星相學是一門可信的科學

最近，我的導師尼克凱賓發給我這麼一條消息：印度法庭判決：星相學是一門可信的科學。 這文章來自2011年2月四日英國Telegraph 報，

我簡單翻譯，大意如下：

星相學，一門以行星之間的關係來解釋一切的學科，被印度法庭裁決為可信的科學。星相學早就被科學家否定，印度孟買高級法庭認為，星相學和科學同行。

在印度，婚禮等重大日子都要由星相學家來決定。一個星相學家認為吉祥的日子，可能會有上千個婚禮，以至於交通堵塞。這些裁決是由一個要求禁止星相學的組織引起，這個叫做Janhit Manch的人以反對黑魔法和偽星相學的名義，要求以印度印度藥物和魔力治療法一九五四年法令中禁止廣告濫宣傳的條例，禁止黑魔法和星相學活動。

 法官否決了申請。政府藥物管理副總長説：“這項法令不包括星相學和相關領域。星相學是一門可信的學科，已經有了四千年的實踐。”

全文如下：

Astrology is a Science, Court Rules

By Dean Nelson, New Delhi   04 Feb 2011

Astrology, the study of interplanetary alignments as the explanation for everything, is a credible science, an Indian court has ruled.

For years it has been dismissed by the world's scientists, but according to the Bombay High Court astrologers are officially their colleagues.

The judgment will be met with relief in India, where engagements are decided, wedding and election dates are chosen on the basis of detailed charts drawn up by revered astrologers. A day deemed "auspicious" by an astrologer can lead to thousands of weddings and traffic gridlock.

 The ruling was made in a case brought by a campaign group, Janhit Manch,

which sought a ruling against practitioners of "tantric" black magic and

"fake" astrologers. Their "work" should be prohibited by India's Drugs and

Megical Remedies Act (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 which bans

false claims in advertisements.

The judges rejected the application, however, relying on an affidavit by Dr
 

R Ramakrishna, a government deputy drug controller, who said: "The Act does not cover astrology and related sciences. Astrology is a trusted science and is being practised for over 4000 years."

Lakshman Das Madan, one of India's leading astrologers and editor of the

bestselling 'Babaji' magazine, offers detailed predictions ranging from

domestic political tips on ministerial resignations to the wedding dates for

top cricket stars. He remains hugely popular despite several errors. In

2009, he predicted the Hindu nationalist opposition BJP and its allies would

win the election. In fact it lost spectacularly to its Congress rivals.