Astrology-A Revealed Science

Astrology-A Revealed Science

The word “Astrology” arouses many reactions ranging from curiosity to disbelief. Very few are actually appropriately or sufficiently informed on this subject as a result most people harbor doubts & vague concepts about it. Some think Astrology is a mysterious subject, whereas some others question its rationality.

So often we hear people say “ I believe in Astrology ” or that “ I do not believe in Astrology “ which indicates that this great subject has been reduced to a matter of belief- a sorry state of affairs indeed for a science. In fact the people are not to be blamed for this because the rationale behind Astrology has actually never been appropriately highlighted which has led the modern rational mind to summarily reject the subject. The problem gets multiplied when those who practice this subject without having any deep understanding of this science fail to give proper logical answers to the questions on the subject instead they try to wriggle out of the questions by hiding behind religion & faith etc. In India unfortunately this subject has got mixed up with religion & rituals. It is not surprising therefore that people fail to distinguish between a priest and a professional Astrologer. On their part the priestly class enjoys playing the role of “ the know all “ behaving no better than quacks, thereby degrading this great subject and bringing into disrepute the whole lot of well meaning Astrologers.

The question that naturally arises is that “Why has the subject of Astrology become controversial and why it is not acceptable to rational minds? “ The answer to this question lies in the manner in which this science has come into being, at least in the eastern world. The knowledge of Astrology and its role in influencing the events & affairs in our world was brought to light by the great ancient seers & sages. These spiritual masters did not develop the subject through empirical methods or through observation & experimentation etc. which is the normal scientific procedure. Astrology and similar sciences were revealed to them when they were in their deep meditative state. This is the reason why the science of Astrology is called a revealed science or knowledge. Having attained this knowledge the Masters passed on the same to their disciples as an authentic set of principles however without the reasoning or logic of the derivation of the principles. The disciples in turn built the practices on these principles for the welfare of the society giving little or no importance for the aspect of derivation, deduction or validation. The practice of doubting or questioning the validity or reliability of the knowledge revealed by the Masters was not in vogue in those times. The knowledge revealed by the Master along with the associated practice has been passed on from generation to generation up till now, in the process however some of the original knowledge has got corrupted or distorted and due to the absence of the logic behind the principles & practices, some discrepancies and contradictions have crept in to the body of this science. Now it is the duty of the modern astrological community to verify, test & validate the principles of traditional astrology by experimentation, observation & analysis etc. to remove the anomalies & bring forth the core of uncorrupted knowledge as was passed on by our great ancestors. Some of the other branches of knowledge & practice were also passed on by those very masters and have been found to be of great utility to human beings even today, such as the knowledge & practice of Yoga, Meditation, Ayurveda etc.. Can one imagine that all the physiotherapists taken together could have developed the knowledge & practice of Yoga by the empirical method? Similarly could all the psychotherapists taken together have developed the knowledge & practice of Meditation? No, certainly not. These sciences have also been revealed in the same manner as Astrology. This is the reason why no one has taken the credit for the development of these sciences. The story associated with the revelation of the science of Astrology relates to Lord Shiva, who represents the manifestation of the Primordial Energy.

The revealed Truth or Knowledge has two very important dimensions to it; one-the knowledge is transferred as a whole in one go and two-the knowledge is complete in all respects; in other words such knowledge is complete, needing no further exploration or development. Nothing remains to be known on the concerned subject. Indian Astrology is one such science.

I would like to explain the aspect of the revealed Truth or Knowledge by the following example:-

A person goes to a restaurant where he likes a particular dish served to him at that restaurant. He wants to know the recipe for making the dish. If he starts to develop the recipe on the basis of his experience alone, he shall have to taste the dish many times over to be able to comprehend and determine the ingredients as well as the method & the sequence of the cooking of the dish. Only by repeated experimentation he may be able to develop the recipe on his own by the empirical method. This process shall not only be time consuming & cumbersome but it may not lead to the desired results i.e. he may not get the recipe of the dish correctly or accurately. On the other hand this person can get in touch with the Chef of the restaurant and learn the recipe. In this way he can easily & conveniently get the correct recipe as well as save a lot of his time & effort. In the second method of getting the recipe of the dish, the recipe has been revealed to the person by the Chef himself hence this person need not worry about the principles adopted by the Chef in developing the recipe as long as he can use the recipe to cook the same dish and enjoy it.

In much the same manner the masters in their quest for knowing the universe and finding ways & means of providing solutions to alleviate human suffering became one with the mind of the Creator through Meditation and in their deep meditative state the Truth or Knowledge was revealed to them. This revelation was then enunciated by them as the principles of a particular branch of knowledge.

In the recent times too, there is the well known case of the revelation of ‘Vedic’ mathematics to Jagadguru Swami Bharati Krishnateerth between the years 1911 to 1918 while he was deeply meditating in the forests of Sringeri. As was the tradition of the ancient Masters, Swami Krishnateerth did not claim the credit for the revelations; instead he called it Vedic mathematics unlike the usual trend of calling it after his own name such as ‘Krishnateerth’s formulae of mathematical calculations’ etc.

Almost all the modern sciences have developed on empirical lines and the products of the modern education system that we are, our minds have been conditioned to accept knowledge only if it is empirical in nature. This conditioning of the mind & intellect is called ‘rational thinking’ and any other way is not acceptable to the modern minds. The modern ‘intellectual’ is tuned to accept any idea or knowledge if and only if, the idea or knowledge can be understood in the pattern of cause & effect. Thus to become acceptable to the modern mindset, even Astrology has to pass the test of empirical validation otherwise it shall keep suffering the neglect & disdain which it is subjected to, by the modern scientific community.

Astrology is an ancient science and therefore it has suffered many onslaughts through the ages. Many original texts have been lost or destroyed by invaders whereas some of the great texts survived only as poor copies of the original enunciations. For example the famous Surya Sidhanta which describes the fine calculations of the Hindu Calendar is available today in a different form as it does not have some of the original shlokas (Sanskrit verses) which were studied & quoted by the Great Astrologer Varah Mihir in his works. This must also be the case with so many other texts too which have caused confusions within the scholars. Due to the variations in the understanding of the principles & practices in different schools of Astrology, there is a lack of standardization and agreement on a single set of accepted principles & practices leading to confusing & often contradictory approaches by Astrologers, each claiming to be authentic & perfect. In the recent times however there has been a silver lining as there is an attempt to validate some of the principles of Astrology by testing them through case studies and other analytical tools. The advent of the computer has been of a great help in these endeavors. It can be expected that in time to come, the principles of Astrology like that of any other science shall be tested, validated, codified and documented systematically removing the prevalent ambiguities, contradictions & anomalies.

It is essential meanwhile for the Astrologer community to explain & clarify the doubts that exist in the minds of the people so that there is greater clarity & a better understanding of Astrology. This clarity & understanding shall help people to make judicious use of Astrology in their lives.

What is encouraging however is the fact that during my long practice as an Astrologer, I have come across many inquisitive people, keen to know about the rationale behind Astrology with a positive attitude and I have also noticed the satisfaction on their faces when they have got their answers. There is no denying of the fact that in this new age there has been a shift in the acceptability of any matter merely from the point of view of faith (as was there in the past) to its acceptance on the basis of rationality, which is a good sign. Astrology too shall have to pass the test of rationality to find its due place in the modern times, which of course it will, since it is actually based on rational principles.

The importance of Astrology and its role in the improvement of human lives can never be over emphasized. I would like to narrate a story to highlight the utility of this great science.

In a small village there was a wood cutter who used to make his living by cutting trees to provide for the fuel & other needs of the village. One fine morning he came to the nearby forest as usual and selected an old tree for cutting. He started his work and toiled for the whole day tirelessly but to his great bewilderment he had made very little progress in his work. By evening he was tired & sweating but the tree stood tall before him. This was a new experience for the wood cutter who was used to going back home with the wood by this time. Being naïve & uneducated as he was he suspected that the tree was haunted. Helplessly he sat on the ground in frustration. An old sage happened to pass by. On seeing the hapless wood cutter the sage asked the man as to what was his problem. The wood cutter told his story along with his assumption that probably the tree was haunted. The sage closely inspected the tree and than asked for the axe which was used by the wood cutter. On inspecting the axe, he asked the wood cutter as to why he had not sharpened the axe. The wood cutter replied innocently that where was the time for sharpening the axe.

The moral of the story is that one should “sharpen” one’s axe in time. One should not remain unprepared or else s/he may fail to make the best use of the opportunities provided by Divinity. Astrology can be highly useful in guiding us in this aspect. By the help of Astrology we can identify our strengths & weaknesses and understand our own design so that we can make appropriate choices as well as devise meaningful strategies in life. In short Astrology can help us in becoming aware of ourselves.