'APPROACH ASTROLOGY WITH AN OPEN MIND'

From: Dr. Jai Maharaj (usenet_at_mantra.com)
Date: 08/03/04 

Date: Tue, 03 Aug 2004 11:46:24 GMT

'Approach astrology with an open mind'

The Hindu
Friday, April 20, 2001

Ms. Gayatri Devi Vasudev, Editor, The Astrological
Magazine, Bangalore writes:

This refers to your Science Correspondent's report (April
19) about some scientists being unnecessarily worked up
over Prof. Hari Gautam's statement that Sir C.V. Raman
had referred to astrology as science and Prof. S.
Ramaseshan, nephew of Sir C.V. Raman, saying that the
Nobel laureate ''did not believe in astrology at all and
considered it an irrational subject.'' I would like to
issue a clarification on both points.

With due deference to Sir C.V. Raman's so-called lack of
belief, one should differentiate opinions from facts. The
scientist was entitled to his personal opinion on
astrology or any other subject under the Sun and it is
nobody's business. That Sir Raman did not believe in
astrology, as claimed by his nephew, is no argument
against it if he had not made a study of jyotisha
systematically.

The nephew in question may have been a close associate
but that does not necessarily imply that he was privy to
every single personal detail of Sir Raman's private life.
Nor can the nephew's statement that the scientist's
''biography published by the Indian Academy of Sciences
clearly documented the fact that he was not at all
superstitious and despised ritual'' be connected with
astrology and its scientific nature. Almost everyone
knows that biographies are many times sanitised versions
of the lives of the men they seek to portray in a
particular mould and therefore, many details that may not
conform to the portrait they want to paint, are
ruthlessly scissored.

Srinivasa Ramanujan's biography published in India has
cleverly omitted mention of the mathematician's reverence
for the Goddess of Namakkal how many of formulae were
revealed to him by Her in his dreams. These details are
recounted in detail in his biography published from
England.

Likewise, Nehru's Letters to His Sister published by
Faber and Faber, London, carries his clear instructions
for getting Rajiv Gandhi's horoscope, taking extra care
to emphasise that the war time difference should be
noted. But this same book published by the Publications
Division, Government of India, omits the letter dated 29-
8-1944, in its anxiety to preserve Nehru's ''secular''
image.

It should interest your readers to learn that Mrs. C.V.
Raman was a regular visitor of my own revered father, the
late Dr. B.V. Raman, whose name today is synonymous with
jyotisha or astrology not only in our own country but the
world over, and would consult him on Sir Raman's chart on
his behalf. I shall quote from Dr. B.V. Raman's
autobiography ''My Experiences in Astrology'', page 315,
published by UBS Publishers' Distributors Ltd. when he
describes how the lady first came to him in the 1930s
escorted by Mr. A.S.P. Ayyar, a well-known author, legal
luminary and judicial figure of those days.

''I had a surprising experience one day at my office,
which was situated a few yards away from my residence. A
middle-aged person dressed in a three-piece suit,
accompanied by an elderly lady walked into my room. The
gentleman had a distinguished appearance. Introducing
himself the gentleman said: 'I am A.S.P. Ayyar, District
Judge, Ramnad, and the lady is Mrs. Lokasundari Raman,
wife of Sir C.V. Raman. I have heard much about you. I am
also a reader of your magazine and some of the
predictions you have made on the war are amazing. I had
my own reservations about astrology and had often thought
that it encouraged inactivity and sapped one's urge to
work. The lady has some problems pertaining to her
family.'

''Taking leave of me, he said, 'Lokasundari Raman has
some domestic problems and she will see you again
shortly.'.''

It was not just once that the lady consulted Dr. B.V.
Raman on the horoscope of her husband. The nephew should
be a little more restrained and check on his facts in
future.

The statement signed by the scientists demanding that the
UGC Chairman must quit for his support to astrology
smacks of authoritarianism and feudal thinking. My simple
question, having been a student of jyotisha for nearly 30
years working under Dr. B.V. Raman, to these scientists
is: have they studied astrology to be in a position to
dismiss it? Why have they put their scientific temper to
sleep in attacking astrology hysterically, behaving like
fanatic fundamentalists instead of approaching the
subject with an open mind? No one who has not studied
astrology can arrogate to himself the role of judge, as
these ''scientists'' of India are doing.

It is deplorable and pathetic that these men of
''science'' are behaving like the Nazi scientists who
branded Einstein's theories as Jewish physics and made a
bonfire of his papers simply because their experimental
physics could not accommodate Einstein's theories of
relativity. We can only paraphrase what Einstein said
then: ''were astrology wrong, one professor would have
been quite enough!''

More at:
http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/04/20/stories/0220000z.htm

Jai Maharaj
http://www.mantra.com/jai
Om Shanti

Hindu Holocaust Museum
http://www.mantra.com/holocaust

Hindu life, principles, spirituality and philosophy
http://www.hindu.org
http://www.hindunet.org

The truth about Islam and Muslims
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate

The terrorist mission of Jesus stated in the Christian bible:

     "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth:
I came not so send peace, but a sword.
     "For I am come to set a man at variance against his
father, and the daughter against her mother, and the
daughter in law against her mother in law.
     "And a man's foes shall be they of his own
household.
 - Matthew 10:34-36.

     o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the
educational purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of
this post may not have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent
the opinion of the poster. The contents are protected by copyright law
and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
     o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name,
current e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
     o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others
are not necessarily those of the poster.

Relevant Pages