“Heavens And Earth” is an interesting read, the author Garima Garg takes us to a journey of Astrology from beginning to the form as it is presently is. Though many dub Astrology as something related to superstition but this is not completely true, there is a science behind it. Though the prediction on any subject may vary but the method of arriving at conclusion has a logical process which has evolved over a period of time. The pivot on which the future rotates is The KARMA, that one can bring good things in life by focusing on the Karma. Astrology has a presence in many aspects of our lives and this book elucidates it beautifully.

I came across a book, ‘HEAVENS AND EARTH’ authored by “Garima Garg” . What attracted me was a quote written on the face of the cover, “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy”. This quote was taken from Hamlet by William Shakespeare.
The message was that there’s always something more intriguing than that meets the eye. The book is on Astrology and what makes it interesting is that it gives us a 360-degree angle of the subject. Even a novice, having a little inclination, will be able to understand the philosophical and scientific world of Astrology.
The books start from explaining COSMOLOGY and gradually takes us to ASTROLOGY with special reference to Indian Astrology, the BIRTH CHART or anatomy of Kundli and Navagraha, very unique to our culture, tradition and practice and then to the most fascinating Stories of Nakshatras and other Stars.
Astrology has the branch which predicts the future, the degree of accuracy varies, depending upon a number of factors. The main force lying behind what happens or is going to happen to any person, is his or her KARMA. Lord Krishna on the battle field has said to Arjuna that Karma is like a calf who finds his mother amongst a thousand cows. No matter how smart you have acted upon but one day everyone has to answerable to the deeds done. An instance is given of Yudhister, who walked to the gates of heaven. At the gates, the entry was not allowed to him saying that he is being followed by a dog right from Earth and dogs do not have any place here. If he desires to enter then he has to abandon his dog. Yudhister chose to go the Hell instead where the dog could accompany him. On reaching the gates of hell, he was told that he was drifted to Hell because in the battle of Mahabharata, he had a role in causing the death of Guru Dronacharya. Guru Dronacharya was tricked to death by giving a news of death of Aswathama. In reality, an elephant named Aswathama had died but this piece of information was kept secret. Guru Dronacharya had the impression that his son died and he then laid down his weapon in grief.
Cosmology has always attracted all alike, star gazing used to be the favorite activities of ours when we were taken by our parents to the village. The clear sky their and disposal of ample time with us enabled us to pay our attention to the intriguing sky. Various zodiac sign can be seen by the imaginary lines drawn from one star to the other, the most obvious formation being the Sapt-rishi or alignment of seven stars.
Every 26,000 years, we get a different star marking Earth’s North Pole because our planet’s changing rotational axis, known as the precession of the equinoxes. Polaris or Dhruv Tara is the North Star today, but it used to be Vega or the Abhijit Nakshatra around 12,000 BCE. The sidereal zodiac is the basis of Jyotish (Indian Astrology), takes the fixed stars as its main point of refence so as to be more astronomically aligned. Because of axial precession, there is a difference of about 24 degrees between the two zodiacs which reflects in birth charts and the interpretation as well.

It is interesting to note that Chandrashekhar Samant was the last great naked-eye astronomer in India. He was born on 13th December, 1835, after his formal education ended, he taught himself Lagadha’s Vedanga Jyotish. He found himself drawn towards mathematics and astronomy. Through his own observations, he found that the planets and stars did not appear to be in the positions as predicted by the Hindu astronomical Siddhanta texts. Neither did these texts explain what kind of instruments could be used to make such a measurement nor the methods used to arrive at them. So, he took it upon himself to correct the gap. The measurements for the sidereal periods of the Navagrahas and inclinations of the orbits of the planets to the ecliptic given by him are almost exactly close to that of modern day measurements.
As per the author, astrology is so very related in our daily life. English Playwright William Shakespeare, helped immortalize the story of star-crossed lovers in his play Romeo and Juliet. The Italian poet, Dante Alighieri, attributed his poetic gift to the constellation Gemini. Celebrated Irish poet, William Butler Yeats was an expert astrologer and astrological themes centering on the moon, fate and destiny often showed up in his work.
So, I would say, astrology do have an impact in our lives, the degree may vary from person to person. After all, we are a part of this cosmic whole and the universe is made up in such a manner that one have a effect on other in some way or the other. This is for the reader to find out and experience the content in order to reach any conclusion.