The objections, taken one at a time.

Think of a world without numbers or letters. It would be chaos. Both were handed to us by the ancients, and alongside astronomy we inherited from them the predictive sciences of astrology and numerology.

Cosmic forces manifest in one physical form or another — a fact even the sceptic does not deny. We are under continuous bombardment from those forces; the only real question is which body they arrive from. The rishis assigned a number to each planet after long observation, weighing angular distance from the Sun and the Earth, the strength of its vibration, its speed and its orbit.

So numerology influences everyday life whether or not one believes in it. Belief is not a precondition of gravity either.

A good question. Wisdom behaves like a river: it flows from place to place and enriches the soil the whole way. Numerology, in whatever form it began, passed through Chaldea, Egypt, Greece and the land of the Hebrews, each of which nourished it.

The world has always wanted simple, quick ways of solving daily problems. The Phoenician, Greek and Roman scripts provided one where the Eastern scripts did not; Egyptian numerals were easy to handle and were universally adopted, and so were the twenty-six English letters.

Did we not recognise the advantage of a motor vehicle over a bullock cart? The phonetically convenient letters of English and the written form of the Arabic numerals came into use the same way. Einstein once reminded Dr Radhakrishnan that it was India that gave the world the zero — shoonya, gola, andaa in the earliest Sanskrit texts. The world accepted it readily. A changing world has the right to move from the esoteric to the exoteric.

They need not be. The question is macrocosmic; the answer is microcosmic.

Even twins born on the same date, at the same hour and minute, to the same parents, do not find their lives alike. Their features may match, and some events may rhyme. Their fortunes differ — and that is precisely where numerology begins to do its work, because the name number, the destiny number and the timing of undertakings all differ too.

The readings for 26, whether as a birth date or a name number, are a mixture of good and bad, because it falls under the influence of Saturn, represented by 8.

Whether any number turns positive or negative depends on the birth number, the destiny number, the name number, and the date on which a work is commenced. The readings printed in the book are basic ones. It is not a taboo.

For material success, 8 people must work harder than others. But 8 shows the shortest road to spiritual success. President Truman and General MacArthur were both born under 8. They did not see eye to eye, and MacArthur was relieved of his position at the peak of his popularity — a reversal my father predicted in print well before it happened. The American holiday calendar has since immortalised MacArthur's name and not Truman's. Mysteries of that kind can be read only by an experienced numerologist who is both intuitive and intelligent.

Science of Fortune says that 7 people succeed in all their virtuous undertakings, and that they should avoid dates falling under 7 (with some exceptions), 8, 17 and 26. They should choose partners born under 2, 4 or 6.

People born on 8 dates should hold names according to their destiny number, where that number is fortunate. They should avoid the 8th, 17th and 26th in their careers, and their partners should be of 1, 4 or 6. There is corresponding advice for 2 people, and success follows if at least the destiny numbers are favourable.

But no book can give lifetime interpretations for every human being born between the 1st of January and the 31st of December. That is where a qualified numerologist is required. A benefic number is not always benefic, and a malefic number is not always malefic. The book is a signpost and a beacon; the walking, running, swimming or sailing must be yours.

Ask who was first in the world to give interpretations up to 108. Pandit Sethuraman. Ask who is still regarded as preceptor by clients across the world. Pandit Sethuraman. Ask who published the first book of modern numerology in 1954, still in demand seventy years later. Pandit Sethuraman.

From the novice to the practising professional, there is scarcely anyone in this country or elsewhere who does not know Panditji or his work. The system is original, unique and practical, founded on years of study and research interleaved with sustained spiritual practice.

Many recent authors — barring a few — have plagiarised that work and published it under their own names. I can only observe that they did not check their own numbers first, since action has been initiated against those copyright violators.

Yes — but who will bell the cat?

There are clear examples in the closing pages of the book, which deal with this subject alone. Many readers have written in appreciation of those conclusions, because they are found nowhere else.

Dr C. V. Raman once said: Fanaticism is the enemy of truth. Never become so scientific or so religious that you forget to be human. Those who live by that axiom know that numerology has stood the test of time, because it rests on the bedrock of logic and observation.

Western scholars have wondered how, without instruments, the ancient pandits of India fixed the precession of the equinoxes at 25,827 years. Popes Leo XIII and Pius X, Shah Muzaffar al-Din of Persia, and the American rationalist Colonel Ingersoll all expressed belief in numerology. Ingersoll — an atheist — went so far as to say that he did not believe in God or religion but did believe in numerology. These are recorded statements, not hearsay.

The present world is more conscious of numbers than any before it. Those interested in finding the signs of their own fortune will need the book.