Foretelling: An addiction to prediction

February 1962. I was an undergraduate student in Hindu College in the South Delhi campus of Delhi University, studying for the B.Sc. (honours) degree. It was while I was in Hyderabad, for a brief holiday, staying with my cousins, that I first learnt about the imminent configuration, of five planets of the solar system, and the prediction that the world would come to an end soon therea er. The entire world was gripped by fear. In some countries such as the United States, people had even constructed bomb shelters, anticipating the worst.

Non-stop prayer vigils were held by millions of people in India, even in a modern metropolis such as Bombay. A group of staunch believers in the doomsday prediction had even moved, en masse, to the town of Cleator, Arizona, in the USA, thought to be one of the 12 spots in the world safe from the imminent disaster. Belief gained ground that even the assassination of President John Kennedy was on account of the imminent planetary configuration. More recently, the 1974 book 'The Jupiter E ect' co-authored by JohnGribbin and Stephen Plagemann, predicted that California state in the USA would be rocked by a major earthquake, caused by another alignment of planets of the solar system, caused a similar fliutter.

That, in the event, no such cataclysmic events, took place, and that humanity recovered from a state of unfounded fear to normalcy, is another matter. It did, however, set me thinking about the gullibility of people in many parts of the world, and the tendency of people to fall prey to even unscientific predictions. The history of mankind is replete with instances of individuals known for their predictions about future events. Michel de Nostredame, usually referred to as Nostradamus, was a French astrologer, apothecary, physician and reputed seer, best known for his book, usually referred to as Nostradamus. He was best known for his book 'Les Prophéties' of 1555, allegedly predicting future events. His predictions, however, tended to be about general types of events like natural disasters, and confliict – related events, which are common occurrences. Many believe that his prophecies covered events such as the death of Henry II, the French revolution, the rise of Napoleon, the Great Fire of London, the deeds of Adolf Hitler, both the World Wars, the Hiroshima and Nagasaki destruction, and the 9/11 attacks.

There are also those who pooh-pooh his predictions, describing them as vague and general, and subject to convenient interpretation, with hindsight. They suggest that his reputation as a prophet is largely manufactured by modern-day supporters who fit his words to events that have either already occurred, or are so imminent, as to be inevitable, a process sometimes called 'retroactive clairvoyance.'

Likewise, closer home, we had the legendary Potuluri Veerabrahmendra Swamy, popularly known as Brahmamgaru, a Hindu saint who lived in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh state. He was most noted in those parts for his work 'Kalagnanam,' containing many predictions which proved to be correct later on. Telugu movie aficionados will no doubt recollect the unforgettable portrayal, by NTR, of the Swamy in the film on the Swamy.

Some among Brahmamgaru's many predictions were that women would gradually become more powerful than men and dominate every field of human endeavour, that there would be a tremendous fight for land in Kashmir, that a horrifying religious battle would take place in Benares, that explosions would rock India so frequently, and in such a large number, that men would live in fear of each other, that the oceans would become polluted and marine species become extinct, that inter-caste marriages would become the order of the day, and that Hyderabad would face a severe water scarcity with the lakes drying up.

To the same genre belonged the predictions made by the oracle at Delphi, where, in accordance with Greek mythology, a priestess supposedly delivered messages from Apollo to those who sought advice. The Oracle played a critical role in Ancient Greece as a centre of religion, culture and trade. Pilgrims of all social classes travelled there to obtain guidance on issues, ranging from planting and harvesting to conquest and wars.

The prophecies, however were in the form of riddles, vague, ambiguous and open to interpretation, which was done by a priest. Still, they carried weight, as it was believed that they came directly from Apollo. An example was the prophecy, "you will go you will return never in war will you perish," which could be read with the comma either before or a er the word never. Thus, it covered both outcomes.

Let us now briefliy turn our attention to palmistry, a practice of a similar genre as, and a kind of distant cousin of, astrology. It is the practice of fortune-telling, through the study of the palm. Its roots can be found in the Jyoti Shastra of the Vedas, Chinese 'I Ching' and in the readings of Roma fortunetellers. I Ching is the oldest and wisest Oracle system in the world, and excellent for providing clarity on problems and issues, which logic cannot deal with such as relationships, negotiations, o ce, politics, family, matters, and, even spiritual well-being.

Then there is the practice of the Roman fortunetellers, a large, but mostly invisible, community in New York City. Reportedly having psychic powers, and said to be the inventors of the very popular Tarot cards. Practised mostly by women, the tradition dates back to several hundreds of years and legend has it that the community acquired its supernatural skills in the Byzantine Empire.

It is believed that the Hindu sage Valmiki wrote a book on Male Palmistry and that the practice spread from India to China, Tibet and to some countries in Europe. It also took birth, and fliourished, in Ancient Greece, where Alexander the Great is said to have used it to understand the character of his o cers.

Also known as palm reading, chiromancy chirology or cheirology, it is popular in many places the world, albeit with cultural variations in countries, including India, Nepal, Tibet, and China It su ers from the infirmity of its inferences being subject to varying interpretations, some even contradictory. Academicians, therefore, view the practice as a pseudoscience.

Another art that belongs to same category as astrology and palmistry is the ancient study of numerology. Its practice helps tap into the underlying patterns of the universe and unravel new truths about what humans are all about. The late 19th century psychologist, William Damon studied this field extensively taking the name of Cheiro. In his book, the famous seer tells one and all about the secret power of numbers and how they can make one predict one's future accurately.

While on the subject of numbers, I wondered if you heard the story, probably apocryphal, about the mathematical prodigy, Ramanujan. He was once hospitalised a er having been involved in a motor accident. The driver of the vehicle, in an apologetic mood, came to call on Ramanujan. Upon seeing the visitor, Ramanujan remarked, "I was wondering if you knew that the number of your car has a special significance." When the visitor confessed that he did not, Ramanujan went on to explain to him that the number in question was 1279. It is the only number in the whole integer system which can be expressed as a sum of two cubes in two di erent ways, namely, 13 + 123 and 103 + 93!

While on the subject of prophecies, I recall an amusing incident, from the time when I was appearing for my final year M.Sc. examinations. Apppalacharyulu, an elderly teacher, who had been part of a group in which I was preparing for examinations, went to an astrologer to enquire about the likely outcome of the examinations in his case. The confident prediction was that Apppalacharyulu would, in fact, pass. When it turned out that he had fliunked the exam, Apppalacharyulu went straight back to the astrologer and demanded a refund of the fees he had paid. The response, of the prophesier, was that no particular year, in which the prediction would fructify, had been speci-fied!

(The writer is formerly Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh)