4.10.2013

PREDICTIVE ASTROLOGY : SCIENCE OR SUPERSTITION

Whether predictive astrology is a science or superstition, is not an easy question to answer. Traditional and superstitious people who have been cheated because of their belief in astrologers, have not lost their faith in astrology as such. People of high intellect and scientific background have been seen to approach astrologers secretly. I would blame the government, educational institutions and media for this controversial situation of astrology.
 Till today they have neither proved astrology to be a science nor a superstition. If they would have believed astrology to be merely a superstition, then astrologers involved in making and matching horoscopes could have found themselves in legal problems. People involved in performing and 'tantra-mantra' could have found themselves behind bars; and publication of horoscopes in various magazines would have been banned.
The government took steps  to restrict the practice of evil customs like- gambling, drinking, child-marriage, 'sati-pratha' (woman willingly burns herself on her husband's funeral pyre); but it did not try and stop the practice of astrology, why? Is it because government believes astrology to be a science- No.
If it would have believed so then it would have conducted competitions and seminars in this field and would have awarded the scholars or at least given them some incentives. But nothing of the kind has been done till date. If we look at the print media they have printed articles on 'tantra-mantra', astrology, interviews of astrologers, forecasts, etc. But what is the use of such articles when they have not been able to reach any conclusion over this controversy nor pass any message to their readers.
 The selection of astrologers by the publishers for their articles is based on the professional success rather than their deep knowledge of the field. These successful astrologers do not care for the development of predictive astrology. Representation of astrology by such astrologers fails to pass any substantial message to the readers. The publishers should encourage those astrologers to publish their articles who can prove astrology to be a science. They should take up a case study based on a person's place, date and time of birth and invite astrologers to give their personal readings of that particular horoscope; and that astrologer who is able to predict it most accurately should be given a place in newspapers and magazines.
 But never an astrologer has been asked to prove his knowledge by either a governmental, non-governmental or an educational institution. Hence the astrologers with deep knowledge of the field could never come forward and the society kept getting fooled by hoaxers.
Astrology thus, can be said to be a Symbolic science. According to law of probability, there is a 50% chance of an incident happening or not happening. But if on some base the possibility of an incident can be raised to 60, 70 or even 80% then we can definitely call it a science. But in order to achieve this one needs to study and research this field in depth.
Let's take the example of medical science- On any given time some or the other new diseases force the doctors to do research on it. An effort is made to establish a relationship between cause and effect on the basis of a hypothesis, but success in the first attempt itself is not assured. Several tests have to be conducted, lot of money and time is expended on these tests, then only one reaches to a conclusion.
Take the example of  Geology- initially work is done on the assumption that  rich mineral resources could be found on a particular place, but it is not a certainty. But with the development of geological science one can predict cent percent, without much expenditure, where these resources actually are. A few decades back space technology was also not so advanced. Unlimited amount was spent on making satellites, but these were destroyed immediately after projection. Thereafter efforts were put in to modify them, which has shown positive results. Weather forecasts done on the basis of photographs procured from these satellites is becoming more and more precise day-by-day.
But such is not the case with astrology. Most people are not ready to accept it as a science, and those who do are a blind supporter of it. They do not question the predictions made by the astrologers. Hence, the astrologers, too misuse this blind trust laid in them. They misguide the people for their own personal benefits. That's why people apprehensive of approaching astrologers. Even if the astrologer does predict the future correctly, he might not get so much appreciation in comparison to the repartee he would get on making a false prediction. Hence, till now the astrologers take a safe way out.
For example if they tell a person, "You are going to face huge problems in the future, get some 'puja' done!" If the person does not perform the prayer and he faces difficulties- then the astrologer was right; if he performs the prayer and still faces problems then what would have happened if he wouldn't have performed it; and last but not the least if the problem really does not occur by performing the puja then the astrologer is believed to have really eroded the problem. In this way an astrologer may gain, but eventually predictive astrology is at a loss.
But the fact is that despite of uncountable hindrances development is in the nature of all things when the time is right. Nature sees to it that the seeds that it has sowed also get the nourishment. Even when it is ignored it goes back to the nature. Today when governmental and non-governmental organizations totally disregard astrology  as a science or are forced to rely on professionally accomplished astrologers, when traditional astrologers are misguided by 'Rahu-ketu' and 'vimshottari system'; people are unaware of the fact that dynamic astrology has also developed in this dynamic age. After the research done by " Dynamic Astrological Research Centre" on static and dynamic strength of planets, astrology today has become an objective science.
Through this newly found system the native can receive a graph on the ups and downs of his whole life. According to dynamic astrology, like the glands the planets, too effect a person at specific periods in his life. Moon, which represents the heart, effects the child from his birth till the age of twelve years. Mercury, representing the mind, effects a juvenile in the learning stage to learn and grasp new things. Mars, otherwise known as the planet of courage, effects its native from the age of twenty four to thirty six. At the age of thirty-six to forty-eight a person becomes more tactful and experienced in his field of work, hence the planet effecting this tact is Venus. Amongst all planets sun is the most powerful. At the age between forty-eight and sixty a person has to take the most responsibilities in his life, it is a period in his life when his patience and ardor are tested. Thus, sun effects a person the most at this stage. Sixty to seventy-two years is the time of retiring from all responsibilities and leading a religious life. The planet of chastity is Jupiter which effects the people at this age. The farthest planets Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto effect a person in his old age after seventy-two.

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