Jathaka dosham

Lately one of my friends had to give up a good relationship she had, just because her 'jathakam' did not match. Moreover, the 'jyothishan' said that she had 'chovva dosham' and that she cant find matches easily. Both the families did not want to take risks by ignoring the words of the 'scholar'. So they decided to part.!!! Now she is in trouble to find another guy with a similar 'chovva dosham' as her perfect match.! Till now she has not found him.

I write this for the numerous, similar dreams and aspirations ruined by this stupidity called 'astrology'!! 

Astrology is a so called 'science' which claims that the relative positions of celestial bodies and stars in the universe have an effect on peoples lives and what happens to them!  It relies on mathematical calculations to find out the positions of the planets and stars, and predict fore coming events/ dangers, and warn us against them. It is practiced in different parts of the world in different forms, and various names. Although most of them are similar in principle, the one which is familiar to us - the Hindu astrology / Vedic astrology / Indian astrology.

According to it, everyone has a 'jathakam' which is in accordance with the  date and time of his/her birth. It is 'recorded' according to the relative position of the planets and stars at that particular time. This particular record determines the 'fate' of the particular person. If 'chovva' is in a particular 'bad' position at the time of birth, he/she is said to have chovva dosham', which makes him/her vulnerable to dangerous consequences in her future life , especially in matters of marriage. Whenever the 'shani' is in particular 'relative positions', the person will have bad times called the 'shani dasha'!! .. The jathakam is used to calculate good times and bad times, and can guide us to decide when to do important events in your life like marriage, building a house, buying a car, starting a business… etc. Most people go to the astrologer when they have bad times. The astrologer uses your jathakam and does his 'calculations' and he gives his 'verdict' - he may say that you have bad times now, or may be your jathakam does not allow you to do what you are doing, or may be you should wait till a particular date, or may be you should do something else as a 'remedy' like a pooja, or a visit to at a particular temple(s)....so and so.

I cant say whether astrology itself has any relation to God, but it can be noted that they originated in the vedic ages and is closely related to the cultural practices in the Indian subcontinent at that time. Naturally, it is related to the Hindu religion and the gods and no wonder why the other religions do not practice astrology as much as the Hindus do. Astrologers often relate bad times to God's dissatisfaction in our deeds, and often prescribe remedies such as visit to temples, poojas etc.

The most common use of astrology we see today is in matters of marriage. The 'jathakam' of the girl and the boy is compared to see if they match. Accordingly matches can be excellent, good, satisfactory or poor, and sometimes dangerous. And when matches are obtained, astrology further calculates most appropriate date and time of marriage. It is funny how sometimes astrologers say things like 'Now or never',  some girls do not have 'mangalyayogam', 'santhanabhagyam'..and so on.

Before examining whether astrology holds anything true, we need to know how ASTRONOMY is different from ASTROLOGY. Astronomy is an accepted science of the extraterrestrial space, which includes planets, stars, galaxies, comets. their orbits and paths. Astronomy, unlike astrology does not claim that the celestial bodies have any influence on earthly matters. It is however known that in the ancient times, there was used to be difference between the two. It was only later when science progressed, and it was found that no consistent evidences could be observed on such an extra-terrestrial influence, that astronomy emerged as a separate science. In 2006 the U.S. National Science Board published a statement identifying astrology as "pseudoscientific".

In short, astrology shares principles of astronomy, but goes further, to tell things which has never had a scientific explanantion, and has never been proved. The 'thinking' and 'questioning' minds would thus always be skeptical about astrology, because they do not follow the normal mechanisms of nature. The only interactions that we can think of, that can exist between celestial bodies is 'gravity',  which was defined by Sir Isaac Newton, and also may be light and other radiations from stars, and reflected radiation from planets and similar bodies. But it makes no sense, to believe that light and gravitational forces can act upon earth and human beings to alter their behaviour, cause calamity, accidents or anything like the astrologers say.

Only the hindus continue to practice astrology here. Don’t they see that  all the christians and muslims do not expereince any problems by not practicing astrology? Don’t their families lead happy lives even without confirming their 'astrological matching'?!!Isn't it very obvious?

It is indeed the weakness of the human mind to believe in such nonsense. Everyone wants to be on the safe side. It just takes a little boldness to turn down rubbish like this. Try it, and you will find that it makes no difference at all. Difficulties are a part of life. They are not any result of any invisible forces acting upon you. Face them as they come. Only you can change your destiny. And maybe your fellow beings can help you at times. Only they can.

We are living in a world of advanced science and technology, which is still advancing. Scientists work hard in different parts of the world to make human life less miserable, as they have always been. Respect them. Right from the beginning, when man learned to make fire by rubbing stones together,  to this moment when he is working hard in his labs to find out the cure for all the deadly diseases, man has always been helping himself. Only man can help himself. It is ridiculous the way people are ready to get their veins injected with modern drugs 'designed' by scientists, and yet not have faith in them in 'certain' matters. Its high time to let go of all primitive superstitious beliefs. Forget about the current generations. Atleast let us not pass it on to future generations..