Nadi astrology
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Nadi astrology (naadi jothidam) is a form of astrology practised in Tamil Nadu, India. It is based on the belief that the past, present and the future lives of all humans were foreseen by Hindu sages in ancient times and written on Palm leaves.
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[edit] History
According to Hindu faith, thousands of years ago sages who had the power to look in the past and future of the entire universe recorded the future of people who were living and who are going to live, in the form of Tamil verses, as Palm Leaf Manuscripts. The text is written in Vatteluttu, which is an ancient Tamil script. There are different schools of thought as to the author of these leaves. They were said to be written down by different Hindu sages, who had divine revelations. Some of the sages include Agasthiya, Brighu, Kaushika, Vyasa, Kagabujandar, Valmiki and Vasishtha. This doctrine of astrology was made famous by astrologers around the Vaitheeswaran Temple in the state of Tamil Nadu and is still practiced around the temple by their descendants.
The source point of Nadi Astrology leaves can be traced back to approximately more than 2000 years. These Nadi leaves were initially stored in the premises of Tanjore Saraswati Mahal Library of Tamilnadu. The British rulers later showed interest in the Nadi leaves concerned with herbs and medicine, future prediction etc; but ironically left most of the Nadi prediction leaves to their loyal people. Some leaves got destroyed and the remaining were auctioned during the British rule. These Nadi leaves were obtained and possessed by the families of astrologers in Vaitheeswaran Temple. This is an art passed down the years from one generation to the other. [1]
The notion that astrologers claim these predictions were made for all human beings who have lived or will ever live is not completely true. Nadi astrologers say only a certain number of souls' future predictions are there in the leaves. They are reported cases of exact match in the past details and future predictions. Since the prophecy is written in the form of Tamil verses, their interpretation is subject to the nadi astrologer's way of understanding and interpreting them. But those who can understand poetic Tamil (professors, etc.) can understand the verses without the help of an astrologer.
There is a perception that a person's past is described fairly accurately by Nadi astrologers but the predictions about the person's future are not quite as accurate. Some have ascribed the presence of a favorite deity (or even an invisible ghost) whispering about a person's past into the nadi astrologer's ears as they do a palm leaf reading but this notion is not widely accepted.
Scientific Proof of Nadi Predictions
A German author Thomas Ritter has recently authored a book named 'The Secret of Indian Palm Leaf Libraries'.
In his book on page 81 to 85 Mr. Thomas Ritter describes his experiences of many Nadi centers he visited in India and the result of Carbon 14 test conducted in the famous "Institute for Ion Radiation of Physics Department 'placed in Nuclear Research Centre, Rossendorph, Saxen, Germany. This institute has been responsible to decide the age of ancient paintings and other documents of national importance in Germany, Thomas Ritter contacted expert C 14 scientists Prof. Fradrik and Dr. Hanse of the institute. He also confirmed from the experts on Tamil language in Germany that the matter is in fact Tamil language script. It is about predictions and not some religious matter.
On preliminary checking the scientists said that the matter written on the leaf has been etched out and some graphite like substance has been used so that the matter could be seen more clearly. Clearing the black substance from the leaf took some months. By then Thomas Ritter became increasingly anxious about the result. Some time in March 1995, he got the much awaited result, which clearly indicated that the age of that particular leaf was at least 350 years. Considering the deviation factor allowance generally given for this type of tests the report said the age could be between 350 to 400 years.This means it may have been copied from an earlier manuscript.
[edit] Procedure
Usually, the astrologer asks for the thumb impression (right hand for males and left hand for females). The astrologer then searches his repository of leaves for the seeker's classification of thumb print. Finally, the minimum possible set of matching leaves is brought. Every leaf corresponds to some individual and hence will bear the birth and kinship details of its seeker. So the seeker is asked a series of questions, based on the verses, so as to find the exact match. These questions are to be answered a yes or no. The exact leaf of seeker is said to get only 'yes' responses from the seeker. Once the exact leaf is found, the astrology tells the seeker's name, parents name, spouse name and many other details about his future, since they are all written in the leaf. The first chapter (kaandam) in the leaf has the general overview of its seeker's life. Then the kandams that follow this are specific ones like Marriage, Profession, etc. The list of chapters and details are as follows: [2]
1. It contains a gist of future predictions corresponding to the 12 houses of the horoscope, a general overview of the seeker's life with age. Is also a general summary of the 11 kandams that follows it:
2. This Kandam is about Family, Education, Eyes, Money and Intuition etc.
3. This Kandam is about Brothers & Sisters, Relationships between them and self.
4. This Kandam is about Mother and Comforts through House, Land and Vehicles.
5. This Kandam is about Children and births, reason for not having any, future lifestyle of children.
6. This Kandam is about troubles and hardships due to Disease, Debts Enemies, Litigations or Cases.
7. This Kandam is about first Union or Marriage and Status of married life. Also contains hints of valuable information about the name of the future spouse, horoscope, age of marriage, and some characteristic features of the spouse etc.
8. This Kandam is about lifespan and Longevity, Accidents and dangers with indication of time and age during one's lifetime.
9. This Kandam is about Father, Wealth, Visits to holy places, Fortune; Benefit from the preaching's of Guru and holy people, charitable deeds and social life.
10. This Kandam is about Career, Job, Profession and Business, Good and Bad times in career. Future predictions about growth, prosperity and losses in one's job or business.
11. This Kandam is about Second or further marriages, Profits in business etc.
12. This Kandam is about Expenditures, Foreign Visits, Next birth and Salvation.
Separate Kandams:
13. Shanti Pariharam: This Kandam is about past life or birth, bad and good deeds and a series of rituals that can dilute the effect of past bad deeds.
14. Deeksha Kandam: This Kandam is about the methods of preparing the Mantra Raksha, that has the power to shield the self from evil forces of jealous and envy. Raksha ensures relatively better rewards for one's efforts and success in deeds.
15. Avushada Kandam: This Kandam is about medicines, prescription suggested to those suffering from chronic diseases.
Initially, only the first chapter is read to the seeker. If the seeker needs further details on some particular chapter (like Business, Health, Marriage etc), then the corresponding chapter's verses are read to him/her. The seeker is also advised rituals which can correct the future mishappenings, there by leading to a choice.
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[edit] Power
Proponents believe it is very powerful and claim it is accurate. There is no prediction involved - only translation/interpretation of what is written on a palm leaf. Hence it does not require the huge competence levels required for good accuracy that other forms of astrologies demand from the astrologer (in this case, only a nadi reader).
[edit] Criticism
In recent years, there has been criticism regarding Nadi Astrology, denouncing it as a pseudo-science or a hoax. The fortune tellers are accused of charging exorbitant amounts from customers. There has been no scientific study or research conducted on this form of astrology.
