Introduction
While many persons living in the west are familiar with Hellenistic forms of astrology, there are other disciplines of this ancient tradition that are beginning to become more popular around the world. One of these ancient approaches to astrology is known as Indian astrology. Here is some background on the history of the Indian concept of astrology, and why it is gaining attention today.
Origins
Indian astrology is sometimes known as Vedic astrology. Part of this has to do with the origins of the tradition. The development of Indian divining is to some degree based on the six auxiliary disciplines that are part of the Vedic religion. There is some evidence of attempts to relate the movements of the sun and moon to human events that can be traced back to the first century CE. Many of these documents are no longer available, but later references to them can be found in various writings.
Some feel that the establishment of Indian astrology as a fully emerged discipline is more properly traced to the fifth century CE. Such key writings as the Aryabhatiya, which contains the concepts promoted by Aryabhata, and the Pancha-Siddhantika of Varahamihira are often considered to be documents that contained the basic structures for the discipline.
While focused more on understanding the movements of heavenly bodies, there were also some elements that implied that these movements were directly related to the futures of humanity as well.
Application
The ongoing development of Indian astrology has always relied heavily on concepts that came to be commonly accepted in the science of astronomy. Even today, new understandings that come about due to the further development of astrology have a direct impact on how the various sub-disciplines that make up Indian or Vedic astrology are applied. As such, this makes the Indian approach to astrology one that remains open to the acquisition of new knowledge that can be utilized to enhance the ability of the art to make predictions about possible future events.
Controversy
There is currently a degree of controversy in relation to whether Indian or Vedic astrology is worthy of being considered a science in its own right, or whether it should be considered more of a religious discipline.
Traditional scientists and others in modern day India tend to look upon the discipline as being spiritual or religious in nature, while proponents of the discipline believe it is directly related to astrology and as such should be considered a science. Currently, the government does not recognize Indian astrology as a religion, which makes it possible for the discipline to be taught in schools around the country.
