Vedic Astrology: A scientific exploration into the philosophy of Hinduism (Part 2 of 3)

Part 2 of 3: The principles of vedic astrology

For the sake of simplicity, let us start with exploring horoscopy. Within Vedic astrology, an individual’s horoscope is determined by the constellation which appears at the horizon at the time and place of birth and its relationship to the sun and the other planets (including the moon) within our solar system. The constellation of stars at the horizon channels its energy to the individual and thus is the dominant force in determining the individual’s character and nature, whilst the arrangement of the suns and planets influence the development and evolution of these characteristics and control the element of fortune. As the position of the planets and constellations shift, the nature of the energy that is channelled to the individual subsequently changes and affects the individual’s energy, lustre and even fortune. These changes occur in varying time periods and intervals and alters the nature of the energies projected to the individual and can broadly be categorised as having a positive, negative or neutral effect on the life of the individual at that particular given time.

So for example if an individual decides to act on a particular life decision, such as making a risky career decision; he can prepare meticulously to ensure that he has the best chances of obtaining success, but this will heavily be influenced by the nature of energy channelled onto his career pathway at that particular time period in which he decides to commit his action. If this energy is positive, than combined with his efforts, his actions are likely to be met with success. If the energy is negative, despite his effort his actions may not succeed. If the energy is neutral, the success of his actions will purely depend on his effort alone.

Similarly in marriage, the union of two individuals bring together the energy of both individuals and unites them in a complex relationship. The channelling of the energies from the planets and constellations on both individuals unite, and thus creates numerous and immeasurable probabilities. Still, Vedic astrology predicts the nature of the union of these energies and predicts whether these energies synergise or repel each other, thus creating unions which are favourable, unfavourable or neutral.

Whilst the relationship that the married couple share will depend on the nature of the individuals itself and how much they commit to the relationship, Vedic astrology predicts that a favourable union will generally bring success, fortune, progeny, comfort and good health to the marriage. An unfavourable union will generally cause a marriage to be beset by troubles and grief. This is further compounded by the shift of the planetary positions and constellations with time. So despite a favourable or unfavourable union, the respective energies channelled towards each individual at that particular time will subsequently impact on the relationship and the actions between the two individuals within the marriage at that given time. Therefore even within a favourable union, the relationship of the married couple may undergo a duration of hardship and grief if the unison of energies of the channelled result in a negative energy based on the planetary positions at that given point in time; and thus vice versa.

If not already complicated, allow me to remind you that horoscopy is not the sole factor that influences fate. Vedic literature goes on to explain the effect of previous births, curses, effects of dharma and adharma, karma, birthmarks, and varna on the life of an individual and his fate.

This next brings the argument of what this knowledge achieves; predicting the nature of these forces alone is meaningless if we cannot utilise them to repel the negative forces. One could argue that the knowledge of impeding doom or disaster without the ability to avoid it itself is useless. True to a certain extent, but this knowledge is used by sages, priests and Brahmins to advise and teach their followers on how to avoid them into committing into unfavourable unions or performing significant actions during unfavourable times when negative energies are being projected onto them. If unavoidable, then certain cures and remedies are available through prayer, devotion, offerings and worship of the very Gods that control the energies of these planets and constellations. The cures and remedies vary in strength and potency, but help alleviate or minimise the effects of these negative energies and curses that affect an individual. Equally, the strength of these negative forces and curses vary in some circumstances, some for which there is no available cure or remedy.

Given the importance of astrology and vedic knowledge, Brahmins and priests were naturally revered by all strata of society. Brahmins, respected for their scholarly knowledge and as custodians of dharma were considered the head of the body that encompasses society. The Mahabharata even goes to the extent of explaining how every king needs a household priest learned in these arts if he were to be a successful king, and that the king should be guided by the priest in his actions, and that will allow his kingdom to flourish. Any who disrespects or disregards a true Brahmins advice will only inflict grief onto himself; such was the authority and influence Brahmins held over society in relation to their knowledge in the Vedas and Vedic astronomy and how it was believed to influence the fate of the individuals’ lives.

For scientists and the modern society, this unfortunately means nothing. For all the spirituality and mysticism of the religion, astrology and fate, the lack of evidence or proof to actually connect the dots in a logical sequential manner to demonstrate how these affects the course of life and nature, make it extremely difficult for sceptics to accept this. In an era where the generations of scientists have managed to dissect and unravel some of the mysteries behind the supernatural forces of nature, it has necessitated the need to conduct detailed reproducible experiments to prove any hypotheses or theories. In the case of religion and horoscopy, that may prove impossible, and thus for some easier to reject than to accept.

However the inability to conduct an experiment to prove an idea or hypothesis does not allow us to reject it wholly. Atheists’ arguments centre around the inability of religions to prove the existence of God; instead finding the concepts behind quantum and astrophysics somewhat more believable than God. Nevertheless whilst quantum physics explains the creation and the generation of energy forces within the universe, their theories stands on a balance of series of assumptions, statistical likelihood and unknown variables such as the presence of dark and cold matter, neutrinos and even gauge bosons; most of which has not been discovered or even understood. I am certain the future will provide us with more answers to the many questions behind these great mysteries, but whilst struggling to unveil the nature of some of the minute particles, how convincingly can we actually disprove the existence of God or even dismiss the influence of the rest of the universe onto our lives?