Hari Om
There is sufficient historical proof that astronomy is an offshoot of astrology. Almost 4,000 years ago, our forefathers were able to study the planetary movements and make predictions. In those days, astrology and astronomy were twin studies. Religious leaders were experts in astronomy and used astrology to advice rulers appropriately and accurately.
Several centuries before Galileo and Newton, India saw expert astronomers such as Kanada, Bhaskara and Aryabhatta, who revealed astounding facts about the universe. In ancient Egyptian and Chinese scriptures, as well as in our own historical texts – the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, there are several references to predictions of the future. Other historical instances are encapsulated below:
• Alexander the Great employed Indian astrologers in his court. They predicted that he would be poisoned in the Babylonian court. So Alexander avoided going to Babylon for as long as he could. Finally, he did travel to Babylon due to unavoidable reasons and was poisoned by his enemies, just as the Indian astrologers had predicted.
• When Jesus Christ was born, King Herod’s astrologers predicted that the child born to Jewish parents would become the leader of his people and cause the end of Herod’s dynasty.
• Disturbed by this, Herod had all male children of Jesus’age killed. But Christ escaped. He became the protector of his people.
• Kamsa’s story is also similar. When he was told that the eighth child born to his sister would be responsible for his death, he imprisoned his sister and her husband and killed their children one by one. Still, Krishna – the eighth-born – escaped and killed Kamsa.
• Julius Caesar employed a famous astrologer called Spurina in his court. Caesar was warned that his friends would kill him. The prediction came true.
• French seeress and astrologer, Mademoiselle Lenormand warned Emperor Napoleon repeatedly about embarking on a Russian campaign. She cautioned him that defeat was sure if he invaded Russia. However, Napoleon ignored it and invaded Russia, only to face defeat. Yet another prediction that came true.
History shows several such instances to support astrology in ancient times. Horoscopes started being charted based on the time and date of birth of children. Sixteen horoscopes have been discovered during archaeological excavations in New Babylon between 600 and 300 BC.
People today dismiss astrology as false without understanding the history behind this much respected supreme art and science.
There is only one reason for not believing in astrology – even if we agree that planets, the sun and the moon impact the lives of people, then should the impact not be uniform for all born on the same date and time? Since it is not so, then how can it be true?
We pose some questions to the sceptics:
• If we agree that genetics is responsible for the physical make-up of a person, then why are all children born to the same parents not alike? Why are they different in appearance, behaviour and mental make-up?
• If we assume ten people eat the same food, why does only one develop diarrhoea? If it is caused by the germs, then why don’t the other nine also suffer?
• All students are taught by the same teacher. But one student gets 100 and the other 0. Why this difference?
We can pose thousands of such questions to them, and they will give us replies. However, if we analyse these questions and answers, we can say that fundamentally there is only one view.
• Each person is unique, different from the next person. Each person has his or her own unique qualities.
• The fingerprints of two individuals do not match. Based on it, fingerprint experts try to identify criminals. Why?
• This is true of all creations. No two trees of the same species are similar. Each bears different kinds of branches, leaves and fruits. Why?
• There are several types of butterflies. Even in the same type, the patterns are different. Why?
• In Nature, nothing is a true copy of another. Each has its own distinguishing features. Why?
• If there are different reasons for all these distinctions, then why can’t people born at the same time have different horoscopes, qualities and habits?
Indian astrology has stood the test of time. The Sanskrit word ‘Jyotish’ literally means the ‘science of light’. It is called Vedic Astrology by westerners.
We can find palm leaves from Vedic periods with writings on astrology. Our 4,000-year-old Vedas clearly enunciate astrological principals.
What is the fundamental principle of astrology?
• The time of conception determines the future. The conception, because, the union of a man and woman does not happen at the same time for all born at a particular time. This could be one reason for the differences in horoscopes.
• The moon and the planets also have different influences on the growing foetus. The health of the mother also is a factor. This can be another reason for the different horoscopes.
• The planetary and lunar positions and the rays at the time of the child’s birth, as well as the cosmic energy also determine the future of the child.
There is one more thing beyond these arguments. Past life merits and sins, and the sins and merits of the ancestors also affect the child being born. Karma has a big role to play in determining the fate of an individual. Vedic Astrology accepts this firmly.
Depending on one’s past birth good and bad actions, each enjoys the benefits or suffers the consequences. One’s horoscope is determined by this, as per the rule laid down by Brahma Deva.
Therefore, there can be no two opinions about the fact that people born at the same time will have different horoscopes, characters and differing events in their lives. Our experiencing it in this life is the strongest proof.
• Rays from the sun and Jupiter fuse with those from the earth and facilitate conception. According to Vedic Astrology, the planet, Jupiter, is responsible for the formation of the limbs from the third month onwards.
• Science states that if a mother does not eat well during pregnancy, then the foetus cannot grow properly.
• Any diseases the pregnant mother contracts, especially viral, will affect the development of the child in the womb.
• Some medications taken by the mother can also harm the development of the foetus.
• Science believes that the x-rays, gamma rays and alpha rays from the cosmos can affect our bodily functions.
• In that case, why do we reject the notion that the cosmic rays can affect a child and thereby change its horoscope?
Here is an interesting example. Seven Presidents in America died while in tenure. While this itself is not unusual, what is unusual is the fact that each one of them assumed office on a day that the rays of Jupiter and Saturn fuse once in twentyyears.
The reasons for the death of the seven American presidents:
• William Harrison – 1841, pneumonia
• Abraham Lincoln – 1865, shot dead
• James A. Garfield – 1881, shot dead
• William McKinley – 1901, shot dead
• Warren Harding – 1923, cardiac arrest
• Franklin Roosevelt – 1945, brain haemorrhage
• John R Kennedy – 1961, shot dead
In 1980, Ronald Reagan survived an attempt to shoot him. The only reason Reagan survived was because Venus was in a favourable position in his horoscope.
The danger-attracting numbers are 13 and 26. For example:
• 26-01-2001 – the Gujarat earthquake that shook the country
• 26-12-2004 – the tsunami that took away lakhs of lives
• 26-07-2007 – Mumbai experienced unprecedented rains
• 26-09-2008 – a huge bomb blast in Ahmedabad
• 26-11-2008 – terrorists attack Mumbai
• 13-12-2001 – terrorists attack Parliament
• 13-05-2008 – bomb blast in Jaipur
• 13-09-2008 – bomb blast in Delhi
2008 is 62 years since India’s independence (6 + 2 = 8).
Also,
Taiwan earthquake: 26th April 2010 (no death toll)
Japan Earthquake: 26th February 2010 (no death toll)
The Rhodes earthquake: 26 June 1926 (no death toll)
North America earthquake: 26 January 1700 (not accounted)
Yugoslavia earthquake: 26 July 1963 (1,070 dead)
Bam, Iran earthquake: 26 December 2003 (60,000 dead )
Sabah Tidal waves: 26 December 1996 (1,000 dead )
Turkey earthquake: 26 December 1939 (41,000 dead )
Kansu, China earthquake: 26 December 1932 (70,000 dead )
Portugal earthquake: 26 January 1951 (30,000 dead )
Krakatau volcanic eruption: 26 August 1883 (36,000 dead )
Aceh Tsunami: 26 December 2004 (230,000 dead)
Tasik earthquake: 26 June 2010 (80 dead)
All the above incidents happened on (1 + 3 = 4), (2 + 6 = 8). It is believed that 4 and 8 are not auspicious numbers. Why? This conclusion is a result of astrological research.
The number 13 represents the test, the suffering and the death. It symbolises the death to the matter or to oneself and the birth to the spirit: the passage on a higher level of existence. (In Tarot,13 no. card is named as Death, but it mostly means death of a struggling period and new beginning s. In some Tarot deck’s The 13th mystery of the Tarot does not have a name. It marks the uncertainty, the hesitation, the fickleness or again a transformation, the end of something (the death) and a renewal, a friction, that is to say a very important change.)
26 is the combination of 2 (Moon) and 6(Venus) denoting Rudra yoga of destruction resulting in 8 (Saturn).
• Will the stock market do well? An astrologer can predict the trend.
• Many leading firms have employed astrologers at high salaries,
Companies are now relying on the advice of astrologers for the recruitment of their employees. It may sound strange, but many of the companies have started hiring astrologers in their HR team. Astrologers calculate the planetary constellations by matching the applicant’s horoscope and the company’s horoscope and try to find who will be appropriate or beneficial for the company after recruitment?
Some of the scientific discoveries that have validated astrological concepts:
a. Serial killers or criminals can be verified through a person’s astrological birth chart.
b. There is a strong relation correlation between a person’s chosen profession and their astrological birth chart.
c. Mental illness can be predicted by astrology.
d. Fetuses might be affected by the movement of the sun, moon, and planets as they interfere with the Earth’s magnetic field which may have an influence on the fetuses occupation later in life.
e. Women may use the lunar cycle for purposes of contraception.
f. Many terrestrial phenomena are influenced by electromagnetic and gravitational effects originating within the solar system.
g. Sun spot activities affect the molecular structure of WATER.
h. Sun spot activities affect the molecular structure of BLOOD.
i. Potatoes, rats, fiddler crabs, and oysters and many creatures are all governed by lunar periods.
j. Appropriate Planetary movements, configurations and specific conjunctions are able to predict and analyse the market movements, natural disasters and major political and climatic changes.
k. A theoretical and analytical model using principles of mathematics and astro-physics may account for human consciousness and process as it relates to the zodiac.
l. The rules and guidelines of Parasara and Jaimini systems of Vedic Astrology (Jyotish) have been successfully applied on many celebrities, politicians and others to predict and verify their deaths accurately.
m. The law of karma was demonstrated to be a reality in a study which confirmed that acting selflessly has rewards.
In general, when compared with western system, Vedic astrology seems more accurate because it relies more on accurate and astronomical principles. It is kept in view that planets are moving in the sky as per the Nirayana system. Vedic Astrologers not only assess the natal chart but also the dasas, the periods of different planets transiting through different signs and their influence and aspects in real time. Also, Vedic Astrology is based on Moon sign over Sun sign. Sun changes its sign in around a month while Moon changes its sign in 2.25 days, which is the reason why predications based on Moon are most reliable and accurate since our moods and circumstances change frequently. Secondly, moon reflects the mind and emotions, our psychological behaviour, thus interpreting moon’s placement leads to more emphatic predictions and analysis. Vedic Astrology, hence is equipped with more precise and detail-oriented tools and methods of predictions than western astrology, thus making it more reliable.
In Vedic Astrology for example, when Shani Dev (Lord Saturn) moves into the Rohini star constellation (nakshatra) once in every 30 years, this is one of the most dreaded transits of the kings and their kingdoms. Vedic scriptures say “Kings will die and kingdoms will fall when Shani Dev enters Rohini”. Last time when Shanidev entered Rohini in May 2001, the entire Royal family of Nepal was wiped out in June 2001. It was followed by the death of a minister and Raja of Gwalior Sri Madhav Rao Scindia in September 2001 in a plane crash. Then came the 9/11 strike by Osama Bin Laden.
This is clear proof that the predictions based on astrology canbe clear and perfect. However, there could be practitioners who may not be well-versed in the art, and like all professionals, need to hone it better.
Astrology then is a science of study like any other. The easiest thing is to denounce it as bunkum. But history and events have shown otherwise.
GF’ Blessings.
