Astrological Journey Through History Mystery & Horoscopes

Was there a need to write this book at all is a question I can answer by saying that it gives horoscopes of some of those persons, which were generally not available. Astrological journals discussed some of these personalities on the basis of wrong horoscopes mostly. Three such instances can be seen in this book. Even when the horoscopes were correct, the error in the birth time gave a wrong navamsha and wrong dasha balance. I never talked about it, as I had to keep some of the horoscopes almost close to my chest. Yet it was also I who also discussed the horoscopes of many people as case studies, taking only some pleasant aspect of their lives. But that constituted less than five percent of important horoscopes I have with me. My sources have been direct. Some of the horoscopes discussed in the book are of those who took predictions from me from five to twenty years. I had no doubt about the accuracy of their horoscopes because most of my predictions have been fulfilled. Similarly other astrologers have their own authentic collection of important horoscopes. We neither exchange nor pass them on to each other. Each maintains the confidence reposed in him by his consulter'.

The astrologer does not write history. He watches the contemporary scene as any human being does. That scene becomes part of the history of that time.' When actually history is written, only the most important persons, in power, at a given time, figure in it prominently, not the pawns that were mobilized on the chess board of politics to make possible what finally became the achievement or failures of that important figure. Some of these pawns were also "queened' but these queens are also not mentioned in the history that is written subsequently. The "queens" are neglected both by the leader who made use of them and by the historian who chronicled those events. It must have happened always. For instance when Queen Elizabeth honoured sea pirates and raised their social dignity and made them figures of British history, who were all her advisers who persuaded and advised her to transmute ignoble men into heroes, is not known. In the era of Indira Gandhi (1966-1984), she had her pawns which she changed also, queened some of them and allowed them to be captured by their opponents which, may be, she created for her masterly political stratagems to work.

These distortions in the writing of history can never be remedied. It is the history of those who were in power and influenced their times, and not of those who stood outside the sullied political currents, took an idealistic stance, made sacrifices, even led a revolution which got aborted. In our age lived the great Jaya Prakash Narain, whose heroic escape from Hazaribagh during the struggle for Indian Independence, can be only something of small episode in the history of India's struggle for freedom. In the main history of contemporary India, he will either not be mentioned or referred to only briefly for his great revolutionary role in 1974-77 period, when he launched an agitation against corruption in high places in India's public life. He was neither a saint nor a politician yet, both rolled into one. He rose above the pettiness of politics and spoke from a semi-transcendental height, which made him look like an impractical visionary not in touch with the solidified corruption of Indira era, which has become more sordid now. Yet we must remember him and remind us that there existed a noble force too in our public life.

Almost all of them consulted astrologers. Their horoscopes show certain important astrological factors. They have been the haystacks of our history which got burnt out by Time, and they have been forgotten. Some astrologer who knew them should discuss them, not to write history, but to give them the place that is due to them, even if it is in the lumber room of history. In the ephemeral and despicable history of any time in which one has lived, there are those scraps who enjoy power which they grab, through the help of some powerful persons, have no chance of ever becoming immortal because of the stark nudity of their own achievements. The passions that moved mankind thousands of years ago are always present in a changed form. That fury of ambition, that ability to intrigue, that blood thirst for the downfall of their opponents which actuated their many ignoble acts thousands of years ago, is ever alive. Yet behind it all is the illusion they live under, when they enjoy power, that they are powerful. The shadows of past history, the intrigues of the Moghul durbar, is always a reality. The harem has also not been destroyed but the number of its denizens cannot be counted. But these men had another side, which was their friendliness, warmth, even spirituality in tiny fragments. To have met and known them could not be called a piece of fortune. To forget them, after having known them as an astrologer who gave predictions to them, is to be ungrateful. I remember Raja Saheb Maqsoodpur, Raja Dinesh Singh, Anand Singh as that chain which ended in a period of two years and created a void in my life.

I am also discussing the horoscopes of two astrologers who predicted about them and gave predictions to them. I remember Kanad Rishi Bhatnagar, that ebullient astrologer as a flashy and intuitive person who seemed to possess some psychic gifts also. I remember Shri Hardeo Sharma Shastri Trivedi as the last representative of the classicism of Hindu astrology of our tradition. Other living Sanskrit knowing astrologers could be called neo-classical and, unfortunately, theoretical, scholars who could not develop sharp predictive techniques successfully. That is what I am doing in discussing some horoscopes.

Since I also gave them predictions, both to those pawns of Indian history and the astrologers, I can only assure readers that their horoscopes are authentic and correct, which can be made use of for future researches from various angles.

Two historical figures, Franklin D Roosevelt and Changez Khan have been discussed for a different reason, as the narration will make it clear. It should be obvious that I could not have met one of them, Changez Khan. There was no question of my ever meeting the American president FDR, though when he died I had entered my teens and had picked up astrology. He was not hero worshipped by our generation as JF Kennedy was. But read these pieces and you will understand something. Read them and do not ask me to tell you why I am insisting that you read and re-read them. Then there is the horoscope of Michael Gauquelin whom I might have met if I had made attempts to go out of India before 1993. We astrologers should remember him with gratitude, even if he did not succeed in the great task he had undertaken. His was an admirable attempt but we appraise all that critically.

I have lived through contemporary history as few men would have because I saw the great Gandhian movement of 1942. My father, Kotamraju Rama Rao, a great journalist-patriot was in British Indian jail. Great visions of Indian independence rose before the eyes of our generation. We saw the bloody orgies of the partition of India. We witnessed the loathsome effects of the Second World War on the morality of highly ethical and spiritual Hindus, always the greatest people of the world. How great has been the culture of India which accepted Gandhi as its leader clearly shows how civilized India is. True, we have more critics of Mahatma Gandhi now than we ever had before. Yet let us remember that in no other country of the world such a person as Mahatma Gandhi would have been accepted as a nearly undisputed leader. We then saw the other Gandhi, the well known Indira Gandhi, in whose era corruption reigned supreme. We witnessed enormous dissolution of all that we thought was valuable for a great and clean political life. Now both types of Gandhians, the followers of the Mahatma and of Indira just do not exist. But Indira Gandhi's name is still used during national general elections. Then she will be easily forgotten as is normal after the elections. For all we know, it is only in the general elections of) 996 that the name of Indira Gandhi is being made use of for the very last time.

As the son of a journalist getting eighteen newspapers every day, I was fed on contemporary events which are history now. I am re-viewing many of them now, astrologically. There is no joy, no sadness, no sense of romantic nostalgia. Past, present and future can have no more meaning for me now. Time is a flux. HE who has created the world knows how to run it. Yet someone, somewhere must record what he has been a witness to, directly or indirectly. My destiny took me near the centre-stage of some of those great historical events which I have discussed often. Yet I have confined my self to some astrological discussions, not allowing the convolutions of my fancies to override my astrological judgment. Part of the reason for presenting the portraits, as must have become clear from the sketches of F.D.R and Changez Khan in the first volume, is to warn astrologers about planetary jugglery as has happened for over five decades in India. The horoscopes must be correct, particularly of those historical characters who have held the centre stage sometime or the other. It is a difficult task. Yet I have taken enormous pains to collect correct birth details. I am still not sure that they are correct in all cases. For instance, the horoscopes of O.J. Simpson and Jonas Salk can be doubtful. But I feel that Salk's lagna may be correct but the birth time may need some minor rectification. In other cases, the birth time is correct as I got them direct from most dependable friends or from the persons concerned. I gave predictions to them, about them, often. I am therefore confident that they are correct. Let me therefore show against each of them to what extent one can rely on them.

The advantage of writing astro-portraits is they cannot become stale because these pieces are read, not merely for the history of the times they lived in, but more, for the astrological techniques and their applications. Except Mahatma Gandhi, I am aware that there is no one in this portrait gallery who can walk in the high places of eternity. There is mortification and disillusionment with all those whom we revere once, insult later and forget finally. This is what history is. Who remembers the great navaratnas' of the great court of Vikramaditya or even Akbar? It is only in British history that pirates, plunderers, adventurers and criminals who founded its Empire, that something of a semi-immortality is reserved for them. England, which Napoleon described as a nation of shopkeepers, has its own way of immortalizing its criminals. The obvious reason for this was that the criminals increased the material prosperity of England. We must therefore keep in mind that each nation bestows immortality on its men according to its culture. Yet if we had their correct horoscopes and detailed life events, they could have been discussed. It would have helped us remember, astrologically, those important people whom we forget otherwise. In India, if we talk of criminals, we talk of those like the great Valmiki who became a great rishi, and was the first real great poet in the history of world literature. Similarly, we remember Angulimal, associated with Gautama Buddha, a criminal turned into a great saint. How the Horoscopes Were Collected

R. N. Singh Deo: Taken from the family records of the Maharaja after cross-checking various horoscopes kept in the family archives. George Bernard Shaw: After cross-checking his life events from over ten books, which I had to re-read, I accepted the horoscope being used here as correct with astrological reasons.

Dhirendra Brahmachari : I have disclosed how I got it; watched the ups and downs of his life. I had given predictions about him privately many times. Every prediction came out correct. He wanted to meet me but it never happened.