How to approach astrologers: As a means or as an end?

 

IN an apartment located in one of Yangon’s quiet suburbs, Prophet Myat Thit – one of the city’s most well-known astrologers – welcomes his customers with a benevolent smile before he begins his duty of giving astrological advice.

Next to the office where Prophet Myat Thit hosts his customers is a shrine room set aside for the performance of religious rituals such as chanting prayers and meditating. This is where the astrologer also hones his concentration skills, which he said is one of the most important factors in determining the accuracy of a forecast.

“Astrology is a very ancient subject that dates back to an unknown period in human history,” he said. “Because it is, to a certain extent, a reliable technique for the good of humanity, it has survived into the 21^st century.”

In the past 40 years Prophet Myat Thit has met countless people from different walks of life who have turned up on his doorstep, many of whom have expected him to save them from their own bad luck. It is an expectation he is quick to debunk.

“Astrology is useful because by using it we can predict your future or a possible natural disaster but I don’t believe it’s an escape from the bad fate a person is suffering or is going to suffer,” he said.

He said the belief among some people that astrologers can reverse a person’s destiny is completely wrong.

“If you were born fated to face poverty or get locked up in prison or die in a bloody accident, you can’t run away from that,” he warned. “Astrology is not something that converts the poor to the rich or vice versa. Rather, it’s a technique that gives advice on how you should go on your life.”

U Hla Aung, 51, a veterinarian who has studied astrology for much of his life but has never earned money from it, said telling a non-believer about astrology is like explaining chemistry to a person who knows nothing about science.

“Astrology is a subject that people can apply for various purposes because you can see your destiny through it,” he said. “I studied astrology because I became interested in it after I’d found out that some predictions came true.”

He said astrology has a great influence on many people because they want to realise their dreams and they see astrology as a means to that end.

He added that astrological predictions, which merely reveal a person’s unchangeable destiny, are useful for making crucial decisions in life.

“Astrologers should be seen not as people who can provide refuge but as a means of analysing events or finding better angles before decide something,” U Hla Aung said.

“Astrology can provide exact results but how correct the reading is depends on how proficient and concentrated the astrologer is.”

Daw Khin May Win, the owner of a photo studio in Yangon, agreed that astrological predictions were reliable and added that astrology was a dependable way to avoid misfortune.

“I once opened a goldsmith shop but an astrologer told me that I could be cheated,” she said. “But I kept it open and ended up being cheated twice in one year.”

When she went against an astrologer’s advice a second time by expanding her business and opening another store, she ended up losing money. But when she considered opening a photo studio, the astrologer gave her the green light.

The potency of astrology was confirmed for Daw Khin May Win when she went to a donation ceremony outside her hometown.

“An astrologer predicted that I would have an accident and told me not to go. I went anyway and ended up getting injured in a car accident,” she said.

Daw Khin May Win encouraged people who think astrology is a sham to give it a try.

“They’ll be convinced once they see the predictions come true,” she said.

Prophet Myat Thit said an astrologer’s ability to provide accurate predictions depends on five factors: knowledge of a wide variety of subjects, the ability to concentrate, high morals, proficiency in astrology and possessing a natural gift for the art.

“Accuracy has nothing to do with astrology but rather with the astrologers. If the astrologer is, say, sick or lacks concentration, his predictions can be wrong,” he explained.

Prophet Myat Thit added that the accuracy of predictions also depended on how close the ties were between the astrologer and the customer in previous lives – an idea based on the Buddhist concept that people who had blood or social relations in former lives tend to have stronger connections in their present lives.

He said he disagreed with the increasingly popular trend of having surgery to deliver a baby on a favoured date and time, saying that it was an attempt to “design” a person’s life.

“On the other hand, performing yadaya [deeds to compensate for misfortune] can help relieve a person’s ill luck to an extent,” he said.

“Yadaya is similar to medicine, which can’t completely cure some diseases such as cancer but can control the patient’s condition. Similarly, we instruct some people to perform yadaya so they suffer as little as possible,” Prophet Myat Thit said.

But for U Hla Aung the practice of yadaya has nothing to do with astrology.

“It’s a completely separate technique developed to motivate people. In pure astrology there’s no such thing as yadaya,” he said.

U Hla Aung said those with the ability to face the struggles of life on their own terms tend to rely less on astrologers.

“That’s why more women see astrologers, because most of them have more trouble dealing with daily struggles than men. But once men get involved in astrology they go farther than women,” he said.

“Men tend to approach astrology as an area of knowledge while more women approach it as an escape,” he said.

Prophet Myat Thit agreed, adding: “More women are interested in astrology but once a man develops interest in the subject he becomes more obsessed than women do.”

“Men by their nature have a greater tendency to believe in something. The ones who say astrology is outdated are usually the first ones to run to an astrologer when they get into trouble. It’s just social pressure that makes them say astrology is outmoded,” he said.

He said astrology was becoming increasingly popular even in this age of science and technology.

“Forty years ago many people came to see me just as a leisure pursuit but now in this age of fast changes people are struggling with more ‘wants,’ which has prompted many of them to turn to astrology as a catalyst,” he said.

“The arrival of science hasn’t knocked out astrology. In fact, astrology is a combination of art and science but with a wider area of learning,” Prophet Myat Thit said.

U Hla Aung said advances in astronomy have even helped astrologers make more accurate predictions.

“For instance, it’s easier to make accurate calculations now since the discoveries of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. As more planets are discovered our predictions will become better,” he said.

Prophet Myat Thit said famous astrologers are often approached as if they had supernatural powers but it would be more proper to view astrologers simply as people who can help clients find their way in life.

“Astrologers are not people who give you wealth or help you win the lottery or settle all your debts,” he said. “If they could fulfill all people’s wishes, everybody on earth would be rich. But people should ask us how they can walk on.”

“It is as the Buddha taught: sabbe satta kammassaka [a person’s life is determined by his own actions],” he added.

Originally published by: The Myanmar Times

Year: 2008

Edition: Print