Late Pravin Jagad’s Theory of Longevity An Introduction by Basilioli Sandro

Article by Basilioli Sandro

 There are Ayurdaay Methods prevalent for calculation of Longevity of a Native in our Ancient Literatures like Laghu Parasharee, Phal Deepika, Jatak Parijat and even in Jaimini. Essence of the assessment of the Longevity moves around 8th house, 3rd House, Ascendant Lord (Lagnesh), Shani, Drekkana, Hora Lagna etc.  The methods mostly give the life span in terms of Short, Medium and Long Life (Alpaayu, Madhyamaayu and Deerghayu respectively) based on certain combinations of placement of planets. Here is one novel method which gives mathematical form to astrological combinations to arrive at the final figure or duration – span of life   in terms of years. The theory was originally presented by Late Shri Pravin Jagad, an Indian Astrologer and after working on the same theory, the present author has introduced some fine tuning to the theory by addition of new parameters like Hora Lagna, Drekkana, Navamsha and Dwadasamsa. Also he has devised the Life Span categories into 12 different nominations (from S-S-S to L-L-L meaning Short-Short-Short and Long-Long-Long) to arrive at specific period of life span. We are presenting this research for the benefit of readers of SA on these pages, in form of a Series of four articles. This first article is based on the original theory propounded by Late Shri Pravin Jagad. – Rajendra R Shah, Editor

Pravin Jagad has published an article entitled “The theory of longevity”. This theory is a new method of determining the length of life from the natal horoscope. It establishes a relationship between Man and the planets and also proves that Zodiac is not an imaginary concept but is Real. He says that astrology is a science because similar yoga give similar longevity he proves this in his book by citing numerous examples. I use this method not to find the exact year of death, I use it for my Pam theory that I will illustrate in a series of articles step by step. This is the first article of 4 parts:

1. Pravin Jagad Method – An Introduction,
2. 3 step Pam theory Part:1

• 3 step Pam theory Part:2 and

1. The Longevity thesis : Final article of the series based on the research

Pravin Jagad was an Indian Astrologer living at Bombay. When he was studying in college he did not believe in astrology. He invariably used to go though the weekly forecast of his sign that appear in Sunday editions of Gujarati dailies. He found that sometimes the predictions were astonishingly correct. Such incidents gave him a conviction that there must be some truth in Astrology. It also generated a desire in him to go in the study of Astrology himself in order to find out the truth. His first guru was Mr. Niranjan Joshi and he says that he is indebted to Niranjan Joshi for the Astrological knowledge he has imparted to him.

While Jagad was studying in the first year the event of ‘’Blue Star’’ took place. Indira Gandhi was the prime minister and she ordered that military action to purge the ‘’Golden Temple’’ of the terrorists. A friend of Jagad asked him ‘’Jagad, you are studying Astrology. Just see what will happen to Indira Gandhi? He used to have a book of collection of Horoscope wherein Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s Horoscope was also there. At that time he had only the basic knowledge of Astrology and he was totally ignorant of any method of calculating Longevity. He studied a few Horoscopes from that angle and evolved his own method and applied it to Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s Horoscope. Then he told his friend that perhaps her life may end, before the end of the year. When on 31 October,1984 she was assassinated he thought in his mind that perhaps the method by which he calculated Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s Longevity might be correct. The astrological predictions depend on various yoga created in a Horoscope and yoga are innumerable he says. There are 12 signs and 9 planets. The variation will be (12×12 nine times)-approximately 5159 millions. So it is not possible to achieve perfection. He does not claim any perfection to the rules of calculating longevity given in his method. He has developed the rules gradually improving them from time to time. Jagad says the researcher is also advised to do so.

[Editor’s Note: Pravin Jagad, an Indian author of the book on somewhat different theory on Longevity has been almost ignored by the Indian Astrologers. But, it is a matter of great joy and pride that Mr. Basilioli Sandro from Italy has not only accepted, but has done the further research on the same theory to make it more workable. On behalf of Indian Vedic Astrology, We are thankful to him to publish this theory of Longevity of Pravin Jagad and his own research on it in four articles.

The theory is based on the Vedic Astrology fundamentals. The second house in Vedic Astrology is Maraka Sthana. The eighth house is the house of Longevity. The eighth to eighth is also, the house of Longevity. The Theory moves around the placement of planet in various houses. Among the planets, The Lagnesh i.e. Lord of the Ascendant and Saturn are the most important planets to be considered as per his theory. We all know that Shani is a karaka planet for 8^th house.

Consider these shlokas from Laghu Parasharee, Chapter 3.

लघुपाराशरी आयुर्दायाध्यायः ३, laghupārāśarī āyurdāyādhyāyaḥ 3

अष्टमं ह्यायुषः  स्थानमष्टमाष्टमं च यत्। तयोरपि व्ययस्थानं मारकस्थानमुच्यते॥ २३॥

aṣṭamaṁ hyāyuṣaḥ  sthānamaṣṭamāṣṭamaṁ ca yat | tayorapi vyayasthānaṁ māarakasthānamucyate || 23 ||

As per the shlokas, the 8^th house from the Ascendant and the 8^th from 8^th i.e. 3^rd are the two houses of Longevity. The houses which are 12^th from these houses are detrimental to Longevity (maarak sthanas) i.e. hoses related to death 2^nd and 7^th houses are Maaraka sthanas.

Consider these shlokas from Bhavartha Ratnakara, Chapter 7.

भावार्थ रत्नाकर अध्याय – ७, bhāvārtha ratnākara adhyāya – 7

संपच्छरीरपुत्राणां कारकस्य गुरोर्यदि   ।  लग्नाधिपतिना योगोह्यायुः प्रबलमादिशेत्॥ १॥

saṁpaccharīraputrāṇāṁ kārakasya guroryadi |
lagnādhipatinā yogohyāyuḥ prabalamādiśet || 1||

आयुष्करेण शनिनाह्यष्टमाधिपतेर्यदि। संबन्धो विद्यते यस्य दीर्घायुयोग उच्यते॥ २॥

āyuṣkareṇa śanināhyaṣṭamādhipateryadi |

saṁbandho vidyate yasya dīrghāyuyoga ucyate ||2||

अष्टमस्थे शनौ जातो  दीर्घायुर्योग उच्यते ॥ ३॥

aṣṭamasthe śanau jāto  dīrghāyuryoga ucyate || 3 ||

As per the shlokas, the Jupiter being Karaka of the Deha and is connected (by Drishti, Yuti etc.) with First house, then it gives Deergha Ayu (Long Life) to the native. Similarly, if Saturn being the Karak of Longevity, if is connected (by Drishti, Yuti etc.) with Eighth Lord, it gives Deerghayu (Long Life) to the native.

Mr. Pravin Jagad’s theory of Longevity, though based on the fundamentals, is presented in totally new manner. He has tried to simplify the principles to give it a mathematical form. He believed that astrology is a Science and the theory of cause and effect (कार्यकारण सिध्धान्त, kāryakāraṇa sidhdhānta ) also applies to astrology. He said, “Similar cause, similar effect”.  He had the firm understanding that Astrology is a Science and the similar Yogas give similar results. Based on numerous examples, he believed that Longevity can be calculated mathematically for every horoscope based on logical observations. He has left at many places some open ends for research and expansion of his own theory. He has given yogas to calculate Longevity based on Saturn and Lagna Lord, their significance (Karakatva), placement with reference to 3^rd house. The allotment of the years has a root base in Vimshottari Dasha but the approach is new.

We have devised some sketches, tables, explanations and notes to make the article more comprehensive for the readers to have a look into this theory.]

Basic rules

Yoga-1:  Lagna Lord placed in 10^th, 8^th, 4^th or 2^nd house gives 60 years Longevity.

Yoga-2: Saturn as Karaka placed in 2^nd or 8^th house gives 19 years longevity.

Yoga-3: An exalted planet gives double the Longevity whereas a debilitated planet is incapable to impart any longevity. Above he shows to work out Longevity of a native mathematically on the basis of his Horoscope.

Major Contributors

Rule A-1: Owner of Ascendant or Lagna and indicator of the 8th house viz SATURN are the major contributors to longevity.

2) Man’s standard life span is 120 years.

3) Lagna Lord and Saturn have shared the term of longevity equally each can give 60 years maximum.

4) Major contributors Lagna Lord and Saturn contribute longevity at Major Rate.

[Editor: In this theory, there are some specific terms for the Longevity. These Terms are shown in following Table-1.

Major rate
Man’s standard lifespan is 120 years. Zodiac has in all 360 degree in all. Therefore rate of longevity amounts to 1 year for each 3 degrees, so 1 degree gives 4 months longevity.

[Editor: Here Mr. Pravin Jagad has taken the base of Vimshottari Dasha period as a basis of Man’s Life. He has nicely correlated it with the degrees of zodiac. (This theory was put on papers long back in year 1991. The theory tends to have some glimpse of Progression of Moon over the zodiac.) 120 years = 360 degrees.  Thus, 1 year = 3 degrees and 1 degree = 1/3 year or 4 months.]

Further, as per his theory, the houses 2 and 8 are very much important for the Longevity. The line joining these two houses becomes Demarcation line. The counting of the distance in degrees is to be done for the third house, if the planet is in between the 3rd and 8th house. The distance is to be calculated from the 9th house if the planet is in between 9th house and Ascendant.

We have tried to show this Nature’s Mechanism (As it is said by the Author), in the Figure No. 1 on the next page. The AA shows the Line of Demarcation. The degrees are also shown on the border of houses. It can be seen that the distance of planet can be 0 degree to 150 degrees. The distance of the planet from the third house or ninth house is important to decide the longevity contributed by that planet. The longevity in years is obtained by dividing this distance by 3.

The planet gives the longevity at the Major rate when it is not in 2nd or 8th house. The Major rate is defined as the longevity by proportion of their distance from the zero degree of demarcation line i.e. from point A.]

Nature’s Mechanism

If for example the Ascendant is Sagittarius, Sagittarius becomes the first house.

• 0° line is the line of demarcation which divides the Horoscope into 2 parts.
• House No. 2 (Capricorn) and 8 (Cancer) are called dividing houses since they divide the Horoscope into 2 parts. These houses fall in between 0° and 150°.
• House No. 2 and 8 are full rate houses since they contribute Longevity at full rate.
• Lagna Lord, Saturn and planets posited in these houses give Longevity at full rate ( major or minor rate as follows):

1. Lagna Lord in 2^nd or 8^th gives 60 years of longevity
2. Saturn in 2nd or 8th gives 19 years of longevity ( minor rate)

• Planets in 2nd or 8th house give Longevity at minor full rate (Sun 6 years Moon 10 years and so on).

1. For example in the case in which the Ascendant is Sagittarius Jupiter becomes Lagna Lord
2. Jupiter or Saturn in Aquarius or 15 Leo will give 5 years of longevity ,in the case of Saturn in 15 Aquarius it is 15 past the 0° line consequently it gives 15/3= 5 years. (Saturn is allowed this rate in every case but Jupiter only when it is the Lagna Lord as it is in this instance).
3. Jupiter and Saturn in 15 Aries or Libra will give 25 years longevity
4. Jupiter or Saturn in 15 Taurus or 15 Scorpio will give 35 years longevity and so on.
5. Venus in 15 Aquarius or 15 Leo will give 10 months of longevity ( Venus at 15 Aries or Libra in the present example is 75° from 0°axis.Consequentley at minor rate of 20 months per sign ( 30°) it gives 20x( 75/30)=50 months).

[Editor’s Note: For calculating major rate longevity for planet, follow these steps:

1. Note the house no. of Planet in consideration.
2. If the planet is situated in between 3rd and 8th house, subtract 3 from it i.e. if planet is in 5th house, 5 – 3 = 2.
3. If Planet is in 9^th to 1^st house, subtract 9 from it i.e. if planet is in 11^th house, 11-9 = 2.
4. Multiply this number with 30 degrees. Tell this C.
5. Add Longitude of planet (Amshadi) to this figure to get D = C + Degrees of Planet
6. Divide D by three to get years of Longevity.
7. For Example, Mangal of Dhanu- 15 degree is situated in 5th house. Then distance is 5 Minus 3 = 2 house. Multiplying this with 30 deg gives 2 x 30 = 60 degrees which is C. Adding 15 degree of Mars to C gives 60 + 15 = 75 degrees. Dividing 75 degrees by 3 gives 25 years. This can also easily be done by looking at the degrees mentioned on the boundaries of the house in Fig.1 Nature’s Mechanism]

Minor Rate

Planets other than Lagna Lord and Saturn contribute longevity at minor rate. Minor rate is the rate determined in accordance with the Vimshottari Dasha System.

 Planet           Dasha Period              Rate of Longevity

Sun               6 years                    6 months per sign or 30°                                                           Moon            10 years                   10 months per sign or 30°

Mars             7 years                     7 months per sign or 30°

Mercury       17 years                    17 months per sign or 30                                                           Jupiter          16 years                    16 months per sign or 30                                                                 Venus          20 years                    20 months per sign or 30                                                               Saturn          19 years                    19 months per sign or 30 

[Editor’s Note:

The Founder of the theory, Pravin Jagad uses once again the Vimshottari Dasha as the base for the Minor Rate Calculations. This is in accordance with 1 year = 1 month]

 Which Planets are the Contributors to Longevity?

Lagna Lord and Saturn invariably contribute to Longevity.

Planets in conjunction with Lagna Lord and those in conjunction with Saturn invariably contribute to Longevity.

Planets posited in Active Houses No. 1, 7 and 8 invariably contribute to Longevity

Yogas and Rules

Rule (1): Lagna Lord placed in 2nd or 8th house gives longevity at Major full rate (60 years). Planets in conjunction with Lagna Lord give longevity at Minor full rate.

Rule (2): Lagna Lord placed in 4^th or 10^th house gives longevity at Major full rate (60 years). However Planets in conjunction with Lagna Lord give proportionate longevity at Minor rate.Calculation of proportionate longevity is to be made taking as if the planets are posited in Lagna.

Rule (3): Lagna Lord placed in houses other than 10,8,4,2 gives proportionate longevity at major rate. Planets in conjunction with Lagna Lord also give proportionate longevity but at minor rate.

Interpolation of Lagna Lord

Rule (4): If Lagna Lord interpolates with other planets and if any one of the interpolating planets is posited in any one of the houses of its exaltation 10, 8, 4, 2 then Lagna Lord gives Longevity at major full rate (60). Lagna Lord giving full longevity the interpolating planets do not add to longevity. 

[Editor’s Note: Here, the author has used some new term “Interpolation” for Sign Exchange. i.e. Rashi Parivartan i.e. mutual exchange of sign of two planets e.g. in horoscope of Indira Gandhi, Moon is in Capricorn and Saturn is in Cancer; both are exchanging signs.]

Interpolating planet with Lagna Lord

Rule (5):  If Lagna Lord interpolates with other planet/s and if any one of the interpolating planet/s is posited in Lagna then also Lagna Lord gives longevity at major full rate (60 years).Since Lagna Lord is giving full Longevity the interpolating planets do not add to longevity. 

Rule (6): If Lagna Lord giving full longevity (60 years) interpolates with other planet/s the other planets do not add to Longevity.  

Saturn

Rule (1): Saturn as an indicator placed in lagna or 7^th house gives longevity at major full rate (60 years) unless failed by Mars.

Rule (2): Saturn placed in 2^nd or 8^th house gives longevity at minor full rate (19 years) unless failed by Mars.

Rule (3): Saturn posited in 11^th house does not give longevity as from 11^th it is aspecting both Lagna and 8^th house. (Rule has to be tested more)

Rule (4): In houses other than 1^st and 7^th, 2nd and 8^th Saturn gives proportionate longevity at major rate. Planets in conjunction with Saturn give longevity at minor rate provided Saturn remains effective.                                      

(A) Interpolation Mars with Saturn

Rule (5): If Saturn interpolates with Mars both are invalidated

(B) Conjunction of Saturn with Mars

If Saturn is in conjunction with Mars both are invalidated unless Mars is failed by Rahu. If Saturn or Mars happens to be Lagna Lord they will give longevity as Lagna Lord.

(C): Mars placed in signs owned by Saturn viz. Capricorn and Aquarius invalidates Saturn.

(D): if Saturn is aspected by Mars, Saturn is invalidated, unless any of them is in interpolation.

(E): Aspect of Mars on Saturn’s signs invalidates Saturn.

Editor: The essence of Rules about failing of Shani can be narrated as under:

Moon

• Rule (1): In Lagna gives 10 years. As Lagna Lord it gives 10 years additional longevity.
  Rule (2): In 7^th gives 5 years.
• Rule (3): In cancer gives additional 10 years longevity.
• Rule (4): In Leo, Aries, and Libra gives additional 5 years’ longevity. (not always)
  Rule (5): In interpolation gives 5 years longevity. As Lagna Lord it gives 10 years longevity.

Rules of Pit Houses

(6^th, 8^th and 12^th) and (marak) houses (2^nd  & 7^th)

Note: The following Rules do not become effective if the owner of a pit house is in conjunction with either Lagna Lord or Saturn. In such cases the owner gives appropriate longevity.

Owner of 6^th: In Lagna gives half the prop. Longevity. In 7^th gives half proportionate/full longevity. Placed in 8^th does not give longevity.

Owner of 8th: In Lagna gives half longevity at minor rate. In 6^th does not give longevity unless is in interpolation. In 7^th gives half full longevity. In 12^th does not give years unless it is L.L or Saturn.

Owner of 12th: In 2^nd, it does not give years. In 6^th, in 7^th and in 8^th, it does not give years unless in interpolation.

Owner in 2^nd: In Lagna, it gives longevity at one half full rate. In 2^nd, it gives one half longevity at full minor rate. In conjunction with Saturn, it gives full longevity. In 7^th, it does not give years. In 8^th, it does not give years unless in conj with L.L. or Saturn. In 12^th, it does not give longevity.

Owner of 2^nd or 8^th in conjunction with Lagna Lord or Saturn give longevity at minor full rate or one half as the case may be.

 Exaltation & Debilitation Of Planets

Rule (1): An exalted planet gives double longevity and an exalted Lagna Lord gives additional proportionate or full longevity at minor rate as the case may be provided no other yoga is operative.

Rule (2): A debilitated planet does not give any longevity unless it is Lagna Lord in which case appropriate reduction is to be made for debility.

Rule (3): If one exalted planet and one debilitated planet are in conjunction, both give longevity at normal rate unless any of them is in interpolation in which case the interpolating planet will maintain exaltation/debility.

Conjunct signs (Main and Subsidiary)

If the conjunct sign of the sign in which Lagna Lord is posited happens to be a full rate house, then Lagna Lord gives longevity at major full rate (60 years).

Rule of 6/8 (shadashtak)

Aries Lagna

(1) In Aries Lagna, Mars becomes owner of a 8th and Scorpion Lagna Mars becomes owner of 6th. As such if Mars is giving full longevity (60 years) are to be reduced 7 years. If Mars is giving proportionate longevity appropriate reduction is to be made.

Taurus Lagna

(2) In Taurus Lagna, if Lagna Lord Venus is placed in 7th house it gives (60-10) =50 years longevity.

Libra Lagna

(3) In Libra Lagna, Lagna Lord placed in Libra Lagna gives full longevity (60 years).

(4) In Libra Lagna, Lagna Lord placed in 7th house gives(60-10)= 50 years longevity.

(5) In Libra Lagna 2nnd and 7th houses become conjunct houses. Since 2nd house is a full rate house 7th becomes half full rate house. Hence in Libra Lagna planets posited in 7th house give longevity at half full rate.

Joint signs

Rule:  Cancer/Leo and Capricorn/Aquarius are Joint signs; planet posited in any one sign can give result of either.

Rules of reductions

(1) Reduction of Lagna Lord: If both L.L. and Saturn are giving longevity at major full rate (60 years) Saturn reduces L.L. to the status of a planet and L.L. gives longevity accordingly unless Lagna Lord is giving full longevity (60 years) by way of interpolation.

(2) If owner of a pit house (6th,8th and 12th )comes in the pit house by way of interpolation, it reduces longevity by minor full rate or one half as the case may be.(Note: in his book owner of 12th in 12th does not reduce longevity ,in my practice it does and it’s a  new rule).

(3) Moon: In 12th house reduces longevity by 5 years. In 8th house reduces longevity by 10 years. If 8th house is cancer, Moon reduces longevity by 15 years. In 8th in Taurus (exalted) reduces longevity by 20 years. Moon in Capricorn reduces longevity by 10 years. In Aquarius, reduces by 2 and half years (2.5 years). In 2nd if not in conjunction with Saturn or Lagna Lord reduces longevity by 2 and half years (2.5 years). Moon in 6th house reduces longevity by 5 years provided no other yoga is operative.

One-half longevity Yoga

If Lagna Lord is in conjunction or interpolated with owner of any of the pit houses viz. 6^th, 8^th or 12^th and Lagna is aspected by Saturn then longevity is to be halved.

Here I have presented all the rules in Pravin Jagad method.

The new rules I have discovered are also narrated here.

1. Owner of 6^th, 8^th and 12^th in these houses reduces longevity even if not in interpolated.
2. Owner of 12^th in 12^th house reduces longevity and in my research I have 14 or 15 example that proves that this yoga is reliable.
3. Rule of one half longevity yoga even if Saturn conj Lagna Lord?. He has formed Rules of calculation of longevity on the basic of meager data of 70 horoscopes, I have tested this theory on more than 100 different cases. In this method there are so many yoga they are many and varies so when you calculate someone longevity and if the horoscope is with complicated yoga you might not know which ones are active for reductions, so I first use my theory :

3 step Pam: Pam 1 and the Extra Pam. This will help to reduce error for calculating longevity, as I use Pravin theory not for exact year but for the final Pam.

[Editor: Compared to the Ayurdaay Systems given in our literatures, this method is totally new and somewhat different. It is the research that can prove and improve this method. The present Author has done extensive research on the Theory of Longevity by Pravin Jagad with numerous examples. Based on his experiments, he expanded this theory to have more accurate span of life. His research on more rules for finding span of life is coming on the wings-pages of this magazine! He has already prepared Articles “PAM 1” to arrive at some primary span of life in years ranging from 5-7 years e.g. 57 to 62 years etc. using PAM 1 Theory. Also by “EXTRA PAM” theory one can arrive at the Span of the life very near to the actual death. For the new articles, watch next issues of Saptarishis Astrology.

Illustrations           

Here some of the real world examples are given. The theory is tried for the known examples to fine out the longevity. The author is quite accurate to calculate the life span based on the theory. Readers are requested to check the samples and analyze the theory. Please, also remember one quote from the manuscript of the Author, when you try theory on yourself.

“I know after studying this theory the reader will tempted to turn to his own horoscope. If you find your Longevity is short please do not get alarmed. Your knowledge is not adequate for arriving at correct judgment……”

Sample explanation is given for the Last illustration.

Example: 1       Albert Einstein              

Longevity: 76 YEARS

Example: 2    Indira Gandhi          

Longevity: 66 YEARS

Example: 3    Swami Vivekanand          

Longevity : 39  YEARS

In this case there is no yoga for reductions so the longevity is 39 years.

Note: In this case the longevity is with Nature’s Mechanism only, using no special yoga. 

Example : 4     Bala Gangadhara Tilak        

Longevity : 64 YEARS

 Notes: In this case Rahu in conj. with L.L. gives years (Half minor rate). Usually nodes do not give longevity but in some cases they do, so more research has to be done.

Editor: The present author has tried to test the Nodes of Moons i.e. Rahu and Ketu for Longevity which is novel approach to the Original Theory.

Example: 5      B. Suryanaraina Rao             

Longevity : 81 YEARS 

Example: 6    Jagadish Chandra Bose   

Longevity: 80 YEARS

[Editor : In this horoscope, Lagna Lord Shukra is in 8^th and with Budha. So Lagna Lord is Major contributor and conributes at Major Rate i.e sixty years. Budha with Lagna Lord in 8^th contributes at Minor Full Rate i.e. 17 years. Jupiter is in Parivartana with Lagnesh and as Lagna Lord becomes Major contributor, Jupiter does not give any contribution. The Sun is in Ascendant and not exalted or in parivartana with any pther planet. It contributes at Proportionate Minor rate(See Table-3 and Figure : 1 ). The Sun is in 7^th  house i.e. distance from 1^st  house line is  120+16.1 = 136.1 and at Minor Rate of 6 months per 30 degree it gives 136 ÷  30 x 6 months ≈ 4.5 x 6 months =  27 months = 2 years 3 months. The Mars is in Opposition to Shani and thus Mars Aspects Shani in Karka. So Shani is not functional in giving Longevity and it does not give any contribution to longevity.]

About Author : I live in Rome born in 2 March 1968 and practice Astrology since 1995.  I am interested in research using Vedic ancient Astrological tools and testing them to prove that Astrology is a Divine science. Have many interests like, art since 1982, hidden history and mysteries of life.