PhD in "Vedic Astrology"

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Dr. Jai Maharaj

2004-05-16 18:19:27 UTC

http://www.education.nic.in/htmlweb/circulars/astrologycurriculum.htm

Government of India
Department of Education

Guidelines for Setting up Departments of Vedic Astrology
in Universities

Under the Purview of University Grants Commission

o Guidelines
o UGC Circular
o Institutions Where Astrology is Being Taught as Part
of Sanskrit or Other Branch
o Foreign Institutions Teaching Astrology

Guidelines for Setting up Departments of Vedic Astrology
in Universities Under the Purview of University Grants
Commission

SCOPE

Beneficiaries of these courses would be students,
teachers, professionals from modern streams like doctors,
architects, marketing, financial, economic and political
analysts, etc.

COURSES AND COURSE DURATION

The courses will be at graduate, post-graduate and
research levels. Duration of the graduate course will be
three years and that of post-graduate course will be two
years.

Certificate will be awarded to a candidate who
successfully completes one year of course at graduate
level. Diploma will be awarded on the successful
completion of three years complete course.

Ph.D. and research courses will be similar to any other
courses.

COURSE CONTENTS

Syllabus for all courses will be made available by U.G.C.

STAFF

To conduct these courses following staff will be
required.

Designation Post

Professor 1
Reader 1
Lecturer 2
Library Attendant 1
Computer Operator 1

GUEST FACULTY

Help of Guest-Lecturers may be taken as per the
requirements who will be paid honorarium as per U.G.C.
rules.

FEES

Fees structure will be as under

Graduate Level Rs.3,000/-p.a.
Post Graduate Level Rs.4,000/-p.a.

FINANCES

Amount (Rs.)
Non-Recurring Head

Library 4 Lacs
Observatory 6 Lacs
Computer Lab & Horoscope Bank 5 Lacs

Recurring Salary & Allowances

Professor 1
Reader 1
Lecturer 2
Library Attendant 1
Computer Operator 1

ACADEMIC COLLABORATION

Universities may go for academic collaboration with
faculties of oriental studies and Sanskrit Vidyapeeths
for these courses.

REVIEW

U.G.C. may evaluate any Department of Vedic Astrology on
the spot or on at random basis at any time.

COMMENCEMENT OF THE SCHEME

This scheme will commence on the 1st day of July 2001

(Logo)
UNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISSION
BAHADUR SHAH ZAFAR MARG
NEW DELHI 110 002

Dr.(Mrs.) Pankaj Mittal
Deputy Secretary
Tele.No. 91-113232055

F.No.1-38/2000(CPP-II)

February 23, 2001

Dear Sir/Madam,

The Commission in its meeting held on 16th June, 2000
considered the proposal for setting up of Departments of
Vedic Astrology in Indian Universities and decided that
"there is an urgent need to rejuvenate the science of
Vedic Astrology in India, to allow this scientific
knowledge to reach to the so0ciety at large and to
provide opportunities to get this important science even
exported to the world, the Commission decided to approve
'in principle' setting up of few departments of Vedic
Astrology in Indian universities. This would provide a
exclusive teaching and training in the subject leading to
certificate diploma, under-graduate, post-graduate and
Ph.D. degrees".

Accordingly Commission constituted a Committee to examine
the details of the proposed scheme. The guidelines
drafted by the Committee were placed before the
Commission in its meeting held on 25th January 2001. The
Commission approved the guidelines and decided that
courses should be renamed as "JYOTIR VIGYAN".

The Universities who are interested and are in a position
to start the course from the academic session 2001-2002
are requested to submit their proposal as per the
enclosed guidelines latest by 15th March 2001(Now
Extended up to 05.05.2001). The syllabus for the courses
shall be sent to the selected Universities.

With regards,

Yours sincerely,

(PANKAJ MITTAL)

Encl. As above
The Vice-Chancellor of all Universities receiving
financial assistance

List of Institutions in India where Astrology is Being
Taught as Part of Sanskrit or Other Branch

1 Rajasthan Vidyapeeth, Udaipur, (One year diploma
course in Bharatiya Jyotish).

2 Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Vedic Vishwavidyalaya,
Jabalpur (One year B.A./M.A. /Ph.D. in Astrology).

3 Vikram University, Ujjain (Paper in Astrology and
M.A. in Sanskrit).

4 Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut (Taught in
Sanskrit Department)

5 M.S.University, Baroda (Research work in Astrology).

6 Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University (Courses in
Jyotish Shastra known as Vedanga Jyotish).

7 North-Gujarat University, Patan, Gujarat ( 2 years
graded course in Vedic Astrology by conducting week and
classes).

8 P.S. Telugu University, Hyderabad (has a strong
Department of Vedic Astrology running M.A. in Astrology
through correspondence)

9 Awadesh Pratap University, Rewa, M.P. (B.A.
(Sanskrit), Jyotish, M.A. (Acharya) Jyotish).

10 Gurukul Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar (Vedic)

11 Kameshwara Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University,
Darbhanga (B.A, (Sanskrit) Jyotish, Falit Jyotish)

12 Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, Tirupati
(B.A.(Jyotish), M.A. (Phalita Jyotish), M.A. (Shidhanta
Jyotisha).

13 Sampuranand Sanskrit Vishwavidhalya, Varanasi

14 Shri Jagannath Sanskrit Vishvavidyalaya, Puri

15 Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit
Vidyapeeth, New Delhi (B.A. Shastri)(Sidant Jyotish, B.A.
(Falit Jyotish), M.A. Shastri Sidant Jyotish, M.A.
Acharya Falit Jyotish

16 Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Distt.
Ernakulam (M.A.Jyotisha)

List of Foreign Institutions where Astrology is Beong
Taught

1 Kepler College of Astrological Arts and Sciences
Kepler College is the only college of astrology in the
western hemisphere authorised to issue BA and MA degrees.
The entire curriculum is based on astrology. Kepler's
first freshman class began in July, 2000. The BA program
is based on a 4 year course of study, and there are three
terms per year.

2 Astrological Institute, Inc, 7501 E Oak ST.
Scottsdale., AZ - In addition to it's on site classes
and seminars in Scottsdale AZ., Astrological Institute
also offers a complete correspondence course designed to
provide a firm foundation in both the technical and
philosophical aspects of astrology.

3 The American Federation of Astrologers (AFA) The
AFA is one of the oldest astrology organisations in the
USA offering courses for accreditation.

4 The Noel TyI Master's Degree Certification Course in
Astrology Master's Degree has enrolled over 250
students internationally. The course consists of nineteen
in depth lessons. Each lesson will require 40 to 50
hours to complete.

5 Ann Sherman Correspondence 1 & 2 Ann has 25 years
of experience in Astrological study and provides a course
that leaves the student with a workable knowledge and
understanding of astrology.

6 The Astrology Practitioner Course - This course of
thirty lessons gives an understanding and in depth
knowledge of astrology.

7 Personalized Astrology Lessons (PALS) from ACS

8 Jeffrey Wolf Green's School for Evolutionary
Astrology, Seattle Washington Classes are given in many
locations internationally, including Vancouver Canada,
London, Tel Aviv, Copenhagen, Holland and India.

9 Carole Devine's Exploring Astrology The course
consists of 94 tapes or CD's

10 Glenn Perry's Astro Psychology Mentorship Program
correspondence course that features 42 tapes, three books
personalized instruction.

11 Astrology Training by Emilie Kelso Level 1 covers
the basics for the beginning student. Level 2, Beyond
the Basics, contains comprehensive information equivalent
to eight.

12 Astrology, The Cosmic Pattern - Correspondence
course since 1977 which takes the student for beginning
through advanced levels of astrology.

13 The Carl Payne Tobey Correspondence Course

14 NW Institute of Vedic Sciences Offers a 16 tape
course on Vedic Astrology.

15 Astrology of the seers Correspondence Course
Offers over six hundred pages of material from beginning
to advanced levels.

16 Institute of Vedic Astrology Offers Hindu (Vedic)
Astrology classes covering the basic and advanced
material.

17 ONLINE College of Astrology - A course series in
FINANCIAL Astrology, taught by Kaye Shinker and a
fundamental course in Bob Zoller's MEDIEVAL Astrology.

18 The Faculty of Astrological Studies - Founded in
London in 1948 this prestigious organization offers a
correspondence course.

19 The Mayo School of Astrology - This correspondence
course has been offered for 25 years using Margaret
Hone's Modern.

20 Astrology Institute - The Astrology Institute
joins psychology with astrology and practical training in
counselling techniques.

21 American Institute of Vedic Studies correspondence
course in Vedic astrology available in the West over the
fifteen years.

22 School of Astrology in Australia - Offers
Government accredited astrology courses.

23 English Huber School, Switzerland - three
foundation courses, two diploma courses.

24 Manhattan School of Astrology comprehensive course
of study in astrological science and offers a
comprehensive 56 week course in Western Astrology, and a
6 week "crush" course in Vedic Astrology.

25 University of Plymouth, UK

26 University of London, UK

27 University of Southampton, UK.

http://www.education.nic.in/htmlweb/circulars/astrologycurriculum.htm

Jai Maharaj
Jyotishi, Vedic Astrologer
http://www.mantra.com/jyotish
Om Shanti

Dr. Jai Maharaj

2004-05-17 03:03:58 UTC

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Dr. Jai Maharaj

2004-05-17 09:51:34 UTC

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Dr. Jai Maharaj

2004-05-17 10:10:43 UTC

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Dr. Jai Maharaj

2004-05-18 16:52:02 UTC

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Dr. Jai Maharaj

2004-05-21 22:35:32 UTC

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Snoopy

2004-05-24 23:47:20 UTC

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Astrology is almost certainly the oldest and most widespread of all
pseudosciences. Its origins can be traced back to the first half of the
Hammurabi dynasty in Babylonia about 3,500 years ago.

In its modern form astrology asserts that the positions of the solar
planets at the time an individual is born are somehow correlated with
his or her personality, activities, preferences, and even major life
events (accidents, marriages, divorces, etc.). There is no general
agreement among astrologers as to how or why this can be. Nor is there
agreement as to precisely which planetary positions lead to which
specific traits or experiences. It is almost certain that no two
astrologers will "cast" an individual's horoscope with precisely the
same result. The predictions that do result are often so vague that
verification is impossible, anyway.

Astrology is best understood by learning how it began. Like most urban,
agricultural peoples, the Babylonians had a pantheon of many gods. They
also had a well- developed science of observational astronomy, which
served the highly utilitarian purpose of providing a calendar, times to
plant and to harvest, times of religious festivals, etc. In this
observational scheme each planet was important, and the priests whose
task it was to make the observations named the planets for the gods in
their pantheon -- Marduk, Isthar, Nergal, etc. By about 1000 B.C. there
was an extensive Babylonian literature of "planetary omens." Since
Nergal (Mars) was the god of war, a summer in which Nergal shone down
brightly from the sky was a good time to wage war (or a time in which
risk of war was great). Since Ishtar (Venus) was the goddess of love, a
spring night in which Ishtar shone high in the West after sunset was a
good time to make love.

About 600 B.C. the Babylonians devised the twelve-sign zodiac: markers
in the sky along the path of the sun, moon, and planets, which roughly
correspond to the months of the year. The oldest horoscope that has been
discovered dates to April 29, 410 B.C. A horoscope is simply a crude
chart which indicates the directions in which the various planets lie,
relative to the zodiac, at the time of a person's birth. During the
classical era dominated by, first, Greece, and then, Rome, Babylonian
astrologers (called Chaldeans) set up shop in most large urban areas
throughout the civilized world. Greek astronomers scoffed at the
Chaldean astrology as absurd, but the Greek public embraced astrology as
lovingly as they had embraced many other bizarre or barbaric cults.
Later, the Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero wrote, in 44 B.C., a
devastating critique of these astrologers, which is still worth reading
today. A typical passage: "What utter madness in these astrologers, in
considering the effect of the vast, slow movements and change in the
heavens, to assume that wind and rain have no effect at birth!"

With the coming of Christianity, the Chaldeans had hard going, since the
early Christians (like the Hebrews before them) were hostile to other
gods and pagan religions. Of course, there was no way to disguise the
essentially religious underpinning of astrology. During the early Middle
Ages astrology nearly became extinct in Europe, but was kept alive
elsewhere by Islamic scholars.

The Crusades brought astrology back to Europe where it co-existed
uneasily with Christianity until the dawn of the age of science. The
explosive growth of scientific astronomy from 1600 A.D. paralleled an
explosive decline in the fortunes of astrology. By 1900 a French
encyclopedia accurately described astrology as a vanishing cult with no
young adherents.

Astrology made the strongest comeback in all its history after World War
I, when British astrologer R.H. Naylor invented the daily newspaper
astrology column.

The paradoxical result is that the heyday of astrology was not during
the benighted Middle Ages, when the average person was sunk deep in
ignorance and superstition, but rather in the 20th Century, when most
citizens presumably know the basic facts of astronomy and are aware that
the planets are worlds similar to the earth rather than god-fires in the
sky.

Thus, at least 90% of all Americans under age 30 know their sun-sign.
There are more than 10,000 practicing astrologers in the U.S., and
Americans spend more than $200 million annually consulting astrologers.
(In the U.S. there are only about 3,000 professional astronomers, and
only about $100 million is spent on basic research in astronomy-- except
in space probes.)

Scientists have been quite baffled by the growing popularity of
astrology, and a number of them have taken the time to carry out careful
studies to see if there is any actual correlation between planetary
positions at birth and any attribute of the individual in later life. No
statistically valid study has ever shown any connection that would give
any validity to any astrological concept-no matter how vaguely that
concept has been worded! There is no question about the simple fact that
astrology does not work.

Nor is there any reason why it should work. In order to go from an
individual's horoscope to a specific prediction of what is in store for
that individual, the astrologer must consult a table. This table
correlates features of the horoscope (positions of the planets) with
individual attributes (intelligence, affection, physical strength, good
health, etc.). Where did this table come from? [Note that it is such a
table and not the horoscope itself that is the "guts" of astrology.]
This table simply is made up by whoever wrote the particular manual of
astrology being used. This is why two astrologers can arrive at
different (even contradictory) predictions from a single horoscope.
There are numerous quite different "astrological systems"; all
different, all arbitrary, and all completely disconnected from reality.

This arbitrariness is a characteristic of all pseudosciences, and
results because the origins of pseudosciences lie not in observation of
nature, but in accidental historical conventions of human culture. For
example, the ancients happened to call the second planet from the sun
Venus and the fifth planet from the sun Jupiter. If they had done it the
other way, it would not have made the slightest difference to astronomy.
Venus would then be the big planet with colorful belts and a red spot,
while Jupiter would be a hellishly hot planet about the size of the
earth. But astrology would then be totally different, because astrology
depends entirely on the characteristics associated with the name, not
the actual planet! Jupiter, chief of the gods, is a leader of men.
Venus, goddess of love, rules the emotions. Changing the arbitrary names
would leave reality unaffected but astrology, horoscopes, etc., would
become totally different. It is interesting to note that the Maya
considered Venus the lord of death.

Another way to see this is to consider the zodiac. The Babylonians, with
their interest in the calendar, naturally had 12 zodiacal signs. But
again this is arbitrary. Other cultures used 28, for instance the
Chinese and Hindus. The Toltec cultures of Middle America used 20. The
Babylonians themselves used from 6 to 18 before settling on the
"traditional" 12. Again the arbitrary choice of number of signs (not to
mention names of signs) is obvious. As for the names, if a given group
of stars were called "Aries, the Ram," this arbitrarily chosen name then
predetermined the "interpretation" in the tables... for since Rams are
aggressive and assertive, so will be people born with the sun (or
something) in Aries. How one distinguishes the aggressiveness of the Ram
from that of the goat Capricorn or the scorpion Scorpio is another
problem! If these groups of stars had been named "The Chair", "The
Writing Desk", and "The Castle", interpretations would again be
unrecognizably different.

As another example, consider the so- called "house system" of astrology.
In order to provide more tables with more characteristics to be looked
up, astrological lore has put forward many different (perhaps as many as
50) house systems. These are arbitrary divisions of the sky in sectors,
vaguely like orange slices. The various systems differ in how wide these
sectors are, how many sectors there are, and how they are oriented in
the sky relative to the ecliptic, the horizon or the equator. There are
two main house division systems in use by modern astrologers, the Koch
and the Placidian. It is hilarious that in neither of these two systems
does anyone born above 66.5 degrees north latitude even have a
horoscope! The stars have nothing to say about 12 million people!

Another hilarious aspect of astrology is due to the astronomical
phenomenon known as the precession of the equinoxes. This was known to
Greek astronomers by 150 B.C. and may have been known much earlier. It
completely destroys the framework of astrology. The problem is that the
early astrologers, for whom the sun rose in Aries at the spring equinox,
defined the sign of Aries to be centered on the point of the spring
equinox. But as the ancient Greeks knew, the equinox swings in a great
circle, taking about 26,000 years to complete its cycle. Thus, today,
the sign of Aries is nowhere near the constellation Aries! This
detachment of the meaning of the symbol from the random scatter of stars
whose arbitrary name originally gave the symbol its name and
significance is ludicrous even to many astrologers, who thus disagree
with all other astrologers by keeping the sign fixed to the
constellation instead of letting it move with the equinoxes!

The moral is that when one has a system based on randomness and
arbitrary convention, a shuffle or mixup of the system is undetectable.
Astrology is just a random-word generation, and mixing up the procedure
by which the random word is generated is not detectable, since the
output words remain random with any genuine further mixup. The puzzle is
how anyone could not be aware of this randomness, of the mindless
conventions that crucially determine the nature of astrology's
"predictions".

The question of why people believe in astrology is more interesting than
the details of the horoscope. Psychologists have shown that customers
are satisfied with astrological predictions as long as the procedures
are individualized in some rather vague way. For example, if the
astrologer asks for a great deal of personal information before
providing the prediction, the individual is much more satisfied with it
than if the astrologer asks few questions (and provides the same
prediction). The predictions themselves are nearly always very vague and
universal in applicability; they might accurately describe nearly anyone.

Astrology relies on an illusion in thinking called personal validation.
This depends on the selective nature of memory. If we believe something
is so, we tend to remember the events that support it, and for get those
which don't. The result is a growing feeling of conviction. We remember
the part of the spiel that fits us and forget about the parts which
don't. Influencing people this way is called cold reading, and there is
a considerable psychological literature on the subject.

Modern science has undercut the basis for astrology at every turn. The
individual is formed at conception; not at birth. The gravitational
force exerted on a newborn baby by the earth is more than a million
times greater than that of any celestial object. The tidal force exerted
by the mother and the hospital building is, likewise, a million times
greater than that of any celestial body. The electromagnetic radiation
falling on the baby from the sun or room lights is a million times more
intense than that from any other celestial object. Changes in
environment during early development have much greater effects upon the
developing person than the events at the time of birth. Also, the time
of birth can be altered, to some extent, by the actions of a physician.
What are the astrological implications of a caesarean section or forced
delivery? Another important point to make is the established role of
genes in a person's nature. Suppose two unrelated persons are born at
the same time in the same hospital. Will the astrological forces
outweigh the genetic ones? The science of genetics has shown the answer
to be 'no'. There is nothing whatsoever in all of nature as we have
explored it to date, or in any of our other experience that gives any
credibility to any astrological idea.

Nevertheless, millions of Americans, from Ronald Reagan to many
minimum-wage earners, continue to regulate their daily schedules (to
some extent) in accord with the arbitrary and potentially harmful
advice. Why? It is essential to remember that a belief doesn't have to
be true to be useful. Astrology has flourished because it is a framework
within which people can discuss and look for meaning in their lives.
Viewed as a social support system, astrology is somewhere between a
religion and a psychotherapy.

This fact sheet is substantially based on material prepared by Prof.
Rory Coker of the University of Texas at Austin, in cooperation with the
Austin Society to Oppose Pseudoscience.

Dr. Jai Maharaj

2004-05-27 04:50:56 UTC

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