Cosmic Conspiracy or Criminal Negligence?

“The celestial bodies are the cause of all that takes place in the sub-lunar world” — OR is it a bunch of hooey?
Growing up in India, astrology was all around me — a lunar based system that explains, correlates and even predicts life events based on the placement of the planets and the stars at the time of one’s birth (a birth horoscope or natal chart as it is called) and the ongoing planetary cycles (where the planet is currently transiting in the sky). A system that is said to provide a window into one’s past life karma and one that profoundly influences what life has in store from birth to death. A set of outcomes — favorable or unfavorable — determined even before you start playing the game of life. Talk about unfair! Scientific or not, everybody was trapped in it to some extent. Some lived and breathed by their readings while some consulted astrology at major milestones (while looking to get married or entering higher education or career) or during difficult times for remedies — ways to appease the planets and mitigate the negative effects. Even the highly educated and so-called skeptics were curious about this ubiquitous belief system.
My own family didn’t get into it that much. But, since it was customary, they did create a natal chart for me and my siblings but turned out that mine was astrologically useless since my time of birth was not accurately recorded-apparently it had a “10 minute” margin of error which was too big to make any accurate predictions on my life — though, later, in my early adulthood, some family and friends consulted an astrologer who claimed that he was able to deduce my exact time of birth using some calculations and create an accurate natal chart — only to predict that it was a bit of a rough patch (something I already knew:-) and that it was matter of time before I overcame it (also something I knew:-) — but, it gave my folks some comfort-so, I didn’t mind it. I remained indifferent to astrology and led life based on free will, personal responsibility and faith in a higher power-call it the Universe or God.
But, somewhere along the way, I started to peek into astrology from time to time out of curiosity and found striking correlations between planetary transits and the highs and lows of my life — as intriguing as it was, I managed to stay on the fringes and not get sucked into it. But, a recent experience –a colossal loss set me back– Here is what happened:
Jan 8, 2016: The Dream: In the wee hours of the morning, I had the eeriest dream — I hardly ever remember dreams but this was so vivid…I saw my dad (who had passed away many years ago) for the first time ever in my dream -he tells me not to be scared and get on a boat with him …then we reach what looks like a Shiva temple.. I hear loud chants and festivities-and then we walk along the ocean — so beautiful and serene –and I see an image of a huge five-headed snake out in the water and a frail man standing on a rock next to it and the next thing I saw was the man fall into the water… I panic and ask my dad what happened and he tells me that the man died-that he was crossing a dangerous path. I woke up shuddering and at that exact same moment got a call from India that my dearest brother had just passed away.
What ensued was not only traumatic but the greatest test of my belief system. Getting on a trans-pacific flight to go half way across the world for my brother’s funeral was rough enough. But little did I know that I was going to be faced with two completely different explanations for his death — one, a case based on astrology that my brother’s wife laid out in extreme detail and another based on facts.
The Facts — Criminal Negligence
My brother, Karthi, who was 53, had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer but thankfully it was early Stage-1 and he was otherwise very healthy. He was being treated at the best hospital and by the best doctors in the business of cancer in India-doctors who had God-like reputation. He was expected to make full recovery. Instead, he died a very painful death in less than two years. Cancer did not kill him-the treatment did. I was following his treatment closely. An initial mistake in treatment approach led to more surgeries and aggressive levels of chemotherapy (something the doctors had initially said he would not require based on the type of cancer and early detection)-despite all that, my brother was not at imminent risk of dying. Per the doctors, his prognosis was good and he was going to make it. He had just finished all of his chemo sessions and even slowly started going back to work. He was weak from undergoing all the treatment but was mentally very strong and positive.
So, I strongly felt that something else must have triggered his sudden death. Sure enough, what I found was gut-wrenching-Between the medical records, a conversation with the chief doctor about my brother’s visit to the hospital the night before and the series of symptoms he experienced after (the doctor was very evasive and uncomfortable during that call-he kept telling me it wasn’t the treatment — that it had to be an unrelated event, even suggested that people dropped dead for no reason and without a post-mortem report there was no way to know), my brother’s own desperate text messages to his wife in his last hours about his worsening symptoms (she was at work and unfortunately never saw his messages until it was too late) and a chance viewing of a drug commercial (days later after I returned to the US), I was able to piece together what happened:
· When he went to the hospital the night before, he was given a very high risk injection (to boost his white blood cell count) for the very first time and sent home without explaining any of the risks, side-effects or symptoms to watch for. Based on that drug’s literature, it should have been administered as an in-patient and monitored at least for the first time.
· My brother started experiencing symptoms right after coming home that night and it progressively got worse — When his wife called the doctor early next morning explaining the symptoms, instead of asking her to rush him to the hospital, he asked her to give him some generic allergy medication- which she did and went to work shortly after. Few hours later, the symptoms escalated and my brother died at home alone after several attempts to reach his wife.
· The paramedics from the hospital came and simply pronounced him dead. No procedures were followed. Not sure if there were any. No post mortem was ordered. A death certificate was obtained soon after from a random doctor who had never treated or seen my brother before. The hospital system was broken and the doctors were criminally negligent but they got away.
The Cosmic Conspiracy theory:
According to my brother’s wife, his death had nothing to do with any of these facts. Nothing could have prevented it. She laid out with great conviction a very detailed ‘astrological’ case for his passing — According to her, it was a perfect celestial storm that day — a day of dark and malefic transit of Rahu and Ketu (nodal points of the moon considered to be planets in Vedic Astrology) and also the Great Night of Shiva, the God of Death. Given his natal chart, that combination had to be deadly. It was his time to go. She said that the celestial force was so powerful that it kept her away from him and his messages that day to make sure she couldn’t rush him to the hospital and save his life. She also said that my disturbing dream was nothing but that celestial event and I had witnessed his death as it happened! A live feed of his passing so to speak! And with every passing day, her version got crazier and more convoluted.
Though I knew the hard facts, I was shaken and confused by the cosmic conspiracy theory. I was so outraged by the hospital and doctors’ conduct that I desperately tried to see if I could pursue any legal action to hold them accountable (only to be told that it would be next to impossible in India, even if there was a post-mortem report) — at the same time, I was so heart-broken that it made me wonder if it was all orchestrated by the celestial bodies like my sister-in-law believed. It messed with my head and belief system badly. The dream haunted me for months. I was torn apart between my rational thinking and a susceptibility to turn to astrology for answers and solace.
But, I worked through it over time and gained a perspective that helped me make my peace and regain my rational thinking. It didn’t matter anymore whether the treatment killed him or other celestial forces were at play. All that mattered was he was in a better place — no more radiation, surgery or harsh chemotherapy — a place free of cancer- a place free of pain and suffering-a place of eternal rest and bliss. While I will miss him forever, that is my true solace.
