Posted on 07/23/2013 7:55:25 PM PDT by Kip Russell
Before taking the extreme step, he told his mother who, after consulting an astrologer, said that praying at a temple would help. But the youth was not convinced.
Anand V H was all of 23, and an engineering graduate to boot. But he was superstitious too — so superstitious that he ended his life on Thursday, all because a crow perched itself on his head -- twice -- the previous day. Anand committed suicide allegedly by consuming poison at his rented accommodation on 3rd Cross, 5th Main, Manjunath Nagar in Rajajinagar. The incident came to light Thursday morning after his older brother, who was in Gadag (420 km from Bangalore near Dharwad), got worried and came to check on him.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Anand got very upset after a crow sat on his head on Wednesday. He immediately called up his mother and narrated the entire incident to her, expressing fears that it augured ill — a belief among a section of Hindus. His mother tried to allay his fears and told him to visit the Hanumantharaya Swamy temple and light a lamp. Anand, however, was not convinced and went home and locked himself up before taking the drastic step.
“My brother had called my mother, Parvathi, and told her about the crow. He was very tense when he spoke. My mother rushed to an astrologer and on his advice told Anand to pray at the Hanumantharaya Swamy temple," V H Hampanna, elder brother of the victim, told Bangalore Mirror.
He went on to add that a few minutes later he called up Anand, but didn’t get any response. He presumed his younger sibling was resting as he used to wake up by 5.30 am to go to work and take a nap after returning from work around 4.45 pm.
Hampanna said he came to Bangalore on Thursday morning, and when Anand failed to open the door despite repeated knocking, he let himself in with his spare keys. “Once I opened the door, I found my brother lying on the floor with froth coming out of his mouth. I immediately rushed him to a private hospital where doctors declared him brought dead,” he said.
Colleagues told the police a visibly disturbed Anand had narrated the incident to them on reaching office on Wednesday morning. He had told them the first time the crow perched itself on his head, he took to his heels. But he had a second brush with the persistent crow, following which he again fled the spot. Later, he took the office bus.
Hampanna and Anand were living together in the rented house. Hampanna had gone to Gadag when Anand took the extreme step. Anand, who had completed his BE from a college in Gadag, had been a trainee engineer with HAL for the past seven months.
Hampanna, however, said they were awaiting the post-mortem report as no poison bottle was found in the house. “I am waiting for the post-mortem report, but even I think he took the extreme step due to the crow incident.”
Police said it was likely Anand consumed the poison elsewhere, and had then come home and locked himself in. His body was handed over to the family after post-mortem. A case of unnatural death was registered at Basaveshwaranagar police station, and investigation is on.
Crow Chronicles
With a clientele that includes VVIPs, astrologer Chandrashekhar Swami who made headlines after he matched the horoscopes of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai and gave his consent for the marriage offers an insight into the incident. He says people generally have a wrong belief about the crow because the bird is the vehicle of Lord Shani. “But there is a positive sign behind a crow sitting on anyone’s head. It means the crow has sensed danger ahead and is alerting the person. If something like this happens, one should conduct a puja and correct mistakes, if any,” said the swami, adding one should, in fact, thank the crow for sending out an advance warning.
Apart from this, it is believed that a crow lives for 1,000 years and, hence, it would have seen our ancestors. “They come in the form of a crow and alert us about problems. So, take corrective measures. Suicide is not the solution,” he added.
Astrologer Banu Prakash Sharma says according to astrology the soul of a person who ends his life unnaturally, is said to reside in the crow. “After death, such a soul will not have or find any place to settle down, so it enters the eggs of a crow,” says Sharma.
Hence, it is considered a bad omen if it enters a house or touches a human being. Sharma said crows never die a natural death. “That’s why the family members of a deceased offer curd rice to crows to ensure the soul of the dead person is at peace,” Sharma added.
Hm...I've seen that alleged before, but...
Taking out the oceans, the difference between the highest point on Earth (Mr. Everest) and the lowest (Mariana Trench) is about 13 miles...that's roughly one part in six hundred as compared to the Earth's diameter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_%28bearing%29
As I read the chart, the highest grade ball bearings (Grade 3), which have a diameter of up to 2 inches, have a maximum variation in diameter of 0.000003 inches...which is a heck of a lot smoother than the Earth, being a variation of only one part in 600,000!
Deep, real deep.
A little harsh, given that I didn’t attribute it to a character, but then again neither did www.goodreads.com, the first source my search for the quote revealed....
Hmmm. Good to know. Thanks!
Hey Kip, is you a scientist fella, or does ya just read about ‘em?
Not directed at you! I just recalled the situation when the author (Stirling) was being criticized for his "Draka" series of alternate history novels:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Domination
Some people thought the "Bad Guys" in the series were portrayed too sympathetically. He pointed out, "It's a dystopia, you twit", and also made the point virtually none of the great tyrants throughout history have ever actually considered themselves to be evil.
Ah! I though you wuz slammin’ editor-surveyor. I couldn’t let that happen for something I said.
I read a lot of layman-level science (and science fiction...), with a heavy emphasis on astronomy, and have some college background in physics and math, but I've never had a career in science.
Life doesn't always work out as one plans in one's youth.
One word disproves Astrology
Non-Geocentric
For Astrology to be true
1. The Earth would have to be flat
2. The center of the universe
3. All the stars the same distance away.
In reality none of those things are true
The fact that men who didn’t know what the universe was actually like proves nothing. They were smart, they may have been ahead of their time. They didn’t have the facts we have today
Not to mention that astronomical/astrological precession has altered all the “signs”.
Non-Geocentric
And then there's the fact that the obstetrician who delivers the baby exerts more gravitational force on it at the time of birth than the planet Pluto does...!
Somehow, I knew he was Indian just from the headline.
Look forward to the moment, it is just barely ahead. Take good care, Kip Russell.
One could use the same 3 points to argue the Bible is false.
Johnny Depp had a crow on his head....
Wrong kind of Indian...
lol
“One could use the same 3 points to argue the Bible is false.”
No actually you can’t
In the book of Genesis it states that the moon and stars are there to basically provide a calendar (Genesis 1:14). Stars are also called “The abode of Angels” they are not held up as items of worship or said to have either predictive power or influence over a person’s life. You do not have believe the Earth is the literal center of the universe to be a Christian. However, if it is not the center then Astrology can never be correct.
In ancient times, up through Copernicus it was acceptable to believe in the veracity of Astrology simply because it was thought to be a true explanation of the universe. Thus it was not sinful for the ancients to reference it. They simply didn’t and COULDN’T know better
There are other problems with the Bible. This is not one of them.
At Great Basin National Park, a house wren had a nest on top of our motel room’s porch light. 3 times, as I would unlock the door, it would fly down onto me, once even landing inside my shirt pocket. It WAS a laughing matter.
Been dive attacked by a pair of nighthawks, too; that was not so amusing: they went straight for the face at full throttle.
That IS NOT repeat NOT what I said.
I said the charges you leveled against astrology could also be leveled against the Bible.
You said in order for astrology to be true one would have to think the earth was flat.
Isaiah 11:12Unless you know of some four cornered sphere, the Bible says the earth is flat.
And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.Revelation 7:1
And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
You said one would have to believe the earth is the center of the universe.
Visit any thread referencing even the possibility of life on other planets, and you're apt to find a dozen FReepers who insist that God created the entire rest of the universe bereft of life, that we are the center of His creation.
You said one would have to believe all the stars are equidistant from the earth. Find me a single Biblical reference that says they aren't.
IOW, the strawman reasons you give for astrology to be false could equally apply to the Bible.
What you've done is to use poor arguments against astrology that could be equally applied to the Bible.
You would be better served to use the Bible to argue against astrology.
You could have for example, referenced Deuteronomy 18:9-13 and Gal.5:19-20 to better effect.
Now don't go misquoting me, or deliberately misunderstanding me again. NOTHING, repeat NOTHING I am saying even remotely means that I think there is any actual basis for astrology, nor do I subscribe to it, nor to I believe that it has any predictive, explicative, or diagnostic value whatsoever.
EXCEPT if you know that someone else believes in astrology, you can use their horoscope to predict what they will do based on their belief in their horoscope! This is why Britain hired astrologers in WWII to predict Hitler's actions...
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