascertaining the correct lagna-point and the exact location of planets become objects of ridicule when they start giving the results of dasas and antra-dasas ignoring the inherent and the acquired strength of planets and the Shadavargas, to which lapse can be added the inadequate ability to recognise the yogas (favourable or auspicious planetary combinations) and the ava-yogas (unfavourable or evil planetary combinations) that may be obtaining at the given time. Predicting the effects of planets by assessing the strength of planets is peculiar and original conception to Hindu astrology. Mandi is not the same as Gulika; their position is calculated in different ways. Gulika is avoided in Muhurata, and Mandi helps determine matters pertaining to progeny, longevity and the correct lagna. Parashara has advocated the use of Dhuma, Vyatipata, Parivesa, Indrachapa and Upaketu, which are five invisible mathematical solar positions, alongside the nine planets.
Hardly ever any attempt is made to know and record the time
of conception, Vatsayana states that an intelligent woman certainly becomes aware of conception for she feels it. The need for knowing the exact time of conception arises when the exact time of birth is not known. Varahamihira reiterates that when the Moon is not in a sign that forms an Upachyasthana the menses for conception occurs, and that conception occurs when the Sun, the Moon, Venus or Mars occupy their own navamsas or if Jupiter is either in the lagna
Pitfalls in Predicting Future Events
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or in a trikona-bhava. However, working backward to arrive at the exact time of conception from the approximate or exact date and time of birth has not been dealt effectively by the ancient classics, and is a tedious task whose outcome cannot be always relied.
Tattva-shodhana method has also been advocated to correct the
known time of birth. These exercises are generally avoided, and it is said that the principles that are suggested to be followed in fixing the correct lagna of a person are meant to be applied only when there are doubts about it. It is believed that even Parashara had left this issue unresolved because all instruments and implements connected with the determination and measurement of Time are
man-made and not error-free.
Hindu Astrology is based on Equal House System i.e. the entire
sign represents one house or bhava; Sripati’s Unequal House System is confusing. Each of the twelve signs of the zodiac is further divided into specific kinds of divisions or Vargas which are sixteen in number viz., (1) Rasi, (2) Hora, (3) Drekkena, (4) Chaturthamsa, (5) Saptamsa, (6) Navamsa, (7) Dasamsa, (8) Dwadasamsa, (9) Shodasamsa, (10)
Vimsamsa, (11) Chaturvimamsa, (12) Bhamsa, (13) Trimsamsa, (14) Khavedamsa, (15) Akshavedamsa, and (16) Shashtiamsa. Each varga has been assigned a specific role and significance. Using these sub-divisions the Sthanabala, the Digbala, the Kalabala, the Cheshtabala and the Ayanabala of planets, and the Bhavabala of houses is determined. There are certain schools that divide the zodiac into ninety-six Ashtamsa divisions or divide the zodiac into one hundred thirty two Ekadamsa divisions, and there are those that divide each sign into one hundred fifty Nadi amsas. Satyacharya is of the view that if the correct Nadi amsa is not known, the correctness of the time of birth cannot be decided. But a majority of these sub-divisional charts are seldom studied and applied. The basics of Nadi method are said to spring from the Law of Resonance related to cosmic interactions, according to which law a small fluctuating force can have large consequences. Varahamihira and Kalyanvarma attach great importance to Drekkena. Varahamihira assigns the three Drekkenas the lords of the lagna, the 5th and the 9th house.
Kalyanvarma insists that drekkena results should be predicted if the Drekkenas and their lords are strong and aspect the lagna. The higher divisional charts are more sensitive to birth-time errors.
Parasara tells us that from the Bhamsa i.e. the Nakshatramsa is
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to be judged one’s strengths and weaknesses pertaining to one’s personality and character; overall valour and persistence; peace of mind; emotional state, proneness to quarrels and disappointments; diplomatic skills; proneness to uneasiness, unhappiness, scepticism and tension; generosity, righteousness, and respect for tradition; organizational ability; material gains and spirit of compassion and humility. The Bhamsa is seldom consulted.
Hindu Astrology evolved the planetary Dasa Systems for timing
of events on the premise that the influences that were operative at birth affect all departments of life. If the planet is strong and auspicious its dasa would be beneficial, and if the planet is ill-disposed and evil its dasa would be bad and even disastrous. The dasas (planetary major periods) or antra-dasas (planetary sub-periods) of the lords of the 2nd and the 7th from any bhava or the karaka (significator) of that bhava and of those planets associated with these lords through conjunction or aspect prove detrimental to matters signified by that bhava. The dasas and the antra-dasas of strong benefic planets situated in the trikonas (trines), or in the 2nd or the 11th house from the lagna give wealth and happiness. There are many Dasa Systems mentioned in the texts but the Vimshottari Dasa spanning 120 years is more in vogue. The first dasa at the time of birth is that of the planet which rules the nakshatra (constellation) occupied by the Moon. Very few people live that long to experience the dasas of all nine planets. The dasas are based on the length of the Solar Year measured in terms of the time taken by the Sun from the very beginning of the first degree of Aries to the end of the thirtieth degree of Pisces sign. The year of the Vimshottari dasa is of three hundred sixty days. The marginal difference affects the exact timing of events. The Vimshottari dasa-system depends on the placement of the Moon in a particular nakshatra, the ancient texts insist that the position of the Moon at the time of commencement of a dasa is also required to be taken note of, the good or the bad positioning of the Moon with reference to the lagna rising at that moment and other planets will indicate whether the good results expected during the course of the dasa would materialise or not, and whether the bad results would be more intensely felt. This aspect is often ignored because in the absence of the knowledge of the exact time of birth and the correct Ayanamsa, it is not possible to arrive at the exact time of the commencement of any
Pitfalls in Predicting Future Events
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dasa. Predictions based on nakshatras are held to be more reliable.
The Hindu Panchangas use Chitrapaksha ayanamsa based on the
premise that the beginning of Aswini is exactly 180 degrees away from Chitra nakshatra.
The Ashtakavarga method of prediction is as important as the dasa systems based on the natal position of the Moon. This system is based on the progression of the seven planets from their respective radical positions and from lagna, and on the actions and inter-actions of the transiting planets with reference to their natal positions and the lagna. It helps in determining the general strength of planets and bhavas, in anticipating occurrence of future events of importance, in forecasting Gochara or transit results and in determining longevity. Planets in exaltation, in own house, in the kendras, in the trikonas or in the upachayas become ineffective if they do not gain four or more benefic bindus in their Ashtakavarga.
Planets occupying debilitation or inimical signs or trika-bhavas or associated with the lord of the sign occupied by Mandi but having more than four benefic bindus confer favourable results. Planets transiting the signs which have more than twenty-five bindus in their Ashtakavarga give better results. The results depend upon the bhava which the planet occupies and they pertain to matters indicated by the bhava and those signified by that planet. All planets influence the bhava they occupy. With regard to Saturn, Dhruva Nadi tells us that the transit of Saturn over the radical position of the lords of the 6th, the 8th and the 12th are difficult periods and that Saturn afflicts those bhavas that he occupies and aspects and by occupying the 8th from them.
Planets devoid of sambandha (relationship) are restricted in their effects. Planets establishing sambandha give rise to yogas, Rajayogas or ava-yogas or yogabhanga (destruction of yoga).
No planet acts alone, it becomes an active participant by having established an unavoidable relationship with one or more planets.
All yogas are basically geometrical configurations effected by planets in mutual relationship and indicate the possible pattern of life of individuals. The discerning eye is able to locate and identify these yogas. There are several instances where the texts do offer differing constitution and interpretation of one and the same named yogas, in such instances experience alone comes to the rescue of the prognosticator. The failure of the yogas to give the anticipated
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or expected results can in most cases be attributed to the weak status of the dispositors (the lord of the sign occupied) of the yoga-forming planets rather than the weakness of the planets involved in the yoga formation. The affliction suffered by the yoga–causing planets and the planets associating with them needs to be closely examined in the light of their residential strength and the Awastha gained by them, and with reference to the nakshatras influenced by them . Planets establish sambandha through aspects. The result of an inimical planet aspecting a planet from an inimical sign will not be the same as the results of the aspect of the planet from an inimical sign on its own sign which is the inimical sign for its occupant but the sign occupied by the aspecting planet is a friendly sign of the planet aspected. This kind of subtlety very often o
