Scientific Research Study on Naadi Astrology -University of Peradeniya, SriLank

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STUDIES ON THE PARANORMAL:

THE INDIAN OLA LEAF HOROSCOPES, AND THE IDEAS OF KARMA AND RE-INCARNATION

 

HISTORY

 

Horoscopes of contemporary people, Asian and non-Asian,

written on ancient palm (ola) leaves have been known for decades in both Sri Lanka and in southern India, especially Tamil Nadu. They have

been discussed in many issues of Indian astrological magazines, though mainly

in the context of the subject of astrology but not on their history, or on why

they were written or even with studies on their authenticity. One South Indian

reader of these leaves who had dealt with these for over forty years in Sri

Lanka told me they were originally written on goat skins, later transcribed on

copper plaques, and then on ola leaves which are now claimed to be. hundreds of

years old. If this is correct, the possibility of errors in transcription

cannot be excluded. On why they were written, it has been surmised that they

were tutorial exercises set by the ancient sages (rishis) to their pupils who

were set the task of composing the horoscopes of persons yet to be born in a

series of dates and times, or that the sages made these writings for the

guidance of people, There were apparently seven (saptha) rishis (saptharishi)

who authored these horoscopes individually or in conference of all seven

(saprha-rishi vaakyam, seven -rishi stanzas). Since these writings relate to

ordinary people, it does not appear that the authors were concerned only with

important persons whose life histories could make vivid stories. Some clients

are told that there are no leaves pertaining to them.

These leaves are claimed to have been in ancient Hindu

temples in South

India

from where they were either stolen or bought during the British occupation of India. The British, it is said, took

away the manuscripts of utilitarian value to them, such as traditional

medicinal and alchemical texts. The remainder were the horoscopes. Since they

apparently dealt with the lives of contemporary people, the present owners of

the manuscripts have made a lucrative practice of reading them for their

subjects in Asian countries. An occasional non-Asian has also found his leaf.

The

following cornmentary is based on data from 14 case histories.

IDENTIFICATION

Leaves are identified as belonging to a given subject

through his/her thumb prints which probably serve as indispensable 'indexes' or

codes; birth date and time are insufficient. Four main groups of thumb print

patterns have been identified. The reader generally takes a few days or even a

week to locate the respective leaf (leaves) in bundles which the reader has

brought over from India. In one case (case No.1) narrated

to me, and in which the readings were accurate, the reading was made an hour

after the thumb print was supplied. In my case (case No.2), in South India, the reading was begun about 2

hours after the reader took my thumb print. This short interval, in addition to

the fact that I was a stranger in South India, would have excluded fraud

through the reader seeking out information about me from outside sources. Final

identification is done by the matching of birth date, names of the subject and

his/her parents as a prelude to the reading. The distribution of 'planets' in

the natal horoscope as stated in the leaf which is described during the

definitive reading and not revealed earlier by the subject, is an important

verification of the correspondence of the reading with the subject. It is

important to state that this correspondence is not used for the selection of

the leaf. Beginning with the first chapter (corresponding to the 'house' of an

astrological chart) which confirms the identity of the leaf the subject may

choose for reading, any of the remaining 11 houses which deal with various

aspects of his life, eg. 2nd dealing with his assets, 3rd with his brothers and

sisters, 4th his home, vehicles, mother, 10th with profession and status in

life and so on. Although the time of birth is not used for identifying the leaf

the exact horoscope (distribution of the planets, birth star, rulership

periods) is given on the reading. This indicates that the client's time of

birth is implied in the leaf-reading, because an accurate horoscope cannot be

drafted without the exact time of birth. This suggests that the reader is not

using a chart drafted by him on the occasion of the consultation for his

reading, excluding this device as one possibility of fraud.

THE READING

On the appointed day, the leaf is read, while a tape

recording is made. In one centre (of the case documented below) there were

several readers and translators, one pair dealing with a given leaf. After each

sentence or part of it, the reading is translated (if the subject so wishes)

into his own language by a translator; the translation is recorded at the same

time. The reading covers not only the subject's present life (its past, present

and future), but also his/her previous birth and the next birth. The leaf has

often been known to state that the subject will have the reading only at the

age (and year) at which he seeks the reading. Indeed I personally know of one

case (case No.3) in which the subject was told that at the time of reading, his

wife would be abroad; in fact his wife was abroad on a 3 month holiday. It is

remarkable that over an age-span of 60 odd years of this subject, this period

of 3 months when his was away, was his 'appointed' time for having his leaf

read.

There is no discussion between reader and subject except

initially when the subject is asked to verify that the leaf is indeed his, from

his date of birih, and names of the subject and of his parents, and on occasion

from key facts of his life, eg. number of siblings. The absence of such a

discussion excludes the possibility of the reader 'fishing out' information

from the client.

The reading states all significant facts from the time he

was born including where be was born (eg. public hospital, major city), the

date, day of the week, the natal horoscope, parents' names, subject's name,

number of siblings (male, female), number of children (male, female),

profession, events in the subject's life and a full description of the natal

chart. It is again to be emphasised that, although the subject does not

initially state his time of birth, the horoscope that is described necessarily

entails a 'knowledge' of the time of birth because the natal horoscope depends

on it for its accuracy.

The events are related to astrologically determined

'periods'; under the rulership and sub-rulership of specific 'planets'. In my

fathers' reading (case No.4) which he obtained in the 1930s, the periods were

listed from the year of his birth (1889) till only 1960, as if to mean 'that;

1989-1960, is his life span'; indeed he 4ied in 1960, a correct prediction for

a 30 year period.

THE

LANGUAGE OF THE OLA LEAF WRITINGS

Tamil subjects who have had their readings and who have

seen the writing on the leaves are of the opinion that the language was not

modern Tamil. Indeed one subject (case No.5) had to have his leaf translated

into contemporary modem Tamil by a Professor of Tamil who was an expert in

Tamil linguistics, and could understand ancient Tamil. Translations might

involve a distortion or obscurity of original meanings. In this (case No.5)

related to me, the subject was told that his father was in an occupation that

dealt with transport and that he had to work with "iron and fire". It

is not unexpected that the writing which was probably made centuries before the

invention of railways, failed to identity "iron and fire" as having

referred to a steam locomotive in which his father was an engine driver. In my

father's (case No.4), his leaf stated that he, in his profession, would be

concerned with "wheeled conveyance"; he was employed in the railways.

In another case (case No.6), the subject heard the word "upadeshana"

mentioned in relation to her profession. At her first reading the translator

gave it as 'teacher' which was correct, but after retirement she was indeed a

counsellor in a different line of work. The word 'counsellor' was a better

translation of the Sanskrit word "upadeshana )'. In this reading, the

subject was told she had 'high blood pressure and cholesterol', which are terms

in modern medicine and certainly could not have featured in an ancient script.

In the latter instance, the interpretation by the reader or translator might

explain the use of modern terms.

THE FUTURE

It is invariably so that the past, up to the time of

reading, has been entirely and uncannily accurate, down to the details of

personal names. In my instance o.2) with an Indian reader in Madras, I wrote my father's name as

'Patrick' for the use of the translator in identifying the leaf as mine. The

reader however read the selected leaf and said my father's name was 'Don

Patrick', which was correct. My father had seldom used the name Don, and I did

not mention or write that name during tins session. Having been a South Indian

reader whom I had not met before, and having had my reading made 2 hours after

giving my thumb print, it was not possible for him to have fraudulently

ascertained the name Don.

What does seem to go wrong m some cases is the future, Why

this is so is controversial and hypotheses abound. One suggests 'that, as much

as the events described in the writings are based on the idea of karma

(cumulative consequences of one's past deeds), a person's future depends not

only on his past karma especially from deeds committed in his previous lives,

'but also on his deeds (and consequent karma) in his present life, which can

modify his karmic account, modifying in turn the events of the future. It is

relevant that a current view on the perennial debate on free-will versus

determinism is that the answer probably lies in the idea of 'compatibilism'

(Searle 1984) which accommodates both determinism and free-will, just as much

as Radhakrishnan, the Indian philosopher-statesman compared the situation to a

game of cards in which the predetermined (determinism) pack of cards is dealt

out as a hand to each player, who can then use the cards as it pleases him

(free-will).

The meticulous performance of propitiatory rites or poojas

(as correctives for 'bad' karmic effects) as prescribed in the readings as a

determinant of the fruition of the predictions could also be another basis of

the explanation of why the future, as described on the leaf, is not always

correct. In these instances, perhaps the poojas were not done as prescribed.

THE

INVESTIGATION OF THE OLA-LEAF PHENOMENON

It is apparent that the phenomenon of the ola leaves

cannot be studied 'objectively' or by quantitative, controlled experiments, as

one would do in normal science or even with other putative psi phenomena - eg.

GESP with Zener cards under controlled, experimental conditions, statistics

etc. The approach that seems possible with the ola leaves is that used by Ian

Stevenson in his analysis of cases suggestive of re4ncarnation, or the legal

approach to gathering what could be circumstantial evidence, with corroboration

from independent sources, and certainly the elimination of fraud. In this

respect, another parallel is the validation of ideas in astro-physics and

theoretical physics: " . . it is not easy to measure the mass and spin of

something as dark and far away as a neutron Star or a black hole. These things

have to be deduced from circumstantial evidence (especially hard for black

holes) which by their nature reveal little about themselves" (General

Relativity. The Economist, 1997, Nov 8th) Yet it is possible to make some

investigations such as whether the readings are off a written script. In this

case re-reading at a later date, of the same leaf, should give an identical reading.

If it is not identical, then some telepathic event at the time of reading might

account for its accuracy,

POSSIBLE

SOURCES OF FRAUD

One possible source of fraud is a tracing of the

antecedents of the subject through his/her name, address or other personal

details (if given), during the week or more that elapses between the initial

meeting at which the thumb print of the subject is supplied, and the reading.

That this does not seem to occur is suggested by the fact that the subjects who

have had correct readings did not give their correct name, nor address nor

other relevant personal details. Such a source of fraud is also discounted on

the facts that (1) the gap between the giving of the thumb print and the actual

reading after the selection of the leaf has been as short as one or two hours,

making it impossible for the reader to do 'research' on the subject's

background; (2) confidential details pertaining to the subject, but which have

not been known to anyone else, or not documented, have been read or commented

on with great accuracy; (3) specific predictions, borne out as correct by

subsequent events, have been recorded. In one case (case No.7), the transcript

of which I have, the subject (a Sinhalese) was told that he will marry a girl

of a different face, with a specified surname. Indeed, years later, he did get

married to a Tamil girl, but her surname differed from what was predicted. On

checking with her parents after marriage, it was revealed that their family

name had indeed been changed many years before, and the original name was in

fact what was stated on the subject's leaf Neither the subject nor the girl was

aware of the original name. Other examples of accurate predictions made for

periods of up to several years in the future, would also exclude fraud of this

type, and are recorded below.

Another obvious type of fraud could occur when the reader

by skilful questioning, draws out the information from the subject himself in

the guise of needing that information for verification of the ownership of the

leaf. In my personal experience and that of others, such 'fishing' did not

occur. The only questioning by the reader was solely for verification of the

identity of the leaf from basic facts (date of birth, names of subject and

family members) related to the subject, before the actual reading.

Each session covers only 2 or 3 chapters and when the

subject returns, days or weeks later on appointment, the same leaf (identified

by a shrewd subject by its physical appearances such as tears and marks) is

taken up again to continue the reading. Further evidence in refutation of the

possibility of fraud (as pertaining to an instant astrological reading instead)

is that when a person who once had a reading went back for re-reading of the

same leaf, a near-identical reading was made on the second occasion, as

described below. The investigator was herself proficient in astrology. She had

readings (her son's) (case No.8) made on two different occasions, 8 months

apart. The facts and the sequence of the facts given in the four chapters thus

tested, were closely similar. If the reading were a concoction or all instant

reading from a chart made at the session by the reader from his knowledge of

astrology, successive readings on widely separated occasions could scarcely

have been identical. In case No.3 the subject who once had a reading, went back

for a re-reading of the same leaf, six years later, and was told that after the

original reading, his leaf has been sent back to India and that he will have to

await the reader's return from India with that leaf On his re-visit he was told

that the original leaf was not available but that another lea{ also pertaining

to this subject, will be read; this reading was also correct, but this

particular case could not produce a confirmation of actual written

documentation of the original reading, as two different leaves and different

chapters were read.

It is a less stringent refutation of the possibility of

fraud that the reader was a visiting South Indian while the subjects were from

many different parts of Sri Lanka or even from other countries, who

had not known the reader until their consultation with him.

A CASE

STUDY IN INDIAN OLA LEAF HOROSCOPE READINGS (AS NARRATED TO THE AUTHOR BY 'C'

AND HER HUSBAND, cases No.9, and 10)

Reader -

a south Indian, resident in Sri Lanka for over forty years.

Readings - in Tamil, with English

translation, both tape recorded

Personnae - F =, C's father who had a son from his 1st wife W1

AL = his second wife and mother of C

C = daughter of F from his 2nd wife AL

F's ola

reading (case No.9) (describing his present and past lives) were given by the

reader in 1956, a year before C was born (1957). C was told of her father's

reading by her mother AL.

C's

reading ~o. 10) (describing her present and past lives) was also given by the

same reader but 24 years later in 1980, after her father had died many years

earlier.

The reader was unaware of the relationship between C and F

at the time of C's reading, nor did he have cause to remember that he gave her

father's (F's) reading 24 years before. Moreover since F had died, there was no

possibility of getting his thumb print for retrieval of his leaf for a second

time. Later the reader 'was told of the father's death. The remarkable coincidence

of the facts stated on the two leaves, and described below, could thus not have

been attributed to a knowledge on the part of the reader that the leaves

belonged to two related subjects.

 

F's

present life

F was very keen to study medicine and he sat one

examination but he did not continue as his parents wanted him to work towards

the examination for the Civil Service. He always regretted that he did not

study medicine. In his professional life, F was in employment as a senior

government official in the prestigious Ceylon Civil Service, and held an

important posting in a state ministry.

F was married to W1 from whom he had a son (S). After S's

birth, F's marriage had foundered and they were divorced. The son S was taken

by W1. F then married AL and C was born in 1957. W1 died in 1958, and then

her son S was brought up by F's 2nd wife AL, who cared for the son as if he

were her own son. F's marriage to AL was a successful and happy

marriage.

 

F's

former life

(as stated on his ola horoscope. Italicised parts occurred

in the reading, bold initials and words, author's) You had been a King in Nepal and though having had a Queen;

you also had an affair with a minister's daughter (MD), and she conceived. The

Queen had the pregnancy aborted and the mother (MD) too died. Before her death,

the minister's daughter (MD) cursed you (the King) that in a future birth you

will never be a King but will merely be an advisor to a King, that you will

want to become a doctor but you won 't succeed, and that you will be married to

a reincarnation of herself the Queen. The unborn child of the minister's

daughter (MD) aborted on the order of the Queen will be re-born as your child

and the Queen of your former birth, as your 1st wife. This child will bring

trouble to you, the parents, and your marriage wan't succeed You will be

divorced and later she will die.

 

You (the former King, now F) will marry the former

minister 'S daughter (MD) with whom you had an affair (now AL) and the aborted

child will come back to your second wife (AL) who will look after him, lovingly

as her own son.

Your second child chased you away from your throne.

Possible

parallels between F's former life and his present life

His former Queen is the 1st wife (W 1) in his present

life. F is now the former King. The child (of the minister's daughter who

conceived after her affair with the former King) that died in the abortion in

the previous life, is the son (S) who is now the step-brother of C and who was

cared for by F's 2nd wife AL, who was the minister's daughter in the previous

life The affinity between the former King and the minister's daughter in the

previous life, now continues in the present life as an affinity (and marriage)

between F (the former King) and AL (the former minister's daughter MD). MD's

aborted child is now her (AL's) step-son for whom she cares as

if he were her own.

 

C's

present life

C's reading (case No.9) was taken 24 years later in 1980

at her age of 23, also from the same reader. C's father F died when she was 15

years of age. C married when she was 27. @Lanka Chronicle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scientific Research Study on Naadi

Astrology – Part 2

 

Faculty

Publication and Seminars, University of Peradeniya, SriLanka

Tel.

0094-8-388302 Ext. 2005, Fax. 0094-8-388933

STUDIES ON THE

PARANORMAL- 2: FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS ON THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE ANCIENT INDIAN

OLA (PALM) LEAF ('NADI')HOROSCOPES AND THE QUESTION OF `FREE-WILL' versus

`DETERMINISM'

INTRODUCTION

A previous paper in this journal (Arseculeratne 1998/9.

Studies on the Paranormal: The Indian ola leaf horoscopes and the ideas of

karma and reincarnation) described the phenomenon of the ancient Indian ola

(palm) leaf horoscopes – their history, selection and identification of a

subject's leaf, and the reading of the leaf. These leaf writings in ancient

Tamil are claimed to be hundreds of years old, and are thought to have been

written by Indian sages (or by their astrological pupils as tutorial exercises)

and recovered from Hindu temples, mainly in South India. Fourteen case studies from

readings provided in 4 centres, 2 in Sri Lanka and 2 in South India were included to illustrate this

phenomenon. The readers in Sri Lanka are South Indian Tamils, in

temporary residence in Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital city. One of them had

worked for forty years in this country before his demise.

 

The selection of a leaf as `belonging' to an individual is

done through the subject's thumb prints which are claimed to bear codes also

contained in the leaves. The subject's past was invariably described with

startling accuracy, while, in some readings, the future as predicted on the

leaf was also accurate for many years, though in a few cases, they were not

always borne out as accurate by subsequent events. Reasons for this discrepancy

were discussed. It was also pointed out that these leaf readings differed from

contemporary, conventional `mundane' astrological readings made off a chart,

constructed on the basis of the time and place of birth, giving the planetary

distribution in the subject's native chart of the zodiac at the time of birth.

The latter readings seldom make the impressive statement of facts relating to

the subject (e.g. names of the subject, of parents and of family members) with

personal details concerning the subject (e.g. his religion, and place of birth,

profession, ill-health, number of children and their progress) as described in

the leaf readings.

The

following possibilities of fraud or other bases that might underlie spurious

`readings' were considered in our attempts to `falsify' (in Karl Popper's

sense) the idea that these leaf readings are authentic writings:

1.

Fraudulent ascertainment by the reader of the history and personal data

relating to the subject, (through reference to computerised or documented state

records pertaining to the subject, or questioning of the subject's relatives)

during the interval (which could be many days) between supplying of the thumb

print and the selection of the corresponding leaf. This type of fraud was

excluded on the grounds that no personal information, including the full name

and address which could have been used in such fraud, was given by the subjects

to the leaf-readers. In some cases, the readings were made on leaves selected

within 1 or 2 hours (which would have not given sufficient time for such

fraudulent ascertainment of data) of supplying of the thumb prints; moreover

correct readings were obtained by persons who had never visited that centre

before and on occasions the subjects were Sri Lankans who visited the Indian

centre's for the first time.

 

2. `Fishing out' of information from the subject by discreet questioning

of the subject by the reader, under the guise of needing such data to confirm

the identity of the leaf. Subjects, whose cases were discussed in the previous

article, carefully avoided giving of information on which a spurious reading

could have been built.

 

3. Construction of a horoscope. If the reader is a competent astrologer,

he could make a chart at the time of reading and provide the subject with a

conventional reading on the basis of his `instant' chart. This seemed

improbable because the time of birth, which is critical for the construction of

a conventional Indian astrological chart, is not supplied by the subject for

the search of his/her leaf; only the thumb prints, birth date and a name for

reference are supplied; the name need not be the real name of the subject or

even the complete name, and it is given for the `calling-up' of the subject for

the reading. `Mundane', conventional astrological horoscopes, according to the

Eastern system of astrology, are made on the basis of the place, date and,

crucially, the time of birth. Because these (except the date of birth and

place) are not given to the reader, the possibility of an instant construction

of a chart by the reader is remote.

4. Guesses and

inferences. In addition to facts which were on the leaf, extrapolation to

other facts through guesses and inferences are possible; the latter facts would

then not be documented on the leaf. Guessing of names would be difficult or

impossible.

 

5. Telepathy. This was excluded because some readings were made after

the initial providing of the thumb print in the absence of the subject (Case

No. 15 described below) while the readings were recorded on an audio-tape. In

addition, in other cases, correct facts read off the leaf were unknown to the

subject at the time of reading.

The facts, obtained by

mechanisms 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 would, of course, not be written on the leaf; hence

the confirmatory test done as reported in this paper was to confirm or dispute

("falsify") the question whether the `correct' facts were really

written on the leaf..

The accurate predictive

capacity of the leaf-readings, which sometimes spanned a period of ten or more

years, indicated that mechanisms 1 and 2 at least were not operative, and that

they were genuine astrological readings.

Evidence given in the

earlier report, supporting the tentative conclusion that the readings were made

from a script actually written on the leaf, included the following:

(1) On repetition of the

readings, sometimes months later, the facts and their sequence were

approximately 80% and 75% respectively, in correspondence. Translational or

interpretational variations might have accounted for the short-fall from 100%.

(2) The report also stated that in two cases, the subjects, both Tamil

professionals who were familiar with the Tamil language's script, and who were

also familiar with these leaves, read the names of either themselves or their

family members on their respective leaves, indicating that indeed the readings

given were made off a script which was documented on their leaves.

Another case (No. 15)

further supports the view that these readings are made from a script written on

the leaves. The subject obtained the reading of the first, general chapter

which correctly stated facts about himself. The reader then suggested that the

reading be continued on the next day as it was now late in the evening. On the

next day the original reader gave the leaf to another reader who re-read the

first chapter that was read on the previous day; the second day's reading of

the first chapter was identical with that given on the first day, suggesting

that the readings were made off a script actually written on the leaf.

Yet, despite the remarkably

accurate statements and predictions, and evidence summarised above for the fact

that the readings were based on a script that was really written on the leaf,

Professor Ian P. Stevenson (Division of Personality Studies, Department of

Psychiatric Medicine, University of Virginia, USA) stated (personal

communication to SNA, 1999):

I believe that it would

be difficult to persuade an editor (and reader) of a scientific journal that

the correct statements made by a reader of ola leaves were not the result of a

combination of paranormal cognition, guesses and inference.

Stevenson then suggested

a final test of the authenticity of the leaf readings:

To show that these

correct statements were written in ancient Tamil one would need to have

photographs of the Tamil text together with translations by an expert on the

Tamil language. Moreover, the photographed text should be that of the correct

statements.

Further, Stevenson

pointed out that:

Such a demonstration

would be a remarkable event. I do not doubt that it would

have extraordinary reverberations in philosophy, science and religion.

This report describes

this test done by one of the authors (SS) of this paper, in a centre in

Chennai, South

India,

in February 2002.

RESULTS

(The significant

facts relevant to this paper are italicised)

In February 2002, SS

called at a centre in Chennai, South India, which he had not visited before; nor had he met

its readers before. He gave his right thumb print at 8 am, with his first name, the

shortened version Sidha, used by his friends. After about an hour SS was called

in for the reading. Several leaves were unsuccessfully tried for his father's

name. Another bundle of leaves was then brought in. Midway through this bundle,

the reader asked, "Is your father's name Sambandan?" SS replied `yes'

as Sambandan is his father's surname which was not given earlier to the reader.

The reader then asked, "Is your mother's name Saraswathy?" SS

confirmed it, though he had not supplied it earlier. He then asked, "Is

your name Sidheswara?" SS again agreed, although he had not given his full

name earlier. "Is your wife's name Sosapin?" (Figure), and on being

told "yes" by SS, the reader then said "This is your leaf".

His wife's name too was not supplied to the reader earlier. He then went out

for about five minutes to call in a scribe for audio-recording and the writing

out of the reading.

The first, general

chapter, containing the personal and family details, was read. The reader

readily agreed to show SS the leaf and script and to allow SS to photograph it.

The most decipherable name was SS's wife's name which was an English name. Her

real name is "Josephine". There is no letter "j" in the

Tamil language, and when present it is a borrowing from Sanskrit. The letter "s"

is substituted for "j". (Professor C. Sivagnanasunderam, novelist in

Tamil, 2002, personal communication); hence "So-sa-pin" instead of

"Jo-sa-pin". The letters "So" were similar to the modern

Tamil with which SS was familiar. The second syllable "Sa" in the

Figure, is under the point of the pen. The "Sa" too was decipherable

to one familiar with modern Tamil. The third syllable "pin" differed

slightly from that in modern Tamil. The other sentences and words (other than

names) in the text were difficult for SS to decipher. The facts in the rest of

this first chapter, the past and up to the present, too, were accurate.

A few days later SS

called at a different centre, also in Chennai, South India, which dealt with these leaf

horoscopes. SS had not visited this centre before nor had he known its readers.

SS showed a reader at this centre, the photograph of the leaf which was read at

the first centre and which contained accurate facts relating to SS. This reader

(at the second centre) read, slowly, "So-sa-pin". He also read SS's

father's name, SS's name, and his mother's name with ease.

The reader at the first

centre did not give the leaf to SS as it was claimed that another person's

horoscope might be on the reverse. It should be stated that on a previous

occasion in a different centre in South India, SS was given his leaf after an

accurate reading.

The results of this test

were communicated to Prof. Stevenson who first suggested the test. He then

posed the possibility of the reader having had access to the `facts'

telepathically or by `normal' guesses, and then written these `facts' out on an

old (blank) leaf. This would have meant that the reader left the room where the

client was, spent some time to write out a `new' leaf with the `facts' that he

telepathically retrieved, and brought it back and read the same. This was not

the case as after the client (SS) sat with the reader, the latter went out of

the room during the reading for approximately a minute and only once, to answer

a telephone call. Moreover, he left the leaf which had the correct facts on the

table while he was away from the room for this brief period; it was during this

period that SS photographed the writing on the leaf; above all, the reader did

not bring any other leaf when he returned. The etching on a palm leaf is a

tedious process with a metal stylus, more time consuming than writing on paper.

The etching then has to be blackened with soot (carbon powder), and the excess

soot rubbed off from the leaf with oil. It is unlikely that the `new' writing

could have been made by the reader during his one-minute absence from the room,

apart from the fact that he did not bring back with him another leaf, the

putative fraudulent leaf.

 

A further refutation of the suggestion that data could have been obtained

telepathically from the subject, arises from a case (No. 16) in which the

subject, having had a reading of a few chapters, requested that the readings of

the further chapters be recorded in her absence on a later date. These

subsequent chapters had been read by the reader and recorded as requested by

the subject, and were also found to be correct. Since the subject was not

present at the latter readings, a telepathic process for retrieval of this data

is probably unlikely.

DISCUSSION

Supplementary to the

anecdotal and personal evidence recorded in our first (1998/9) and in the

current paper, the test prescribed by Stevenson and the results accruing from

it described in this paper, apparently demonstrated that the readings were made

off a script actually written on the leaf.

An attempt will be made

to have one of these ola leaves, in the possession of SS, carbon-dated. Even if

the test reveals that the leaf is indeed centuries old, it could be construed

that, as Stevenson hypothesised, the reading could have been made off a `new'

instant script made on an old blank leaf, from data retrieved by the reader,

telepathically. However, the cogent evidence described in the preceding

paragraphs relating to SS, that the correct leaf was not recently-written on

blank fraudulent leaf, appears to us to be strong enough to discount

Stevenson's explanation and to regard these leaf horoscopes as authentic.

One of the Indian readers

resident in Sri Lanka, when confronted with this

`telepathic' explanation of the accuracy of the leaf readings, replied:

"If I can get all the correct information from a subject, telepathically,

I do not need to dabble with ola leaves". Indeed other practitioners of

the paranormal do indeed provide clients with verbal astrological and perhaps

numerological and telepathic readings (Sinhala - nimittas) which are accurate.

Epistemology in the

East and West

Paranormal practices are

firmly embedded in the South Asian culture. Eastern epistemology is perhaps of

a wider scope in South Asia than in the West; for example, in Buddhism,

…the Buddha urged his

followers to strive to go beyond faith in rebirth and to verify it through

extrasensory capacities which, he claimed, one could cultivate by practising

meditational techniques. In this sense, Buddhist ethics, and the whole of

Buddhist epistemology that underlies it, are as empirical and as amenable to

scientific method as is Western ethics, or even more so since sense-perception

in Buddhism (as in most other Eastern epistemologies) is far broader than that

defined and accepted in the West". (Hall, 1987)

Determinism

The implication of the

result of our investigation that, at least, the major events in a person's

life, are `determined', again raises the perennial questions of `free will'

versus `determinism' (this matter was briefly touched upon in the 1998/9 paper)

and of `moral responsibility' in decision-making through `free-will'. Ayer

(1965) wrote: "It seems that if we are to retain this idea of moral

responsibility, we must either show that men can be held responsible for

actions which they do not do freely, or else find some way of reconciling

determinism with the freedom of the will".

The implication from this

paper's finding that major events are pre-determined will inevitably engender

strong opposition from those who are confronted with the possibility of

determinism. The primary purpose of this investigation, however, was to test

the authenticity of the ola leaf horoscopes and not to attempt to resolve, if

that is at all possible, the debate on `free-will' versus `determinism'.

However, some comments, might seem to be necessary on this problem of

`determinism'.

Consider the following

(real) example. The selection of medicine as a career by a Sri Lankan subject A

was based on his liking the subject, and the examples of relatives who were

successful doctors. He later turned to academic medicine and research, through

interest in experimentation, long before his undergraduate medical work began.

His choice of a medical career was thus seemingly, in conventional terms, a free

choice made of his `free-will'. His ola leaf read 36 years later in South India stated that the subject will

qualify in medicine and will give instruction in medicine to others, and that

he will have two higher degrees (which indeed he had acquired). If, as

demonstrated here, these leaf readings are authentic, and were written decades

or more probably centuries before, then his choice of a medical career was, in

this sense, determined. Further determinants that underlay his choice of

medicine were the examples of his relatives and his prior conditioning, through

his reading of books on scientific discovery and experimentation. Thus, his

choice of medicine as a career, though seemingly made through his `free-will'

was in reality `determined'. Searle's (1984) question is topical: "Is it

ever true to say of a human being that he could have done otherwise?…. Is all

behaviour determined by such psychological compulsions?" Searle answers

the second question negatively. If this debate is intractable to resolution,

could at least the compromise of "compatibilism" (Searle 1984) give

us any relief, though Searle thought it was an inadequate solution to the

problem?

One of the criteria on

which the operation of `free-will' is claimed to rest is the availability of alternatives

which a subject could choose from in a given action. His choice of one option

is then regarded as reflecting his `free-will' in making that choice while it

remains a possibility that he could have made a different choice (see Searle

1984 for a discussion of this topic, p. 98). But the fact is that he did make

the choice he made (the `factual'); the existence of `counter-factuals' i.e.

the alternatives, is a philosophical problem which will not be discussed here.

If indeed the idea of

`free-will' is delusory and that determinants of many kinds operate in the

making of a choice, then there appears to be a parallel in the derivation of

conclusions from observations and formulation of theories in science. This

relates to the question of `objectivity'. As Grinnel (1987) states, "In

any event, the observer can look at the scene in a multitude of ways, each of

which involves different hypotheses regarding what he/she sees. Therefore, it

has been suggested that an observer imposes a particular meaning on a scene

according to his/her interest and interpretation of what is going on…. The

point to be emphasised is that, in large part, an observer's previous knowledge

and experience determine what aspects of a scene will be interesting to the

observer". In discussing some ideas of the philosopher of science, Paul

Feyerabend, Jones (1989) wrote: "This leads him to the controversial

conclusion that competing theories are equally reasonable alternatives, with

one being eliminated in favour of another only as a result of subjective

choice. `What remains are aesthetic judgements, judgements of taste,

metaphysical prejudices, religious desires, in short, what remains are our

subjective wishes'".

Some comments

(italicised) of the philosopher A.J.Ayer (1965) are also apposite to this

discussion. "For it is not always the case that when a man believes that

he has acted freely we are in fact able to account for his action in causal

terms"

The possibility that

Subject A's choice of medicine was determined by the circumstances described

above, might here be considered.

"A determinist would

say that we should be able to account for it if we had more knowledge of the

circumstances, and had been able to discover the appropriate natural laws. But

until those discoveries have been made, this remains only a pious hope".

Although the palm leaf

readings indicate that his choice of a medical career was determined, the

`natural laws' and the mechanism underlying such determinism, as well as of the

leaf writings themselves, are of course unknown.

Finally, as Ayer (1965)

wrote: "But now we must ask how it is that I come to make my choice.

Either it is an accident that I choose to act as I do or it is not. If it is an

accident, then it is merely a matter of chance that I did not choose otherwise;….

But if it is not an accident that I choose to do one thing rather than another,

then there is some causal explanation of my choice: and in that case we are led

back to determinism".. This appears to be the challenging situation that

the palm leaf horoscopes have confronted us with.

Since the publication of

our first paper in 1998/9, a commentary "Nadi Astrology (an

overview", appeared in The Times of Astrology, New Delhi, January 2002. (see also http://www.sanskritionline.com/nadi/History.htm)

Some facts in the Times of Astrology, which are supplementary to those in the

1998/9 paper are quoted verbatim in italics below, followed by our comments:

-Leaves were found

"lying idle" in the Vaitheeswarankoil (South India) around the 13th century.

-Translations from Sanskrit were made into Tamil and Telugu.

-Only about 40% of persons are likely to get their leaves. (This implies that

several million leaves should be available).

The author then posed

some questions, some of which are answered in our present and the preceding

articles.

"Are they actually

reading what was written on the leaves?" This is the central question

which the present article has apparently answered.

"Why don't nadi readers give your leaf to you, if it really belongs

to you?" Indeed one of us (SS) had his leaf given to him after the reading

in a South Indian centre.

"Can you read what is written there?Will they show it to

you?" The present article has answered these two questions.

"Is it possible to

do any research at all in this field?. The scientific approach to research on

these leaf horoscopes was also discussed in the 1998/9 paper. A more general

discussion "The scientific approach to research on the paranormal"

was written (by SNA) in Trends in Rebirth Research, Proceedings of an

International Symposium, 2001, N. Senanayake ed., Peradeniya, Sarvodaya

Viswalekha Press.

"Are there other

aspects, natural calamities, political set ups, wars, countries etc. written

also nadi granthas (sic) other than about persons and if so why don't they

publish it beforehand?" Yes in Case No. 10 (Arseculeratne 1998/9), the

nadi reading referred to political events in Sri Lanka, 7 years into the future.

Why cannot the nadi

readers tell the exact names of the wife/husband before marriage, but can tell

the names (of) after marriage?" In Case No. 7 (Arseculeratne 1998/9)

the nadi reading had given the name

of the girl the subject would marry. It is of great interest that the girl he

married had a different name but it was the case that the name specified by the

reading was indeed the family name, to which an original name had been changed

decades before this reading and before the subject's marriage to the girl. The

name change was known only after his marriage.

Topics for Future

Research.

 

"Whether we or the experts in linguistics can read the same and

understand?Whether there is any script at all in the leaves?"

These two questions have been answered in the present article.

A statement on the origins of these leaf writings is from the introduction in a

leaf reading obtained by a Sri Lankan in India in the 1930s:

"Stanza 1- These are

horoscopes written down by Agasthya Muni

in his discourses to his disciple Machakendran:- `I had known the Shastras as

dictated by Narayinal Goddess Parvathi wife of Narayanan to Nandi Devar [the

Bull God that is the medium of Hindu worship of Shiva] and I am telling same to

you. If you find in the palms of a male, the lines known as

adukku visiri sakkara

iratti yoga sangu paali

irai ligithamsam

he will be born in the

race that sprang up in Ceylon through Buddhism in the capital

town or near about'".

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are thankful to

Professor Ian P. Stevenson (Division of Personality Studies, Department of Psychiatry,

University of Virginia, USA) for having suggested the test which was performed,

and discussed in this investigation, and to Professor P.D. Premasiri

(Department of Pali & Buddhist Studies, University of Peradeniya, Sri

Lanka) for discussions on the question of `free-will' and `determinism'.

REFERENCES

Arseculeratne, S.N.

1998/9. "Studies in the paranormal. I: The Indian ola leaf horoscopes and

the ideas of karma and reincarnation." The Sri Lanka Journal of the

Humanities XXIV and XXV, 231-246.

---. 2001, "An

alternative approach to the study of rebirth through the Indian ola leaf

horoscopes." In Trends in Rebirth Research. Proceedings of an

International Symposium, N.Senanayake ed., Ratmalana: Sarvodaya

ViswalekhaPress. 117-120.

Ayer, A.J. 1965, "Freedom and necessity." In Philosophical Essays, London: MacMillan & Co. Ltd.

Grinnel, Frederick, 1987. The Scientific Attitude. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press Inc.

Hall, Vance D. 1987. Western ethics confronting Eastern society. (unpublished

lecture), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Jones, Richard. 1989. "The Historiography of Science. Retrospect and

Future challenges." In Teaching the history of Science. Michael Shortland

& Andrew Warwick eds, Oxford, Basil Blackwell.

Searle, John R. 1984, "The Freedom of the Will." In Minds, Brains and

Science. The 1984 Reith Lectures, London, The British Broadcasting

Corporation.

 

S.N. ARSECULERATNE & S.SAMBANDAN

 

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