ron bhasin

Part 1 – How I got to know about Pt. Umashankar Tripathi

One evening on 9th Feb, 2025, in Varanasi, N, and I were perambulating without a rhyme or reason in the by-lanes of Benares.

We stumbled upon the temple where Mahakavi Goswami Tulsidas is said to have resided some 450 years ago. The three-storied temple doesn’t attract much attention and is largely overlooked.

We also saw a small piece of wood surviving from Tulsidas’ boat.

Tulsidas, considering Varanasi holy, reportedly never urinated or defecated there, and he used to row his boat to the other end of the river to relieve himself.

After paying our obeisances to the shrines of Ram & Hanuman, where the evening aarti was taking place, and after admiring the view from the temple, we stumbled out of the temple complex.

Outside the temple was the akhara where Tulsidas supposedly worked out.

There were jodis and gadas placed there. Someone said that these were the original weights, which Tulsidas used, at the ripe old age of 80.

Though it seemed highly unlikely to me. The weights couldn’t have been more than fifty years old at best. They were made of concrete and were painted orange, the sacred colour of Hanuman, the patron devta of wrestlers.

Then we were on our way back to Assi from more twisted by-lanes when we spotted a guy standing at a doorway.

I don’t remember how the conversation reached astrology, but I asked him if he knew a good astrologer.

Without batting an eyelid, the guy recommended Pt. Umashankar Tripathi, who turned out to be his teacher.

He graciously shared Pandit Jee’s phone number and also shared the directions to his house.

The guy seemed to be a bit slow or had a speech impedimediment.

Part 2 – Meeting Pandit Umashankar Tripathi for the first time – a failed meeting

It turned out that the President felicitated Pandit Umashankar Tripathi at some point and he was a celebrated astrologer.

His house was a bit away from Varanasi.

The next day, N and I went on my bike and somehow found his house.

We reached his house and entered his study.

Pandit Umashankar Tripathi is the most intense and fierce-looking man I have ever encountered.

Turned out he charged rupees 2000 for a consultation.

I didn’t have enough money at that point, so I pushed N forward.

N, not sure of how to respond in such a situation, decided to quiz Pandit Jee with a complicated question.

I apologised on his behalf and told Pandit Jee not to mind him.

This infuriated N, and he rebuked me.

Later, I told him that he could have asked Pandit Jee about his marriage, his career, his life, etc.

We decided to leave, and we ended up near the Ganga, which ran just a few steps from Pandit Jee’s house. This is the point where Ganga meets its tributary ahead of Assi.

I decided to take a dip and promptly took off my clothes at the bank.

I entered the river first, and N soon followed.

The water was quite cold, and we both enjoyed the dip.

The water was certainly cleaner here, compared to the ghats in Varanasi, but we were not sure of its holiness.

After a few dips and a few minutes in the cold river, we came back to the bank and dressed ourselves.

Later, N told me that his mom was quite happy that he visited an astrologer and also that he took a dip in the holy river.

On our way back, we stumbled upon another small temple and a humble pujari.

He invited us in for chai.

This Pujari Jee was somewhat more talkative compared to the astrologer Pandit Jee and N, and I struck up a conversation with him.

N asked him if astrology was of any use or effective.

To this, he replied with a couplet from the Ramcharitmanas:

सुख हरषहिं जड़ दुःख बिलखाहीं।
दोउ सम धीर धरहिं मन माहीं॥

sukh harashahin jad dukh bilakhahin.

dooo sam dheer dharahin man maaheen.

Reference

(Ayodhya Kand, Verse 150, Chaupai 4.)
“Ramcharitmanas” (Geeta Press edition), Ayodhya Kāṇḍ, Chaupāī number 4 in that section (page 242).

Which means that the ‘jad’ (dull-witted) are overjoyed in good times, and wail horribly in bad times, while the wise hold the mind steady during both times.

Thus negating astrology as useless for the wise because their reaction was the same in both types of times. He further emphasised that bhakti was a good option in any case.

To which I asked him about Pandit Umashankar Tripathi and if he was a legitimate astrologer.

He immediately broke into praise for Tripathi jee, saying that he was a great astrologer and had been awarded by the President. And that he was indeed legitimate.

Hinduism and Eastern wisdom in general can be seemingly contradictory sometimes. However, both astrology and bhakti made perfect sense to me.

After washing our cups and bidding goodbye to Pujari Jee, we left for our room in Assi.

Part 3 – Meeting Pandit Umashankar Tripathi again and his predictions.

After 4 days on 13th Feb, 2025, I had enough money in my bank account for a consultation, and I decided to revisit Pandit Jee.

This time, I went alone and sat on the ground before him.

Pandit Jee is an immensely no-nonsense guy.

He noted down my details in his notebook and pulled up a slim almanack for the charts.

While he was starting the consultation, I could feel an immense pressure in my channels. This told me that he had assistance from other beings or spirits for speaking about the person. This type of siddhi is quite common among astrologers.

The first question I asked him was whether I would find a Guru and about my spiritual practice.

Then I asked him the classic astrology question: Will I get a share in my father’s property?

He said that the lion’s share was mine. Sisters will get some part of it.

This does correspond with the current state of my father’s will.

He also added that daughters are closer to the father due to karmic makeup, but you will get the majority share.

He said your father is conservative, but his son (me) is liberal.

I asked him about my business and work

He said work will have all sorts of obstacles.

I asked him about foreign trip and if I should go outside India

He said that I could go, but there would be no stability.

Then he added that I will do a type of work in which my money would come from outside India.

I asked him about marriage. Should I marry or not? I told him that to pursue spirituality, I was willing to forgo married life.

He clearly told me that I should marry.

Marriage would likely be intercaste.

Marriage could take up to 2-2.5 years to 3 years.

I had Shukra in Saptamesh, and this means that my partner would be beautiful and artistic.

I asked him about money and whether I would end up rich or not.

He said money comes and goes in my life.

He added that for the abundance and stability(prachurta and stirtha) of money, there was going to be a delay of 6 years.

He told me to keep working, and there would come a time when I would have an international setup for earning money.

It will either happen in December 2025 or January 2026.

He said that my mind was not getting one-pointed and that by the end of this year, things will work out.

Then he added that I had chances to develop a major illness and that I should practice Yog Sadhana.

I asked him about my lucky number, colour, and days. I also enquired about my Ishth.

My lucky numbers were 5, and 8.

My lucky colours were red, and white.

My lucky days were Monday, and Tuesday.

He stressed again to do Yoga Sadhana.

And told me that my Ishth was either Ganesh or Vishnu.

He told me that I had bad company and I should be mindful of my company.

Told me that I should focus on meditation and pranayama.

He told me that I should wear either coral, ruby, or pearl. Whatever stone I wear should be of 5 ratti minimum (~4.5 carats or 0.9 gm).

I should wear them on either the ring finger or the little finger.

I could wear them in gold.

However, pearl should be encased in silver.

He strongly advised me against wearing a diamond as it would cause a lot of harm.

He told me that whatever gem I wear should be open from the bottom so that it could come into contact with my skin.

He emphasised again that I will meet my guru again this year.

I asked him if my guru would be male or female because I was in contact with a few female practitioners as well.

He said it would be a male.

I asked him about my high libido and how it would cause me a lot of suffering.

He repeated something about Shukra Saptam, but I don’t remember clearly.

He told me to wear the stones he recommended and practice yoga.

He added that you get a human birth/yoni after going through all the other births.

We are all asleep, and a guru is necessary to guide us through this life.

To improve my karma, I should do dhyana yoga.

He added that marriage is a good way to tackle lust.

And that it also put an end to the fickleness of mind.

With this, my consultation session with Pandit Jee ended.

Epilogue

As I picked up my belongings I asked Pandit jee about his guru.

He said his guru was Maacha Baba, who was a guru bhai of Devraha Baba.

To prod about what beings possessed him as he gave his astrology consultation, I slyly asked him if Maacha Baba had any devis or devtas who possessed him.

He said Maacha Baba was someone who was beyond ordinary gods and goddesses.

He said that when Maacha Baba passed away, he passed away directly to Siddhlok or Brahmlok; I cannot recall exactly where.

Before leaving him, I asked him if he knew a real saint I could meet or get darshana of.

He told me yes, with a lot of enthusiasm and said to me that either in Jharkhand or in Chitrakoot, there was a saint who cut off his own tongue and offered it to the deity. He told me the exact whereabouts of the saint but I didn’t write them down and have forgotten them ever since. The said saint lived inside the temple.