Sri C.S.Patel By

Narendra Sagar, Sagar Publications, India

The Man 

It is difficult to describe a legend like Mr. Patel. Some called him Chandu Kaka, some calledhim Chandubhai, some Scholars Astrologer but we all miss him deeply now that he is nomore. Though I was the envy of many publishers that our publishing house could release thebooks of Mr. Patel and thousands of astrologers have enjoyed his work. But, it is with deepsadness I am remembering him although it is 1 year since his demise. The biggest debt onmy heart which would always remain is as to why fate did not allow me one more additionaldecade with this legend. If our association had started just 10 years earlier, then SagarPublications would have brought out atleast 10‐20 more books out of this Master who had somuch of knowledge that it is unimaginable. He would have reduced the gap betweenpredictions and theories which is what has been my quest via my publications. People accuseme of removing only 5 books out of Patel Saheb but one must understand that Mr. Patel wasa very senior astrologer and also very old when my association with him started. APublisher no doubt has a social responsibility to bring out the best in an author and to coaxand guide him but when you have an astrologer as senior as Mr. Patel to deal with; we haveto ensure that we do not push him beyond the social constraints that God has given theauthor.

Mr. Patel was not just an inspiration to today’s astrologer & current gurus of astrologybut he was also a great inspiration to astrologers of yesteryears. It was often said that onehad to read his books thrice to grasp it, I request young students to do this. Often one wouldfind that just one shloka (verse) that he has quoted was a full‐fledged technique in itself &this aspect I request students of astrology to not forget while reading his books. One has tobe almost in a meditative state to understand the depth of what he was saying and then testit aggressively for a extensive period without getting deviated by any other method, onlythen when you get the feeling of ‘Owning’ the technique then the master key of thattechnique that he has written about will come to you. He was a man who had immensepatience and worked very hard on each and every verse, though it would take a long time forhim to bring out any book but everyone would be rest assured that when anything comes outof Mr. Patels stable it would be the greatest & also the rarest. He was strict but humble andhe had enough humility to admit his mistakes, this is a rare quality in an astrologer that theyounger generation should learn from.

Nostalgia 

In 1990 I was introduced to him and I met him only twice in my life and rest of the period itwas via telephone or the good offices of Bhushanji. He was vary of publishers & thepublishing industry as he had been duped by friends and other fellow astrologers. This was asad part as we must not stop genuine astrologers from contributing to the science, but theworld is selfish. It almost took him 6 months to agree to write for me & I must admit that ithas been an honor and pleasure for me to publish his books.

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When I met him he assured me 2things which he was unable to do it for me.First was a horary material (not PrashnaMarga), he said this technique was rare &miraculous as compared to the normalsystem of horary that we follow, butincidentally he never could get down towriting it. The other topic he was to writeon was on Chandra Kala Nadi of which hewas acknowledged as a master even before Imet him. His classes of Chandra Kala Nadiwas famous from the 1960s when greatmasters like even Narendra Desai, RamanThakkar used to come and learn from himevery Sunday, so I expected a lot from himin terms of contribution to understandingthis rare text called Deva Kerelam, thegreatness of it you can see from my earlierpublication on the same. Though I amselfish that knowledge should come out inthe open to further this science but at thesame time I do remember that he wasalready in his 80s when I met him and forsomeone to work so hard till his age of 92 isnot known, infact Sagar Publications mightbe proud to say that he was probably theonly Jyotish author in the world who wasstill writing at the age of 92 inspite of facingso many hardships.

Speaking of writing, well he was writing thebook on Retrogression for us, it is one of thetoughest topics in astrology and often calleda googly. Normally writers will desist fromwriting on retrogression. This work remainsunfinished and I expect his student whoworked on it with him to complete it inwhatever form we can cull out to the world.I also expect his students to come out withmore books on some of the things theylearnt from their Late Master.

Contribution 

I am not competent enough to talk about hisgreatness but people who have read hisbooks, have come to me over the years andgiven genuine feedback that if his techniquesare applied with honesty and devotion thenthey are absolutely matchless. People

especially comment on his pricelesscontribution to the field of Ashtakvarga,Navamsa and Nadi Astrology. Hisashtakvarga system of using theAshtakvarga in Navamsa (D9) has been sohighly praised to me that Sagar Publicationsfeels very content that we were a vehicle forit.

He will beremembered asone of the firstastrologers towork onShastiamsa(D60) & also onNadiamsas (LateC.G.Rajan also didgenuine work onNadiamsas). He once wrote a single line onthe 60th division and this has inspired one of my authors from U.K to write a book whichI would bring out soon. He taught somesecrets of Shastiamsas in 1970s to his studentthe Late Surendra Bhagat who later didfurther work on Shastiamsas & produced amanuscript. Unfortunately that work is nowlost & also Patel Saheb is no more. Hiscontribution will be unmatched forever &We shall be never able to repay this debt.

May His Soul Rest In Peace.

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