The fascination for numbers and dates is perhaps as old as the evolution of Man. Animals too have the sense of numbers for they certainly keep a count of their children and siblings. The camel who roams in the waterless desert for days surely assesses the water stored in his body and perhaps creates a numerical value for it. Does human counting do more harm than good? Most of the counts we engage ourselves in cause mental stress and suffering. Count your age, you can at best get to 122, the age of the world’s oldest person. The number for average longevity scares you. Counting money makes you envious of the wealth of others, which results in frustration. Waiting and counting is worse.

“Marize Ishq se waida kar gaye 5 din ka kisi se sun liya hoga ki zindagi 4 din ki hai”.
( The lover promised 5 days of love, perhaps knowing life itself would last 4 days)

Counting scares you and makes you think you may not get the most desired and the most cherished.

Astrologically speaking, counting is a function primarily assigned to Mercury ( 3th and 6th) and Venus ( 2nd and 7th ) house lords of the natural zodiac. The 2nd is mainly for wealth and the 7th is for business and partnership. The 6th is the house of disease, competition and enemies. And the 3rd of self-effort. The 2nd and 7th are maraka (houses of death) also. The 3rd and 7th are known as the kaam (desires) houses and 2nd and 6th are the artha(money) houses. The signs owned by Venus and Mercury are also categorized as vaishya and shudra.. America is a country that has, in its independence horoscope, Venus and Mercury lording the 2nd ,3rd, 10th and the 11th houses, so it has become a country of dollar chasers.

Mercury signifies both maths and astrology. Therefore maths feels like a monster for those with a weak Mercury and becomes a mania for those who have it strong. Arithomania is the mania for numbers and counting.

Shakuntala Devi, a wizard in counting and numbers, known to be faster than computers when they were first introduced, and an astrologer as well, perhaps had the Mercurian influence in maniacal proportion. Ponga pandits would certainly be dominated by Mercury and Venus and a conscientious astrologer who exercises discretion, could be expected to have a combination of Jupiter and Mercury.

But irrespective of moral standards, a strong Mercury is the prime requirement for the game of counts, numbers, movements and maps, called astrology. It will not be wrong to state that without a strong influence of Mercury, one cannot be an astrologer. People with arithophobia – fear of number or cyberphobia – fear of computers are sure to have a weak Mercury and perhaps will be not good at astrology.

New Calendars and old- can they capture and explain time?
The new year brings into focus calendars, dates, planners and schedules. It also makes us look back and count the years gone by. A count backward or forward is infinite. According to the Big Bang theory the universe expanded from an extremely dense and hot state and continues to expand today, a common analogy explains, carrying galaxies with it is like raisins in a loaf of bread. It is estimated that the Big Bang occurred 13.3 billion years ago. Hindu Mythology has been counting in yugas.

One yuga has 43,20,000 years (4.3 million ). One day of lord Brahma, the creator is 4,3200,000,000 (4.32 billion years)therefore his one year is 4,3200,000,000 into 360 which comes to 15552,000,000,000 (15552 billion years ) and his age 100 years which makes it155200,000,000,000 (1555200 billion years). This could indicate the age of Sun which may turn into a cold star, or that of the Universe, after being in existence for 1555200 billion years. Only God knows.

As per Hindu shastras the 50 years of the life of lord Brahma are over and we are in the 51st year. One day of Brahmaji has 24 manus and each manu has 72 mahayugas of 43,20,000 years . We are in Vivasat manu, of which 27 mahayugas are over and we are in the 28th . Kalpa (a cycle of the universe during which all the heavenly bodies return to their original positions) is said to be of 4,320,000,000 years .There are names of 30 kalpas given in matysa puran. The yugas under manus of different names goes to show that our rishis with their divine powers were able to see the cycles of time and their difference. A time period they recognized can be similar but not the same even if you consider a time span of billions of years.

The Mahabharata war was fought more than 5100 years in dwapar yuga and Rama fought Ravana some 8, 69,000 years ago in treta yuga . Considering the age of lord Brahma, Rama’s win over Ravana and Mahabharta appear recent and Anno Domini 2010 years ago is like yesterday.

Time, its measurement and the calendars which record its measurement, are key influence in understanding mundane astrology.
Surya Siddhanta, the treatise that manifests ancient insights had it right 21 lakh years ago Surya Siddhanta, an encyclopaedic astronomical treatise, is one of the prominent among the 18 Siddhantas and was revealed by the Sun God himself. The date of revelation is 21,63,102 B.C. All the 18 Siddhantas claim direct revelation from Gods to the authors. Our rishis, who were blessed with divya drishti (supernatural power obtained through yogic practice) could see what we infer as the supernatural. Their modesty and high moral standards made them crush their ego and hide their identity. From the information gathered from our shastras it can be stated that satya yuga had excellence in moral standards and saw concentration on collective efforts under a divine guidance and the unhappiness causing ego did not exist.. Surya Siddhanta besides many of the astronomical terms like the speed of planets and their movements, spells out the number of planetary revolutions in a mahayuga of 4,320,000 years.

These details match with present day findings. It also throws light on the many puzzles of today like, precession of equinoxes. The rate of precession, which has been established scientifically through modern equipment has also been given in Surya Siddhanta ,and is very close to the present values. Clearly, the satya yuga 1,65,100 years ago, was a boon for our ancestors. They would have been a happy lot with clarity on meaning of life and deeper knowledge. In contrast, how disastrous the remaining 4,26,890 years of kalyuga would be, with moral standards going down day after day, can be easily guessed . This deterioration was predicted by our rishis thousands of years in advance.

Surya Siddhanta gives the cycles of equinoxes. We have precession of equinoxes being recorded from 285 A.D but no one even today can speak with certainty about this phenomenon, whether the precession would stop and start reversing or goes ahead and till when. Surya Siddhanta has this clearly stated at one place, that it is a cycle of 7200 years. The figure of 4,32,000, the period of Kal yuga is divisible by 7200 and the rest of the yugas are in the multiples of 4,32,000 are also divisible by the figure of 7200 .Let us wait and watch. May be we do not get the answer in this life time .

The nakshatra based positioning of the planets and the predictions from them has been the forte of vedic astrology since. It has been from millions of years and gives us an edge over our western counterparts. It should be taken as gift from our rishis from satya yuga

According to a recent research of Dr.Padmakar Vishnu Vartak of Pune, the rains during the rig veda period used to commence when the sun was in Mrigshira nakshatra . This indicates the period as 27 nakshatras x 960 years = 25,920 years B.C. from now when rains again commenced when the Sun is in Mrigshira.

From the evidence available and the logical climatic considerations, it can be said that human knowledge originated and developed in India millions of years ago and then spread to China and the middle east countries . The others were aboriginals and progressed under the Indian influence thousands of years ago.

The Hindus beat Pope Gregory by millennia.
The Man created Gregorian calendar cracked but not the natural calendar of the Hindus discovered by the great rishis. There are numerous calendars, like hats they come in all sizes and shapes. They have different time spans. One calendar’s beginning could be another’s end.

Gregorian calendar is solar and always begins on January 1. This is the internationally accepted calendar and like the English language, has been standardized and functions as the referral calendar. It keep up with the Sun’s annual revolution it has 365 days and 366 days for the leap year. Every year that is exactly divisible by four is a leap year, except for years that are exactly divisible by 100; the centaurial years that are exactly divisible by 400 are still leap years.

For example, the year 1900 is not a leap year; the year 2000 was a leap year. It came into its present form after the reforms made by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. What is noteworthy is that inspite of the adjustment of ten days, the days of the week followed by Hindu, Chinese and other systems remained undisturbed. Since Moon is out of consideration it has no value for the auspiciousness conscious people looking for suitable dates which can be found in Luni – Solar and Lunar calendars.

Hindu Calendars (Luni-Solar)
In Hindu Calendars, counting starts of the Kali Yuga and has its epoch (referral date)on 18th February 3102 BC (Julian (23 January 3102 BC Gregorian) Our shastras have recorded the beginning dates and tithis of all the yugas and manus which were millions of years ago. Therefore the beginning Hindu Calendar could be billions years ago.

Vikram Samvat 56-57 BC. (Solar) begins on April 14
Vikram Samvat (Chaitra Shukla1) begins on March 16
Vikram Samvat( Lunar Kartiks 1) begins on November , 7
Saka Era , used in some Hindu calendars and in the national calendar, has epoch near the vernal equinox of year 78 A.D. ( Lunar Chaitra S1) begins March 16 this year.
Saka Era (Solar) begins on April 14 this year Saka Era of National Calendar- Vernal Equinox – Chaitra I begins on March 22 this year.

In leap years begin on March 23. It coincides with the Gregorian to the maximum in order to relate with dates of international calendars. It has the Hindu months though Bengali and Assamese New Year (Solar –Vaisakhadi is 1417 years old and begins on April 15 this year.

All these calendars give importance to tithis as all festivals in India are based on tithis.

The Hindu Calendars-were they divinely inspired?
In case of Hindu calendars the adjustments are automatic. This is a system of nature discovered by rishis which has existed naturally millions of years. Every 19 years there are 235 months of 29.53058 days. An interesting calculation – 19 years x 365.256 days = 6939.86 days and 235 months x 29.531 = 6939.78 days as well. One cannot help but be wonder- struck with this cyclic phenomenon of nature. It implies that after every 19 years it will be the same, tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karan with a difference of just one or two hours which also probably is adjustable in a cycle of 1000 or more years. On 15th November, 2009 Sun and Moon were in Libra .The nakshatra Swati and the tithi krishna paksh chaturdashi. Exactly19 x 365.256 days or 29.531 x 235 days the same, nakshatra and tithi would exist around 15th November 1990. So it would be same in case of 15th November 1971 and also on 15th November 2020.

It is God’s cyclical creation or call it the cyclic law reminding you that one has to come to same position, ground zero, again and again. All astrologers are awed by such God created cycles and respect the predictive indications in planetary movement but only some astronomers tend to appreciate these very scientific elements. It is high time they wake up from their predictive illiteracy and start contributing to astrology.

There are several other calendars in use. To name a few:
Nimbarkabda (Lunar Kartika S 15) begins on November, 21 this year.
Buddha Nirvana (Lunar Vaishaka S-15) begins on May, 17 this year.
Mahavir Nirvana (Lunar Kartika S-1) begins on November, this year.
Hejira (Islamic New Year) ( Muharram 1) Started in 1432 begins on December, 8 this year. Since it is Lunar with only 29.531days for a month it at times begins in summers and at times In winter or rains.
Chinese Year (Geng-Yin) has completed 4647 years and begins on February 14 this year.
Jewish New Year (1 Tishri) The calendar is 5771 years old and begins on September, 9 this year.
Roman (A.U.C.) begins on January 14 every year and is 2763 years old. Nabonassar ( Babylon ) begins on April 22 and is 2759 years old.
Japanese Year begins on January 1 every year. The calendar is 2670 years old Grecian (Seleucidae)begins on September 14 or October, 14 and is 2322 years old

Who keeps nature’s calendar?
Moon – Mercury – Venus – Sun – Mars – Jupiter – Saturn
(From fastest moving planet to the slowest moving)
Count 12 from Moon you come to Mars. Tuesday is after Monday
Count 12 from Mars you come to Mercury .Wednesday is after Tuesday
Count 12 from Mercury you come to Jupiter. Thursday is after Wednesday
Count 12 from Jupiter you come to Venus. Friday is after Thursday
Count 12 from Venus you come to Saturn. Saturday is after Friday
Count 12 from Saturn you come to Sun . Sunday is after Saturday
Count 12 from Sun you com to Moon. Monday again comes after Sunday, and so on……..

This is accepted by all and remained undisturbed even after adjustments. Perhaps a divine intervention. To Hindus the days of the week (vaar) have a special significance as they are widely used for election of muhurata (appropriate time).

Fear not the prophecy of Mayan Calendar or Global warming -the earth is going to last for another 7,50,000 billion years!
Fear not the prophecy of Mayan Calendar or Global warming - the earth is going to last for another 7,50,000 billion years!

May 21, 2011 is being projected as the Judgment day. The fear mongers are quoting the biblical prophecy of Judgment Day.” “We are almost there! With no apologies, it is the intent of this book to warn as many people as possible about the abundant biblical evidence that the end of the world is almost here. The end of the world is that awesome and terrible moment when Jesus Christ, the supreme ruler of mankind, will complete the judgment process that began in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

It is alleged that marketers of equipment and movie makers are spreading the fear for promoting their products. So far as global warming is concerned it could be seen a curse of kalyuga but it is also certainly hyped. Man has to suffer for his mistakes. If we tamper with nature it has to bounce back at us. Had we been discreet in our dealings with nature, it would have made its adjustments to protect the environment.

Sun Dasha of India
Business & Education: Business will look up and economic activity will zoom in the dasha of Sun. Sensex is surging and by middle of this year it is likely to reach its highest ever level. Even higher in 2011. Reforms in education will also be at a speed not touched so far.

As we predicted in the earlier Newsletters, major economic reforms have improved the economy in the dasha of Sun. The Sun can now be seen shining on companies’ hirings which clearly indicate a boom in the economy. The economy is getting stronger by all standards. The other indicators like Sensex is surging and by middle of this year it is likely to reach its highest ever level. Even higher in 2011. Major revamps are going to make India the fastest growing economy. The ten percent growth will be achieved . The epicenter is going to be India indeed.

Jupiter Flexing its muscles: Jupiter seems to be in a hurry, as perhaps it has many tasks to accomplish and has a tight schedule of blessings. It moves without retrograding and reaches Pisces on 3rd May. It retrogrades in Pisces from July 23rd this year. India can hope to be Jupiter’s favourite for blessings as Jupiter will be transiting the 10th and the 11th house of Indian independence horoscope. Major reforms in the education sector along with economic reforms are likely as Jupiter represents knowledge. This has perhaps made Mr.Sibal, the Human resources Minister run ahead of others so far as the 20 proposed reforms are concerned . It is a blessing from Jupiter for sure .

The mega events that our country is hosting -the commonwealth games in October,2010 and .the final ofthe 2011 cricket World Cup- organized by India , Sri Lanka and Bangladesh . which will take place in Mumbai will have the blessings of Jupiter and we can expect huge achievements in form of records

To make our dream a reality our decision-makers and policy makers have to be harsh on the high and mighty criminals and the corrupt. If the authorities do not take a tough stance in the dasha of Sun of their country then when else. On the few cases of crime and corruption that surface from a virtually impenetrable, well entrenched, corrupt system; the Judicial system should give its best possible to punish the culprits and their associates . For smoking out the corrupt and to root out corruption from a hardened, sealed and embedded structure, the punishment, has to be exemplary. Strong action for misdeeds of the guardians of law has become a national chorus that has caught the media’s attention. People want to see the corrupt and arrogant punished. The upright should view this as God’s will and join the media’s voice as a more opportune time of planet favoring may not come.

Not symbolic but exemplary is the cry
Lt. Gen Avdesh Prakash and his associates, found guilty of misusing official position now faces dismissal in Siliguri land scam but the Chief of Army is being soft.

Sentence should have been tougher for the former DGP, Rathore. We cannot afford to ignore it any more. Charges of abetment to suicide are not minor. Awards for Aradhana ,are the shouts. Media is making it a national chorus so that such happenings also stop at the local police stations and police booths manned by the untrustworthy constables. It is a cry of thousands of Ruchikas whose shouts perhaps have gone unreported. All cannot fight the high and mighty. Once caught their associates and supporters also should not be spared. The case should be reopened. It should be revisited says even the Chief Minister.

N.D.Tiwari: Its all quiet after he hit the headlines for a few days recently

Last month the Mumbai police commissioner recommended to the state home department that four officers, including a deputy commissioner of police, who had partied with gangster Chhota Rajan’s wife, Sujata Nikhalje, and other close aides be suspended .D.K.Rao released from prison in October, 2009 after 13 years behind bars was captured in camera dancing with the don’s gang and allegedly with a bunch of Mumbai police officers who are now in serious trouble .

Research
The research activities in the Institute of Astrology, Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan have increased dramatically. We now have six sections of 50 students each for Research alone. Astrology, however is not mathematics. Tradition is an important ingredient of the craft of astrology, which is bolstered through research.

Strong research support is in fact necessary for the progress of astrology. Any run of the mill attitude towards the syllabus, teaching and research is sure to take an astrological institution backwards. This has happened to most of the astrological institutes which did not realize the importance of research. We have the feedback of success. A clear indication of this is the improvement in the rate of successful predictions. And this is the reason of increased numbers in Astrology course of Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan. Our focus in research is on the raw and not the printed readymade modules for predictions. The workshop questioning attitude and corrections through discussion has become a culture of research class rooms. .

Makar Sankranti: On 14th January,2010 . Sun entered the Makar rashi during the day at 1 p.m. (13:hrs) in India

Remedial Measures
The power of being positive. It can cure the incurable and achieve the unachievable We are sure to be punished for whatever wrong we do and rewarded for the right we do. Logically those who do wrong to us will be punished by the Almighty so why get entangled in settling scores. Live your life happily and peacefully. If you sense someone is doing wrong the best approach is distance and let him suffer for his deeds. This is the power of being positive. It can cure the incurable and achieve the unachievable .Positive thoughts pressure the weakened parts of the body with energy that results in their revival – a stem therapy without surgery.

Our attitude defines life. Life is best for those who want to live it. Life is difficult for those who want to analyze it. Life is worst for those who want to criticize it. Laugh so hard that even sorrow smiles at you. Live life so well that even death loves to see you alive. Fight so hard that even destiny accepts to change.

                            ” Tundia Bade Mukhalif se na ghabrah .
                  Aye aukab ye to aati hein tujhe uncha udane ke liya”
                           ( Oh eagle do not fear the strong gale that
           comes from the opposite direction. They come to further lift you up )