Astrology is based on Astronomy and not an imaginary subject!

Many people believe that the planetary movements across space affect human beings. There are different types of astrology dealing with persons, institutions and even countries! It cannot be proved scientifically but the effects of planets seems to be evident in natural disasters, manmade disasters like wars and destroying the habitats by spoiling the eco systems and clandestine activities that goes against human nature.

But in Hindu scriptures like “Atharva Veda”, there are clear mention about astrology, astronomy and the movement of planets through different stars. These Veda texts are not written by human beings. Veda is an auspicious sound cognized by highly evolved sages through intuitions. The chanting was heard in the sky and the sages were receptive to such Vedic sounds and they stored them in their memory. It is considered that Veda was prevailing for some five thousand years ago, but they were timeless teachings of god in the form of sound which could be grasped only by highly advanced souls like the sages of the past. In the Vedic traditions, virtues were considered dearer than life itself and hence many saints and sages of past were adept in Vedas. Due to passage of time, the very practice of chanting the Vedas dwindled and in this Kaliyuga, it is rare to find genuine Vedic scholar.

It was sage Vyasa, who collated the Veda into four divisions. Due to the onset of kaliyuga, people were materialistic in nature and hence to help them, Vyasa collated only important portions since Veda itself is endless and countless. Originally, it was taught by the Vedic scholars to their disciples orally. This was going on for many thousands of years. But, nowadays, technological skill and innovation of printing has aided the scholars to print them in books. Many foreigners have translated Vedas in their native languages, since they contain treasures of wisdom on various aspects of life. Nowadays, we wonder at the invention of Jets and Aero planes. But during the period of Ramayana, (around one lakh years back), the demon king Ravana was using an air borne chariot, simply by uttering some potent chants. They were not driven by fuels but by chants which are appropriate. Even the deadly arrows were accompanied by chants which destroyed the enemies by various ways like engulfing of fires, or torrential downpour or spreading of smoke preventing light etc.

Hence, the ancient Hindu sages were well versed in astronomy, which is the basis for astrological studies. Each baby, when it is born on earth comes with a peculiar astrological combination on the sky. The rising part of zodiac when the baby is born is known as “Ascendant” and all other planets are shown in paper in twelve different houses.

Like the Eastern astrology, Western astrology is an attempt to forecast the position of planets but it is counted from the Sun’s position. In East, we consider the position of moon to forecast the effects of planets. It is a vast subject and there are many combinations. Why I write this topic today? Today one major planetary transition has taken place. They are known as ‘shadow planets” in India. In western astrology, the planets are never taken into cognizance, since it is a point of intersection and not real planets. But the effects are visible in India and everywhere. Here, we propitiate the planets by worshiping the head of snake in idols and the body of a snake with elaborate fire rituals. Those people who are susceptible to the malefic effects go to those temples and participate in the congregational fire worship. It is a very interesting topic and I cannot do justification within a single hub.

Before concluding this hub, I will narrate some salient aspects of astrology. Many rationalists question the very branch of study, “astrology’. They are not aware that astrology is based on ‘Astronomy” which is a valid subject all over the world. The ancient Hindu sages have written many beautiful books on the esoteric subject. They have foretold the persons, how each year will fare for the king and his subjects. They also predict natural disasters based on astrological combinations and planetary positions on the sky.

Many Empires have been found based on auspicious occasions predicted by the court astrologers. Even rainfall, draught, earthquake and tornados are clearly predicted in Indian astrology. It is evident that on full moon days, the ocean tides will be high’ due to the attraction of moon’s rays. Likewise, the recent deluge in “Chennai was clearly mentioned in the almanac of Tamil. It was highlighted on the media also which coincided with the exact severity of the flood on a particular date.

Many in the West believe in “Nostradamus prophesies” which was written in the “Centuries” by the great Nostradamus. Many of his prophesies have turned out to be reality. If predictions are not valid, how the great man could write those prophesies beforehand? Even the Bible contains many revelations. Hence astrology is not an imaginative subject and it is based on fixed stars and moving planets on the sky!