Interesting thread re: remedies, pooja etc. Let me share my 2 cents that I have learnt over 35 years of practicing Vedic as well as KP astrology.
The very basis of astrology is the planets, their location in the horoscope and their transit, That's the blueprint of the person's life. It means everything is pretty much predestined or "vidhi-likhit". Now, unless one can change the location of planets or their transits, how can one alter the results? See my point?
The act of doing pooja, shanti, remedies etc. is just to give the person some degree of mental peace. After all, every emotion - be it happiness, sadness, joy, elation, disappointment or whatever - is only in the person's mind. Further, if we mortal humans can change the course of any person's destiny, we would be almost God.
So the bottom line is: Don't put too much stock into remedies, pooja etc. These are the things that are sources of revenue for the "astrologers/gurus" that pry on unsuspecting and vulnerable people.
