nt Balquis Sait subscribe search jobs US edition The Guardian Winner of the Pulitzer prize home › world UK europe americas asia middle east africa australia home US world selected opinion sports soccer tech arts lifestyle fashion business money travel environment all Sri Lanka Even Nostradamus got things wrong, says astrologer who advised Sri Lankas president to call election Defeated president Mahinda Rajapaksa was told by his personal astrologer, Sumanadasa Abeygunawardena, to hold an early poll Star wars: why astrology and politics don’t mix The personal astrologer of deposed president Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sumanadasa Abeygunawardena, 63, counselled that this week was a good time for election success. The personal astrologer of deposed president Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sumanadasa Abeygunawardena, 63, counselled that this week was a good time for election success. Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images Agence France-Presse Tuesday 13 January 2015 00.13 EST Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Google+ Shares 1,493 Comments 262 As a defeated Mahinda Rajapaksa slunk out of Sri Lanka’s presidential palace, the astrologer who counselled him to call a disastrous early election was gloomily packing his bags on the other side of town. “Not all of Nostradamus’ predictions have come true either,” said Sumanadasa Abeygunawardena as he reflected both on the fate of his vanquished boss and his own reputation as a seer. “There was only so much I could do to help him win, maybe 5%. But you must have luck to be the president.” The 63-year-old Abeygunawardena has been avoiding the media since last Thursday’s election, his reputation having taken a pounding from veteran leader Rajapaksa’s defeat to his rival Maithripala Sirisena. During his increasingly authoritarian rule, the president became hugely reliant on his astrologer’s counsel and even timed the announcement of the snap election after consulting Abeygunawardena. On voting day, Rajapakse appeared oblivious to his impending demise by declaring he was headed for “a resounding victory”. While the outcome spelt the end of Rajapaksa’s decade in power, it was also a disaster for Abeygunawardena who had been lavishly rewarded by the man he calls “Our Sir” after advising him for 32 years. In an interview with AFP, the normally ebullient Abeygunawardena admitted he was trying to keep a low profile for the moment, while confident that the setback would not lead all his followers to desert him. “I am avoiding talking to people, especially the media, but I have a big following and they will not abandon me,” he said in a phone interview from his home in the coastal city of Galle. Advertisement Abeygunawardena said he had tried to console Rajapaksa after the outcome became clear in the early hours of Friday, before his old boss made his pre-dawn departure from his official residence in Colombo. As Rajapakse made his exit, Abeygunawardena had to hand in the keys to a grace-and-favour bungalow in another part of the city. He also lost his limousine, chauffeur and vacated his seat on the board of a state-run bank. Back in Galle, Abeygunawardena tried to put a brave face on his demise, insisting that he always knew Rajapaksa was doomed to lose – but didn’t have the heart to tell him. “If I did not tell him he was going to win, he would have been psychologically shattered. His defeat would have been much worse,” he said, saying the outcome had been written in the stars. “In this case, the opponent’s horoscope is more powerful than that of Our Sir.” Such foreboding was not in evidence at 1:04pm on November 20 when Rajapaksa signed the decree for an election after Abeygunawardena had advised that it was a particularly auspicious moment. The election did not have to be held for another two years although conventional wisdom at the time was that Rajapaksa was likely to cruise to victory over a divided opposition. But Rajapakse was blindsided by his then health minister Sirisena’s sudden defection to the ranks of the combined opposition, only hours after the two men dined together. Abeygunawardena became tearful when pressed on the outcome, saying he carried out traditional rituals to ensure Rajapaksa voted at the right time while looking towards the chosen direction to ensure victory. Even though he claims to also be a friend of Sirisena, Abeygunawardena admitted that he had not seen the defection coming. If Abeygunawardena did indeed foresee Rajapaksa’s defeat, his reluctance to break the bad news might have stemmed from the fate of one of his colleagues who was arrested and thrown in jail in 2009 after publicly predicting that the president would lose the following year’s election. Abeygunawardena is swift to claim credit for predicting Rajapaksa’s victories in both the 2005 and 2010 elections but says no astrologer can ever be 100% right, even the 16th century French seer Nostradamus. “It is just not possible, otherwise I could just pay the 75,000 rupees ($570) deposit to run for president as an independent and go on to win the presidency,” he said. “You have to give us at least a 5% margin of error.” And Abeygunawardena denied simply telling Rajapaksa what he wanted to hear, claiming that he had warned him not to accept the chair in office of the 53-member Commonwealth whose summit he hosted in Colombo in 2013. The last chairman before Rajapaksa was Julia Gillard who was unseated as Australia’s premier after hosting the same event in 2011. “That office is a crown with thorns. I told him not to take it,” Abeygunawardena said. “See what happened to Gillard? The same thing happened to Our Sir.” Sri Lanka Asia Pacific Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Google+ Advertisement comments (262) Signed in as Balquis Sait Post your comment Order by Newest Show 25 Threads Collapsed 1 2 3 4 5 Warren37 7h ago 0 1 The Nostradamus predictions are no more better than the Oracle predictions. Drawing Nostradamus into the debacle is pathetic. Buddha (as Prince Sidhartha) saw the poverty , suffering, exploitation by the privileged and prevalence of superstition of his subjects. His teachings were aimed at educating people against these social failings. Mahinda’s Astrologer Abeygunawardena and his ilk exploit people’s gullibility, his traditional rituals are nothing more than plain superstition. Abeygunawardena is unBuddhist - it is implied that Mahinda too is unBuddhist.. Reply Report OmniPresent1 13h ago 0 1 Sri Lankans better be happy about astrology (from a false prediction)! Reply Report goodlife9 13h ago 0 1 Is it Rajapaksa or Rajapakse? Whichever spelling you use, at least be consistent, Guardian. So we know you train your typing monkeys properly. Reply Report Funso Oke 20h ago 0 1 Hilarious farce...except...The thought that this charlatan evidently influenced the leadership of millions of lives is frightening. Reply Report priceus 1d ago 0 1 I thought women were more susceptible to this stuff. Reply Report Thirdparty 1d ago 0 1 Dear Mr. Abeygunawardena, I knew Nostradamus. Nostradamus was a friend of mine, And you, Sir, are no Nostradamus. Reply Report myleswalsh 1d ago 0 1 what a pantomime of democracy Reply Report David Goldberg 1d ago 0 1 Instead of spending money on astrologers, I would use new social network UpsetUs to read peoples complaints and frustrations. More value there. Reply Report coruja 1d ago 1 2 Forget the astrology malarkey, the real horror in this story is that he was given a bungalow, a limo and chauffeur, and a seat on the board of a state-run bank. All paid by the tax payer. And of course the say goes for the 200+ relatives of Raja-passa clan who had government jobs. The country was going to hell in a handbasket, Th e Guardian and other international commentators kept mentioning alleged corruption, nepotism and authoritarian rule. The former President and his family are murderers and crooks - keep an eye on the news for the next few weeks. Only international pressure stopped him declaring a state of emergency as the election results were coming in. For almost two hours the results were not being published, and only tweets from the public at the voting stations were leaking the results. The country was 120 minutes away from a dictatorship. So thanks John Kerry and all the other governments that pressured him to leave when he lost. And thank you to the Election CommissionerMahinda Deshapriya who has not been acknowledged in the world news media for making sure the election was not stolen. An unbelievably brave and crazy character. Reply Report srivanamoth 1d ago 0 1 He looks well oiled being close to the former President! What became of the billions of the state may be a good thing to pose to this Astrologer Royale! Reply Report Toughtask 1d ago 1 2 And we wonder why the world is in such a mess with politicians looking to fortune tellers, or worse religion to guide them. Reply Report underbussen 2d ago 0 1 Presidential candidate relies on astrology - thats the real headline here, what a twat. Reply Report Sandra Bowen 2d ago 0 1 Religion & politics -- always a good mix! The era of intelligent decisions finally dawned on mankind! Alas, the Western versions of these superstitions seem more accurate .... Too bad this guy didnt read Susan Miller -- she clearly wrote an early election was not a good idea for this sign! astrologyzone/forecasts/monthly/scorpio_full.php Reply Report Елисей Фомин 2d ago 0 1 Everything is logical in power did not have to be a person who believes in astrology ! Its amazing that astrologer has achieved such heights ! Pseudoscience can only flourish in a society of savages and the Islamists ! Reply Report daveweston Елисей Фомин 1d ago 1 2 You are as stupid as you are unpleasant. Reply Report Naushad56 2d ago 2 3 Eight Astrologers who went there to foresee their clients future perished in Andamans when the Tsunami struck as they could not foresee their fate Reply Report SaulGe 2d ago 4 5 Ridiculous idiots. Belief in the planets alignment effecting prosaic matters like elections is like thinking water has memory. Its Homeopathy for well people. Still these are the fools who think there is a magic sky fairy (God) Reply Report Mark5005 2d ago 2 3 Mahinda Rajapaksa even visited one of the most famous Hindu temples in India a few weeks before the election – even though he is a Buddhist. He tried to fool God and failed! The future for Rajapaksa brothers and their cronies is bleak, regardless of what their astrologers tell them! Reply Report coruja Mark5005 1d ago 0 1 Actually, that Hindu temple is well known for illegal money transactions. He went there to set up the transaction of several tons of gold that he sold just before the election. Reply Report exterminator 2d ago 2 3 One charlatan deserves another! They can both clutch,hug and kiss each other in the dustbin of Lankan politics! Reply Report Karuna Nidhi 2d ago 2 3 They are all Anti- Buddhist, believe in Astrology, murder people, greedy for power, everything against what Buddha taught to world. Reply Report tiger1234 2d ago 0 1 Its a 50/50 outcome. By guessing you will be right sometimes. He guessed wrong this time with disastrous results for his pay masters. The only being with complete and infinite knowledge cannot be human. It belongs to the realms of a God that has complete omniscience. Reply Report zzzoidberg tiger1234 2d ago 0 1 wasnt a 50/50 outcome, everyone was so damn confident he was going to win. even if he lost he was going to take power by force. Reply Report classman 2d ago 0 1 A warning to those who believe the snake-oil purveyors of futurology, economic forecasting, stock market predictions and election result guessing. The bank of reality always wins in the end. Reply Report Obvance 2d ago 0 1 Or... He got the Chinese calendar and his mixed up. Reply Report indica08 2d ago 1 2 Late Ronald Reagan and his lady, as President and first lady believed in astrology. Reportedly, they sought their astrologers comments on Rons political moves. Western culture is not as no non-sense astrology stuff as the blogs here, especially the replies to Prabhakari might suggest. A few mags have pages devoted to what stars say about ones Zodiac sign for that week, month or fortnight. When faced with hard times, even white anglosaxon protestants lend more than a passing ear to astrological stuff. Havent we had a few Western police forces consult clairevoyants about missing persons or clues, as reported in their media? I have never felt the need to consult one myself but people I view as pretty hardy, atheist and confident have been surprised by the spot on quality of some astrologers here in India, with no chance of any hanky panky or guessing after long chats with the client. Still astrology, I admit, remains an enigma. It is not a science such as physics or chemistry. Incidentally, what made Nostradamus burst into his quatrains, it wasnt the trying conditions of the plague and his witnessing horrible death all around him, that sent him into another level of thought? Reply Report Toughtask indica08 1d ago 1 2 Hardly an enigma its just fraud Reply Report OmniPresent1 indica08 13h ago 0 1 Astrology like other religions, cults, and forms of chauvinisms give people to overcome their FEARS. Period. Reply Report NoahDeere 2d ago 0 1 So a Sri Lankan Lynton Crosby then. Reply Report Obvance 2d ago 0 1 My guess is he probably figured out it is time to get the hell out when the time is right Reply Report 1 2 3 4 5 Close report comment form Reason (optional) Email (optional) Report Signed in as Balquis Sait Post your comment more on this story
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 04:29:20 +0000
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