A Conversation with Astrologer
Pundit Shri Vamadeva Shastri (Dr. David Frawley)
By Charlotte Benson
Interview Date: 2/3/2012
Charlotte Benson: Hello Vamadeva! Thank you so much for taking the time out of your amazingly busy schedule, along with travelling back and forth from the United States to India, to meet with us today! Would you please comment on how you became so identified with Vedic Astrology and Yoga? You�ve written about this in your book �How I Became a Hindu.�
|  | What yogas in your chart signify your conversion from your American upbringing to being one of the foremost exponents of Vedic knowledge in contemporary times?
Vamadeva: This is a long story of more than forty years going back to when I was eighteen, since I began to study Yoga, Vedanta and the Rigveda, including Vedic astrology. Yet by the age of twenty-one the main changes had already occurred.
Astrological Yogas in the chart that cause a radical change of religion or spirituality often involve exchanges between the eighth and the ninth lords. I have this from my Moon, but not from the ascendant. |
[editor�s note: Vamadeva (Dr. David Frawley) has graciously permitted us to print his natal chart]
Yogas that enable one to study overseas or understand foreign teachings often involve the fifth lord in the twelfth house, which I have. As my fifth lord is Saturn in the twelfth house in Virgo, with the Sun and Ketu, some sort of classical or yogic learning is indicated. Virgo as a sign is closely connected with classical learning and also with India, particularly South India.
Perhaps the most interesting phenomenon in my chart is that I was born between two total eclipses, which only happened eleven times during the last century. There was a total eclipse of the Sun a few days before I was born and a total eclipse of the Moon some ten days after. On my day of birth the Sun was in direct conjunction with Ketu, within three minutes of a degree. Such an eclipse energy birth takes one out of the time frame of the period in which one was born and often gives past life knowledge or other unusual abilities. This makes Ketu very strong in my chart and probably my predominant planetary influence. Ketu�s role as the significator of higher knowledge like astrology, and liberation or Moksha would come into play here. Yet my Jupiter in the fifth house in Aquarius also helps with writing, teaching, meditation and study of spiritual teachings. I began a Rahu Mahadasha in 1967 which began my deeper studies, with Rahu naturally reflecting some of the energy of Ketu. After 1985, I began a Jupiter period that helped develop these spiritual connections.
Charlotte: You are recognized as a world-class expert in all of the following disciplines: Vedacharya (teacher of Vedic knowledge); Vaidya (Ayurvedic medicine); Jyotishi; Hindu acharya; and a yogi. This must take an amazing amount of focus and energy. How do you manage to excel in all these different areas?
Vamadeva: I am really not sure why my life unfolded that way. There was never any plan to attempt so much, though I always had a broad area of interests and good powers of memory and focus. Yet the Vedic systems of knowledge are closely linked together, and the keys to one can help provide the keys to the others. I think my study of Sanskrit, particularly Vedic Sanskrit and classical texts, was particularly important. My work with many great teachers in India has also helped. My honoring of the deities like Shiva, Devi and Sarasvati has been helpful as well. I also relied on Ayurveda and Vedic astrology more for a livelihood as the Vedic and yogic knowledge did not provide much in that area, so some diversification was a practical necessity.
Charlotte: I�ve read that you taught yourself Sanskrit. What other teacher(s) inspired you, mentored you, or have been your strongest collaborators along the way?
Vamadeva: I began studying Sanskrit on my own in 1970 from books and translations. There was very little available by way of teachers or classes at that time except a few academic programs that were very superficial in their approach and even the existing Yoga centers, which were few, offered little if anything by way of Sanskrit. I was able to progress fairly well independently, including making some translations and commentaries of my own. Eventually I made some good contacts mainly in India in the later seventies that helped me develop this further into writings and teachings.
Sri Anandamayi Ma, whom I corresponded with from 1976 to her death in 1982, gave me the initial confidence to go ahead with my Vedic work and was very encouraging.
M.P. Pandit, the then secretary of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in India and a prolific writer, was the first teacher to promote my writings and get them published in a large scale in India starting in 1979. He was most important for promoting my translations of the Rigveda, but endorsed my other work as well.
K. Natesan of the Sri Ramanashram was most helpful in connecting me to the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and Ganapati Muni, which have been an important part of several of my books, including presenting me with teachings of Ganapati Muni at that time not available in print.
Dr. B.V. Raman was most helpful in my deeper Jyotish studies. I met him in India and the US in 1992, after being aware of his books for over twenty years. He arranged several talks for me in Bangalore and I have stayed in contact with his family since.
Dr. B.L.Vashta, one of India�s leading Ayurvedic doctors, aided me in my Ayurvedic studies and also connected me with many teachers in India. He was also a noted journalist and aided me in getting my articles published in major Indian magazines and newspapers.
I worked closely with Ram Swarup, whom Hinduism Today has called the greatest modern teacher of Hindu Dharma, for several years and his Voice of India publishing company has printed a number of my books. I also wrote the forewords for several of his books.
Sri Sivananda Murty, a great Raja Yogi and astrologer, remains perhaps the greatest living teacher that I can continue to visit and hold discussions with. He has always been quite encouraging and we just met with him a few months ago in India.
In the field of Vedic and historical studies I have worked with a number of other teachers and scholars including Subhash Kak, NS Rajaram, Georg Feuerstein and Graham Hancock.
I have worked with many Ayurvedic doctors including Vasant Lad, Deepak Chopra, Subhash Ranade, Sunil Joshi and Suhas Kshirsagar.
I have worked with many Vedic astrologers notably Chakrapani Ullal and Dr. K.S. Charak, as well as many in the West like Dr. Dennis Harness and Dennis Flaherty.
All these colleagues and friends have helped me in various ways, and I have always tried to work with a variety of individuals, groups and organizations.
Charlotte: Studying Jyotish in the West is still a unique path. What advice would you give that could encourage students of Vedic Astrology to continue on this somewhat solitary endeavor?
Vamadeva: First of all, go out at night and learn the stars -- making astrology a living perceptual experience for you. The stars and planets are living beings and sages that one can communicate with. And note the energies coming from certain regions of the Milky Way.
Second, study also the greater teachings of Yoga and Vedanta to put Vedic astrology in the proper spiritual and philosophical context.
Third, examine many charts including noting daily planetary positions. Do not believe merely in what books say but develop your own track record verifying how planetary influences work.
Fourth, try to connect with the Vedic astrology community at least on line, but also in person when possible. There are many more books and resources in the field than when we started forty years ago!
Perhaps above all, learn the main mantras to the planets and chant them regularly.
Charlotte: You have been so prolific in your literary output of definitive books about Vedic knowledge. Your many excellent books have been translated into over 15 languages. What other topics are you still interested in researching?
Vamadeva: There are a few more topics I would like yet to cover. I have a long book on Soma in Yoga and Ayurveda: Rejuvenation and Immortality, which is now under production.
There is another book on the Nakshatras and Vedic Origins of Astrology that I have as yet unfinished --maybe in a few years.
I am also working on a longer book on the Vedic Yoga now -- that will probably be the next title and will be detailed as well. I am considering doing a single book just on Shiva.
There are other topics, and sometimes something unplanned comes up. In addition, I would like to do some more translations from the Vedas at some point, though that also requires commentaries.
Charlotte: Your most recent book, hot off the press, on Mantras sounds fascinating, could you tell us a little about it?
Vamadeva: Actually it is now into its third reprint in less than two years. It is a study of Mantra Yoga, including the energetic meaning of the sounds of the Sanskrit alphabet and the primary Shakti mantras, examining how they interface with the breath, the chakras, the mind and meditation.
The book contains a complete study of the Mantra Purusha or how mantras relate to the body and its energy system for Ayurvedic healing purposes. It has a little of mantra relative Jyotish and Vastu as well. The book tries to help you understand why certain sounds and mantras have particular meanings and applications.
This allows the reader to employ mantras with wisdom and grace, not just mechanically. | | |
The latest Hinduism Today (Jan-March 2012) has an entire section on Mantra Yoga that uses a number of excerpts from the book.
Charlotte: Please share with us your most recent experiences with the students you have met with on your annual Himalayan Temple Study Tour. It sounds wonderful.
Vamadeva: We take students every year to two separate Himalayan programs, the first a retreat on the Ganga above Rishikesh, and the second a tour to the higher Himalayas by Ranikhet, some two hundred miles to the east.
For the retreat, we have a beautiful resort around fifteen miles north of the town Rishikesh on the Ganga, which is private and quiet and has excellent food and accommodations. The program includes daily yoga, meditation, and mantra, specific classes and lectures, and special offerings and rituals on the banks of the sacred river. We visit nearby Vasishta Guha, one of the most powerful meditation caves in India, where Anandamayi Ma, Sai Baba, Yogananda and many others visited.
| | For the tour, our main base is by Ranikhet where we have a very good hotel with great views of the high Himalayas. We visit several nearby temples like the Dunagiri Durga temple, from which Hanuman is reputed to have found the famous Sanjivini plant. Nearby is the famous cave of Yogavatar Babaji, where he first taught Kriya Yoga to Lahiri Mahashaya. The cave is a very powerful meditation center, where many of our students have had important experiences. By Ranikhet |
are nearby temples to Kali and Durga. We also visited the famous Jageswar Shiva complex, the largest in the Himalayas. There we had a special havan or fire offering done by the chief priest, which was quite transformative. The temple is in a forest of massive old Deodar trees (Himalayan Cedars) and holds a powerful Shiva and Shakti energy.
Charlotte: I know that you have another annual tour planned. Please comment on what you are intending to discover there.
Vamadeva: For the Ma Ganga retreat we will be able to celebrate Holi, the festival of colors, on the banks of Ma Ganga herself! One day is available for river rafting on the Ganga, which is a large, powerful and fast moving stream. For the tour, we will visit a famous ancient Surya or Sun temple by Almora, among our other regular places.
We are now also doing retreats in Hawaii, on the island of Kauai in December of 2012, and have another one planned already. We have a beautiful retreat center in the Kerala style near the north shore of the island. The program includes visits to Hinduism Today and its beautiful temple, a boat ride on the famous Napali coast, and a tour of native Hawaiian sacred sites, along with special Vedic and yogic teachings.
Charlotte: In closing, if you had to give one piece of encouragement to students and practioners of Jyotish today, what would it be?
Vamadeva: If you take up Jyotish as a spiritual calling, not merely as a business, if you have patience and take time to learn it in depth, you can definitely go far with it. These Vedic disciplines are gaining in popularity all over the world and will continue to do so. There is no doubt about it. The personal and spiritual rewards of Jyotish and other Vedic disciplines are enormous.
Charlotte: Thank you so much for the donation of your wisdom at this busy time in your life.
[editor�s note: You can attend UAC 2012 in New Orleans in May and meet and learn from Vamadeva in person! See Our Vedic Venue Page.
Lectures scheduled for David Frawley:
Vedic Astrology and Psychology (Track 15, Session 1)
The Vedic system provides clear principles for evaluating the psychology of a person relative to the planets, signs, houses, and Nakshatras. It shows the condition of the ego, intellect, emotions, and senses of and their likely development through the karmas of life, including the impact of relationship, family, education, religion and spirituality. The class will set forth these principles and show the relevance of astrology both for diagnosis and treatment of psychological imbalances, including special remedial measures.
Vedic Astrology: The Yugas and Global Karma (Track 15, Session 9)
Vedic astrology contains several systems for determining the effects of the planets on the world as a whole, recognizing various longer time cycles or yugas that govern human affairs, nations, and civilizations. Many of these are connected with the Nakshatras or lunar mansions and their orientation to equinox and solstice points. The class will explore several most important Yuga theories, their astrological basis, and how they relate to current events, trends, and dates.
Vamadeva's Biography:
Acharya David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri) is an unusual western born knowledge-holder in the Vedic tradition. He carries many special Vedic ways of knowledge (vidyas), which he passes on to students. In India, Vamadeva is recognized as a Vedacharya (Vedic teacher), a Vaidya (Ayurvedic doctor and teacher), Jyotishi (Vedic astrologer), Puranic (Vedic historian), a Hindu acharya (Hindu religious teacher) and a Raja Yogi.
In India, Vamadeva's translations and interpretations of the ancient Vedic teachings have been given great acclaim in both spiritual and scholarly circles. In America he is best known as a teacher and practitioner of Ayurvedic medicine and of Vedic astrology (Jyotish) and has done pioneering work on both these subjects, helping produce educational material and establish a number of important organizations and institutions.
Vamadeva is director of the American Institute of Vedic Studies that offers training programs in Ayurvedic medicine, Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy, and Vedic astrology that have been taken by more than five thousand people over the last twenty-five years.
He is the author of more than forty books available in twenty languages worldwide. His notable titles include Yoga and Ayurveda, Mantra Yoga and Primal Sound, Ayurvedic Healing, Ayurvedic Astrology and the Astrology of the Seers
Website: www.vedanet.com
Email: [email protected] |
