Numerology, Name Change and Destiny

 

Read My Comments on an Interview with Celebrity Numerologist Sanjay B. Jumaani

Many readers have asked me about my views on numerology. Instead of giving only my opinion, I would first like to quote portions of an interview given by celebrity numerologist Sanjay B. Jumaani. I request readers to read his views with an open mind before reading my comments.

 

Excerpts from the Interview

 

Is Numerology a fad?

According to Mr. Jumaani, numerology is not a passing trend but a 5,000-year-old science. He believes that changing the spelling of a person's name can alter destiny and improve different aspects of life.

His Own Experience

Mr. Jumaani states that his father later realized his name should have been written as Sanjay B. Jumaani instead of Sanjay Jumani.

After changing the spelling, he says his career completely transformed. He left his marketing job, became a professional numerologist and attributes his success largely to this name correction.

His Father's Succes

According to him, his father changed his own spelling from Bansilal Jumani to Bansilal M. Jumaani.

He claims that soon afterward he received important assignments from Rakesh Roshan, including suggesting the spelling of "Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai" and later advising Ekta Kapoor on the spellings of many successful television serials.

Can People Without Lucky Numbers Still Be Lucky

Mr. Jumaani answered:

If your numbers are right, you are lucky.

However, he also added that even people with "bad" numbers may still become fortunate because of the lucky numbers of:

• spouse
• child
• house number

 

Can Name Changes Be Dangerous?

Mr. Jumaani admits that changing a name incorrectly can create problems.

He says his team checks a suggested spelling five times before recommending it because a wrong correction may produce negative results.

Accuracy of Predictions

Mr. Jumaani states that his predictions are correct about 90% of the time, although he admits there are exceptions.

He also considers Number 8 especially dangerous and even recommends adding a letter beside a house number totaling 8 to reduce bad luck.

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My Comments

The interview above raises several important questions.

I have no objection if someone wishes to believe in numerology. However, extraordinary claims require equally strong evidence. After studying astrology, palmistry and various predictive systems over many years, I have several reservations regarding numerology.

1. Is Numerology Really 5,000 Years Old?

Numbers themselves are certainly ancient.

However, the modern practice of predicting destiny by assigning numerical values to letters of a person's name is comparatively recent and became popular largely through Western occult traditions.

The claim that the present-day name-change system is 5,000 years old is therefore historically doubtful.

2. Numerology Is Not an Ancient Indian Predictive System

As far as I am aware, no classical Indian text recommends predicting destiny solely through numerical values assigned to names.

India has possessed sophisticated predictive sciences for thousands of years, including:

• Jyotish (Vedic Astrology)
• Palmistry
• Samudrik Shastra (Body Signs)

Compared with these systems, modern numerology is a relatively recent import.

3. The Biggest Logical Problem

The entire system depends upon assigning numbers to alphabet letters.

But every language has a different alphabet.

English, Hindi, Arabic, Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese and many other languages contain different letters and different phonetic arrangements.

For example:

English B and Hindi ब do not occupy the same alphabetic position.

If the numerical value changes simply because the script changes, how can destiny itself remain dependent upon the spelling?

This is the biggest logical weakness of the system.

4. Which Alphabet Should Be Used?

Different numerologists use completely different numbering systems.

For example, the South Indian (Chaldean) method assigns values differently from the Latin (Pythagorean) method.

Consequently, the same person's name can produce different numerical values depending on the system used.

Which one is correct?

There is no universally accepted answer.

5. Can Spelling Alone Change Destiny?

Suppose, for argument's sake, that changing one letter can improve destiny.

Then many practical questions arise.

Should we change:

• our own name?
• spouse's name?
• children's names?
• company name?
• house number?
• city name?

Mr. Jumaani himself says that a person's fortune may depend upon the lucky numbers of a spouse, child or even house number.

If so, whose name should actually be corrected?

This makes the theory difficult to test objectively.

6. Success Stories and Confirmation Bias

During 2000-2005, television channels frequently highlighted Mr. Jumaani's association with Bollywood and Ekta Kapoor's serials beginning with the letter K.

When a film becomes a blockbuster, numerology often receives publicity.

However, when a film fails—which happens to nearly 80% of releases—the numerologist is rarely held responsible.

Selective reporting naturally creates an impression of greater accuracy than may actually exist.

It is also worth noting that Ekta Kapoor later produced many successful projects without insisting on titles beginning with the letter K.

7. Lack of Scientific Evidence

Scientific testing has generally failed to support numerological claims.

Two independent studies—one conducted in the UK (1993) and another in Israel (2012)—found no evidence that numerological methods could reliably diagnose or predict the outcomes they claimed.

Like many other pseudoscientific systems, numerology has not demonstrated consistent predictive validity under controlled conditions.

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A Reader's Experience

One reader who had personally consulted Mr. Jumaani later shared the following experience. He read my Quora post and posted this comment Does numerology really have power to change fate?

 

Readers may draw their own conclusions from this experience.

 

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My Conclusion

People frequently ask me whether I recommend numerology.

My answer is that everyone is free to believe whatever they find meaningful.

However, I personally find modern numerology to rest on several arbitrary assumptions, particularly regarding the assignment of numbers to alphabet letters.

In my opinion, if one wishes to study traditional Indian predictive sciences, the following have a much stronger historical and theoretical foundation:

1. Planetary Astrology (ज्योतिष)
2. Palmistry (हस्तरेखा)
3. Samudrik Shastra (सामुद्रिक शास्त्र)

Whether one accepts or rejects any predictive system, it is always better to examine its assumptions, internal consistency, historical evidence and practical results with an open and critical mind.