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Jyotish Star of the Month

An Interview with Kapiel Raaj

By Simon Chokoisky
Interview Date: 8/15/2015

Simon Chokoisky: Hi Kapiel, thanks for talking to us! It is my understanding that your Uncle was a Vedic astrologer, is that when your interest in Jyotish began?

Kapiel Raaj: Yes, since I was five, I used to go to his house and all I saw was people sitting near him in the front open space of the house, called "Angan" in India, and he would look at these diamond-shaped things on paper and talk about Shani, Rahu, Ketu, etc. I was completely oblivious to it even though he and my mom's uncle made my Janma Patri and said I would follow in the footsteps of my Uncle, especially with the involvement of Magha nakshatra, which shows following in the footsteps of your ancestors.

I recently found out that even my grandfather (on my father�s side) was into astrology and used to call astrologers from all over the state to come over and teach him astrology. Back in those days I went to my uncle's house so much that naturally I started understanding the planets without really trying. It was subconscious really. I remember at age 19 my mother took

me to this very old astrologer in Anaheim, California who came from India. He said, �Your son will practice astrology after the age of 30!� I never believed him or cared for what he said. I wanted to be a film director, actor, or painter. I never wanted to do this professionally but as they say, �destiny and the wheel of time change everything.

Simon: What a great start! Did you continue your education in India? What did you study along with Jyotish? Other careers?

Kapiel: I came to the U.S. when I was twelve, and my interest in astrology sparked in 2002. It was six to seven hours of conversation with my uncle on the telephone every day that truly gave me the knowledge of astrology and the classics. I spoke to him for months on end for two to three years. Although various books by K.N. Rao, B.V. Raman and Beppin Behari, among others, were additional sources of knowledge, it was my uncle I would have to thank. It was his lineage and DNA that would transfer into me. I originally wanted to be a film director but my passion faded even though I made three feature length movies and 28 short films. I found my soul stuck in the realm of mysticism and astrology.

Simon: What brought you to the states?

Kapiel: It was my grandmother from my mother�s side who applied for my mother's visa through which we all came to the United States.

Simon: Did you then formally study astrology with a Jyotish Guru?

Kapiel: In a way you can say yes or no because it was the telephone conversations with my uncle and him mailing me various materials to study that gave me my initial knowledge.

Simon: Along with your uncle, who has most inspired your studies along the way, and do you have a particular path or spiritual lineage that you follow?

Kapiel: It was natural for me to go into astrology, especially when I was at the lowest point of my life; I saw the light of Jyotish when I didn't even have 20 dollars to my name. But I understand now what Shani was doing during his Sade Sati transit. I was cleaning kindergarten toilets and classrooms for a year because there was no other job available. My father had passed away and I needed to make money. My manager at the school who was the head custodian, Danny Tate, gave me some of the most important lessons during that time. He was perhaps the avatar of Shani; a former marine who showed me discipline. The school was on a hill so I could see the entire skyline of Orange County at night which was a cherry on my karmic cake. I loved looking at the scenic view and imagining when I would become successful. It would take 13 long years to get to that point.

Simon: Who is your favorite author in the Vedic system?

Kapiel: My current favorites would have to be Shri A.V. Sundaram, Shri K.N. Rao, Ernst Wilhelm, Bepin Behari and Joni Patry but as far as the classics are concerned I have fallen in love with Bhrigu Nadi Jyotish. Bhrigu has made my life beautiful and simple. I mean as humans we are already dumb enough in Kali Yuga, but Bhrigu made it simple enough. He made it really simple - that within 20 seconds you can point out five to ten events in a person's life without looking at divisional charts, dashas or transits. But this requires years of practice on just two to three slokas. Bruce Lee would practice one move 10,000 times, not 10,000 moves one time; this is why he was Bruce Lee. I would say take it slow in Bhrigu Nadi, practice it and master two or three max slokas and then move on.

Simon: What inspired you to begin your wonderful series of videos on YouTube?

Kapiel: Like they say when there is a pothole on the street you fill it so everyone can drive their car smoothly on the street. I did just that. There is too much secrecy in astrology and people are desperate to learn it. I used to search online about Vedic astrology while at work, and it was all redundant -- copy/pasted information that gave me nothing. That's when I decided at 2:00 am in the morning one strange night that I am going to start a YouTube channel and show people at least what I have learned, and along the way I brought in many geniuses to help elaborate such themes. I remember quickly getting up going to my desktop at 2:00 am and signing up to open my KRSchannel. If someone like me wanted to understand Saturn in the 9th house in Gemini and what it means, I want to be there to give them that answer. If someone wants to learn how to study maha dashas then I want to be there to help them. My motto is "The more you give. . ."

Simon: We understand that you recently had your first son, congratulations on that! Will you be passing your knowledge down to him?

Kapiel: Actually no, I had two daughters back to back -- they are like Irish twins; Promila and Vaanika. I am so happy as a father that they are equivalent to a son, perhaps even more. The only way I will pass the knowledge to them is if they show any interest in it and you must be wondering I should know, but no, I don't. I will never, ever look at their charts or make any predictions on their chart even though I know their time of birth to the second. I already stopped doing that with my wife when we got married. A true astrologer is the one who burns his and his family members� charts. You should never look at the charts of your blood relations as it's full of karmic energy. We as a family simply believe in the source energy and that's it. I am not those astrologers who make every decision about themselves and their family members based on dashas and yogas. Never. I stopped looking at my chart back in 2009 and life slowly got better. If you practice astrology, do not look at your own destiny. If you do not practice astrology professionally then you are off the hook to an extent.

Simon: That is great advice, especially for those of us who tend to micromanage our lives by the stars. What else would you recommend to our Jyotish students to encourage them in their studies?

Kapiel: Be a beacon to others. The moment you can make someone understand their path is the moment you will feel complete. Learning Jyotish isn't a privilege, it's your birth right as a human being to study the heavens and to �know thyself.�

And always bring hope to people's lives when you look at their charts. It's easy to point out all the negative things, past and future, but it take a true Jyotishi to enlighten a person and give them hope despite all their bad yogas. Also these are my principles when practicing Jyotish. Sure, point out negative events in the past to confirm their birth chart and to show them you know astrology.

Here are few principles I follow:

1. Never predict death for a client or their loved ones. It�s a big sin that impacts people psychologically. There is no need to tell that to a person even if they want to know. It's not your job it's the job of Shiva. Let him do his thing.

2. Do not tell them they will never make any money in life, or that they will have a mediocre future or that they will never get married or have children because even Shri Parashara made wrong predictions which was judged by Goddess Laxmi, so if he can be wrong then we all are nothing. If you see someone is never going to get married yet they are sitting in front of you anxious to know something bright, then do the right thing.

3. I personally will never do horoscope matching as it is not my job to keep two people away from each other who are karmically destined to be with each other and finish paying their debts -- otherwise they will keep coming back until they do. If you do horoscope matching try to be sensitive. If a person is in love with someone else, don't shut the book on them saying you will never be with them; instead be sensitive and show them how their life will be if they were to marry them. But pointing out that one of them could die if they marry is again a sin because you are putting fear into a person. Any person who puts fear or unnecessary fear in a person commits the biggest sin.

There is a reason why some astrologers suffer financially; they either keep looking at their charts on a daily basis, including their family relations, they predict things that go against the true principles of Jyotish, or put fear in people so they can prescribe remedies or take advantage of their weaknesses. This is why I never prescribe any remedy that will cost a person arm-&-leg. Best remedy is to say the name of Ram 3 times and pour milk and water on Shiva lingam on 1st and 15th of the month in a temple only.

Jyotish is alive, it sees, senses and registers everything you do through it. It's a science beyond the occult. Use it to do good and help people, not put fear in them.

Simon: It seems you are also interested in the esoteric side of astrology, like the Nadi tradition you mentioned. Tell us about your experience with this.

Kapiel: My experience with the Nadi tradition started two years ago when Vaughn Paul Manley introduced me to the Saptarishis Astrology website, which was a goldmine of information. Since then, studying Nandi Nadi (a classical work on Nadi techniques), Nadi ayanmsa, BSP and BCP became a passion and obsession but with two kids now and life responsibilities I haven't dived into it as much as I used to before, but hoping to start back on it when the kids start school!

Simon: How much of astrology is technique versus intuition? And if it's mostly intuition, why do we need birth charts at all?

Kapiel: 25% is technique, 25% is intuition 10% is omens, and 40% is practice. This is not the law of the land, this is my simple analysis. Sure you could have debilitated Jupiter in the 8th house and it might seem that one can quickly judge a person's wealth, children, marriage and other areas, but technique needs to be there. You have to see which nakshatra Jupiter is in, where is the nakshatra lord and depositor placed, what position does Jupiter takes in the D9, D7, D30 and D60 charts, as well as its vimshopaka bala. You have to see which planet is causing argla or vargla. But your intuition is working with your technical knowledge- one can't exist without the other in astrology otherwise you are simply a psychic if it's all intuition.

The debilitated Jupiter can make a person a multi millionaire in its dasha as it is with one real estate broker who came to me in 2014. You also have to pay attention to the omens. I remember I was doing a marriage consultation for this lady one time and I sneezed 6 times in a row in the middle of consultation and my mind quickly went to the omen part. I simply asked her �have you had more than 5 relationships?� She replied and said she had three serious relationships and two failed marriages. Your intuition and the environment is trying to tell you something so pay attention.

Then comes practice, the more you see charts the more you learn. Learning one combination of Raaj Yoga will only take you so far- there are many combinations and many ways to study a Raaj Yoga and charts are all different from each other, so only practice will make you a good Jyotishi.

Simon: Who are some of the most memorable people, in your mind, that you've interviewed and why?

Kapiel: Number one has to be Sunil of Saptarishis due to the passion he showed in the interviews we did. I never had such high watch time of any of my interviews like Sunil and Dr. Arjun Pai, but Sunil of Saptarishis, Vaughn Paul Manley and Das Goravani have to be my favorites.

Simon: What are your plans for the future, both for yourself and for the KRS YouTube channel?

Kapiel: There will be a point when I leave all of this, but for now lots and more things to come! I mean I have 7,000 more videos to make before I can even complete showing what I know of astrology. I have some secret projects I am working on which I can't even hint about, but you will see them in the coming year or so.

Simon: Nice� we can�t wait! Thanks, Kapiel!

Simon: So, to sum it up succinctly, what is your life mission with Vedic Astrology, and how do you see yourself in the scheme of things?

Kapiel: Who am I? I am someone like you, who loves astrology to its core. I began my journey in the world of Astrology when I was first introduced to Vedic Astrology and its predictive methods through my uncle in India around 2002. I finally saw astrology for what it was, a divine science. I used to read my weekly and yearly horoscope sun sign, but never cared too much for it because it hardly ever came true and most of it was common information that can be applied to anyone. But Vedic Astrology proved me wrong. Through its detailed charts, time tables and true planetary degree I realized how accurate astrology really was. I finally found out the meaning of astrology. I finally knew who I was and what I was supposed to do in life, which pop culture astrology doesn't show at all. My mission is to simply give Vedic Astrology a heartbeat again and to make it easy, fun and adventitious for anyone who wants to know about the science of light. I feel this is my only mission besides one day opening up the biggest school of astrology in the world with the most beautiful architecture and inviting best teachers around the world to come and teach. The other goal would be to have enough money to invest in a project like SETI and help understand the truth about our space, aliens and finally making contact with a distant neighbor. These two things are my passion, my soul and my goal.

Simon: Thank you Kapiel for a great interview, we look forward to hearing you speak in November at the Sedona Vedic astrology conference!

Kapiel Raaj Biography

Kapiel Raaj is a filmmaker, actor, novelist, researcher and a 2nd generation Vedic astrologer, trained by his paternal Uncle.

He began his journey in Vedic astrology in 2002 in India with his Uncle and while living in California with his parents.

� My mission is to simply give Vedic Astrology a heartbeat again and to make it easy, fun and adventitious for anyone who wants to know about the science of light. I feel this is my only mission besides one day opening up the biggest school of astrology in the world with the most beautiful architecture and inviting best teachers around the world to come and teach. The other goal would be to

have enough money to invest in a project like SETI and help understand the truth about our space, aliens and finally making contact with a distant neighbor. These two things are my passion, my soul and my goal.� Kapiel Raaj

Kapiel has a world class Vedic astrology YouTube channel. He is an educator and professional consultant and can be reached via http://www.astrologykrs.com/

Simon Chokoisky's Biography:

Simon Chokoisky teaches Sanskrit and Medical Jyotisha at the renowned Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico. He is known for making difficult concepts easy to understand, and simple concepts profound. His Decoding Your Life Map With Vedic Astrology and Sanskrit Without Stress DVDs have been hailed as user-friendly and insightful by students at every level. He is also the author of The 5 Dharma Types: Vedic Wisdom for Discovering Your Purpose & Destiny, and the forthcoming book, Sex, Love & Dharma, published by Destiny Books.

Simon has written for Namarupa, and is a regular contributor to Ayurveda Today, and Yoga Magazine. Along with his full-time duties at the Ayurvedic Institute, Simon also travels widely giving seminars.

Contact Information:
He may be reached at [email protected] or 602-574-0248



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