Monday, January 28, 2013

Brown Indians and nadi astrology

Astrology does not predict the future; whatever explanations they sell are adhoc. Then, why people go to astrology. One way to look at astrologers of the old (esp those astrologers who dont loot you) as psychological counselors or therapists. Life is full of uncertainities: one has to make a decision. Sometimes, we are uncertain about which path to take.  Here, you can approach others. Astrologer is one such other.

What is funny about some successful brown fellers is that they lack the psychological perspective on the whole thing. In fact, Indian traditions (advaita, dvaita, vishistadvaita, jaina, budda, etc) are about human psychology; they have produced knowledge about human psyche. That knowledge is experiential. It is not propositional like a theory in physics or in economics.

The problems Indian traditions tackled were: what is the nature of 'self'? What is I? What is persona? What is agency? Who experiences? Who is experiencer? Who is actor? Who is acting? What is ananda? What is pleasure? What is emotion? What is the diffeerence between pleasure (sukha) and happiness (bliss).

These questions are important for every human being--irrespective of color, creed, culture, education, harvard degrees, Wharton MBA, Stanford Law school, income, etc.

Instead of pursuing these questions, one brown sucker called Raj Rajaratnam sought help from a nadi astrologer whether to cut a deal with prosecutors. Nadi astrologers told him to not cut a deal. And that he would win the case. In the end, he got screwed.


“He’d gone to the ola-leaf readers. They told him he’d be acquitted.” Ola-leaf readers are Sri Lankan astrologers. They believe that 3,000 years ago, seven Indian sages decided to write down the horoscopes of every person yet to be born, on a series of palm leaves. A skilled reader can read the leaves to present a complete life story of an individual, including his future. So on a subsequent meeting with Rajaratnam, I ask him about the ola leaves. “A friend did it for me,” he says, startled that I know. The friend took his (and his wife’s) date and time of birth to a leaf reader in Sri Lanka, who sat before a sheaf of leaves and asked a series of questions to which the friend answered yes or no, as at a deposition." From


What is a rational thing to do in this situation? 

1. Stop listening to the crap sold by Nadi morons in Tamil Nadu.
2. Seek enlightenment if you can. Enlightenment is a knowledge as sketched above
3. Cut a deal with prosecutors.

Note: Raj is not an Indian. He is a srilankan. So, it doesn't make any difference: i am just using the adjective Indian in a generic sense, not in terms of the place of birth or the passport one has.

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