In the book "Changing Destiny - A Commentary on Liaofan's Four Lessons" by Master Chin Kung, published online by Amitabha Pureland at http://www.amtbweb.org" we read the following.
"My name used to be Xuehai, which means “broad learning.” I paid a visit to Master Yungu, a venerable Zen master at Qixia Mountain. We sat in meditation, face to face in the Zen hall for three days and nights without sleep. Master Yungu said: “The reason why ordinary people cannot become sages is because of all their wandering thoughts. In our three-day meditation, I have not observed a single thought arise in you. Why?”
I replied that Mr. Kong (who had inherited a very sacred and accurate text on astrology and prediction. The text, written by Shaozi, is called the Imperial Standard of Governing the World) had clearly predicted the entire outcome of my life. I had seen that the time of life, death, promotion, and failure are destined so there was no need for me to think of anything.
The master smiled and replied: “I thought you were someone of remarkable capabilities! Now I realize you are an ordinary person!”
Feeling confused by what Master Yungu had said, I asked him to explain. He told me that an ordinary person’s mind is forever occupied by wandering and imaginary thoughts, so naturally his or her life is bound by the mathematics of destiny. We cannot deny the fact that destiny exists, but only ordinary people are bound by it. Destiny cannot bind those who cultivate great kindness. Since I had lived my life just as Mr. Kong had predicted and done nothing to change it, I had been bound by destiny. Thus, I was a typical ordinary person.
In “transcending the ordinary” we are told that we could re-create our destiny. Xuehai continues.
But after receiving these teachings from Master Yungu, I changed it (my name) to Liaofan. I did not wish to be like ordinary people who were controlled by destiny. From then on, I began to be very cautious in whatever I thought or did. Soon, I felt quite different from before. In the past, I had been careless and without self-discipline. Now, I find myself being naturally watchful and conscientious. I maintain this attitude even when alone, for I know that there are spirits and heavenly beings everywhere who can know my every thought and deed. I am cautious not to offend them with my thoughts. Even when I encounter people who dislike or slander me, I bear their insults with a patient and peaceful mind and do not feel compelled to quarrel with them. The year after I met Master Yungu, Mr. Kong’s predictions were beginning to lose their accuracy."
The Siddhas bring us to become aware of our actions too by revealing our past karma and associating them to our present sufferings, discontentment, unhappiness, illness, state of affairs, etc. Dr. Amir Farid Isahak wrote two wonderful pieces explaining the Akashic records and the Nadi in his regular column in a local daily many years back. These pieces were also posted on his webpage at www.superqigong.com/articlesmore.asp?id=131. Dr. Farid explains the various forms of prediction and delivery of the Akashic records.
Muslims are not allowed to go to fortunetellers because we are to do our best, pray for divine assistance, and then accept that whatever happens is predetermined, and good in the eyes of GOD. To go to fortunetellers may cause the person to believe in what is being predicted, at the risk of losing sight of the fact that it is GOD who determines everything, including our future.
The subject of fate and destiny is something very complex and confusing to most. While everything is already written down, not everything is revealed by GOD, even to the Prophets, Saints, and Sidhas. With his permission, these chosen people do get accurate information about the future, and the information can be in detail. That is why all Prophets made prophesies, as part of the signs of prophet hood, and as guidance and warnings to their followers and all humanity. The Saints and Sidhas also are given similar gifts of prophesy, although at a less significant level and power compared to prophets.
There are fortunetellers, psychics, clairvoyants, modern-day prophets, bomohs, sinsehs and other traditional soothsayer who predict and prophesies with varying accuracies. Their source is the lowest realm of the cosmic database. Some even predict 4-digit numbers accurately, which goes to show that this realm is accessible to anyone who ventures in, for good use or for gambling and black magic. It is also the realm that dark spirits have absolute access to.
Akashic records are at a higher realm, available only to those who are destined to know their future. If you go for your reading, be assured, you record is there. If you never go for your reading, be assured the Sidhas did not waste their time writing about someone who was never going to have his record read. Even children's records are read by their parents in preparation for their future upbringing. There have been over 10 billion humans since the first man (Adam for some of us), and the Sidhas have written for all those who will go to have their readings done, until the end of time.
Cyndi Dale in her book, "New Chakra Healing", Llewellyn Publications, 2003, mentions that,
"One finds the akashic records, the books upon which is recorded all we have ever seen, done or said in this life or any other, in the eighth chakra from bottom up, located an inch and a half above the head."
She believes that this is the portal into and out of this time-space continuum.
Access to these records is done by taking our thumbprint and referring to the texts known as the Nadi written by the Siddhas in the past. The thumbprint is a reference point that is carved in stone, or frozen in a moment in time, unique to each individual and never changes. From https://en.wikipedia.org/ we read,
Human fingerprints are detailed, nearly unique, difficult to alter, and durable over the life of an individual, making them suitable as long-term markers of human identity.
It is interesting to note that the thumbprint develops as early as 12 weeks in the child in the mother's womb. From https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6667827/ we understand,
A person’s unique fingerprints are formed prior to birth and the ridge/valley features that exist on the adult fingerprint are all present on the much smaller sized newborn finger.
We continue from https://en.wikipedia.org/ where we read about how the fingerprints are classified.
A fingerprint classification system groups fingerprints according to their characteristics. In the Henry Classification System there are three basic fingerprint patterns: loops that may be radial or ulnar; plain whorls, accidental whorls, double loop whorls, peacock's eye, composite, and central pocket loop whorls; and plain arches or tented arches. Features of fingerprint ridges, called minutiae, include: Ridge ending: the abrupt end of a ridge; Bifurcation: a single ridge dividing in two; Short or Independent ridge: a ridge that commences, travels a short distance and then ends; Island or Dot: a single small ridge inside a short ridge or ridge ending that is not connected to all other ridges; Lake or ridge enclosure: a single ridge that bifurcates and reunites shortly afterward to continue as a single ridge; Spur: a bifurcation with a short ridge branching off a longer ridge; Bridge or Crossover: a short ridge that runs between two parallel ridges; Delta: a Y-shaped ridge meeting; or Core: a circle in the ridge pattern.
Similarly, in Nadi astrology, Agathiyar in beginning to reveal our past, present, and future always begins with a description of our thumbprint and its meaning and explains how our life shall take shape. The thumbprint is both the starting point and reference point to a larger picture of ourselves. It reflects the individual's fate as translated by the Siddhas. Agathiyar then goes on to reveal the planetary positions at the time of birth. He did reveal the same for me too. I have edited out the details of my thumbprint and the planetary positions at the time of birth as detailed by Agathiyar for obvious reasons.
From https://www.allure.com/story/palm-reading-guide-hand-lines we learn something about palmistry or the art of palm reading that we can associate with what Tavayogi told us of the esoteric axiom "As above, so below" or "Andatil Ullathu Pindathilum Ullathu" (அண்டத்தில் உள்ளது பிண்டத்திலும் உள்ளது)
Simply put, palmistry is the art of analyzing the physical features of the hands to interpret personality characteristics and predict future happenings. Chiromancy analyses are time-honored: Just as our ancient ancestors gazed into the night sky and created powerful correspondences between the movements of the planets and events here on Earth, palm readers observe how the hand's attributes connect to greater themes. Occult traditions are based on the esoteric axiom "As above, so below," and within palmistry, the palm is accordingly seen as a microcosm of the universe.
Nirav Bulsara, who studied palmistry since 2012, wrote a reply to a question on https://www.quora.com/
The lines on your palm is the mirror of the things that you have done uptill now and the things you will be doing in coming future. The line basically shows what is coming in future based on your current action. Because it is the current decision that determines your future.
As for the horoscope could one's horoscope change? Could his time of birth change? I had my horoscope drafted only after I went to college. A prominent astrologer in the town of Tapah charted it for me and others in the family. When I began to see the late Dr. Krishnan both a medical astrologer and a Siddha practitioner, his chart matched with the previous as both were based on the time and date of birth of mine. But whatever predicted by the dear Dr did not materialize for me. I was curious to know the reason for everybody I talked to gave me the thumbs up and reaffirmed that their readings with the Dr. were accurate. I asked him if his predictions could go wrong? He told me in the affirmative and told me if I had been cursed or had past karma lingering over me. Asking him to look into my charts for this possibility, he referred me to read my Nadi for only the Nadi could reveal such deep secrets. That was in the nineties. I left it at that not knowing where to seek the Nadi locally and having no intention to travel to India for a reading. Time went by. In 2002 my colleague shared his experience in reading the Nadi two years back in Malaysia. My interest in seeing the Nadi was kindled. In the Kaanda Nadi, to my surprise, Agathiyar after detailing my thumbprint draws my horoscope that differed from the one that I held to. Returning to Dr. Krishnan I played him the audio recording. He began to work backward from the position of the planets and arrived at a different time of birth entirely. It was in mid-morning as opposed to what I had held to be in the early hours of dawn. I asked him which should I follow. He replied to follow the Siddhas. These days it is immaterial what I follow for I believe they had taken charge and control of my life. Could the planets possibly harm us when they are standing as guardians and frontliners?
By carefully treading the path bringing awareness to each moment we can bring changes to our fate that was imprinted in us and stands out as our thumbprint, the lines of the palm, is written as fate on our forehead, becomes our horoscope, and is retrieved from the Akashic records. Awareness of the moment and upholding great virtues as Liaofan listed out what he did to change his destiny turns around our predestined fate.
Hence, the reason we are given the intelligence or Arivu to bring about these changes. Tavayogi always tells us to use our intelligence given to us. Only man can change his fate. All other beings live it through. A new destiny is charted. One's fate is rewritten. A new destiny then dawns. This is seen and is quite obvious in the lines on the palms changing accordingly too. The lines that form in the palm of a child after about 12 weeks in the womb keeps changing as we grow in size, in our thoughts, in our perspective, and in our understanding. Nirav Bulsara says,
Yes the lines on both the palms do change over a period of time. More specifically, the lines on your active hand change more often than the passive hand. The lines on your palm are a network of neuro nerves lying below your skin that are connected to your brain.
He gives a very distinct and clear example of such an instance.
Lets take an example, if someones is not doing a regular workout and have an unhealthy diet, then he will gradually develop a line on his active hand running from the little finger to the base of the palm. At the same time, if he brings out a change in his eating habit and starts working out, then that line will disappear with time. So our current actions comes down on the palm in the form of lines. They change with the decisions we take over time. These changes can take from 6 months to many years to show up on our palms.
Similarly, new entries are written in the Akashic records erasing and replacing previous etchings confirming to the above axiom "As above, so below."
When we heed the advice of the Siddhas and live accordingly bringing changes to our thoughts, deeds, and lifestyle, the thumbprint that is a necessity to evaluate and locate one's pre-written Kaanda Nadi becomes irrelevant in future Nadi readings. Rather than having the need to sought them as in the Kaanda Nadi the Siddhas come to us through the Aasi Kaandam or the chapters that are given in recognition of our deeds written as and then in real time. The grace that is showered by the divine, overshadows our fate. A new network is forged between God and man. Changes are seen. Previous predictions based on the thumbprint lose their accuracy not because the predictions by the Siddhas have gone wrong but that we have taken life into our own hands with the divine lending a hand in all matters and guiding us. Know that all predictions are accurate at that moment in time when the planetary positions are analyzed carefully and their results or Gochara Palan revealed to us as possibilities and probabilities that might take place in the future. Know that it can be changed by our will power. Strengthened by the Soul Power or Atma Balam attained by stacking on great merits derived from doing good deeds that bring on the divine to shower its grace on us, a distinct change takes place in each individual. A new destiny is charted. Our destiny is then re-created as Liaofan says.
Can we then safely say that by giving and being charitable our fate changes accordingly to accommodate our compassion towards others too? Cyndi Dale enlightens us on this.
"Karma is only important because it leads us to dharma. The dharmic conversion process is the only one that can help us transform karmic energy."
"If karma is the process which pulls us back towards our past, dharma is the process which pulls us forward toward our future."
Hence, we understand why Agathiyar addresses karma first before getting us to engage in all acts of Dharma. We understand how worship or puja to the divine and the resulting showering of their grace comes along to re-write our fate.