Monday, November 16, 2009

Astro Nuts

Hi!In this post I would like to discuss about Astrology,a subject which invariably raises curiosity in a normal person's mind.
I have a decent knowledge about Indian Astrology which I learnt from my mami,so I think that I am eligible to talk about the pros and cons of it.
Whenever some distressing events happen in life,We have the tendency to run to an astrologer with our horoscopes.I always wonder why Muslims and christians never give much importance to Astrology whereas Hindus give more importance to it.Is it due to the stress on immense faith which those religions propagate?In simple words,do they follow the principle"Surrendering to God completely will help us overcome our problems rather following astrological directions"?I am not sure.
But if you study the technical details in astrology and compare it with today's science ,some interesting facts are revealed.Indian astrology is said to be formulated by our reverred rishis and munis before 3000 years.
First to understand Indian Astrology(IA-I will use this abbrev.),You should study it with respect to the earth,Our planet.
First let me start with sun,The energy giver to this planet.We all know that Earth revolves round the Sun in 12 months.In our Indian Astrology too,Sun stays in one Rashi for one month and thus covers all 12 rashis in an year.
Second is Mars,(Mangal or Sevvai) takes 686.98 days to orbit around the Sun,when divided by 12,it is 57.24 days and in IA mars stays approx.1 1/2 months to 2 months in one rashi.
Third is Jupiter,(guru) takes 11.86 years to orbit around the Sun and in IA ,Guru stays in one Rashi for an year thus covering 12 rashis in 12 years.
Fourth is Saturn(shani) the much feared planet,takes 29.46 yrs ,when divided by 12,it is 2.455 years and in IA,shani planet stays in one rashi for 2 1/2 years.
Fifth,the moon revolves the earth in 28 to 29 days and In IA,it stays in one nakshatra or star for approx.one day and altogether there are 27 stars and thus makes up.
An interesting term ,Vakra is used in IA.i.e.,travelling backwards or reverse .
May be that is a sort of matching it with the real planetary movements like what we have done with leap year system.
While comparing real science and IA,I was amazed to see this calculations and could only silently appreciate our ancestors for their calculations in those days where there were no telescopes and other precision Instruments.
But,2 planets dont match with our scientific calculation.
Mercury(budha) and venus(Shukra).
Mercury takes 88 days,7.33 days when divided by 12,but in IA,it stays around 17 days in one rashi,which is 10 days more than actual,and Venus takes 224.7 days to revolve round the Sun,18.7 days when divided by 12,but in IA,it stays around 24 days in one rashi which is 6 days more than actual.
And I am not sure about Rahu and Ketu because there are no equivalent planets in reality.
When I was discussing this in our house,My dad objected to my observation and told me that We should not question about the formulations of Rishis.
It is not the question of going against our own rishis..It is the nature of our brain to analyse any subject with rational thinking.
IA is completely based on precision of time and place (longitude and latitude). Apart from these planetary positions and their houses there are lots of other complicate calculations,Permutations and Combinations in IA. I can very well say that no Astrologer can master all these combinations thoroughly.So,no astrologer can be 100% perfect.
While discussing these negative points,I can never deny that I have experienced amazing predictions in my life.Quite confusing and mind boggling too.Certainly I have immense respect for our own Indian Astrology.
But,why don't we leave it at the hands of destiny or fate or for believers why don't we surrender to the Supreme like other religionists instead of running to Astrologers.
Did this post confuse you?Didn't you see the label before reading.."Padmaism"?:-)
It has to be confusing..cu in next post..

13 comments:

Raja said...

Padma..good blog..I found it interesting. Which Mami are you referring in your post? Raji Mami?

Padma said...

yes!ur guess is right.It is raji mami.

Prasanna's Pen Speaks ... said...

Padma...good analysis...there r some people who wear dresses aa to their astrologer suggestions...but I surrender fully to God rather than calculating my kattams...Naal enna seyyum kol enna seyyum... Appar padigam comes to my mind whenever I see rasipalan in books and tvs.. keep blogging

Padma said...

Hi prasanna!thank u for ur comments..ur quote abt appar padhigam "naal enna seyyum,kol enna seyyum was good!"

Anonymous said...

Hey Padma,
Wow, good observation, Yeah, why doesnt Venus & Rahu match up. Maybe they are planets we dont know about. I totally beleive in astrology but i have never been inclined to chk mine. Anyways, we are never victims according to our karma theory - so reap what you have sown.
Good to see you blogging...
- Kothai

Padma said...

Thank u kothai for ur comments!.even I wonder why venus and mercury don't match with the astrological calculations.one more interesting point to note abt these 2 planets are,they take more time to rotate on their axis than revolving round the sun.i mean,venus takes 243 days to rotate by itself but revolves in 224.7 days...
Rahu and ketu are Chaya grahas as per our astrology.But,i don't find any equivalent physical planet for them.
I believe that astrology is based on absolute precision.I myself have seen many horoscopes when I was learning(for analysis purpose only:-)) some horoscopes are amazingly true and some are horribly wrong.so better we live it to the destiny and even i believe in karma theory.
these abstract theories are really very interesting.bye kothai!

Padma said...

hi!kothai!i would like u to visit this link which tells abt mercury.

http://www.planetary.org/explore/topics/mercury/facts.html

may be this is the reason why our ancestors couldn't be precise.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the link. I'll check it out....
Eppadi un mulai mathram eppadi vela pannuthu............
;)
- K

Padma said...

K!komjom vichitra moolaidhan enna panradhu..problematic..:-)

Anonymous said...

Padma superb notes on astro and kokan trip.Travel note was not long as you felt.As for astrology for muslims and christens watch any ary channel or any western channel you will find sun sign predictions all day long.

....ashwinikaku

Padma said...

Hi!Ashwini kaku!Thank u for commenting on my blog!Actually u r right..Sunsigns are followed by christians.but they are not so obsessed as we indians are.and one interesting thing i noted in sun signs is..our solar month starts from 15 of a month to 15 of next month.but in western they start from around 22/23 of a month and ends 22/23 of next month.i think it should be based on the latitude position..we r near equator..and many western countries from which these sunsigns originated are in temperate zones.this is purely my assumption..what do u think abt it?

Anonymous said...

hiPadma i cannot comment on any technical matter but whatever i have observed is any human being is very very keen to know about what is in store for the day month year for that matter whole life.Caste creed religion does not make much difference.Human psych is same.I know of muslims and catholics who dont venture out during rahukalam.
..........ashwinikaku

Padma said...

hi kaku! i am not aware of the fact that some muslims and catholics dont venture during rahukalam.it is interesting.even i agree with u that we all r very keen in knowing abt the future.that is the reason why astrology is flourishing industry;-)))