Hindu Divination: The Oracle of Rama, Nadi Astrology, Tarot Card
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. The popular Nadi Astrology, practised in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and some other parts of India, could be considered part of this system of divination.
Divination in various forms throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens, or through alleged contact with a supernatural agency.
Divination, although has long been criticised, especially in the modern era where it has dismissed by the scientific community and skeptics as being superstition, has been deemed a systematic method with which to organize what appear to be disjointed, random facets of existence such that they provide insight into a problem at hand.
If a distinction is to be made between divination and fortune-telling, divination has a more formal or ritualistic element and often contains a more social character, usually in a religious context, as seen in traditional African medicine. Fortune-telling, on the other hand, is a more everyday practice for personal purposes. Particular divination methods vary by culture and religion.
Hinduism and Divination
India has a vast and accurate system of astrology, Vedic astrology, and many other oracles and systems of divination. The oracle of Rama is, Dr. David Frawley says, "the best of shorter divination methods used in India and one of the simplest and easiest to use." (pg. 13, The Oracle of Rama).
Oracles are a means, Frawley posits, "to gain advice or special knowledge about our destiny by consulting cosmic powers that transcend the ordinary mind. They allow us to access the deeper intelligence of the universe usually not available to us, trapped as we are on our outer senses and egocentric consciousness. Most traditional cultures have oracles which are consulted for crucial decisions in life." (pg. 18, The Oracle of Rama)
Dr. David Frawley has written numerous authoritative books on the Vedas, Hinduism, Yoga, Ayurveda and Vedic astrology. As with all other books of his, The Oracle of Rama too reads well and smoothly. It is an adaptation of Saint Tulasidas's "Rama Ajna Prashna", a short popular work by tulasidas, based on the Ramayana. It contains 343 verses. The famous 16th century saint gave the world this oracle. It is, as Frawley says, "not only a great oracle but also a spiritual and poetic vision of the highest order." The Oracle of Rama is an adaptation and not a translation of Tulasidas.
This text can be strongly recommended to anyone who is into divination, and is keen on practising it safely. If one closely follows the instructions as to how to use the Oracle that Frawley gives in the introductory pages of the book, one can be more than sanguine that the Oracle will bring about a huge change in one's spiritual and earthly life.
Question 1: Sometimes, we don't know what to do, so we pray to God. But we do not get answer to our questions, for instance. And we have no one about us to advise us for it can only be answered by God. What can we do?
Swami Paramatmananda (aka Neal Rosner): "There are various ways (to get an answer to our queries). You can put a 'yes' and a 'no' paper in front of (God). Ask the question and then close your eyes and pick one of the papers. But don't be like the people who go on picking up the paper until they get the answer that they want! In the 60s and 70s, many people used a Chinese oracle called the I-Ching. They would throw coins and read the I-Ching until it told them what they wanted to hear. You can't do it like that. You try it once, and then you do what it says....
"As a last resort, take a book of (a mahatma=enlightened master) and just open it at any page and read it. That will be the solution to your problem,. Just try it. There will be something that's so suitable, as if (God) Himself is sitting in front of you and telling you what to do. (pgs. 93-94, 95, Talks Vol. 5) [Swamiji is a direct disciple of Mata Sri Amritanandamayi]
Question 2: Does this practice have the support of the Hindu scriptures?
Vamadeva Shastri (aka David Frawley): Oracles are always popular because we are interested in...the meaning of our lives.... India is perhaps the country most concerned with the spiritual and the occult...it has a vast and accurate...oracles and systems of divination.... (The Oracle of Rama is one of them.) (pg. 9, The Oracle of Rama)
Source: The Oracle of Rama by David Frawley.
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