Spirituality/Eastern: Nadi Astrology

While this is only one such example among the many, we can use it as a reason to ask, "on what basis does the ancient science of Nadi Astrology rest?" However, the answer may not satisfy everyone, because its basis is not as scientific as the modern world demands. It is based on intuitive spiritual experience.

There are also many myths, stories and legends that surround these sacred and holy leaves and the British also came to know of them and set about to acquire them because of the depth of medical, scientific, philosophical and spiritual wisdom they held. In fact, in some of the leaves the basic rules of modern scientific inventions are explained. However, while the British were interested in the scientific information, they fortunately left all the leaves pertaining to astrology and auctioned the others off. And today, there are people who are interested in retrieving copies of these leaves for historical and archival significance.

Now, there are many who may ask, "why is there a need for these leaves and this system in the first place?" Well, the Sages stated that by the time man evolved himself to these modern times, his mind would have become so clouded by the things of this world that he would have forgotten his true spiritual nature. Consequently, this astrological system was created to bring people to a memory and realization of their true, divine nature.

The Sages also said "that from the chaos of the modern times a yearning would rise within the heart of man to seek beyond the supposed limitations of this world." Thus this system of truth was written by eighteen Sages for each individual soul and shows the entire role of the soul from the beginning of time.

Thus, whoever is destined to look into the leaves will find their way to a Nadi reader of their own accord. The very word "Nadi" in Tamil means, "destined to come on own accord."

India has been the hub of spirituality from the beginning of time and has sustained the oral tradition of transmitting and disseminating knowledge from generation to generation. So, over thousands of years, scribes recorded much of India's literary, scientific, spiritual and astrological heritage. While granite slabs, copper plates and tree barks were used as a medium for recording information, the most readily available medium was dried, smoothed and smoke-treated leaves of palm, bai-lan, talipot and olai.

Scribes carefully etched letters into the dried leaf with a stylus, in such a manner as to avoid splitting the leaf. Furthermore, the writing was almost always continuous, without any delimiters or separators between words. Therefore, the reading of the manuscript required training, as well as understanding of the language, so that the lines could be split into words for easy reading. When the etching process was complete, a black sooty pigment of lampblack or turmeric was applied to enhance contrast and legibility.

To complete the book, the palm leaves were stacked and holes were drilled through the fragile leaves in the right and left lengthwise edges. The leaves were then bound together with a cord or rod and two wooden covers were placed top and bottom of the stack. The end of the cord that was threaded through the holes was then wrapped tightly around the completed stack of leaves to hold them protectively in place.

However, being organic in nature, palm leaf manuscripts are susceptible to decay and disintegration over time, so when left undisturbed in humid climates, they would only last three or four centuries. Thus, when required, a new patron would commission scribes to copy the precious manuscripts onto freshly treated palm-leaves. So, it was in this way that uncounted generations of scribes preserved much of India's vast intellectual and spiritual legacy.

Thus it was the enlightened Sages who were instrumental in chronicling spiritual information onto these palm leaves for the benefit of mankind. Therefore, Nadi Astrology is a means to show us where we went wrong in respect of our duties, why we are experiencing the difficulties that we are having and offers a solution as to how to resolve these problems.

Furthermore, these ancient beings also set out to reveal a method by which each soul could discover the existence of God in this diverse universe. They knew that a Divine power existed, which was an infinite form of energy that existed in all creation. Consequently, they set about putting into place the prescribed paths of karma and devotion so that all human beings could have a guiding light to realize their true spiritual natures.

The Sages recognized the oneness of both science and spirituality! And just as students of science today know that atoms are the basic unit of every substance, the ancient Sages recognized that the Divine was present as the atom in the microcosm and as the largest of the large in the macrocosm. Thus, they believed that if you could understand this concept of the atom, you could in turn, understand the unity within everything.

So the ancient science of Nadi Astrology always had far greater depth and meaning than Natal Astrology. It was meant to preserve truth, teach human beings about their Divine heritage and to guide them once again back to the source from which they came.

Therefore, if you seek to understand your true nature, then Nadi Astrology can be a valuable tool to inspire and teach despite the need or inclination. So, irrespective of whether you are merely seeking a reading for material issues or delving into the spiritual connotations of spirituality, Nadi Astrology can be of benefit.

©Copyright 2003 by AlternativeApproaches.com

About the author: Annette Merle Cleveland grew up on the east coast of Australia in a "very loving, God-fearing family." She says that "today I find myself helping others to find their power within through such things as Nadi Astrology; and it is through this spiritual science that we can learn that we are all one in the virtues of truth, love and peace." Ms. Cleveland currently resides in India..