ASTROLOGY AND BEYOND🔗

DOES ASTROLOGY

HAVE A SCIENTIFIC BASIS?

Astrology is a tricky subject to handle, because there are an equal number of believers and non-believers!

To the non-believers, it has to be shown that astrology is a proven science.

The believers must be convinced that it is not the ultimate science - there is a way beyond the predictions of astrology! I will try to do both.

Astrology has been practiced since ancient times by cultures across the world - by the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Arabs and the Hindus.

The fundamental theory of astrology is that cosmic phenomena affect life and events on Earth.

This is definitely true.

Earth is not an isolated planet. Whether we realize it or not, we are all space travelers! Events in outer space can certainly affect our lives.

How?

The sun, the moon and the planets - all have their own magnetic fields, gravitational forces and radiations, which influence the rhythms of life on Earth.

We all know that the sun and moon affect us on a daily basis. Every day, depending on the position of the sun, we experience physiological changes in temperature, heart rate, and so on.

In all cultures across the world, we find evidence of 'madness' increasing at the time of full moon. In fact, the word lunatic comes from lunar (from moon).

Experiments have proved that this is not just an empty belief. The American Institute of Medical Climatology has extensive statistical evidence that psychotic behaviour like destructive driving, arson and homicide - all increase on full moon days. Experimenters in Germany have proved that lunar phases correlate with respiratory and blood diseases, and even influence the time of death!

We have also seen that during solar flares or other disturbances on the sun, admissions to psychiatric hospitals increase sharply.

When the sun and moon can affect our physical, emotional and mental state so strongly, how can we doubt whether the planets can do the same?

In terms of chemical composition, man is made of the same material as the planets. Naturally, we respond to the changes produced in the Earth's magnetic field by other planets.

When these responses are on a day-to-day basis, they are easy to understand. But the planets can also have a long-term influence on us. This is the basis of astrological predictions.

Astrological predictions are very popular in the East, and in Bharat almost every Hindu will have a chart of personal astrological predictions - called his horoscope. This chart is prepared when the baby is born, and predicts which are his lucky and unlucky periods, which profession he will take up, when he will get married, and so on.

Even people who agree that the planets can influence us, don't believe that we can predict these influences in advance. How can the positions of the planets during your birth determine which profession you are going to take up?

But experiments have proved it!

An experimenter called Michael Gauquelin, working in the Psychophysiological Laboratory at Strasbourg, tested 1084 famous physicians, and found that an amazing number of them were born when the planets Mars or Saturn were rising. The results were 10 million times the number expected by chance (probability theory) alone!

In another experiment, an American psychologist called Vernon Clark collected horoscopes from a large group of people in different professions.

He passed on these horoscopes to 20 astrologers for their predictions on what the person's profession might be. 17 out of 20 predicted the right profession with an accuracy that was 100 times more than that expected by chance! Clark repeated these tests, making them tougher every time. He still got the same impressive results!

In Bharat, from ancient times, jyotisha (astrology) was used precisely for this: to determine which path a person was going to follow in life.

When a child entered the gurukul (school), jyotisha was used to diagnose what kind of personality, what kind of attitude and natural aptitudes he possessed. Accordingly, he would be trained in scripture study, martial arts, business skills, or whatever suited him best. This was one reason why astrology became widespread in Bharat.

How is this kind of prediction possible?

Just like lunar activity determines our moods to some extent, the moon and planets also exert an influence on the unborn child. Radiation of a certain wavelength can stimulate a certain area of the brain, which ultimately decides whether the person might be good at mathematics, whether he might be artistically inclined and so on. So if we know which planets were active during the period of the child's development, we can predict his future with some accuracy. This is a very basic explanation, for your understanding.

Moreover, all matter is composed of the same fundamental particles. And these particles behave in same way everywhere whether they are part of a planet, a tree, or you! As Quantum Mechanics has proved, matter also has a kind of wave motion. So each of the planets has a unique wave motion. When two waves of different wavelengths (from different planets) meet each other and get superimposed, there will be some 'high points' (during which both waves are in harmony and their qualities are enhanced), and some 'low points' (during which they cancel out each other's influences). This is how the combined influence of various planets is calculated.

Because the waves have a regular frequency, the periods of harmony and disruption also happen at regular intervals. Using this as a basis, astrologers can predict the ups and downs of your life.

The basis of astrology is not magic, it is mathematics.

Astrology is like an equation in which the positions of the sun, the moon and the planets can be seen as variables. By making complex calculations based on these positions and their influences, a competent astrologer can definitely get verifiable results.

Like any other information, astrological data can be statistically analysed and quantified.

But the major problem is that data from an enormous number of variables have to be combined, weighed and worked out in various permutations. The individual and combined influence of planets have to be considered. Moreover, the planets not only influence us, but also each other.

This is a very difficult task, so most astrologers these days just use a few basic variables, which ultimately give inaccurate results. Above all, the results are open to interpretation, which makes the whole science less reliable. These are the reasons that astrology is not seen as a credible science today.

I am not here to prove or disprove astrology.

I am here to demystify it.

Astrology can give a fair idea of the influences working on you. It can show you the problem, but it can't show you the solution. Meditation can show you the solution.

Meditation is nothing but a way of connecting to the cosmic energy, the force that guides the sun, the planets and you. When you function in harmony with the cosmic energy, you will naturally have better protection from these influences. Anyone who goes out in the rain is likely to catch a cold but the person who does not resist the rain as harmful, can simply remain unaffected by it.

Does everybody go mad at full moon?

Of course not! The full moon affects only the already imbalanced mind. If your condition is stable, these factors simply don't affect you.

Meditation strengthens you not only spiritually, but physically, mentally and emotionally as well.

With meditation, you can go beyond astrology.