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KN Rao
It has suited those who have taken shelter behind the massive
frame of dead Jawaharlal Nehru to cite him as an instance
of an anti-astrology and "progressive" symbol, rather
a ‘modern’ man. The definition of "progressive"
has had its vagaries from the Communists’ blind acceptance
of whatever communist Russia approved till perestroika of
1989 destroyed USSR, to those who thought that the "liberty
of the womb" is a modern and progressive step.
"Modern" for astrophysicist like Jayant
Narlikar can mean blind acceptance of everything that is called
science and technology in the west. For some the less famous
and talented Indian, it means accepting everything western,
the central core of which is science, technology and permissiveness.
Into that strait definition they must jam pack the frame
and reputation of Jawaharlal Nehru to seek a guilt stricken
approval for what they think is scientific and modern.
Nehru was a Kashmiri pandit, His uncle Bansidhar Nehru was
an astrologer. His father Motilal Nehru depended on the court
astrologer of the state of Khetri for the horoscopes of his
family. Those horoscopes were used for all those important
occasions when Hindus take astrological approval for their
decisions, mainly marriage. It was on this ground, astrological
basis, that Kamla Nehru, the non-English knowing Kashmiri
beauty from Sitaram Bazar. Delhi, was chosen for the European
Jawaharlal Nehru who never went to an Indian school in India
and had no Indian classmates. May be, if Pupul Jayakar had
not been threatened, she might have revealed much more than
what she did in her biography of Indira Gandhi.
The myth of Jawaharlal Nehru being anti-astrology would have
persisted if in a major paper on astrology, the following
had not appeared. It was the year 1983 and an astrological
conference at Bangalore where in a major paper of mine containing
tabulated predictions, given in advance, the prefatory remarks
were Letter No.74 From Jawaharlal Nehru-Ahmadnagar
Fort To Krishna Hutheesing-20 Carmichael Road, Bombay 29.8.1944
" In my letter to Indu I suggested to her to ask you
to get a proper horoscope made by competent person. Such permanent
record of the date and the time of birth are desirable. As
for the time, I suppose the proper solar time should be mentioned
and not the artificial time which is being used outside now.
War time is at least an hour ahead of the normal time"
(Nehru’s letters to his sister-edited with an introduction
by Krishna Hutheesing-Faber and Faber,24 Russel Square, London.
I then added the following comment."Surprisingly this
portion has been omitted by the editor of the letters of Pandit
Nehru published by the Publications Division of Government
of India, perhaps in his over anxiety to preserve the "secular"
image of Pandit Nehru. The editor exercised his selective
judgment in a way as will distort some facets of the personality
of Nehru"
The battle had begun between the "progressive and secular"
writers of Indian history and astrologers with this paper
of mine. The salutary effect of this was that when Volume
13 of Nehru’s letters were published, the following letter
to Indira Gandhi contained the following additional information.
"Betty no doubt will take necessary steps to have
a ‘Janmapatri" ( Hindi) made. This should be done for
that is our traditional way to record the exact date and time
of birth, the date according to Samvat Calendar, as far as
I can make it out is Bhadrapad 2—Samvat 2001, or put it differently
second day of the bright half of the Moon in the month of
Bhadra Samvat 2001. Betty writes time of birth was 8.11 a.m.
But what time? The time observed now is war time which is
at least one hour ahead of normal time, possibly more. It
is thus the artificial time and not the real time, according
to which Moon should be when Sun is highest in the heaven......
Letter No.77
S.Gopal, the editor of Nehru’s letters got a clear warning
that if he suppressed relevant and authentic material from
Nehru papers which showed that Kashmiri Brahmin’s belief in
astrology, he would be dragged to court besides being exposed.
So he came with another letter this time which Nehru wrote
to his daughter Indira Gandhi after the birth of her first
son, Rajiv Gandhi.It was thus, from
December 1983 that the myth of Nehru’s anti-astrology image
of exploded.
S.Gopal, the editor of Nehru’s letters got a clear warning
that if he suppressed relevant and authentic material from
Nehru papers which showed that Kashmiri Brahmin’s belief in
astrology, he would be dragged to court besides being exposed.
So he came with another letter this time which Nehru wrote
to his daughter Indira Gandhi after the birth of her first
son, Rajiv Gandhi.
Some of us in Lucknow had read in the Pioneer (of Lucknow)
in the fifties an explosive attack by Sampurnand, a former
chief minister of U.P. and later, governor of Rajasthan, on
Nehru and astrology. He said that Nehru had written to Malviyas
in Varanasi to get the horoscope of his grand son Rajiv Gandhi
prepared.Since there was some delay, Nehru had become impatient
and irritable in the tone of letter he had written. If Nehru
did not believe in astrology why did he insist on having a
horoscope prepared for his grandson was the question Sampurnananda
raised and it never was answered.
Someone should have delved into available family records
to find out how many astrologers Jawaharlal Nehru and his
family members had contacted or written to. If the purpose
of getting prepared horoscope for proper birth record was
the sole aim, it could be done in a simpler way. Note down
the time of birth, day, month, year and the place in one register
as the pandas of pilgrimages in India do in their own way
The correct birth time of birth is not necessary for this
purpose.More important if the purpose was merely to keep a
record of birth why was Nehru so anxious that war time should
be adjusted properly it being 8.11 am (wartime) and 7.11 a.m.
(corrected wartime) which only astrologers need for casting
the correct horoscope?.
Those who know astrology should know that the difference
of one hour in noting the birthtime of Rajiv Gandhi would
have made a difference to his lagna, between Kanya on the
bass of 8.11. and Simha if 7.11. is taken. and would have
changed entire astrological reading about him.
Then why write to so many astrologers to have the horoscope
prepared of the same grandson ? One would have been sufficient.
That is obviously not for keeping "proper birth records"
but much more. It was for a reading of the horoscope with
its promises. Consultations from different astrologers would
have helped in seeing points of unanimity in their readings,
Nehru must have been aware, as Indira revealed to Pupul Jayakar
thus.
‘I don’t really know, but we have to try and preserve it.
However carefully we try to separate what is really worthwhile
and eternal in our values from the many superstitions which
have gathered around them, we cannot always succeed. Most
people see religion not as a basic philosophy or the essence
of life but as the mantras that they may have learnt to utter
at a given time. That is why my father spoke up so strongly
about the scientific temper and against astrology. People
must go back to the very roots, to the source of faith. Our
philosophy says that the divine is in each one; there is light
and strength in each one of us. We have to find a way of discovering
the energy that is within us.’
Anyone who has studied astrology or has taken astrological
consultations knows that while astrology is a brilliant guide
as a foretelling science, astrologers can fall into mental
traps of their own imperfect understanding of some of the
astrological laws and commit errors. Nehru may have been aware
of the imperfections and charlantary of astrologers.
Nehru’s desire to consult so many astrologers was to avoid
all this. Nehru believed in astrology is the inevitable conclusion
but not in every astrological prediction, which Indira Gandhi
clearly hinted at with her conversation with Pupul Jaykar.
In 1978-80 period, the late Gulzarilal Nanda who used to
meet our group of astrologers in Delhi he often told us of
the predictions he used to get for Nehru from Arun Samhita
with Haveli Ram. This fact is mentioned in India from Curzon
to Nehru of Durgadas.
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