22
MAR 2016
Astrology as a Science General Simplistics About Astrology- Astrologer Vinayak Bhatt
Astrology is a science as a scientific approach can be applied to test its validity. First and foremost it is important to scientifically make out what astrology is indeed so as to dissociate it from certain wrong traditions being carried on under the garb of astrology. In other words, astrology does not include such acts like witchcraft, liberation from ghosts, stone-god or astrological prognostications under the so-called influence of soul of any saint and Hindu gods like Bhairav etc.
Astrology is only the scientific study of natural phenomena in the real world around. In fact, scientific model of knowledge of astrology is based on the apparent correlation between the terrestrial events and the celestial phenomena in the heavens.
ASTROLOGY AND CONTINUOUS OBSERVATION
The development of science is based on continuous observation. ‘there was a time when Black Hole was taken for vacuum but in the light of modern astronomical knowledge it is the place where neutrons have concentrated en masses. Here the light is totally absorbed. The theory of expansion of the universe is still under investigation. Likewise in astrology, Mars exercises a great influence in the birth charts of military personnels.
Sometimes under the martial influence, a native does not grow to be a military or police officer, but he is definitely endowed with high qualities like bravery and boldness. As a rule, the ‘ future of a person depends upon his personality traits. So the martial influence has been, in a broader sense, associated with becoming of a military or police personnel whereas minutely we may find that a person under the martial influence is endowed with personality traits of a military or police personnel. Likewise through continual observation, a new meaning has been assigned to sadhesati, the seven and a half years period of saturnine transit through twelfth, first and second houses in the lunar chart. Now sadhesati is no longer a synonym with a period of troubles and woes.
Rather it is an indicator of a busy schedule which can benefit more to the person concerned. In olden times the native through Gajakesariyoga could be blessed with happiness from horses and elephants. But these days, the person under this yoga can procure modern facilitates like a scooter, a car or a helicopter even. Thus we should not interpret any astrological combination as per word meaning in Toto. Thus it may be contemplated that astrological rules for prognostication may be verified and there must be a room for modification through scientific research.
ASTROLOGY AND MODERN SCIENCE
Science was considered to be a set of universal truths in nature. But through continual observational research, nuclear science has, for example, developed so much so that we cannot help but think that man has for a long time in history been victim of taking Dalton’s atomic theory for an ultimate reality.
Similarly the law of cause and effect had been considered as a universal truth till Heisenberg’s principle of uncertainty was discovered. Such examples can be multiplied. On the other hand, a few so-called superstitions of the olden times have turned out to be scientific glamours. For instance, the ellipsoidal aura around the head of a person can now be visualized through Kyrlian photography.
A few so-called people with scientific temper have misconceived of the validity of astrology and compared it with an ordinary estimation. But studies in this field indicate that astrology like statistics, meteorology and psychology is also a sort of sophisticated estimation based on mathematical parameters, of course. None of these fields of knowledge could merely thrive on the law of chance alone through ages. Indeed there is no room for any orthodox notion of any hard and fast rule in astrology.
Several principles of astrology have been developed to the level of scientific laws. For example, according to election astrology, one should engage oneself in literary and aesthetic activities when one is breathing through the left nostril. Modern re-searches in America have revealed in this concern that right side of brain has better control at that time. Sione right side of brain is more associated with literary activities, so such activities are, of course, better performed when one is breathing through left nostril. There exist several notions in astrology which deserve scientific analytical study of this type.
ASTROLOGY AS A SCIENTIFIC MODEL
Everything happens as a result of sequence of a few events in nature. All motions are wave-type. It is well known that the Sun, the Moon and other planets affect us through light, magnetic, electro-magnetic and gravitational forces. Since ages, man has been endeavouring to properly delineate language of nature regarding sequential consequences of such an interaction of heavenly bodies. The bee-keepers understand the language of bees. In Japan, there is a particular bird which leaves the populated area a few hours before there occurs an earthquake.
Meteorologists make a weather forecast which sometimes goes wrong because such a forecast is based on only a few selected parameters such as direction, pressure, and relative humidity of air. Likewise man has employed only a few parameters such as the movements of planets, for understanding the language of nature regarding divination and prognostication. Thus a scientific model of astrology developed. There had been a continual development of astrological modelling. Probably that is why the Moon, despite being a satellite of the earth, has been considered as a planet in predictive astrology.
Although the ecliptic and the celestial equator actually intersect nowhere in the heavens, yet the points of their intersection through geocentric observation have been termed as Rahu (Dragon’s head) and Ketu (Dragon’s tail) remaining always 180° apart from each other. There occurs an eclipse if on the days of full-moons and new-moons, the Sun and the Moon happen to fall within the ecliptic limits because then the Sun, the Moon, Rahu and Ketu happen to lie in the same plane.
And just like the silence zone in an auditorium, Rahu and Ketu are two important points. Although astronomically a planet is a celestial body revolving around the Sun, yet with the repeated usage of a word, the word ‘planet’ has become a technical word in predictive astrology and it denotes the Sun, the Moon, Mercury etc. including Rahu and Ketu as well.
In the scientific astrological model, it is also worth-mentioning how the lunar zodiac might have been divided into twelve signs. In fact, the zodiacal circle was first divided into 27 + 21/67 day-degrees, and subsequently in 819+27/67 muhurtas, 54900 celestial parts and finally in 360 saura days time degrees. As a lunar month contains 30 lunar days, so a solar month might have been considered to consist of 30 saura days. Our twelve Indian months viz. Chaitra, Vaishakha etc. are saura months. The length of a saura month corresponds to the time taken by the Sun to traverse over one-twelfth of the zodiacal circle.
Each saura month corresponds to a sign of the zodiac. Probably the twelve signs came into existence like this. The lunar zodiac has also been divided into 180 parts or 27 nakshatras such that a nakshatra consists of four parts. In a nadi text, the lunar zodiac has been divided into 54900 parts, each part representing a particular personality. Thus all the human beings have been classified there into 54900 types for purposes of astrological prognostications.
LIMITATIONS OF ASTROLOGY
Like all other branches of knowledge, astrology has its own limitations. Till today, astrology deals with the geocentric longitudes of planets. But there exist vast possibilities that neo-astrological horoscopes may be based on helio-centric or topocentric longitudes of planets. Besides correction of relative time may also be applied to determine the instantaneous longitudes of planets. We need to modify our astrological system so that we may also delineate the birth-chart of a child born in a space-shuttle.
A new model of astrology needs be developed in order to enable ourselves to distinguish whether the birth chart belongs to a male or a female, especially in the age when sex transplantation has become a common phenomenon so much so that a woman of today may be a man of tomorrow. Possibilities of research in astrology do not render it useless. Even in mathematics, division by zero is not defined, an imaginary number cannot be visualized through physical concept, and Format Theorem (the sum of cubes of any two natural numbers is also a cube of a natural number) has yet not been solved. In this context if any rationalist like the famous Dr. Kavoor of Coylon challenges the mathematicians to prove the existence of mathematics through the solution of Format Theorem only, all the galaxy of mathematicians of the world will fail at present.
But the science of mathematics would still not cease to exist. Astrology based on astronomical statistics is a continually developing science. It has no relation with any mysterious power. Professional competence is a must in this field. Some Indian universities have taken initiative to conduct courses in astrology. It is hoped that astrology in its true perspectives would be distinguished from the tricky witch craft blemishing the name of astrology and it would touch new horizons in the field of occult knowledge.
Astrology as a Science General Simplistics About Astrology- Astrologer Vinayak Bhatt
Read Navaratri Special Article
