09 Mar Astrology and mental health
Astrology forms an aspect of life for most of the Indian populace. Astrological consultations are common during important events like birth, marriage, in matters of education, job, disease etc. There are examples galore to validate astrological predictions. But the ‘why’ and ‘how’ part being still not understood, skeptics argue that astrology has no scientific basis and that some of the predictions that come true are a matter of chance. It is true that claims based on astrology cannot be tested under controlled laboratory conditions and there is no guarantee on reproducibility. Nevertheless astrological studies based on birth signs can provide a lot of information regarding the possibilities in a person’s life. As there has not been much detailed study in this area the scientific basis of astrology has not yet been understood. But keeping in mind the numerous successes in this field, it is imperative that a detailed and systematic study be undertaken in order to provide a scientific or systematic basis to this very old aspect of Indian civilization.
Recently, one of us (RCD) have come across a family having a one year old child. The child was growing up just like any other child of his age. But suddenly during a festival, he started behaving a little unusually. On consultation with the doctor, it was revealed that he was showing signs of mental disorder. The doctor gave a medicine which needs to be continued for two years. The parents also consulted an astrologer. It was found that astrological predictions based on his Indian zodiac sign support this development. There may be many other cases of similar nature. With a view generalizing this finding we plan to collect horoscope based on Indian zodiac signs belonging to patients with mental disorder and perform a systematic investigation. This study will provide an insight in determining the mental state of a person based on zodiac sign. In the next step, it would be interesting to derive a relationship between birth sign and the DNA pattern of a person. Studies will also be undertaken to reveal the relationship between birth sign and various diseases like cancer, blood pressure, diabetics etc.
Ramesh Ch. Deka, Department of Chemical Sciences, Tezpur University, Napaam, Assam
Ajanta Deka, Department of Physics, Girijananda Chowdhury Institute of Management and Technology, Hatkhowapara, Azara, Guwahati-781017
