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The question of predetermination has long been a much-debated one in spirituality: how much of what we do is down to destiny or fate, and how much is open to us to change? Many of us feel like we are forever buffeted about by 'the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune' whist there are some people who just seem to rise above it all and command their own destiny.

Just as there are physical laws governing the motion of everything we see, there are also subtle laws governing the ebbs and tides of man's life. Astrology is the science of predicting future events based on past events that have already been recorded in the stars. People differ on how well astrology can predict the future, some swearing by it whilst others dismissing it as little more than a swindle.

However, spiritual teachers, on the strength of their inner experiences, say it depends on how advanced the person is in the spiritual life. The more oneness a person has with God, the more God can place him out of reach of the forces of his past. "Astrology is one hundred per cent correct when one is totally in the physical world and is living an ordinary human life.", writes teacher Sri Chinmoy in his book 'Astrology, the Supernatural and the Beyond'. "When one enters into the inner life, the spiritual life, it is sixty or seventy per cent correct. If the aspirant is in touch consciously or unconsciously with his inner being, and if his inner being is constantly in touch with the Source, there will be many, many bad things that he can avoid. Finally, when one is consciously in communion with God, astrology does not function at all for that person, because everything in his life comes directly from God."

When he was young, Sri Chinmoy had an experience which vividly demonstrated this: his elder brother took his astrological chart to an astrologer who used the Bhrigu system, the most accurate and time-honoured of all the astrological systems. The astrologer looked at the chart and predicted that at the age of twelve, his horoscope would not function anymore. The prediction proved correct, because at the age of thirteen Sri Chinmoy attained that state of communion with God, whereupon the astrological laws did not apply to him anymore.

In addition many spiritual teachers take steps, inwardly and outwardly, to protect their students from astrological forces. The great spiritual Master, Sri Yukteshwar, used to provide astrological bracelets made out of copper or silver to his students to negate these forces. On the other hand, many teachers advise their students not to worry at all about astrology, and concentrate on developing their inner life; Sri Ramakrishna was a famous example of this, always telling anyone who came to him to just concentrate on love of God. Sri Chinmoy also feels it is generally better not to predict the future. "I personally do not like to predict anything," he says, "because very often we break the cosmic Law in predicting the future. We do not allow this future to be expressed the way it was intended by God."

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