National Astro Conference begins in capital

KATHMANDU, June 22: The 17th National Astro Conference jointly organized by the Astro-Council Nepal and South Asian Astro Federation, Central Committee Nepal kicked off in Kathmandu on Saturday.

Inaugurating the conference, Nepal Calendar Fixation Committee's chair Dr. Ramchandra Gautam said Nepal was the place of origin of Astrology and it had an important role to guideline the society. He sought unity among astrologers to establish the norms and values of this discipline. He insisted the need for creating enabling environment to develop respectful perspectives towards astrology.

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Participants of the conference expressed concerns over the latest tendency of naming and shaming astrology just for sake of popularity and stated that such a trend would defame the astrology. World Astro Federation chair Dr. Lokraj Poudel informed that there were three types of astrologers in Nepal, but common understanding among them was missing. They can be categorized as graduates from the Sanskrit University, those practicing astrology after receiving orientation and classes from several training centers and those following ancestral profession. As he said, trained and those following the ancestral profession have been proved competent in society.

South Asian Astro Federation chair Sahadev Bista highlighted the need for common understanding among true astrologers. He was of the view that senior astrologers failed to transfer theoretical knowledge to the new generation.

President of Astrologers Council, Madhav Raj Pandey stressed the need for discouraging the trend of cheating among the astrologers who spread hearsay through social networking sites and create terror among the public. Associate professor at the Sanskrit University, Dr. Madhav Prasad Paudyal, Council general secretary Santosh Bashista, Secretary Laxman Panthi, National Women Astrologers' Association president Ratidevi Shrestha Joshi, among the speakers underscored the need for making astrology more credible.