Astrology - Who doesn't love to know the future? Who is not curious about what stars and planets are holding for us? Almost everyone Isn't it? But there are certain things that we should know about astrology in order to get better understanding about it and how and why it came into existence.
QUICK VIEW :
| Key concept | Astrology |
| Scientific perspective |
Since it is based on the movements of Planets and stars.
Macrocosm has definitely has its impact on Microcosm.
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| Main purpose of Astrology |
To estimate the best time to perform Yagna, Homam and such Vedic rituals and also to determine the auspicious time for rituals in Human life from birth to death including naming ceremony, wedding ceremony etc.
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| When and how does this change into superstition? |
When mixed with sentiments and personal emotions like selfishness, greed, insecurity and failure to realize that destiny can never be changed. Explained with examples from the two Epics.
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Astrology, is in fact a vast ocean and its history dates back way in the past. Many cultures have attached importance to astronomical events. Indians, Chinese and Mayans developed elaborate systems to predict terrestrial events from celestial observations. Alexander the Great's conquest of Asia allowed astrology to spread to ancient Greece and Rome. Ancient Egyptians had a system called Decanic Astrology where Decans are 36 groups of stars which rise consecutively on the horizon throughout each Earth rotation.
It is quite impossible to discuss about the astrological concepts of all the cultures as this post will never end then. Hence let us proceed with only our traditional "Jyotisha" and see how it impacts our lives today. Those who are interested to know about different variations in astrology, please refer the following links.
Jyotisha :
Jyotisha, also known as Indian Astrology and Vedic Astrology, is the traditional Hindu system of Astronomy and Astrology. Vedanga Jyotisha is one of the earliest texts about Astronomy within the Vedas. There are three main branches of this Jyotisha.
- Siddantha - Indian Astronomy
- Samhitha - Predicting important events related to countries such as war, earthquakes, political events, house and construction related matters (Vastu) etc
- Hora - Predictive astrology in detail
Each one of the above branches have many sub categories. Considering the length of this article, let us only see the "Hora" branch now. This contains various aspects and it deals with the finer prints of predictive astrology. Given below are some of the sub divisions of this branch....
- Jataka Shastra (Natal Astrology) - It deals with the horoscopes of individuals.
- Muhurtha (Electional Astrology) - election of best time to initiate an activity to get the maximum benefit from it.
- Nadi Shastra - The part of astrology which can reveal the past, present and future of individuals based on the palm leaf manuscripts compiled by Sages.
- Hastha Rekha (Palmistry) - Predictions based on palm analysis.
- Shakuna (Omens) - Predictions based on omens
- Swapna Vidya - Interpretation of dreams
- Akriti Vidya (Physiognomy) - Predictions based on structure and moles on the body
- Prashna (Horary Astrology) - Predictions based on the time when a question is asked by the querist
- Ankjyotish/Kabala (Numerology) - Branch of Astrology based on numbers.
- Streejataka (Female Astrology) - A special branch which deals with female nativities.
Scientific Aspect :
Our traditional Astrology, is based on Astronomy with respect to 27 Stars and 9 Planets (NavaGraha) Here is what Sankaracharya says about Astrology.
"The conditions of man corresponds to the changes in the position of the nine Grahas. A human being does not enjoy happiness all the time nor does he always suffer hardships. That is he experiences a mixture of happiness and sorrow. While he may be pushed to a higher position today, he may be thrust down to the depths tomorrow. It is not man alone that is subject to changes of fortune. Establishments too have their ups and downs, so also Nations. The Sages saw a relationship between the position and movements of the Planets and the destiny of man, the sorrow and happiness experienced by him. There is a branch of astrology called Hora-Skandha. If our horoscope is cast on the basis of the configuration of the Planets at the time of our birth, our fortunes over the entire period of our life can be predicted."
Since Astrology predictions are based on Astronomy (alignment of Planets and Stars) we can consider it to be scientifically relevant. But we should know the real reason behind Astrology. Our ancestors have taken great care to study the movements of Planets and Stars and have made tremendous contribution to the field of Astronomy. The real reason behind Astrology is only to know the right time to do the spiritual activities like Yagna, Homam etc and to fix the auspicious time for certain rituals including naming ceremony, upanayanam, wedding ceremony etc. In this sense, we can consider Astrology as a pure science as the auspicious time is fixed on the basis of cosmic alignment. The underlying fact is that Astrology is only pure prediction and it can never change or will change the fate. What is destined to happen will certainly happen no matter what we do.
Transformation into a Superstition :
Okay. Here is the interesting part now. This is our exact situation in modern world. We have very much deviated from the very basic ideology of Astrology (to find the auspicious time for the vedic rituals) and mixed our sentiments a lot into it. Sentiments here mean our personal emotions like insecurity, selfishness, greed, curiosity, thirst for success and fame, relationship issues just to name a few. This made us to run behind Astrologers (who are minting a lot of money in today's world) with various questions about future, career, finance, personal issues and what not...... Most astrologers either scare us by telling that our life will encounter more problems thereby suggesting remedies or try to please us by saying that we will get a tremendous fortune and for that we should make some measures to destroy the obstacles which prevent us from getting that fortune. For those who believe that astrology can solve their problems (Remember - it can predict not solve) please go through the following examples which I have taken from two instances from our two great Epics.
Example from Ramayana :
All set for the ceremony of "Pattabishekha". The whole city was overwhelmed about their favorite Rama to be crowned as the king of Ayodhya. Auspicious time (astrology as science) was fixed for the ceremony and the day had come. But what really happened? Was Rama got crowned as king that day? No. Instead he went to forest along with Sita and Lakshmana as per his father Dasaratha's wish. His incarnation itself was a predetermined one and so his life happenings (again Astrology as a prediction). Even though he was an incarnation (Godly) he accepted his destiny and was bound by human law when he lived in this Earth. He never went to any Astrologer to consult about his destiny and to find solutions or ways to solve his worries. He accepted the pain and lead a noble life in spite of his sorrow.
Example from Mahabaratha :
The great war began and the whole kshathriya clan was in trouble. No one could really escape the hard grip of death. There stood Krishna as the charioteer of Arjuna, silent and peaceful. The day had come for the death of Abhimanyu, his beloved nephew. (his sister Subathra's son). Was Krishna behind an Astrologer??? No. He accepted the destiny, predetermined fate of Abhimanyu and quietly did his duty. Same principle applied when he got the curse from Gandhari after the completion of the war and stood peaceful when his own city, Dwaraka was immersed in water. Again, he never tried to change anything even though he was an incarnation of Maha Vishnu.
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The Bottom line :
Astrology is scientific with respect to its ability to judge the best time to perform certain rituals. It is also true that it can predict the life events of an individual based on the time of birth and planetary arrangements during that time. It is a good science when we approach Astrology without selfishness. But the moment we start mixing our selfishness, greed and such emotions into it, it becomes a superstition. Why because we run behind astrologers, trust everyone and blindly follow their prescriptions like "Parikaram" etc. Ultimately we want to change our fate and luck. we all want to experience only pleasure in life. Not pain. For even a small and minute problem, we start referring to Astrology and try to figure out what went wrong with our Stars. We never realize that fate and destiny can never be changed. This attitude is the one which makes this amazing science a crazy superstition. Yes... our sentiments change this science into a superstition.
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