ASSAM
BooKs
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE FOR VEDIC ASTROLOGY - By Dr. Pranav Jyoti Deka
INTRODUCTION:
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A scientist generally observes what he has been trained to see, and then too he recognizes only that what he expected to see. It is not strange that the scientific community perceives the dictums of astrology as disharmonious jumble, but at the same time, every intelligent human being has an instinctive belief that there must be a harmony in the cosmic design, and someday somebody will be able to reveal it to us. Each thinking person according to his own might tries to bring that date nearer.
For the last six thousand years, different human civilizations flourishing independently in various parts of our globe utilized the 'motion' of the Sun and the Moon as an instrument of the mundane and cosmic time keeping. They noted carefully the sunsets and sunrises, waning and waxing of the moon, the length of time between one fullmoon to another etc. each became one of the units for the measurement of time. The Moon's revolution round the Earth, manifested in the form of observed periodic conjunction of the Moon with definite cluster of stars became another unit of time measurement (sidereal month). The apparent north south solar motion in the sky (declination) which harbingers change of seasons became yet another unit of time.
By 2000 B.C. most of the advanced civilizations has already formulated their own calendars, laws of cosmic motion over this ever-changing Earth and their attributed influence over mundane affairs. The cosmic laws were perceived as the only everlasting, unfailing and dependable rules. It is the nature of the human being that he always wants to be sure about his intrinsically uncertain fortune and future, therefore fortune-telling always thrived in every civilization, and what could be a better guarantor of 'certainity' than the 'never changing' rules of motion of celestial bodies? Any aberration of cosmic laws used to cause intellectual shock and universal anxiety till some apparently rational explanation was not forwarded by somebody and brought in relief. The solar eclipse created mind-numbing terror in the hearts of Vedic Aryans, till sage Atri explained it to be a natural phenomenon (Rig-Veda V.40, Sukta 5 to 9).
As the rules of celestial motion became better understood and comprehensively formulated, the uncertain fortune on the earth got hitched to the certainty of the firmament and this synchronization of the heavenly and mundane happenings generated the 'science' of astrology.
The present work is on an infinitesimally small but potentially vital part of the Herculean venture in correlating worldly affairs with the celestial movements. Our endeavor is to demonstrate, hopefully convincingly, that the Vedic sages, astrologers and their intellectual successors knowingly or unknowingly followed the periodicity of intensity of variation of electromagnetic impulses in the Earth's atmosphere, caused and controlled by different independent and independent electromagnetic cycles originating due to interactions between the solar and interplanetary energy impulses with the earth's magnetic field while formulating the astrological tenets applied in the predictive and elective astrology.
Among the scores of authors and hundreds of chapters, thousands of laws, by-laws, exceptions and amendments constituting the bulk of the Indian astrology we have selected the chapter 'Naksatra karma gunaddhaya' (Stellar function on activities) of Vrihadsamhita, the astrological classic compiled by Varahamihira, one of the greatest astrologer/astronomer of all time (6th century, birth 505 A.D.) as the basis to establish the scientific soundness of at least some astrological tenets and classifications because of the following reasons :
1. As Varahmihira made use of only the lunar positions occulting against the stellar clusters (Naksatras) in this chapter, it is direct descendant of the Vedic astrology, and uncontaminated by imported astrology of post Vedic age.
2. The Naksatras were classified by Varahmihirra into a number of groups based upon the nature of the jobs or activities which the members of that group is supposed to patronize. That means, an activity of specific nature if commenced during the period when any member Naksatra of a definite group is occulted by the Moon, or the Moon is sighted in the vicinity, the endeavor is expected to show positive results. This classification gives us the following lead:
(a) The Naksatras belonging to a single group must have at least one character common.
(b) As the Naksatra groups are conjoined to activities of a specific nature demanding different levels of energy to perform it, it is easy to correlate such classification with the required energy fields.
(c) As the activities ruled by different classes of Naksatras has been clearly specified, there is less chance of raising controversies while allotting one or the other class of activities denoted by a particular Naksatra, 'high' or 'low' energy field. There should be no objection if we state that 'warfare' will require a greater sustained energy level than 'merriment and pleasantries'. Similarly, activities like planning a new township or selecting a new ruler should require cool brain and level-headed thinking, and an energy field with the least disturbance ought to be helpful for such activities. 'Arson and mayhem' would indicate flaring of emotion and energy. A merchant trading in commodities must keep a sharp eye on the rise and fall of the market and must often take decision on the spur of the moment; hence a fluctuating energy field is probably more conducive for such activities.
3. The Vedic astronomers/astrologers after experimenting with different numbers of Naksatras to chart the passage of the Moon through the fermament ultimately stopped at 27 numbers (Lagadha -Vedanga. Jyotisha). The length of a Synodic month is 29.5306 days, Sidereal month is 27.3217 mean solar days. That is, in every 24 hours the Moon should transit one Naksatra. The solar -terrestrial electromagnetic relationship shows a nearly 27 -days long repetitive cycle of electromagnetic variations generated by the revolution of the Sun on its own axis.The coincidence of three 27s, namely, the number of days in the sidereal month, use of 27 Naksatras to chart the Moon's passage and the 27 days long solar energy cycle created a system of synchronization where the passage of the Moon from one Naksatra to the next one occupy equal length of time as one diurnal cycle (24 hrs.) and will also indicate the solar energy characteristic to that day within the 27 days long solar energy cycle.
In coordinating the lunar passage and the Moon's progress through the Nakasatra chain mentioned in the 'Stellar function on activities, the Vedic sages and their successors inadvertently synchronized the lunar movement with the cyclically fluctuating solar energy level reaching the Earth. These variations of electromagnetic disturbances are governed by the 27- day long solar energy cycle.
Like the modern statisticians, the ancient astrologers also must have kept meticulous records of worldly happenings, and also the records of lunar occultation against a definite Nakasatra in the Naksatra series, and attributed a causality relationship. In the initial stage, the Vedic astrologers/astronomers accepted these often repeated coincidences of Naksatra occultations and the earthly happenings as a part of the divine design and fiat of ruling deities having the lordship over the Naksatras and activities it apparently control. Gradually the Naksatra become 'independent' of their ruling deities and were considered to be capable of indicating and often controlling the end results.
We shall attempt to establish that the Vedic astrology in its pure form took into account only the lunar-stellar occultation or conjunction relationship and inadvertently followed the 27- day long solar-terrestrial electromagnetic cycle. In the elective astrology of Vedic origin, causality was attributed to such lunar-stellar association, but factually the Naksatras (cluster of stars) are serving as ciphers or indicators on a dial, and the Moon is the pointer head (like hands of a watch). The classification of the Naksatra and the astrological predictions related to them were based on their 'observed effects' on the happenings on this Earth which have been in fact initiated by different level of energy reaching this Earth each day from the Sun.
Varahmihira has classified the Nakasatras (cluster of stars and angular space occupied by them on the lunar passage) into seven classes, based on the nature of the activities they are supposed to patronize. Of the seven classes 'Dhruba', which means stable or permanent could be of particular interest to us as the 'activities ruled by this class of Naksatras' are of a specific type such as 'establishment of new habitations, township, gardens, coronation of a new king, celebration of religious festivities of a mass nature etc.', activities which require meticulous planning, cool head and stable execution. In the 'Vedic Naksatra series' comprised of 27 Naksatras, according to Varahmihira Dhruba class of Naksatras occupy the 4th, 12th, 21st and 26th position. At the same time, when the variations of electromagnetic impulses (disturbances) are measured within the 27-day long solar-terrestrial energy cycle, it is found that the days of minimum disturbances will also fall on the periodic positions of 4th, 12th, 21st and 26th days within this cycle.
As the length of a sidereal month and the time required for one revolution of the Sun on its axis (equatorial) is roughly equal, i.e. 27 earthly days, it may be contended that the periodicity observed in the change of intensity of the electromagnetic disturbances in the earth's atmosphere may be caused by the revolution of the Moon around the Earth. To remove that possibility and to link irrefutably the terrestrial electromagnetic fluctuations with the variation of the intensity of the solar flux, the second indicator selected is the concentration of low energy neutral hydrogen protons (density).
It is now being universally accepted by the astrophysicists
that the change of intensity of the solar radiation is also manifested
in the alteration of the quantum and speed of the solar flux. About
eighty percent of the solar wind is comprised of neutral hydrogen
protons, therefore subsequent to the increase of solar activities,
there should be a corresponding increase in the concentration of the
hydrogen protons in the Earth's atmosphere. It can be demonstrated
that the periodicity and sequence of increase and decrease of the
concentration of the hydrogen protons follow the same pattern as the
increase and decrease of geomagnetic disturbances and both the sequential
patterns concur with the sequential positions (periodicity) of the
Naksatra in their emplacement in the 27 Naksatra series arranged according
to the nature of the activities demanding different level of energy
expenditure, like warfare or pursuit and capture of a fleeing enemy
should occupy the sequential positions in the 27 Naksatra series as
the 'high energy days' with maximum solar flux days occupy the sequential
position in the 27- day long solar energy cycle. Similarly, the sequential
position of the Naksatras indicating suitability for 'low energy'
activities such as 'merriment and pleasantries' should coincide with
the sequential position of days having the minimum solar energy with
low concentration of solar particles. If it can be demonstrated that
the sequential position of high energy activity supporting Naksatras
are the same as the sequential positions of the high energy days;
the low energy activity favouring Naksatras occupy the same sequential
positions as the 'low energy' days and the days of the least electromagnetic
disturbances occupy the same positions in the sequence as the sequential
positions of the Naksatras indicating success for projects requiring
'cool brain, stable mind and meticulous planning'. If it can be established
that such coincidence is substantially above what is dictated by law
of average in continuously repeated cycles, one will have no other
way but to accept the existence of a definite link between the rise
and fall of solar flux (within 27 day long solar energy cycle) with
the principle of classification of 27 Naksatra and the 'favourite
activities' attributed to them.
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