Earthquake and Astrology

Raju Nepal

ASTROLOGY AND EARTHQUAKE

• Raju Nepal

The recent devastating earthquake of magnitude 7.9 on April 25, 2015, Saturday has shaken the heart of every Nepali- residing in Nepal or somewhere abroad. The country was slowly getting into normal mode when another massive earthquake of magnitude 7.4 on May 12, 2015 Tuesday, hit again. It has left the people living on the streets again. The couuntry felt the aftershock of more than 160 since first one which was equals to or greater than 4 Magnitude.

After being gathered in Tudikhel following the earthquake of May 12, I heard people talking about how some of the astrologers had predicted and also mentioned in social networking sites that there is going to be another massive earthquake soon. Also, listening to my relatives saying the same thing, I was nothing but surprised at the misconception that was being spread around. People were predicting on baseless assumption.

As a strong believer of power and forces that exists around us, I have always been interested in astrology and have been conducting research since very long. In addition, I have also studied astrology in depth, enough to make kundalies, read kundalies, palm reading and also vastu and some other areas of astrology.

Astrology is a vast concept. Merriam Webster dictionary defines astrology as the divination of the supposed influences of the stars and planets on human affairs and terrestrial events by their positions and aspects. There are various sections in it such as vastu, kundali, palm reading, face reading, and prediction by looking at people’s body postures. Once we are born, our kundalies are made according to the time, place  and date of our birth. It is a match of numbers which shows the position of 9 planets as per astrology at the time to birth which affects the person in certain ways. Amazingly, what’s predicted through one’s kundalis matches with palm lines of that person.

The prediction of earthquake has made people more scared rather that making them careful. However, all of us should be aware of the fact that NOBODY can predict earthquake or any other natural disaster. So, if you hear people saying, ‘somebody said that the next few hours days or few days or this particular day is dangerous’ as it could lead already panicked people to psycho traumatic condition, report  such cases  to the police in the first instance.

It’s not only Nepal, but every country that suffers from some form of natural disaster once in a while. And we have seen and heard of the damages even in the most developed countries of the world. Let’s think about it. If natural disasters were predictable, then NASA, or any geologists or any astrologer would have predicted the earthquake and there wouldn’t have been damage at all. You all get the point, right?

Middle class and upper middle class people form a major proportion among the visitors to the astrologers. Because they believe in their life’s prediction, they go to the astrologers for puja path, they wear stones as per the astrologers’ suggestions, and now, they are also the major believers of the prediction of the earthquake. What I am thinking is, even if in the short run it will help them, it is going to have a greater impact in the long run in terms of astrology. There is a high chance that people are going to take this profession negatively.   

The current devastating earthquake has already brought enough damage to the society. Spreading the news of ‘upcoming earthquake’ of certain magnitude and scaring people is only making it worse. We should realize that this will have a psychological effect in people, especially children.

Person’s Name is given on the basis of one’s birthdate, birthplace and time. And one’s astrology is based on one’s name. And kundali is based on one’s name. So predicting astrology of any country and publicizing it means seeking cheap popularity. It’s equal to shooting bullets at night.

Kathmandu started becoming a concrete jungle in a last decade or so. Unplanned urbanization, lack of understanding in preparedness has caused the situation even more dreadful. Albeit late if proper measures are taken now we can check major devastation in the future.

 This earthquake made people realize how important it is to be resilient as a result they are now thinking about building homes in rather an open area. This will now start to take shape. In the meantime, the government will also need to act rapidly in revising the building codes and implement these for the betterment. We have seen the risks some high rise apartments are posing to its occupants as well to the surroundings. In the first hand, in spite of knowing Kathmandu’s soil condition is not good for high rise building, government game permission to these earlier, now it is the time to learn from the current scenario and impose corrective measures. One of the criteria on the revised building codes should be to lower down the high rise apartments to reduce the threat as well as not permitting any new buildings that does not embrace earthquake prepaidness measures. Simultaneously, the government should also actively encourage people to retrofit their house so as to minimize the risk of damage in the future.

These are some simple remedies that the people of Nepal are expecting. However, considering the different things of the government, not sure when would they actually realize the health and safety of its citizens.

It is clear that the Astrology is an ancient science and takes in account various tedious planetary forces in predicting a person’s future. However it cannot predict any natural events. This has been evident that Nepal is in seismic zone and so is considered of high risk of earthquake. Time has come for entire country to focus on retrofitting or rebuilding strong and earthquake resilient infrastructures. As such rather than blindly following whispers, people will need to take a pause, understand the scenario, consider health and safety and act to take proper safeguarding measures. People who are spreading rumors of likelihood of earthquake should therefore be brought under the justice.

 rajunepal@rajunepal.com