Kumala Wijeratne, GPJ Sri Lanka
Astrologer S.A. Pushpa Keerthi worships Buddha and Hindu deities at his shrine room at his home in Nugegoda, Sri Lanka.
NUGEGODA, SRI LANKA — The scents of incense and camphor float through a small room as S. A. Pushpa Keerthi, an astrologer, softly chants Buddhist prayers and worships at a three-tiered shrine.
Each tier holds small statues of Hindu gods and the Buddha, as well as colorful photographs of Hindu gods. A small brass oil lamp is lit, and a platter of offerings containing rice cooked in coconut milk, fruits and flowers is placed before the many gods.
This is Keerthi’s early-morning ritual at his home in Nugegoda, a suburb of Colombo. Through the day, the tall, slim man is confident and direct as he reads palms and consults birth charts.
As a child, Keerthi read the astrological newspapers and magazines his father brought home from his job at the National Livestock Development Board. This was the beginning of a passionate journey in astrology for young Keerthi.
He didn’t have any family members involved in astrology, but he knew early on that he wanted to pursue it. At age 18, he says, he discovered that he had an innate ability to make accurate predictions based on people’s horoscopes and birth charts.
“I got this knowledge through self-study and reading, and at the same time I gained experience by using this knowledge for predictions,” says Keerthi, 49. “Many of them were correct. I had the ability to foresee their future and make birth charts or horoscopes, which they refer to from birth to death.”
Word spread that Keerthi could predict the future. Political candidates consulted him in the lead-up to Sri Lanka’s elections this year, Keerthi says. He won’t reveal the individual predictions he made but says he knew that the election date was not a good one, according to astrological signs, and that the government wouldn’t be able to reach a consensus.
There was no clear winner among the political parties, so a coalition government made of the two main parties was formed after the August election.
“Astrology is a culmination of the mind, karma and the planetary influence of an individual’s birth chart,” he says. “One must view it from all aspects and take the correct course of action in time to prevent malefic, which is the bad effects of certain constellations.”
Keerthi was awarded the honorific title of Deshabandu for his services in astrology by the former president of Sri Lanka in 2011. The title is given for meritorious service to Sri Lanka.
Astrology holds significant sway among most Buddhist and Hindu Sri Lankans. They consult astrologers to determine when to get married, what to name their children, when to feed a baby solid food for the first time, when to first read the alphabet to a child and even when to pierce a baby girl’s ears.
The practice has been part of Sri Lankan culture since the pre-Buddhist era, says Premakumara De Silva, professor in sociology at the Department of Sociology at the University of Colombo. Interest in it deepened in the 1960s, when tabloids began to publish astrological predictions.
Today, astrology plays a vital role in the lives of Buddhists and Hindus, as both a protective and productive measure, De Silva says.
There is no record of the number of current astrologers in Sri Lanka, De Silva says, but he estimates it is in the thousands. Astrologers with a record of accurate predictions are revered.
But even the most respected astrologists can make a wrong prediction.
In 2014, then-Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced that presidential elections would be held Jan. 8, 2015, two years ahead of schedule. The number eight was considered to be an auspicious number for the former president, and it was widely believed that the president’s decision was based on the advice of his astrologer, Sumanadasa Abeygunawardena.
Rajapaksa was defeated in the January elections. The result was a major blow to Abeygunawardena, who, like other astrologers, builds his credibility on accurate predictions.
Keerthi, despite his success as an astrologer, makes his living as a gem merchant. He buys and sells gems mined from his hometown, Ratnapura, famed for its mining of precious and semi-precious gemstones.
His knowledge of gems complements his astrology, he says. Hindus believe there are nine gemstones representing nine planets, and Keerthi helps people select which gems to wear to avoid malefic periods.
Keerthi also uses Ayurvedic knowledge to prescribe herbal remedies and diet and lifestyle changes.
“When one reads a chart, one must also be able to offer a solution if there are health issues,” he says. “So knowledge of traditional medicine is part of the study.”
Keerthi says he does about two chart readings per day because they require focused attention. He charges 2,000 rupees ($14) per reading.
“There’s much money in this service, but my objective is to only serve the people in telling them the truth and advising them when needed,” he says.
And clients ignore his advice at their peril, as some have learned.
Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Sri Lanka’s minister of public administration and management, says he’s been consulting with Keerthi since 2007. In 2013, Keerthi predicted that Madduma Bandara would have bad health, but Madduma Bandara ignored the warning. Six months later, he went to the hospital to be treated for heart failure.
Madduma Bandara says he sees Keerthi once or twice a year but more often if a malefic or ominous period is detected. He says he also occasionally consults with other astrologers.
“Today, astrology dominates politicians, and certain predictions have been biased, making people lose confidence in such astrologers who are rejected by society,” Madduma Bandara says.
But Keerthi has always made clear predictions on his career and health, Madduma Bandara says.
Keerthi says he has a client base of more than 5,000 people, including high-profile clients in politics, the military and diplomatic service. People travel to Sri Lanka to consult with him, he says. Some clients visit him every few weeks, while others come once a year or even less.
The majority of his clients want him to read their horoscopes and birth charts to find auspicious times for events in their lives or to identify upcoming malefic periods and get advice on how to avoid malefic influences.
Some readings can be difficult, Keerthi says, recalling a horoscope reading several years ago when he predicted that the couple consulting with him would be involved in a fatal event. They died in a road accident a few months later, Keerthi says.
He says his predictions have always been accurate. That, along with his discretion, keeps clients coming.
“It’s sacred to be silent about your services for clients as confidentiality is part of astrology,” he says.
People who are struggling to find jobs, cure illnesses or ease money problems find relief in astrology, De Silva says.
“They resort to rituals seeking justice as they find no way out,” he says.
People believe that astrology helps them trace their karma, the impacts of their previous life on their current one, De Silva says.
Keerthi says a positive mind can overcome karma and malefic influences.
His wife of 17 years, Thushantha Kumari Gamage, 45, has watched Keerthi at work since before their marriage, when they were high school sweethearts. Hers was one of the first horoscopes he read, Gamage says.
“Keerthi is very considerate and always tries to develop a person’s mind to be stronger and overcome (evil) forces through advice,” she says. “He believes that a person is born with skills and talent to overcome negative effects in life.”
They have a 15-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter. They live a simple life, Gamage says.
“My husband is very humble and kind. He never was a person seeking big money but prefers to be of service to mankind,” she says.
Kumala Wijeratne, GPJ, translated two interviews from Sinhala.
