Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars!

Twinkle twinkle little stars; How I wonder what you are; Up above the world so high; Like a diamond in the sky. Sounds familiar doesn’t it ? Well, of course it does…we all have grown up with this famous little rhyme by Jane Taylor. But have we ever wondered if there is anything more to these resplendent little spots than just what simply meets the eye ? I think most of us have, and some have not; But irrespective of whatever curiosity we might have had….almost everyone of us, at some point of time, must have admired in awe the beauty of nature – the “art” of GOD.

However, these stars are not merely a spectacle to behold (By the way, I am not talking about the stars of the silver screen). These stars, as some would say, rule our destiny. Astrologers and every honourable member of their creed, would swear by the stars….ummmm…..I have a question here…..”our stars” or “their stars” ? I think swearing by our stars would certainly be more profitable for them. Jokes apart, a significant chunk of the global population does believe in these heavenly bodies. They are said to control our entire life – our past, our present and our future. For reasons unknown, people do believe that gems and precious stones do help us tide over the many problems in life – rather, one would say these tiny and beautiful chunks of rock help us in controlling the stars, and thereby, our destiny. To the astrologers, gems and stones, are a means of correcting the celestial paths. It sounds funny, but they are actually supposed to bring a derailed train (a mischievous star) back on track.

But do these really work ? Science would say “NO !”…astrologers would say “YES !”. But what should we, the commoners, say ? I think the best and the most obvious answer would be “I DON’T KNOW !”. I choose to differ here. I think we do know. When I was a teenager, one of my uncles, who was into astrology, advised me to wear a green emerald. I was a student then…a really good one….and I was of an age where one couldn’t possibly have too many problems in life. So my parents thought that such faith in astrology was unjustified and not desirable. However, as my mom didn’t want to upset her brother, she got me a pretty little emerald wrapped in gold and kept it in my locker. I never wore that thing and soon I forgot about the entire fate stuff. Things went on smoothly for me….I cleared the Joint Entrance Examinations, got a good score and enrolled for engineering.

As “fate” would have it, one of my semesters didn’t go too well, and in one of my weak moments, I decided to resort to that tiny little gem stashed away in my locker a couple of years ago. I wondered…”Maybe uncle was right. I really needed that gem.”. So I got a nice gold ring made for myself and wore that shiny green litle emerald on my ring finger. I was all too happy that my sems would be great. As you must have guessed by now, my performance in the next semester was also average. Frustrated, I took off my ring and put it back to where it belonged – my locker !!! Surprisingly, after another six months, I topped the entire batch in my semester exams – this time, without the ring. I realised that my destiny is in my own hands. But this does not mean that I am a non-believer of astrology and the associated “sciences”. From several other experiences in my life, I have come to understand that gems do have an effect on us. The effect is the colour effect.

Gems come in different shapes and colours and this contributes to their light absorbing properties. Since light is a form of energy, these gems absorb some part of the energy and discard the rest. The energy which they selectively absorb influences human beings in different ways. The so-called postive and negative energies in astrology or feng-shui may be explained in terms of these tiny aborbers. They do influence human health and behaviour and this creates a ripple-effect which ultimately goes on to influence our future. However, these gems and stars do not have any effect on our destiny. Our destiny is shaped by our activities and we are the master of our own future. If a person does not write, he will never become an author. The stars cannot make us what we are not and what we do not want to be. They simply act as an aid….as a flashlight which might or might not light up our world when there is darkness all around. The message is simple….if the flashlight does not work, we have to light a match. If there are no match sticks, we have to make do with flint stones. At the end of the day, we have to create our own light. If we ask GOD to make us courageous….he won’t simply grant us our wish…instead he will give us an oppurtunity to be courageous.

Even as I am penning down this random thought which came across my mind, my eyes are frequently glancing over that shiny little green emerald on my fingers….the same fingers which can help me write my own destiny….”Twinkle twinkle little stars..”….indeed!