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| Tarot cards - Western concept of future telling |
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In astrology, a 'Pundit' draws up the horoscope of a person based on his birth details and the planetary positions in his birth chart pronounce the future of the person. However, there was a time when astrology was looked down upon and called an unscientific technique with no rational basis. But slowly the view shifted and astrology was accepted as a scientific method based on scientific calculations. Renowned astrologer Ajai Bhambi says, “ Astrology has picked up in a great way. There was a time when it was looked down upon but today the environment has completely changed. It is now accepted as a science and not an irrational concept. Earlier it was confined to a particular section of the society but today it has reached the masses. Even the government has done its part by introducing it in schools and universities as a subject.... It has truly emerged ”
And how did it reach the masses? Electronic media has been a major contributor to this change. Every house with a cable connection literally has access to their “future”. It has commercialised the science of future telling. The concept of televised future telling picked up in the late 90s. Television channels started half-an-hour programmes wherein people could call in with their queries. Much before this
'computerised astrology' had come in late 1980s. This also triggered its progress to the TV screens.
Just look at how popular these meachanisms have become. Every news channel has an expert to inform the public about what the day, the month or the year has in store for them. Every time a natural phenomena takes place in the universe – be it a meteor entering the Earth's atmosphere, a planet coming close to the Earth, or an eclipse; news channels get these astrologers to derive their effects on individuals and their sun signs. Even a cricket match is not left out. Each of its players' sun signs are deciphered to predict how they and the team will perform.
Besides astrology, other forms such as Tarot and numerology are also garnering a lot of interest. Another method called Tea-reading has evolved in the country. Tea leaves are put in a cup of boiled water and the person is asked to drink that tea. When the tea gets over, the formation of the leaves spells out the past, present and the future of the person. Talking about the growing popularity of various fortune telling techniques, Bhambi says, “Once astrology picked up, other forms too shot up in the country. Tarot readers and numerologists entered the scene. But, these are not based on science and hence to compare them with Vedic astrology would not be correct. However, each holds its own footing.”
The power of these soothsaying techniques can never be diminished, no matter how much the world might develop. But one thing is for sure, till the people continue to keep it at a high pedestal in their lives it will never lose its glory. And as they say, “Nothing succeeds like success & the science of future telling has truly reached that level of success”.
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