Speakers

INDIA

Pandit Sanjay Rath

Sanjay belongs to a traditional family of astrologers from Bira Balabhadrapur Sasan in Puri, Orissa. Internationally renowned and respected, he uses Brihat Parasara Hora Shastra, Jaimini Upadesa Sutras, Brihat Jataka and Saravali as the foundations of Jyotisha and also incorporates other Jyotish scriptures and sacred Vedic literature in his teachings. Author: Crux of Vedic Astrology, Remedial Measures in Astrology, Narayana Dashas and Jaimini’s Upadesa Sutras.
Website www.srath.com

Pandit Sharma C.S. Samavedula

Pandit Sharma is a 6th generation Sama Veda pandit and a Shri Vidya Upasaka. In 1990, after 12 years of study, Pandit Sharma received his Master’s Degree in Vedic Studies (Ganapati Pandit). During this time he learnt the grammar and other aspects of Sanskrit and the performance of different kinds of pujas and yagyas.

In 2002, he founded the Vedic Yagya Center located in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India and Fairfield, Iowa. His Center offers to individuals, organizations and businesses Vedic yagyas (sacred ceremonies), homams (ancient fire ceremonies), and pujas as prescribed in the Vedas and Shastras, the holy Indian scriptures. By utilizing the sound vibrations of specific Sanskrit mantras, these performances can help alleviate many problems of our modern times.

Dr K S Charak

Dr Charak has studied and practised astrology for over 20 years, with a special emphasis on Medical Astrology. He is the author of several books on Vedic Astrology including the Essentials of Medical Astrology, A Text Book of Varshaphal, Predictive Techniques in Varshaphal, Elements of Vedic Astrology and Yogas in Vedic Astrology. He is the Founder and Editor of the Vedic Astrology magazine. He is also an eminent surgeon and is presently head of the Surgery Department in the Indira Gandhi E.S.I Hospital, New Delhi.

Jyoti Trehan

Jyoti has been studying and researching Vedic astrology since 1981 in India. He has immense knowledge of the subject and works with Vedic Astrology on an intellectual level. He comes from a family tradition of Jyotish. Astrology is a passion for him rather than a profession. He is a distinguished Police Officer and is currently an Inspector General of Police with the Indian Police Force.

Kailasnath Krishnan

Kailashnath is a leading expert in the ancient art and science of Prashna of Kerala. He conducted the Ashta Mangala Prashna at the ACVA Conference in Kerala. He counts top politicians, celebrities and top industrialist among his clients. His dharma is to educate and promote the knowledge of Kerala Prashna.

Prof. V K Choudhry

Prof. Choudhry has gained world wide recognition as the creator of the ‘Systems Approach’ as applied to the interpretations of Horoscopes and Divisional charts. He was conferred the title of Jyotish Kovid, Jyotish Bhanu and Jyotish Martand. His books include Self Learning Course in Vedic Astrology, Divisional Charts and How to Identify Key Events in Life.

Sarbani Sarkar

Sarbani is a Jyotish Guru with Sri Jagannath Centre and has been pursuing Jyotish for the past eight years. She has published papers in Jyotish magazines and presented at conferences across the world.She pursued Tarot seriously for 12 years before devoting full time to Jyotish. She has a deep interest in Mantra Shastra. She has been a social scientist by profession specialising in environmentalism. www.sarbani.com

Vinay Aditya

Vinay is the author of a famous book on the Ashtakavarga called ‘Dots of Destiny’. He has been practising and teaching Vedic Astrology for the past fifteen years. He is Associate Editor of the Vedic Astrology bi-monthly published from India. He was awarded the title Jyotish Vachaspati by the Indian Council of Astrological Sciences (ICAS) while he holds a degree in engineering from IIT Kanpur, India. He has conducted many workshops in Vedic Astrology at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, ACVA, BAVA and DGVA (Germany).

CANADA

Jeffrey Armstrong

Jeffrey has degrees in History & Comparative Religion, Psychology and Literature. He has over 30 years experience as a Vedic Astrologer and is an initiate of Yoga, Tantra and Mantra practices for the 35 years. Author: God (Goddess) the Astrologer which was awarded Independent Publishers: New Age Book of the Year. Watch Jeffrey Armstrong prove that vedic astrology works on You Tube.

Website www.jeffreyarmstrong.com

USA

Andrew Foss, PhD

Andrew is the author of the leading Vedic Astrology software Shri Jyoti Star and the book and eBook series Yoga of the Planets. He is President and co-founder of the British Association of Vedic Astrology and the editor of the BAVA journal Gochara.. He has a BA and MA from Oxford University in Physics and an MSc and PhD in Computing Science.

He is a Jaimini Scholar and has lectured internationally on Jyotish, Ayurveda and computing and has published extensively in Astronomy and Computing in peer-reviewed journals along with many articles in Jyotish. See www.vedicsoftware.com

Barry Rosen

Barry has advised clients for 25 years on market timing using modern adaptations to Vedic astrology. His company, Fortucast Market Timing Inc., publishes monthly, daily and intraday reports on over 17 futures markets, 20 ETF’s using Gann, Elliott wave and five cyclical model.  50% of his predictions are derived from Vedic astrology directly. Barry has been working with personal charts, business charts and commoditiy charts and published numerous articles in Gann and Elliott Wave, Trader’s World, the NCGR  Journal (National Council of Geocosmic Rearch), The Traders Astrological Almanac and has appeared on CNBC  and has worked with top money managers. He currently has 450 clients ranging from farmers to ETF traders to day traders.  He can be reached at research@fortucast.com and he currently resides in Sedona, AZ.

Brendan Feeley

Brendan has practiced astrology since 1975 and he has a particular interest in the medical application of vedic astrology in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. He currently practices Vedic Astrology, classical homeopathy, and Ayurveda in Washington, DC.

Chakrapani Ullal

Chakrapani is a world-renowned Vedic astrologer from Kerala, South India. He was born into a family of illustrious astrologers and has had contact with many of the leading spiritual teachers of India. He travels extensively to teach and meet his international clientele. He holds a degree in business studies and law and has been awarded the titles of Jyotish Kovid and Jyotish Vachaspati by the Indian Council of Astrological Sciences. His gentle and unassuming manner and his insights born of a lifetime of study and practice have endeared him to many. Chakrapani maintains a busy practice in Los Angeles where he is consulted by people from all over the world, and from all walks of life. Christina Collins Hill

Christina is Director of the Academy for Vedic Studies in Boulder, Colorado. She has done thousands of consultations, including among her clients many celebrities. She is on the Editorial Board of the ACVA Journal.

Dennis Harness, PhD

Dennis is a professional astrologer with a doctorate degree in Counseling Psychology. He was awarded the titiles of Jyotish Kovid and Jyotish Vachaspati by the Indian Council of Astrological Sciences. Dr. Harness is the Executive Vice-President of the American Council of Vedic Astrology in Sedona, Arizona. He is the author of The Nakshatras: The Lunar Mansions of Vedic Astrology which is published by Lotus Press.

Dr Dinesh Sharma

Dinesh comes from a family that has been dedicated to the Vedic traditions for the last four generations. He has a degree in AyurVeda, has studied Astrology at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Delhi, and is also expert in Vastu (Vedic architecture). He has travelled throughout the world giving consultations in Astrology, Ayurveda, and Vastu. He is the author of Divisional Charts.

Drupada John Macdonald

Drupada has been involved with Vedic astrology since 1989. A student of the raja yoga teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda, his interest is in using astrology as a tool for spiritual growth and transformation.
Since 1982 Drupada has been a member of the Ananda Sangha Community in California, inspired by the teachings of Yogananda. See www.expandinglight.org

Edith Hathaway

Edith began her astrological studies in 1976, and her private practice in 1980. Trained and certified in systems of both East and West, she transitioned to Vedic astrology in 1988, after receiving Level IV certification as Consulting Astrologer from the National Council of Geocosmic Research, and Master Astro*Carto* Grapher certification from Jim Lewis. In 1996 the Indian Council of Astrological Sciences awarded her the Jyotish Kovid.

She is an international consultant, writer, teacher, and lecturer. A Board member of the American College of Vedic Astrology, she is a faculty member since 1992. Her new book ‘In Search of Destiny’ is due out in 2012. See www.edithhathaway.com

Gary Gomes

Gary is a faculty member of the ACVA and has trained in many Vedic disciplines and lectured on Jyotish in a wide variety of professional settings.

G Krishnan

Krishnan was initiated into Vedic Astrology at the age of 12 by his Guru (late) Raja Iyer. He held the position of Chief Engineer in the Indian Railways at Bombay. He has over 40 years experience as a Vedic Astrologer and was the past chairman of the Bombay Chapter of Indian Council of Astrological Sciences. He was awarded the Jyotish Vachaspathi by the Indian Council of Astrological Sciences. He is the author of Ashtaka Varga made simple for the western Astrologer and Vedic Astrology series -2, Stock Market Analysis. He resides in Texas.

Howard Beckman (Hamsavatar)

Howard is a Vedic astrologer and planetary gemologist. He is author of An Introduction to Vedic Astrology and Mantras, Yantras & Fabulous Gems and has spent 30 years delving into the spiritual principles embodied within.

James Kelleher

James was introduced to astrology in 1975 by the well known Indian Astrologer MK Gandhi. Gandhi predicted that Jim would become an astrologer. After studying in India, Jim worked for five years as Gandhi’s assistant in London. He is on the steering committee of ACVA and the board of the American College of Vedic Astrology. He is the author of Path of Light (2 vols). Jim has a regular newsletter and has been leading groups to India for the past 7 years. Jim has a busy private practice in Los Gatos, California. See www.jameskelleher.com

Hank Friedman

Hank is author of the book Astrology On Your Personal Computer and has written numerous articles on astrology as well as software reviews for The Mountain Astrologer, American Astrology, and the A.F.A. Bulletin. His website has extensive information on astrology. Hank Friedman offers his metaphysical services to clients in the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout the world via telephone. www.soulhealing.com

Joni Patry

Joni has lectured at many national and international conferences and is the keynote speaker for national and international conferences, and has been on national television and radio in the USA. Her clientele includes the who’s who of America and Hollywood celebrities.She is the author of Eastern Astrology for Western Minds: A compilation of Neo-Vedic Astrology is a complete manual to learn Vedic astrology. Most recently her book ‘Awaken to the Truth’ was written to inspire others to seek our true reality. www.galacticcenter.org

Komilla Sutton

Komilla Sutton is the Founder of the British Association of Vedic Astrology. She is on the Faculty of American College of Vedic Astrology and was on the Council of Astrological Association of Great Britain. She is one of the pioneers of Vedic Astrology in the West. She was awarded Jyotish Vachaspati from the Indian council of Astrology (ICAS) in recognition for her work in Jyotish. Her life work is to make this ancient knowledge more accessible and build bridges between the East and West.  She has leading trips to India since 1999 and from 2013 she is sponsoring annual Vedic Astrology Conferences with the aim to promote new generation of Jyotish Masters and encourage their interaction with seasoned Masters of Jyotish knowledge.

Author: Nakshatra: Stars beyond the Zodiac, Personal Panchanga, The Essentials of Vedic Astrology, Lunar Nodes- Crisis and Redemption, Vedic Love Signs and Vedic Astrology.

 Website: www.Komilla.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/KomillaSuttonVedicAstrology

Nalini (Tom Hopke)

Nalini has been a consulting vedic astrologer since 1978. He is the author of How to Read your Horoscope and The Divine Path of Prediction – A Month in the Life of a Vedic Astrologer. He is a practitioner of Bhakti Yoga. He resides in Alachua Florida. www.tomhopke.com

Ronnie Gale Dreyer

Ronnie holds a Bachelor of Arts in English/Theater Arts from the University of New Mexico, and studied Jyotish. She is the Author of Vedic Astrology, Healing Signs, Your Sun Moon Guide to Love and Life and Venus, the Evolution of the Goddess and Her Planet. She is also a contributor to ‘Astrology for Women, Hindu Astrology Lessons and Llewellyn’s 1998 Sun and Moon Sign Annuals. She is a frequent speaker at both Vedic and Western astrology conferences. www.ronniedreyer.com

Sat Siri Khalsa

Sat Siri is a Harvard graduate and specialises in prediction using the Krishnamurti system of Nakshatra-based ‘stellar theory’. She has had articles published in various journals including KP & Astrology Yearbook (India). Sat Siri has lectured around the world on various topics including spiritual astrology, financial astrology, and how to time and predict events. She is on the Board of Directors of the Council of Vedic Astrology and the faculty of the American College of Vedic Astrology. She has been named as a Jyotish Guru by the Sri Jagannath Center. www.satsirikhalsa.com

Swami Sita Ramananda

Swami Sita is a spiritual teacher in the lineage of Sankaracharya. Her guru is Swami Vishnu-devananda whose guru is Swami Sivananda. She has spent most of her life practicing and teaching the classical Yoga and meditation methods and she also teaches Jyotish. She is the head of the Grass Valley Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm www.yogafarm.org where she resides and teaches. It is an ideal place to come for daily satsangs and practices, actualizing the teachings of the Masters. She has authored various books. www.swamisita.com

William Levacy

Bill holds a BA in literature and a Masters in Creative Intelligence. He has run a busy Los Angeles Vedic Astrology practice since 1983. Bill has developed astrological computer systems and a Vedic Panchanga. Hay House publishers has just released his new book called Beneath the Vedic Sky – An Introduction to the astrology of Ancient India.

EUROPE

Alexander Lubenskis (Shiva Vakya Siddha Baba)

Alexander is a student and teacher of Ayurveda and Jyotish and is the leading exponent in his country of Latvia.

Atreya Smith

Atreya is an Ayurvedic consultant with a practice that extends across Europe. He has written several books including Pranic Healing, his speciality.

Denis Labouré

Denis is the past President of the leading French language astrological institute and the founder of l’Institut d’Astrologie Traditionnelle. He created and edits the review La Recherche Astrologique and was the editor of the collection Kosmos. He is the author of several books and has translated two classic texts including Prasna Gnana of Bhattotpala.

Gudrun Schellenbeck

Gudrun has been working as a professional Astrologer since 1992 and frequently writes articles on Vedic Astrology for all the leading German Astrological Magazines. She is co-author of the “Praxisbuch der Vedischen Astrologie”, which was published in July 2002 and founded the German Association for Vedic Astrology together with Nicholas Lewis in 2000. She teaches Vedic Astrology in Germany and Austria.

Himabindu

Mireille-Josephine Guezennec is a professor of philosophy. For the last 20 years she has been regularly travelling in India and Asia and studied Vedic Astrology for many years in Madras through the classical texts. She has been teaching and practising since 1985 in France where she is also known as a photographer.

Jan Willem van Doorn

Jan studied Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy at the University in the Netherlands. He has been an active student for about thirty years in Advaita Vedanta, Sanskrit and related sciences, one of which is Jyotisha Vedanga. In Amsterdam he has been leading Vedic Astrology groups for about twenty years. He is a Bachelor of Arts in Jyotish (ACVA).

Roeland de Loof

Roeland is the author of first book in the Dutch language about Vedic Astrology. Also author of the hindu lunar zodiac cards and booklet. He has authored two courses in Vedic Astrology which have been taken by people all over the world. Dirah Academy International is a member of the Council of Vedic Astrologers (CVA), the British Association for Vedic Astrology (BAVA), the International Institute for Predictive Astrology (IIPA) and the Planetary Gemologists Association (PGA). www.dirah.nl

Prof Jaya Shekhar

Jaya is a great exponent of Jyotish with an extensive following both in India and Europe. He is the author of various books including The Best Bet, and the forthcoming Shadbala. Jaya Sekhar has been the President of the Institute of Astrological Studies, Madras; the Vice-president of the Institute of Indian Astrology, Calcutta; and Research Director of the astrological section of Bharat Nirman, New Delhi.

He has presented papers, given conferences and conducted workshops on varied subjects such as palmistry, Vasthu and Hindu philosophy and yoga. His Intensive Palmistry workshop is available to buy>

JAPAN

Keiko Ito

After studying western Astrology from a young age, Tokyo-based Keiko started learning Vedic Astrology in 2003 with her teacher, Komilla Sutton. Traveling regularly to India with Komilla to deepen her Vedic knowledge, Keiko has been part of the faculty at the Fresh Talents of Vedic Astrology in India, the BAVA Conference in London, the Annual Vedic Astrology Conference at Sivananda Yoga Farm in California and the Sedona Vedic Astrology Conference in Sedona, Arizona, USA. She regularly holds Jyotish-themed workshops at Sivananda Yoga Tokyo Center, is a full-time translator in four languages and a part-time Vedic astrologer with clients in Japan and worldwide.

UK

Geoffrey Pearce

Geoffrey has been studying and practicing Vedic Astrology since 1986. He is an accredited teacher by the American Council of Vedic Astrology and a member of their Council. He learnt most of his Vedic Astrology from Hart deFouw in England and USA. He holds regular weekly classes in London. Geoffrey has given many public lectures on the philosophy and principles behind the subject and is also BAVA Treasurer. www.vediccharts.co.uk  Over recent years Geoffrey has been specialising in mundane, or political, astrology, and some of his researches can be found at www.nationaloutlooks.com

Gordon Brennan

Gordon is a professional astrologer and dealer in Vedic astrology books. He teaches the BAVA courses and is tutor for SJC Study Group. Gordon is a BAVA committee member. See www.vedicbookservices.com

Nick Campion

Nick is the President of the Astrological Association of Great Britain. He is the author of The Book of World Horoscopes, The Practical Astrologer and Mundane Astrology. He is the editor of Culture and Cosmos and Transit.

Mariella Cassar

Mariella is a professional counselling astrologer trained in both the western and vedic systems of astrology. She has been a practicing astrologer for 30 years.  More recently she completed a 5 year advanced course in Vedic Astrology and is a Certified Jaimini Scholar.  As well teaching and lecturing in astrology, she has an international client base.  www.mariellacassar.com

Pam Carruthers

Pam has an extensive background as a counselling astrologer and was a successful Art Director for over 20 years. She works as a Western and Vedic astrologer, Spiritual Life Coach and trainer facilitating healing workshops in the UK and internationally. See her website www.healingstars.com
Pam is the Webmaster for BAVA and she designed this website. www.pamwebdesign.com

Pearl Finn

Pearl conducts classes and personal consultations at “Pearls of Wisdom”, Galway, Ireland. She is a student and Guru with SJVC, Shri Jagannath Vedic Centre, a Jyotish Internet site guided by Sanjay Rath.

Rajan Pitamber

Rajan is a biochemist and businessman and long-time student of VA, specialising in Prashna/Horary astrology.

Steve Hubball, PhD

Steve has his PhD in mathematics. Steve is a Professional Vedic Astrologer and Jaimini Scholar, studying under the guidance of Pandit Sanjay Rath.  He is a member of BAVA and CVA, and is the UK Teacher for Dirah Academy International, which offers email correspondence courses in Vedic Astrology.

Steve is also available for private consultations: Tel: +44 (0)1228 674225. See www.vedic-astrology.org.uk

Paul Barker, PhD

Paul has postgraduate qualifications in science and business. He has studied spiritual numerology and other esoteric disciplines as well as Jyotish. Paul has been studying with distinguished BAVA teachers since 2006 and is now a student on the Jaimini Scholar and Parasara programmes.

He is President of the Leeds Theosophical Society, and he works as a business coach and part-time Vedic astrology consultant. See www.lunarastrology.co.uk

Vijaya Subramanian

Vijaya began studying Jyotish with BAVA under Geoffrey Pearce and Gordon Brennan in 2004. She is a long time student of Vedanta and is a researcher in the subject of Jyotish. She has published some articles in Jyotish Digest.

She is currently studying the BHPS program under her guru, Pandit Sanjay Rath.