Myths and the reality of Lal Kitab

July 20, 2003

Dear Upadhyay Jee and the fellow LalKitabists,

Thank you for explaining the various questions asked by Mr. Puri. Please permit me to comment on a few points.

Let me reiterate that I have no axes to grind, I am neither a professional astrologer nor am I connected to this for any monetary or personal gain. I will admit though, that I am enamored by LalKitab astrology. I have the good fortune of having met Pt Roop Chand Jee numerous times, I do believe that his life-time "tapsya" has been subjected to unfair treatment by some vested interests. The waters have been muddied so much that it has become increasingly difficult to separate the truth from made-up fiction. And, I cannot blame people like yourselves who are trying to be objective and dispassionate about the whole affair. Your comments are based on what is available in the market place by way of LalKitab books. I have personally learnt a very interesting lesson, though. How facts and reality can be distorted by constant propaganda especially if the other side is not good in marketing its activities. I am beginning to question the validity of our history; how it must have been

distorted by historians with ulterior motives and by powerful governments/kings. Anyway, here goes my take on these (these are my personal views and observations):

Dear Amar Puri ji,You have asked me four questions concerning the Lal Kitab .I will try to answer them to the best of my ability. At the outset I must make it very clear that I am neither enamoured by the booknor wish to belittle it. My interest in astrology is entirely academic and my approach therefore objective and detached .Question 1. What is the basis of this scripture ?There are quite a few astrology paddhatis prevalent in India today,be it KP , System's Approach , Krushna's ashtakvarg etc. they are all either elaborations or modifications upon the traditionally accepted Vedic astrology. Across all these paddhatis the basic parameters arethe same . They differ either in approach or emphasis , the aim beingthe same in all cases.Lal Kitab also draws its basics from the Vedic astrology , but itdiffers in approach or what the book calls " grammer" ; and the emphasis is not so much on predicting the future as

onsolving the problem of today , hence the importance of Upaya.Therefore Lal Kitab is seldom used for long term predictionsalthough it could well be. The very first page of the book statesthe two purposes the Lal Kitab is meant for : (a ) to help removethe blockage in the flow of fortune's water and ( b ) to help erectan obstacle in the path of adversity thus saving the native from misery . Therefore I believe that the Lal Kitab is as much a part of tradition as any other paddhati .

<<<Additionally, LalKitab also mentions that the amount of "flow of fortune’s water"

can neither be increased nor decreased. But the remedial measures

are "found to be helpful" in removing obstacles in the way of this flow. >>>

Q.2 When and where it came into existance ?There are FIVE separate publications with varying length : 1939 ed of 383 pages, 1940ed of 156 pages;1941ed of 428 pages, 1942ed of 384 pages and finally the1952ed of 1171 pages.Surprisingly the name of the author has not been mentionedin any of these editions , instead they carry the name of thepublisher , shri Girdhari Lal Sharma and his photograph.If it were an original work by any author , he definitelywould have got his name on it. Therefore I believe that this book is a documentation of then prevalent thoughtsand beliefs in that area. There are so many myths and legends about this book that itis really very difficult to sieve out the facts. Let me take them up one by one.

<<<These myths have been created within the last 15-20 years. After Pt. Roop Chand Jee’s passing away, some parties with vested interest, started perpetuating these myths in order to increase their sales and clientele, wrote imaginary stories and started muddying the waters.

Pt Roop Chand Jee was an Accounts Officer in the British Indian Defense Department and could not use his own name as an author. He used his first cousin, Pt Girdhari Lal Sharma’s name as the publisher (Pt Girdhari Lal was NOT the author but the publisher.) Human literature and other disciplines are full of anonymous authors or those who use pseudonyms? Pandit Roop Chand Jee gave some identification to this anonymity by using his cousin’s name and the name of his native village, Pharwala in Jullundur. Pt Girdhari Lal used to help Pt Roop Chand in transcribing and by providing constant companionship and friendship, for which he was "rewarded".>>>

{ a } ... that the book was revealed in a dream .Never heard of dreams in installments and that too spreading over a period of twelve years. Because that is what alone could justify five publications. Not many takers for this fiction.

{ b }... that the book was received as ilham , kind of through akash-vani , thus adding mystical sanctity to the book. Thiswas an effort to make it appear as sacrosanct so that therecould be no criticism or scientific evaluation of the book. Well no body is going to believe that story either.

<<<There was no "akashvanee" – Pt Roop Chand Jee never claimed that. This again, is an exaggeration by the vested interests. In the beginning, a "gaibee taaqat (unseen force)" coached Pandit Jee in his dreams and made him write everything in a notebook the following morning. Pandit Jee had come home on his first annual leave during the summers and the very first day he was taken over by this "force." The entire summer, was spent like this. Later, he was instructed as needed. His children, (especially Pt Som Dutt and his sister) at times, would be used as mediums by this "force." Pt Girdhari Lal used to help in taking down notes from Pt Roop Chand. The books were not revealed to Panditji in a book-by-book format. He was imparted the basic knowledge and he gained understanding through experience (practice) and intuition. He then wrote the books that were progressively more and more detailed. Many portions have been

repeated verbatim throughout all the books.

So, it is the same material and each time it was expanded by Pt Roop Chand Jee himself in his own language. There are about two dozen different manuscripts, some partially incomplete, still lying with Pt Som Dutt. About the sacrosanct part, let me quote the very first two lines

from LalKitab’s title page for the benefit of those who haven’t read/seen the original LalKitab (each "new" author has purposely ignored to reproduce or mention the title page) which reads as follows:

"Beemaaree ka bag.air dawaayee bhee ilaaj hai, magar maut kaa koyee ilaaj naheen,

duniyaavee hisaab kitaab hai, koyee daawaa-e-khudayee naheen"

Roughly translated:

"Diseases can also be cured without medication, but there is no remedy for death. This (LalKitab system) is an account of one’s worldly going-about, it is NOT God’s word/promise"

So, this is definitely not "God’s word" (How conveniently Pt Ashant has chosen to ignore this line and started debunking the dream theory and creating the "akashvanee" theory and then condemning it as a "lateefa. (joke)" Upadhaya Jee, most of your explanation comes directly from Pt Ashant’s book that is why I am mentioning him.)

Another page, that is generally not reproduced by the Copycats, is the second page, under the title "guzaarish" (1938, 1941 and 1942 books)

"kya huaa thaa, kyaa bhee hoga, shounk dil mein aa gayaa

ilm jyotish, hast rekha haal sab farmaa gayaa,

janma kundalee yaa ke chandar, hissay do batlaa gayaa,

haath dayaan, le ke baayaan, bhed hai samjha gayaa….

…

is tarah par kundalee pooree, kar kay jab banwaa gayaa,

haal sab graha khaanaa varee, is mein hai likhvaa gayaa

Roughly translated:

The past and the future (what did and what will happen) became my hobby, (he) dictated the knowledge of astrology and palmistry in detail, (he) revealed two parts – the birth chart and the lunar chart whether to consider the left or the right hand, (he) explained the difference

…

this way, (he) after explaining the entire horoscope, and thus dictated (in dictation form) the entire description of each house (and planet)

From the same page, (quoting the 1942 edition and this is in the 1952 edition also)

Item number 7 (title page "bay" – as in Urdu alphabet ‘alaf’, ‘bay’)

"Mazmoon kee galtee bataanay wala is ilam ko baDhaanay ke liye, sabsay madadgaar dost hoga. Aslee dost wo hai jo nuqs bataaye"

TRANSLATED:

The one who points out errors/defects in/of this "ilm" will be the most helpful person in the expansion of this knowledge. A true friend is the one who points out shortcomings.

In summary, the point I am making here is that:

Nowhere does it say that this knowledge is revealed by God and is His promise (to solve all your problems)

There is definitely a room for improvement and therefore the knowledge (of Lal Kitab) is open to be questioned/examined/researched/corrected.

2. (My take) In reality, the books are the results of the interpretation of Pt Roop Chand jee of the basic knowledge that he received in his dreams. His interpretation may be incomplete or flawed. (In 1952 edition, he mentions that "duniyadaron nay is ilm ko apnay hisaab say likha hai….something to that effect, I don’t have the ’52 edition right in front of me at this writing.) >>>

{ c } ... that this book was written by Arun the charioteer of Sungod. Later Ravan took it away to Lanka and from there itreached the middle east. It traveled back to India. This was aneffort to get the book into the Samhita ranks , like otherastrological samhitas in the name of rishis ,while at the same time trying to justify the use of urdu and persian words.Not many people believe that either.

<<<This Ravan theory was started by Arun Publications to market his books (As if Surya’s charioteer was this Arun’s uncle and gave him the knowledge – he claims to be doing "research" on "writing" the LalKitab; how ridiculous can he get. Research? What research, give us all a break please "Dr" Arun.) Incidentally, in LalKitab, there is an equal number, if not more, of Punjabi words and phrases as the Urdu and Persian words. So does it then not make it a "suspect" Punjabi book? The middle-eastern origin is absolutely bogus and should not even warrant a mention.>>>

The fact is very simple : this is a book of astrology and thatit was first published in 1939 by shri Girdhari Lal SharmaAll subsequent publications are elaboration / explaination of the original. Every thing else about the book is irrelevant. All these books are available with some individuals or in the libraries. Q.3 Which Vedic parampara it comes from ?Of course from the same parampara as Sanket nidhi , JatakParijat ,Sarvarth Chintamani etc. You have to bear in mind thatthis book is a result of collective wisdom of a society whichhad lived in isolation of the northern hills for centuries . Thistradition is still in use all the way from Kashmir to the Garhwal hills of Uttaranchal. In the Punjab it came to be known as Lal kitab , because of its first documentation appeared in the red binding, where as in the plains of Uttar Pradesh it is known as Pahari Jyotish. As the societies living in isolation grow

theirown idiom , culture and points of references , similarly thistradition of astrology had also developed its own idiom and'grammar'. But the difference of idiom or the grammar does not make it come from any other parampara . You know the growthof Indo-European languages.

<<<This is a figment of Pt. Krishan Ashant’s imagination. Admitted that I don’t live in India but I visit India very frequently and I have NEVER seen/heard anything like LalKitab type jyotish "in use from Kashmir…to Garhwal hills." Nor have any of my friends heard/seen this (These are knowledgeable, practicing astrologers in India.) Where are these "PahaRi" pandits hiding? How come something similar to LalKitab hasn’t been unearthed yet? NOBODY has ever talked about this "centuries old system" theory except Pt Ashant. >>>

Q 4 . Has this Lal Kitab knowledge been recognized by the Vedic Spiritual masters ?Do we really need that ? We are the end users and it is wewho have to recognize the validity of an empirical tool. Tome astrology is just a tool , nothing sacrosanct about it . I don't care who manufactured the device so long it is usefulto me.I hope I have been able to answer your questions.With regards,Upadhyay Respectfully,

Rajinder Bhatia

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