In Modern India, Two Busy Paths To Mental Peace

An Astrologer and His Therapist Son Find Both Their Approaches Popular

NOIDA, India -- Whenever an exasperated new bride sought guidance on handling an overbearing mother-in-law or a businessman was in need of advice, astrologer K.B. Parsai always found answers for them by looking to the stars, which he says are the source of life's fortunes.

These days, though, many Indians are taking advice from people such as Parsai's son, VK Parsai, one of this country's growing number of psychotherapists. VK believes the source of life's fortunes -- or misfortunes, as the case may be -- usually turns out to be parents, not planets.

This does not please the elder Parsai.

"Twenty-five generations of my ancestors were astrologers. We were warrior astrologers who went to the battlefields on horseback to make predictions," K.B., who is nearly deaf, bellowed at his son the other day after pushing his walker into the family living room in their home in this New Delhi suburb. "Astrology can tell you everything about a person."

The Parsais practice two vastly different styles of counseling. But few households better illustrate the push and pull of Indian society -- modern and ancient existing side-by-side -- than that of an astrologer and a shrink.

In everyday life, Indians are used to such a mix. Glass and steel buildings pierce the sky alongside venerable Hindu temples and crumbling castles. McDonald's and Pizza Hut outlets stand next to street-side stalls serving traditional Indian fare. Young people groove to classic Hindu songs fused with hip-hop. Corporations build multimillion-dollar call centers based on India's version of feng shui, known as vaastu.

"Leave all windows open," the father of the nation, Mohandas K. Gandhi, once said, setting forth a national philosophy encouraging what Indian scholars call a "simultaneity of eras."

While the country has succeeded in maintaining its "Indian-ness," accepting fresh ideas from the outside has not always been easy, especially for older generations.

K.B. Parsai, who is 85 and wears traditional Indian dress, has served as astrologer to several prime ministers, including Indira Gandhi. Parsai's son, VK, is 50, slightly built and wears Western-style pants and wire-rimmed glasses. He looks admiringly at his father, shrugging that he respectfully disagrees with him on how to soothe a shattered soul.

"Psychology will solve your problems by exploring feelings, insecurities, the need for love. It will ask: Is this a cultural pattern or is it handed down from mother to daughter? It doesn't blame destiny. It tells you to look within," VK Parsai said, before his finger-waving father interrupted.

"We don't need to dig into medical or other problems," the astrologer offered.

In modern India, both psychology and astrology have large followings. Mental health services have expanded in recent years to match the growth of the country's middle and upper-middle classes. At the same time, Indian astrology -- known as jyotisha, from the Sanskrit word for light -- has experienced a renaissance, as its practitioners have been called on for advice on everything from investments to business expansion plans.