What does the Sun mean to your heart?
By Rajat Rai

Lucknow, July 22 (IANS): Your stars could have a bearing on your heart condition, says a study by astrologers.

As per Hindu mythology, every organ of the body is governed by one of the nine planets - which can have positive or negative effects. The Sun is considered the Lord of the Heart. July 22 is the day of the total solar eclipse - the century's longest such celestial phenomenon.

The faculty of Sanskrit and Vidya Dharma Vigyan of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) carried out a study on how the planets had an effect on the body, based on studies on some patients. They submitted the report to the University Grants Commission (UGC).

On the basis of the report, the UGC has awarded to the faculty a project - Astrological Diagnosis and Treatment of Heart Diseases. The project is headed by Shatrughan Tripathi, a lecturer in the faculty.

"It is a three-year project, supported by a grant of Rs.600,000. It was awarded to us a few months back," Tripathi told IANS.

The project is aimed at developing an astrological model that will "act as a diagnostic alarm for people" about the vulnerability of their heart. It will also recommend "treatment procedures" - gems, mantras - based on ancient jyotish and vedic scriptures, Tripathi said.

"We will be prescribing three forms of treatment after studying a patient - a gem-based therapy, mantra-based treatment and also on natural herbs that corresponds to their distinctive zodiac sign," he said.

According to Tripathi, "Every vital organ in the human body is governed by any of the nine planets. With the Sun being Lord of the Heart, the health of this vital body organ also is influenced by the powerful Sun."

Providing details about the report, he said: "Our study was based on the kundalis (horoscope) of 76 heart patients, some of whom have already died. The role of planetary influences was found in occurrence of heart diseases in all of them."

Explaining the Hindu Kundali, Tripathi said: "There are 12 boxes or houses in the kundali or horoscope. These boxes are the houses of the nine planets and based on the time of the birth of a person, the planet occupies a particular house.

"It is not necessary that one planet occupies a single house. At a time, two to three planets occupy a single house, leaving a few empty. The planets keep shuffling places depending on the nakshtra or the planetary position in the universe," he said.

In 70 percent of heart patients, all Taurians, the Sun, Saturn and Rahu troika were "in the fourth place of the horoscope", he added.

"It was also found that Taurians having the Venus in fourth place and their health lord planet in the sixth and 12th place of the kundali, had valve-related problems and anginal problems and severe abnormalities in heart-beating rate was common," Tripathi explained.

In Leos and Cancerians, having a history of angina pain, a Rahu-plus-Saturn combination in fourth and fifth place was common in the kundalis, while Aquarians with a weak heart had a commonality of Sun in the fifth place of horoscope, he said.

The faculty has begun collecting astrological details of patients with congenital disorders, especially those born with a hole in the heart, female heart patients and those above 40. "The details are being collected from heart care centres in metros, after which a comprehensive astrological database will be set up for further study," Tripathi said.

"The data base will help in developing an astro-model that will act like an alarm for alerting people by peeping into their stars - to gauge the health of their heart," he said.

Medical experts are unwilling to comment.

"It depends upon the faith of a person to believe or not in stars and the zodiac. It is a new idea. Let us wait for the results," said a senior cardiologist of Lucknow, V.S. Narayan.