DESTINY AND ASTROLOGY

Daoist Manuscript - Destiny 

                                               

Life is a stream of experiences akin to a journey. Every journey essentially has a destination. The progress in any journey has to be ‘directed’ towards its destination otherwise the destination may not be reached at all thereby making the journey an unproductive exercise. This directional element due to which the journey converges towards the destination is called the Destiny for the journey. Without the element of Destiny guiding a journey, the journey becomes an aimless wandering; therefore for any journey to be meaningful; it has to have its destiny.

Life forms an essential part of the Universe which is a huge, complex and a dynamic system in itself. If even a single sub-system of any whole (system) is chaotic in nature then that system cannot remain a system. Such a system shall eventually get destroyed. Thus it follows that life has to be systematic and certainly not chaotic in nature; moreover it also implies that life must have an objective to be fulfilled and this objective is the destination for ‘a life’. It is imperative then, for every life to have its destiny. Destiny therefore is an undeniable fact of everyone’s and for that matter, every living being’s life.

As per the karma theory, the portion of the total accumulated karma of a living being (the Sanchit karma), to be exhausted in the present life is its Prarabdha karma - its destiny for the current life. This definition of destiny is appropriate from the point of the karma theory but actually the destiny of a life is much more. The Prarabdha karma describes the causative formulation and in some ways the content of the individual destiny but it provides only one part of the story so far as the purpose (destiny) of a life is concerned.

Human mind searches for its purpose in Existence / Creation which is to be fulfilled in the current life. This individual purpose does not exist in isolation but it can only be a subset of the overall objective of the Creation as a whole at any point in time. A small part of this perceived purpose of Creation gets connected or assigned-to, and needs to be accomplished, by every living being. The Human perception is central to this scheme. The Prarabdha Karma (individual Destiny) with which a living being is born, matches with the role assigned to that living being in the scheme ascribed to Creation for the current life. In the process of exhausting the Prarabdha Karma by living its assigned current life, the living being accomplishes the role and task enjoined upon it as per the Grand Design of Creation.

Destiny therefore has two dimensions to it. One is the exhaustion of the Prarabdha Karma (individual destiny) in the present life of a living being and the other dimension is the fulfillment of the objective of the self-evolutionary process of Creation or the Grand Design of Creation. In this manner the unique karmic orientation of the individual being in the form of its Prarabdha karma serves the process of Creation. Of the two dimensions of Destiny, one is individualistic in nature which is relevant for the living being whereas the other is Universal in nature pertaining to the Grand Design of Creation. Normally we look upon destiny purely from the individualistic point of view and associate our own achievements or failures to it; in the process we overlook the other dimension of destiny which supersedes its individualistic component.

If we look around in nature, we shall find this duality of destiny in every aspect of living. When we enjoy a tasty fruit, we release the seed. The eating of the fruit apparently serves our own desire or purpose but the releasing of the seed makes it available for regeneration of that particular plant species, which is the purpose of Creation that gets inadvertently facilitated by our action. The process of procreation is another example wherein the partners engage in the act for pleasure but in the process they procreate new life. The pleasure seeking of the process is the individual goal for each partner but procreation is the goal of Creation which is achieved by the partners through the conjugal process.

The dual dimensions of destiny also highlight the fallacy of the arguments in support of Freewill & Doership propagated by the Motivation Gurus of today. Their arguments are based on the false premise that personal goals alone need to be achieved in one’s life and that Existence is meant to facilitate an individual’s effort and endeavor. The importance of the Creation’s objective for each and every life is either not known to the propagators of Freewill & Doership or they ignore it. In fact the Creation’s agenda is primary and the individual objectives are secondary in the scheme of Destiny. The individualistic dimension of Destiny is actually subservient to the Universal dimension of Destiny. The propagators of Freewill & Doership have actually turned this reality on its head.

Unless it is categorically understood that Creation is supreme and the living beings are but mere tools in the hands of Creation, we shall only be fooling ourselves. Our Prarabdha karma is always subservient to the Grand Design of Creation and never vice-versa. Our individual destiny gets designed on the basis of our Prarabdha karma but its purpose is to always facilitate the self-evolutionary process of Creation.

The evolution of life, from the unicellular organism to the complex human being is a part of the Grand design of Creation or the self-evolutionary process of Creation which has got facilitated by the specific roles played by the whole lot of sentient beings from time to time, matching with their Prarabdha karma all along. The sum total of all Prarabdha karma of all beings for an epoch is always in consonance with the Grand Design of Creation for it to progress on its self evolutionary path. The evolution of the human being has happened as per the agenda of Creation through its process of self evolution and not arbitrarily through the process of trial & error or by chance; in fact, it has been destined that way.

The Cosmic destiny reflected in the Grand Design of Creation has been framed from the probable moment of the Big Bang in and by its own self evolved ‘set & structure’ of cosmic laws. The destiny of the Universe therefore is linked to the destinies of all its sub-systems. This has been and continues to be the process of self-evolution within the Universe. This rule applies to all the subsets and subsystems of the Universe including the human being.

That there exists a dual dimension in destiny, can be best illustrated by the paradoxical nature of the law of Probability, which has puzzled the philosophers ever since Pascal enunciated the principles of this important branch of mathematics, so much so that von Neumann, one of the greatest mathematicians, called it ‘Black Magic’. The paradox of Probability lies in the uncanny precision of the formulas of Probability in predicting the outcome of a large number of individual events, each one of which is, in itself unpredictable. In other words, a large number of uncertainties together produce a certainty or a large number of random events produce a lawful outcome. It gets established even mathematically that every event has two dimensions to its outcomes which may not appear to be related or may even appear to be contradictory; one dimension is the result which is relevant for an individual event whereas the other dimension is the outcome which is relevant for the whole domain of such events, of which, the individual event may be only a very small part. These two dimensions are reflective of the two dimensions of destiny, described in the foregoing paragraphs. 

Arthur Koestler has cited examples which establish the two dimensions of destiny explicitly. He cites from the statistics of the New York Department of Health which showed that the average number of dogs biting people per day was: 75.3 in 1955, 73.6 in 1956, 73.5 in 1957, 74.5 in 1958 and 72.4 in 1959. The uniformity in the statistical data related to dog bites is startling and the obvious question arises as to how did the dogs know when to stop biting and when to resume the same? Another example he takes is from the statistical data available for the number of fatal kicks given by horses of the German cavalry in the 19^th century. The uniformity in this case too was amazing, leading to the same question as to who controlled the number of fatal kicks of the horses and how? Yet another case is that of the murders in England and Wales for howsoever different reasons or situations. The average number of murders per million of population was: 3.84 in 1920s, 3.27 in 1930s, 3.92 in 1940s, 3.30 in 1950s and 3.50 in 1960s. The close similarity in the numbers is surprising, to say the least. Certainly there was no ‘murderers union’ which was regulating the number of murders to be committed in each decade.   

The modern scientific answer with respect to the above examples is possible only through the laws of Probability and Science admits that it cannot explain these phenomena by physical forces. The theory of Probability therefore has become an indispensible tool for physics, genetics, economics, insurance, opinion polls, sociology etc. The ‘Black Magic’ of von Neumann has been taken for granted by Science but there is no scientific explanation for it. To ask ‘why’ is to ask ‘why there is the Universe’? The explanation of this phenomenon is however possible only in terms of the two dimensions of destiny. The individualistic dimension of destiny governs the outcome for the individual at the micro level and the Universal dimension of destiny governs the outcome at the macro level, for any event. The link between the two sets of outcomes is established by the formulae of Probability. Modern physics has also realized the holistic vision that the ‘whole’ is necessary for the understanding of the ‘parts’, as much as the ‘parts’ are necessary for the understanding of the ‘whole’. This has been aptly summed up by Prof. David Bohm, when he says: “Thus one is led to a new notion of unbroken wholeness, which denies the classical idea of the analyzability of the world into separately and independently existing parts”. Thus modern Science accepts that individuality cannot exist independently on or off its own but can exist only as a logically linked part of the whole or the Universe. If this be true, which it surely is, then how can there be any individual destiny unless it is an integral part of the total i.e. the Universal destiny.

There is the interesting case of Paul-the octopus which could predict correctly the results of all the nine soccer world cup 2010 matches, including that of the finals, which were referred to it. Paul-the octopus would open the lid of the box representing the winning team, out of the two boxes presented to it, representing the two teams playing the particular match, just before the contest commenced. How did the octopus know the result of the match beforehand is a question which shall be debated or researched upon but what is more important is the fact that the results of the matches were destined, notwithstanding the quality of play, the efforts of the players or the course of the match. Which player shall score a goal and which ones shall fail in their attempts was guided by the destiny of the concerned individual players but the destiny of the whole match was already fixed otherwise how the octopus could correctly make its prediction of the result of each of the nine matches referred to it.

The foregoing example establishes unambiguously the following facts:-

(1)               that the individual destiny plays out to facilitate the process of the Grand Design of Creation;

(2)               that the individual’s destiny is always subservient to the Universal destiny.

(3)               that destiny can be known or predicted.

The following mythological story appropriately highlights the importance of the Universal dimension of destiny in influencing the individual destiny:-

There was a poor farmer in a small village who was one morning sitting under a tree, grudging his abject poverty. Soon a group of the King’s soldiers went past him announcing with drum beats that whosoever is able to interpret the dream seen by the King would be rewarded with five hundred gold coins. The poor farmer thought that what if he could interpret the King’s dream but alas he was not skilled in that art. At that very moment, a small bird perched on a branch of the tree above him, announced that it knew about the King’s dream and that it could tell the meaning of that dream as well. The farmer got excited and requested the bird to let him know about the dream. The bird agreed to do so but on the condition that the farmer shall share the reward, fifty-fifty with the bird. The farmer agreed to the bird’s proposal. The bird told the farmer that the King had seen a jackal sitting on his throne which meant that some of his close confidants were planning a coup. The enlightened farmer went to the King’s palace and narrated the dream as well as its significance to the King. The King was fully satisfied with the interpretation and he rewarded the farmer with the promised five hundred gold coins. On his way back the farmer contemplated and thought that what use the bird will have of the gold coins and hence he decided to avoid the bird by taking another route on his way back to his home. Meanwhile the prophecy came true and the King was able to protect himself due to the prior information. The farmer became prosperous and lived happily till one day the soldiers of the King were back on his door asking him to report to the King immediately to interpret another dream seen by the King. The farmer was afraid but he had no option but to try to find the bird and ask for its help. So the farmer went back to the same tree and to his astonishment the bird welcomed him saying that I know why you are here? The farmer asked for forgiveness for the last occasion and sought the bird’s help. The bird told the farmer that this time he should ensure that the reward shall be honestly shared. The farmer agreed. The bird then told him that the King has dreamt of a big fire in the palace which meant that the Kingdom shall be attacked by a neighboring ambitious and greedy King and that the King should reinforce his army appropriately. The farmer went to the palace and explained the dream as told by the bird. This time the King rewarded the farmer with a thousand gold coins. On his way back, the farmer again avoided the bird and came home. Once again the prophecy came true and the King could crush the aggressor because he was prepared. The farmer became even more prosperous and was busy enjoying life but one day the King’s soldiers were back again asking him to report to the King urgently. The farmer became terribly afraid thinking of the consequences but he had no other option but to try to locate the bird once again. Fortunately he found the bird on the same tree and this time too, the farmer expressed his apologies to the bird which again agreed to help but on the same condition that the farmer should share the reward fifty-fifty to which the farmer agreed once again. The bird told him that this time the King had dreamt of a flock of swans flying over the palace which indicated that the time ahead was one of great peace & prosperity for the Kingdom. As before the farmer went to the palace and explained the dream. The King was very happy and this time he rewarded the farmer with two thousand gold coins. On his way back the farmer went straight to the bird and offered the whole reward to it and sincerely apologized for his previous actions. He blamed himself of being dishonest, ambitious and greedy for which he begged for the bird’s forgiveness. The bird told the farmer to distribute the money within the poor and the needy but more importantly it told the farmer not to feel so guilty about his conduct on the two previous occasions. Explaining this, the bird told the farmer that on the earlier two occasions the environment was influenced by deceit, ambition and greed because of which the programming of deceit, ambition and greed became overwhelming and irresistible in the farmer’s own behavior too. It told the farmer that on this occasion the environment was under the spell of goodness which motivated the farmer to come and offer the full reward to it and beg for forgiveness for previous mistakes.

The above story brings out the influence of the Universal dimension of destiny on the individual’s destiny in a given time & space, quite emphatically. It also shows that the Universal dimension of destiny is the dominant factor in the overall play of destiny. Thus the law of interdependence in Existence is fulfilled by the fact that destiny gives little or no room for an individual to act freely in real terms.

The question that obviously arises is, as to ‘How’ or ‘By what method’ can Destiny be known?

Whereas there can be various methods of looking into the future both for knowing the individual as well as the Universal destiny but one of the ancient and tested methods is provided by Astrology. Astrology takes the clues from the dispositions of planets (of our solar system) on the Zodiac, for indicating the course of destiny at any given time, be it the destiny of the individual or for our world. The destiny of the individual can be known from the individual’s horoscope drawn for the time and place of his birth whereas the trends of the events affecting the world can be known by applying the principles and methods provided by Mundane Astrology.

Destiny can be known and Astrology is one of the ancient and tested methods of knowing it but then one would like to know ‘What is the use of knowing one’s Destiny?’ or ‘Does it help in any way to know one’s Destiny?’

Knowing one’s destiny is like being aware of the weather forecast. One can take necessary precautions for the inclemency of the weather if the same has been forecast and one is aware of the weather forecast. Much in the same manner, by being aware of one’s destiny too, one can prepare oneself accordingly to face the emerging situations. Awareness itself is a great help in life. The following illustration shall explain this fact further:-

Prof. John and Prof. James from South Africa are invited for a conference in Srinagar (Kashmir-India) which is scheduled to be held in December. Prof. John has an Indian friend whom he consults for knowing the weather conditions in Srinagar during December. On being advised that Srinagar is extremely cold during December, Prof. John carries his winter gear along, on the trip. Prof. James has no knowledge of the weather condition in Srinagar during December and therefore he does not make the necessary arrangements. As a result when both the gentlemen land in Srinagar for the conference, Prof. John is prepared whereas Prof. James is not. The lack of awareness of the weather conditions has made the difference in the preparedness of Prof. James.

Much in the same way, the awareness of one’s destiny can help one in bracing oneself for the likely future scenario. Knowing destiny is like knowing the road map to the destination which helps in moving towards the destination smoothly and comfortably. Ask a sailor to know how important navigation is while sailing at sea. Navigation is not at all possible without the knowledge of the coordinates of one’s current location and that of the destination as well as the direction of the winds and the nature of the Ocean at the time of sailing. Piloting an aircraft successfully also needs the skill of navigation which again is based on the necessary data for the route to be taken in flight. The knowledge of the required data for effective navigation is akin to the knowledge of destiny for the appropriate navigation of life for the individual. Effectively navigating one’s life therefore can be possible if and only if there is awareness of destiny. Factorizing this awareness into the decision making process for one’s future course of action can make a huge difference in the timing as well as the quality of one’s actions which undoubtedly shall make a difference in the achievements both at the individual and the Universal levels.

The awareness of one’s destiny is like the stick in the blind man’s hand which helps him to not only find his way around but also helps him in avoiding obstacles and pitfalls in his way. Knowing one’s destiny too helps one find the right path as well as helps in avoiding the obstacles and the pitfalls on the path. Yet another simile can be - one’s presence in a dark room. If one is aware of the location of the door in the dark room, one can find it with minimum difficulty but if one is not aware of the location of the door then not only one shall keep hitting the walls or stumbling on things present in the room but one may not find the door at all. The fact that awareness of destiny can be of a great help can never be over emphasized.

Another dimension of the knowledge of one’s destiny is the possibility of maneuvering it within the available space to create opportunities for one-self. Within the available space, there is a possibility of remedial actions for the modification or correction of the destined course. It may appear to be contradictory to whatever has been stated here-in-earlier but actually it is not so. As in the case of a sick person, the sickness happens due to the unique constitution of the person being adversely affected by the person’s own past actions of commission or omission or due to an external infection which by the help of proper diagnosis and medication or surgery can be cured or managed, so too in the case of destined challenges or difficulties being faced by a person due to his past karma, the undesirable effects due to destiny can be modified or mitigated by applying appropriate remedies after proper diagnosis. For example if one has misbehaved with the boss and the boss has initiated disciplinary action for one’s inappropriate behavior, then if one sincerely apologizes at the right time to the boss, there is a good possibility that the boss will pardon and withdraw the disciplinary proceeding.  The act of apologizing is a remedial action which if done sincerely and timely, will negate the due punishment. However not all effects due to past Karma can be modified, managed or corrected. The Dridha karma (fixed karma) cannot be altered or negated in any manner whatsoever. Only the Dridha-Adridha (semi-fixed) and the Adridha (variable) karma can be maneuvered with. For example, if a utensil made of glass falls down, it breaks into pieces and there is no way to restore it back to its original form but if a utensil made of metal falls down then it can be put back in its place. The falling and breaking into pieces of the glass utensil is of the Dridha karma category whereas the falling of the metallic utensil can be of any one of the other two categories of karma. Which portion of Destiny can be managed and which cannot be managed can be identified by the help of Astrological analysis.

The understanding of destiny shall not be complete without stating the fact that even knowing one’s destiny as well as being able to get the correct and timely advice about the remedies is possible if and only if one is destined to get the same. The foregoing statement is for the general population however the same cannot be said about the highly accomplished ones (yogis and siddhas), whose elevated mind can go beyond destiny and erase it through non-identity (Nirvana) because destiny works only in ‘Identity’ whereas it gets dissolved in non-identity (Nirvana). From the point of view of destiny, such a one is either having Prarabdha karma that reaches him / her into the state of non-identity or else that person can be an incarnation of the Principle beyond destiny.

Even the knowledge of one’s destiny as well as that of the remedies or the methods for maneuvering it, is of little help, if one’s personality comes in the way of the acceptance of the remedies and their being undertaken as prescribed. In other words, any intervention in the course of destiny is also a part of destiny. Any intervention in the course of Destiny can be possible only within the context or space provided by the overall design of the individual destiny. An intervention can be best understood as the enabling-of, or the disabling-of, an existing program in the given system; the introduction of any new program is completely ruled out.  Another question that arises at this stage is that-

 ‘If intervention in the course of destiny is possible, even in a limited way, then does it not affect the course of Universal destiny, which goes against the description of the Universal destiny stated here-in-earlier?’

The answer to this question lies in the fact that the linkages between individual destiny and Universal destiny are never violated whether or not there is any intervention in the course of individual destiny. The intervention is likely to be effective if and only if the Universal destiny provides the opportunity and the space for such an intervention to succeed. This is an important point and this also explains as to why-

a)      an intervention may not be sought for;

b)      an intervention sought for is not available in time;

c)      an intervention sought for and available in time may not be appropriate;

d)      an intervention sought for, made available in time and appropriate in quality may not be heeded or may be followed erroneously;

In all the above cases, intervention is blocked due to the Universal destiny not supporting the cause. It is interesting to observe how the drama of the Universe carries on and the only master of this whole show is Creation howsoever we may wish to call it. Creation is always in control of itself and whatever semblance of control, if any, we feel we enjoy in our daily living is there because of the space provided by Creation.

A discussion on destiny shall remain inconclusive if its dynamic nature is not highlighted. As we live our lives, we keep on exhausting some of our past karma and also keep on creating new karmic aggregates. This continuous process of exhausting and creation of karma keeps on changing the configuration of our destiny on a regular basis. Thus it can be seen that destiny is actually dynamic in nature and this is why it is not synonymous with Fate. Fate is a fixed entity and can be equated to the fixed element of destiny - the Dridha Karma. Fate therefore is a subset of destiny. It is erroneous to equate Fate with destiny as a whole.

It is obvious from the foregoing that destiny is complex leading one to the obvious question that:-

‘If Destiny is as complex and dynamic as described so far, then is it possible to keep track of it at all times and if so how?’

There is no doubt that destiny is complex and dynamic but even then it is possible to know the present destiny of an individual at any given time and place. Astrology has developed methods for reading the present destiny for any individual at the time and place of reference or inquiry. The twists and turns of destiny as it unfolds can be traced beginning with the birth of the individual up to the time and place when he / she prefers to know about the current destiny. The method for knowing the current state of one’s destiny is in-built within the methods of prescriptive astrology.

When we talk of destiny, it is always in terms of a subject or entity, be it an individual, a group, a community, a society, an enterprise, a nation, an institution, or a group of nations. In all these cases the entity which forms the subject of destiny is well defined in terms of the dimensions of space and time. In other words the aspect of destiny is applicable to finite and clearly definable entities within the boundaries of space & time. All such entities are subsets of what we know as the Universe. The two dimensions of destiny i.e. the entity’s own destiny and the destiny assigned to the entity by Creation (the Universal destiny), form an essential part of the overall destiny for the entity at any given time. When we talk of the Universe, we deal with an entity whose boundaries are not determined in terms of time & space. All we know is that the Universe is infinitely huge and it is ever expanding. There are various hypotheses on the evolution of the Universe but no one is certain about how & when exactly the Universe came into being. It is therefore impossible, at least, as of now, to include the Universe in the list of entities whose destiny can be predicted or known with any degree of certainty or accuracy. Creation alone knows the purpose and the course of destiny of the Universe.   

However when we consider our Earth or what we call our own world, as an entity, there is a better possibility of knowing its Destiny. The Destiny of the world too is largely in the hands of Creation but nevertheless, it can be known for the short term by the help of the methods of Mundane Astrology even though this too has serious limitations. The world by itself has no Prarabdha karma i.e. the destiny of its own, other than the total Prarabdha of all beings inhabiting the world at any given time, which is impossible to assess, hence in its case, only the destiny enjoined to the world by the self evolutionary process of Creation at any given time can be known. The destined course that the world shall take, can be known only for the short run since the purpose and objective of the world’s coming into being and its existence falls in the domain of the self evolutionary process of Creation.

Who could have known except for Creation itself that the unicellular organism shall become a complex form of life in the form of the human being? Since Creation alone has the complete freedom to Know, to Will and to Act, it can change the course of the World’s destiny anytime at Will. This overpowering and controlling aspect of Creation is evident in the calamities and tragedies that take place wherein a large number of people suffer casualties or extreme suffering. In most of such cases the individual destinies may not be indicating death or suffering at the time of the occurrence of the tragedy but the Universal destiny overrules the direction and content of the individual destinies in the moment. The destructive dimension of Creation puts a full-stop to the flow of individual destiny and places its own agenda above all. The self evolutionary process of Creation has an inbuilt system of destruction too, for it to facilitate the process of self evolution in a certain manner and direction. Much like the process of gardening, in which the sprucing up and weeding out of plants is done to give the garden a desired look, Creation uses its destructive forces in the self evolutionary process to promote the Grand Design of evolution. This fact of life once again establishes the superiority of the Universal destiny as well as the subservient nature of the individual destinies.

The long-term destiny for the World is therefore impossible to predict. Any consideration given to the Universal dimension of destiny while assessing an individual’s destiny can only be for the moment or for the immediate future. A long term view of the Universal destiny can be hazardous / erroneous and thus it has to be assessed repeatedly from time to time for the time and place of reference or consideration. The science of Astrology takes these facts into consideration and has devised accurate enough methods for assessing an individual’s destiny as well as the Universal destiny for a given time & space.

Knowing destiny is important and useful but most of the time an indication of the trend or the likely course of destiny is enough, rather than knowing the exact detail of it. A businessman would like to evaluate a business proposal in terms of its viability, he may not be interested to know the exact profit or loss the proposed business is likely to make. Similarly a student may like to know about the most suitable direction of his or her higher education rather than the exact score he / she shall obtain in the examination. A sick man may want to know the possibility of his getting well in the coming days and not the exact date when he shall be completely fit. The trends or indications of the likely course of destiny are fairly easily determinable by the help of Astrology which in itself is helpful for taking important decisions. A simple and pragmatic approach for knowing the trend of destiny should be adopted.

Until and unless there is complete awareness and understanding of the multi-dimensional nature of destiny, it is extremely difficult to comprehend its working in day to day living. It is certainly not surprising that there are contradictory attitudes towards destiny in the general view. As for any technical subject of which the layman’s knowledge can often be misleading, the inappropriate understanding of destiny too makes it controversial and a subject of uncalled for debate. I have tried to bring out as vividly as possible, the various dimensions of destiny and I sincerely hope that the readers shall not only get the answers to their many questions on destiny but they shall also get a deeper understanding of its complexities and its working in one’s Life.

Often people influenced by the layman’s understanding of destiny believe that all talk of destiny is foolishness and that it is meant for the cowardly, those who want to hide behind destiny to cover up their own failures or to justify their own inabilities and shortcomings. Nothing can be more self defeating than the holding of such notions. Knowledge of destiny can in fact be extremely helpful in deciding correctly on a future course of action. It can help in timing the actions suitably and can help in avoiding obstacles in the way. Being aware of one’s strengths and weaknesses can never be termed as foolishness or cowardice. The opportunities that come our way in life are indeed rare and the resources available to us at any given time are but scarce. To evaluate the viability of an apparent opportunity for investing one’s scarce resources is not by any means a simple task. Losing a good opportunity or wasting the scarce resources on an unviable one, can be disastrous. Those who are able to invest their scarce resources on the most suitable opportunity that comes their way are more likely to be successful in life. Knowledge of destiny can be a dependable guide in these matters. However there is no denying the fact that only those, who are destined to obtain the knowledge of Destiny and derive benefits from it, shall be able to do so.

Astrology stands on the foundation of the Karma theory and its derivative - the element of Destiny. It is essential to understand this before attempting to know about the science of Astrology in the true sense.