I Grew Up in A Family of Renowned Astrologers — Here’s What I Learned

Astrology isn’t a predictive art, but a probabilistic pseudo-science

Image by Mira Cosic from Pixabay

Not many people around me know this, but I’ve had the privilege to grow up in a household where my maternal grandfather and one of my uncles (my mother’s eldest brother) have been the recipients of the President’s awards for academic contribution to the fields of Astrology and Sanskrit.

My late grandfather, Acharya Diwakar Dutt Sharma, was a renowned astrologer and a principal of a Sanskrit college, and also had the privilege of naming his home state — Himachal Pradesh, one of the 28 states in India.

After retiring from his job in education, he practiced astrology as a hobby, where people from across India would come to his home, and seek his advice. He didn’t have a “fee” but allowed people to pay honorariums if they so desired, or take his services for free.

Thanks to the intriguing nature of astrology and its rich influence on my family on my mom’s side, even my dad got intrigued and took a year-long course to learn astrology and would learn from his father-in-law on our summer trips to my grandparents.

So naturally, my life, with my dad and my maternal grandfather, and a few other uncles all being serious…