Written in the Stars: a visit to a Bhrigu Samhita astrologer

Author: Finn Wandahl
Publisher: The NEURAL SURFER
Publication date: January 1997

E-mail David Christopher Lane directly at dlane@weber.ucsd.edu

I want to go back to the home base now.

WRITTEN IN THE STARS: a visit to a Bhrigu Samhita astrologer.

Authored by:

    FINN WANDAHL
wandahl@dk-online.dk

WRITTEN IN THE STARS - A visit to a Hindu palm-leaf Astrologer)
by Finn Wandahl, e-mail: wandahl@dk-online.dk

On the 3rd of January 1990 at 6 o'clock in the morning, my girlfriend =
Arlette and I were standing, freezing near a little village in the =
Himalayan mountains of North India. We were not feeling very comfortable =
as we were very near to a wooded area, where a pack of wolves were =
prowling about. We were waiting for the bus to take us to down the =
mountain where our two Tibetan friends, Professor Drakton and Tenzin =
Choegyal, were expecting us with a cup of nice hot coffee. We knew by =
then that we had a hard journey and some strange adventures ahead of us.

Before I proceed with the story of what happened, maybe I should =
introduce our Tibetan companions:


PROFESSOR DRAKTON
Mr. Jampa G. Drakton is professor at the Tibetan Medical Centre, =
teaching Tibetan Astrology and rendering astrological services to His =
Holiness the Dalai Lama. Mr. Tenzin Choegyal is his disciple.

We became very good friends and I will explain more about Professor =
Drakton and the Tibetan astrology in a future article.

During our conversations, Mr. Drakton and I talked about the palm-leaf =
horoscopes and the remarkable predictions which can be obtained from =
them. The Professor was aware of some of the secrets behind them, and I =
myself have got an English translation of some palm-leaf horoscopes from =
friends in India.

Both of us had heard about a huge collection of very old palm-leaf =
horoscopes belonging to some astrologers in Hoshiarpur in the state of =
Punjab. This collection was supposed to be something quite unique and =
extraordinary.

We met with our two Tibetan friends and got on the bus for Hoshiarpur. =
It was an unpleasant journey. The busses in India are not very =
comfortable and they drive so fast on the winding mountain roads that =
you almost feel that you are risking your life; but finally, some time =
after noon, we arrived safely in Hoshiarpur.


HOSHIARPUR
Hoshiarpur is a strange place, notably influenced by the fightings =
between the Sikhs and the Hindus which have been going on for years in =
Punjab.

The atmosphere was rather depressed and there was a touch of =
suspiciousness. It was very dirty, and our hotel rooms had a terrible =
smell of urine. The bedclothes had probably never been washed, but =
fortunately we had brought our own sleeping-bags. The only reason for us =
to accept our hotel rooms was the fact that all doors and windows could =
be secured by bolts from the inside. The hotel staff was rather =
suspicious looking and did not inspire our confidence.

Once when the four of us were sitting in one of the rooms, there was a =
strange noise coming from outside the door. Professor Drakton pulled out =
his large knife, and silently he opened the door. There was nobody out =
there, so we relaxed.

At this point, the Professor criticized my knife as it had no blood =
groove. He explained that "You cannot draw your knife out of the corps, =
if there is no blood groove, and this makes you defenceless".

I got the impression that he knows quite a lot about these things, as he =
was fighting against the Chinese in 1959, when Tibet was invaded.

Later we found out that we had good reasons for not feeling very secure =
in Punjab. During the short time of our stay, 8 persons were brutally =
murdered. Also, the Authorities had asked us not to stay in Punjab for =
more than a few days as a maximum, as it was too dangerous for =
foreigners.


MEETING THE ASTROLOGER
After this little incident we went by bicycle-rickshaw to the place of =
the Astrologer. It must have been a rather odd view: Two tall and =
well-fed Danes sitting in a bicycle-rickshaw with a very thin and humble =
Indian in front riding the bicycle. Behind us in another rickshaw you =
could see our two Tibetan friends, laughing.

After a while we came to the place of the Astrologer. He claimed that he =
had been expecting us and introduced himself as Mr. Maha Shiv Bhrigu =
Shastri. He said that he would try to find my horoscope in the huge =
collection of palm-leaves.

I gave him my date of birth etc., but it did not seem to interest him =
very much. He was more concentrated on a kind of Ephemeris from =
Chandigarh (a major town in Punjab) from the present year (1990). =
Actually he made a horary chart, and it was my impression that the time =
of our arrival to his ashram was the most important event, which set all =
other factors into motion, rather than my date of birth.

Then the Astrologer entered into a room next to us and looked among the =
bundles of horoscopes wrapped in silk of different colours. One of these =
bundles turned out to include my horoscope, giving the predictions of my =
life.


SAGE BHRIGU
It is said that these thousands and thousands of horoscopes are supposed =
to come from sage Bhrigu, who lived in the Himalayan region in the =
ancient times. Later on the horoscopes have been copied over and over by =
clever astrologers who hold the knowledge of the secrets. Originally, =
the horoscopes were written on palm-leaves or bark, but the horoscope =
that I saw was on paper.

The Hindus believe that nobody can consult the collection of Bhrigu =
unless it has been preordained thousands of years ago. It is also =
believed that sage Bhrigu was the greatest astrologer of all times. In =
by book "Astrolog=A1a India" (ediciones Indigo) which has recently been =
released in Spanish, I have explained about sage Bhrigu and the =
palm-leaf horoscopes in more details, as well as the Indian Astrology on =
which these horoscopes are based.


THE CORRECT HOROSCOPE IS FOUND
After searching for about 10 to 15 minutes among the huge bundles of =
horoscopes, the Astrologer Maha Shiv Bhrigu Shastri said that he had =
found the right bundle. He returned with a large bunch, wrapped in black =
silk, containing 300 to 400 horoscopes. At this point I almost gave up, =
as I felt this was a hopeless task. The Astrologer was optimistic and =
suddenly he presented the correct horoscope which was an exact copy of =
my birth-chart! It was written on a very old sheet of paper, and the ink =
had turned brown from age. I think it was at least 100 years old. It was =
the correct Ascendant, and all the planets were placed exactly as when I =
was born. Professor Drakton and Tenzin studied the horoscope closely. =
The Astrologer's son also looked at it. Everyone agreed: This was a =
perfect match.

I am aware of the fact that there must be millions of different birth =
charts. So from a scientific point of view this is completely crazy. But =
it is exactly the way it happened!

The predictions were written in some sort of code, and it was read out =
like this:

"Om - Sri Shukra asked: If a man is born in the Margasira month with =
this Graha-dristi (planetary aspects), what will be the name of the =
yoga, and what will be the results?=20

Sri Bhrigu answered: Hey Shukra, at that time there will be =
Karma-Bandham-yoga, and listen to me about the results: The man is born =
in Varn-mahadweep (Europe) in a city beginning with K. (I am born in =
Copenhagen, which begins with the sound of "K"). He will come at the age =
of 35 to hear my predictions between the rivers Satluj and Vays in a =
city called Chachadpuri (Hoshiarpur?).

He has come for his family happiness, his longevity and for some special =
work, he has to do due to a deep feeling in his heart.

His name will be Finn Wandahl (I still think he said Pinn Wandahl). His =
father's name will be from Kai-namsa" (my fathers name is actually Kai).

Then the reading listed a number of good years, and a number of bad =
years; my longevity was fixed with an accuracy of a few hours. =
Additionally, it gave some predictions about the future, which would be =
too extensive to mention here. But the reading continued:

"Hey Shukra, because of bad karmas from the previous life some bad =
results have been seen. His wife is no longer with him since three years =
ago, and the feeling in his heart became bad. He got obstruction and =
difficulties, and his family happiness was spoiled" (This is true, as my =
wife left me and took my daughter with her).

This was then followed up by a long story about my previous life, in =
which I was a Judge who got a curse, which was supposed to destroy my =
family happiness in that life and the coming two incarnations as well.


SPIRITUAL BLACKMAIL
The reading then continued by stating that the curse of the past could =
be canceled through a religious ritual, performed by Maha Shiv Bhrigu =
Shastri, for which I was supposed to pay him Rupies 51.000,-, equivalent =
to US Dollars 3.600,-.

Being an educated man I told him that under such conditions I would =
prefer the three bad lives, but of course I gave him the Rs. 301,- for =
the job he had done.

My personal opinion is that the demand for Rs. 51.000,- was something =
that the Bhrigu Shastri made up himself to see if he could make some =
easy money on this stupid Westerner. On the other hand, it is my =
impression that this kind of spiritual blackmail has become quite normal =
among the different mystics of India. I think that it is a sad =
development which could give Hindu Astrologers a bad reputation in the =
long run.

I still find that this experience was something very unusual, but due to =
its suspect character I will leave it the way I found it: Written in the =
stars.


E-mail The Neural Surfer directly at dlane@weber.ucsd.edu

I want to go back to the home base now.