When I was 35, I wanted to live much longer. That does not necessarily mean that, now at 63 I want to cap my longevity. Who does not hope to outlive the planets and the universe, given a chance? So, I tried my hand at Astrology. Wondering what my longevity has to do with astro-predictions?
Remember Albert Einstein? Did he not say everything in this universe is related and interconnected? Let me cut short your irritation to clarify what exactly I mean. Astrology tells you how long you would remain on this earth, or how long your family would have to bear with you. Yes, I wanted to know how many full moons I am yet to enjoy.
Why full moon sightings? Some Hindus count their years by the number of full moons they witness in their eventful (or uneventful) lives. That decides when you will celebrate your Shashtiabdapoorthy (60+), Bheemaradha Shanthi (70+), Sathabhishekam (-100), Poornabhishekam (100+), and so on. I bought and borrowed a shelf-load of books on the prediction sciences, including tarots, palmistry and face-reading, What Ramesa says or said (you got it?) and what he did not. I burnt mid-noon oil to arrive at what my deadline in this birth is. I read Bhrighu Samhitha that has calculated in advance when each of us would cease to be.
OMG (short form of what you already know), it’s mind-boggling. It is too mathematical to know when you would kick the bucket. It is all about degrees and positions of planets and stars moving afar and brain-twisting calculations. I am already weak in mathematics, as in other subjects. I was as confused as I was at the beginning of the search. Some readings cautioned me I had already outlived the expiry date and that I was on a borrowed span.
This and a few other methods assured me I would live up to the next yuga or era, of course with riders that self-prediction of one’s own longevity shortens life further. I finally made a bundle of all the literature and threw it into the loft. (Last week, my wife confessed she had earned some money selling them by weight.)
I still wonder how it is when people die en masse at the same time. For instance, the recent Germanwings calamity. Without meaning to take that horror lightly, I am still perplexed to ask, did their lifelines end all at the same time? Did the star positions align (or go out of alignment) all simultaneously for them? A tsunami washes away a whole town and with that all the life forms there. An island disappears along with its inhabitants. How come all of them perish at once? I am too small to question ancient wisdom. Coming back to longevity, my wife once confided that she would prefer to go after I leave, although she wanted it the other way round as she could not imagine how I would spend the remainder of my life without her. (Thank god she does not know what is in the core of my heart). Studies say birds in captivity and in protected environments live longer (not necessarily happier) than those in the merrier wild.
A newspaper once had a story on the longest surviving man in a nameless nation of Africa, whose age was well beyond the century mark. The man looked depressed. He was cursing himself for living longer than necessary. He had lost his three wives several decades earlier. Even many of his grandchildren had exited and he found no pleasure in out-living all his relatives, friends and well-wishers. The report narrated that the man smoked a lot (shattering the myth that smoking shortens life spans), never even rode a bicycle (who said cycling is good for health?), never swam in any water body (how come swimming is trumpeted as the best exercise?), ate largely non-vegetarian stuff (is it a myth that vegetarians live longer?), and consumed country wine at will (is Alcoholics Anonymous listening?). And he had never had any schooling (is knowledge the key to living long?). I don’t want to add anything more.
I have seen in my over six decades of life, the Chinese invasion, the Emergency, the economic reforms since 1991, the Babri Masjid demolition, the Harshad Mehta scam, the 2G scam, Coalgate, the rise and rout of Congress, the victory of Narendra Modi and the Aam Aadmi Party... It is a mixed bag. I know not what is in store.
In the final tally, what is the use of longevity when it is no longer enjoyable? Is longevity a boon or bane? Longevity is an enigma. Our planet’s health care and the pharma lobbies survive on its vicissitudes. Prediction sciences feed on it. I’m still looking for the right answers.
pushpasaran@yahoo.co.in
