Masterjee: Indian celebrity astrologer
HE is one of the best astrologers in the world, and the rich and famous use his eerily accurate predictions to peek into their own future.
Indian guru Masterjee has spent decades using his amazing talents to provide lifestyle guidance to thousands of people. Demi Moore and Goldie Hawn are just two of the Hollywood stars who regularly fly to the sunny paradise of Goa to seek his advice.
Masterjee, his real name is Pralhad Brndurao Hulyalkar, has spent his entire life developing his skills in astrology. He is in great demand. “Goldie Hawn comes to India to see him regularly and also keeps in touch by email,” says a colleague. “She’s found her precision to be incredible. He helps guide her life.”
Masterjee, 81, has studied Eastern astrology for most of his life. He trained to be a lawyer before going into teaching, where he really discovered his talent for predicting the future.
“Really, it’s about calculating the position of the planets at the exact moment someone was born,” he explains. “In that sense, it’s science, it’s applied mathematics. But you also have to have the power to see beyond the calculations. You learn that through experience and meditation, that’s the psychic part.”
Masterjee uses the 5000 year old Indian method of astrology, which is different from what is found and used in the West. “In the West, the equinox changes on the 21st or 22nd of each month, the date you go from one zodiac sign to the next,” he explains.
“In India, it’s different. The equinox changes on the 14th or 15th of the month. That means you might be a different zodiac sign here. We also depend on the constellations.
“In the West, astrologers use the sun as a starting point, which they consider a constellation. We don’t see it as a planet for calculation purposes. Instead, we use a blue star behind the sun that we call Xotium as the starting point. .”
Masterjee says that Eastern calculations for astrology tend to be more detailed and accurate than those used in the West. “We can predict, for example, how long someone will be sick, how her body will function, and which remedies will be most helpful. There is a lot of research going on in the West on this, but we already know the answers.”
It is possible to use the system to predict events, he adds. “But I don’t do that. I’m more interested in helping individual people.”
Masterjee consults from his own offices at the five-star luxury Fort Aguada Beach Resort in North Goa. It may be in high demand from world famous celebrities, but anyone can visit it and get a prediction for a very reasonable price.
Its precision is amazing. I give him my date and place of birth and he begins his calculations, doodling on a grid. He tells me that I am a Scorpio in the west but, due to the equinox difference, in India I am a Libra.
In a matter of seconds – and without asking questions – he tells me that I am a writer, that I have back problems, that I am affectionate and sensitive. All true. He reveals other personal details that no one could possibly know, such as the fact that I have diabetes and am the mother of a son. It is enormously impressive.
“I can predict the future up to 30 years in advance,” he adds. So what is your own future? “I love this job and I’ll continue as long as I can. The stars say I won’t have any diseases and I’ll live to be 92 or 93. I’m happy with that, even though my own father lived to be 98!”