From Pandemic & Political Shifts to Marriage & Career: Pundits Explain Drive for Astrology in India

Astrology in India has been prevalent for at least 25,000 years and is mentioned in detail in the Vedas, or the Hindu scriptures. One of the seven Hindu Vedic sages, Bhrigu, is said to be the father of Hindu astrology. Since then, many sages have contributed to it, but it peaked around 530-570 AD, during the reign of King Vikramaditya.

According to mythological books, King Vikramaditya appointed astrologer Varahamihira to his court and would consult him on matters related to his kingdom.

Today, growing belief in astrology and its popularity can be observed even in Indian streets, which are flooded with hoardings, making tall claims of helping people find the love of their life, sorting out their financial as well as health issues, and other problems in their lives.

Meanwhile, not only commoners, but even renowned people like politicians, have confided in astrological predictions before initiating noble or significant tasks in life. For this, they consult Hindu priests (pundits), who practice astrology and forecast the happenings of the future.

Pandit Bheema, who offers consultations to many businessmen and politicians, told Sputnik that although astrology is a complex study of math and physics, it is more about a person's story.

Rising Public Faith and Astrology

According to media reports, before changing the name of his party on October 5, Telangana state chief K. Chandrashekar Rao consulted pundits to check what the auspicious time would be. He renamed his party at 1:19 PM (IST) sharp on the occasion of Dussehra, October 5.

This is just one example in which Indian politicians make decisions after consulting pundits.

Deepak Bisaria, an internationally renowned astrology teacher and researcher, told Sputnik: “People take decisions after consulting the astrologers as they believe that it will help them get the decision right and yield fruitful results for them.”

Asked if the predictions are correct, Bisaria retorted: "Had the predictions been incorrect, why would people trust it so much?"

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However, Bisaria is miffed with those who have turned it into a business to earn money.

"The power to predict the future, and answer people's queries, cannot be earned. It comes naturally to people, or sometimes, through Siddhi (supernatural power) when people study religion without any greed," said Bisaria.

"Many people have turned it into business as they practice it to earn money. This is not good, and those who do it to earn money cannot predict the right things, which creates disbelief about the age-old practice,” he added.

On the other hand, Pandit Bheema claims that people start consulting astrologers when science fails.

“People across the globe need an answer for a pandemic, natural disasters and political upheavals. Can science or mathematics answer it? But, I can assure you that astrology can predict it,” he stated.

Asked about the most frequent queries, he said they are related to marriage and relationships - about 60 percent, career, finance, and health.

First-Hand Experience

People are often get fascinated by the thought that they will come to know about what is likely to happen to them in the near future. However, at times people prefer consulting astrologers when they find nothing clicking with their desired way in life.

Rakhi Sinha, a 31-year-old resident of Delhi, told Sputnik that she was undergoing a lot of stress as she struggled through her professional and personal life.

“Things were not going in the right direction for the last many years. There were many ups and downs in my professional and personal life. I was not getting a stable job which impacted my personal life. One of my relatives asked me to consult an astrologer, and after he told me several remedies and things started falling in line,” Sinha said.

Meanwhile, a 25-year-old Noida-based millennial, Saurabh Sachdeva, said astrology has helped him understand his life's meaning and patterns.

“Earlier, I didn’t use to believe in astrology as I thought that everybody tells good things only so that nobody feels offended. However, when I got stuck in one of my jobs and frustration started to build up, one of my friends suggested that I consult one pundit. He told me to follow a simple routine, and I would get another job, and it worked,” he said.