the-astrology-book

In 1979, he was invited by Swami Muktananda to come to the United States as an
astrological consultant and has remained here since. In February 1996, Ullal was
awarded a lifetime achievement award for his numerous contributions to the field of
astrology by the ACVA. He now resides in the Los Angeles area and travels extensively
throughout the world teaching students and providing consultations for his
diverse international clientele. He continues to be a popular featured speaker at conferences
throughout the United States.
Ullal has always emphasized that an astrological chart is only the indicative of
planetary forces and does not determine the events of a life in a fatalistic way. The
person can make use of the astrological indications as a karmic road map to change
the course of his or her life, by using willpower and self-effort and by gaining the grace
of God.
Vedic astrology has followed on the coattails of the interest in yoga and other
aspects of Eastern and Hindu spirituality and healing that began in a major way in the
United States in the late 1960s. Several yoga, Vedanta, and Hindu movements have
promoted it, most notably the Transcendental Meditation (TM) movement founded
by Maharishi Yoga that has emphasized Jyotish strongly for more than ten years now.
The ISKCON movement (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) is another
important group that promotes aspects of Vedic thought, including Jyotish. Sri Yukteswar,
the guru, of Paramahansa Yogananda, the founder of SRF (Self-Realization
Fellowship), was an astrologer and this had led to much interest in the subject among
his disciples. While a decade ago Vedic astrology was almost unknown even in Western
yoga groups, now there is interest in it throughout the whole greater sphere of
Vedic- and Hindu-based movements.
In particular, Vedic astrology has gained popularity along with Ayurveda, or
Vedic medicine, which has recently been growing rapidly as well. Along with the astrology,
Vastu or Vedic geomancy (feng shui) is gaining its adherents as well. The many
Hindu immigrants, including many scientists and computer programmers, to the United
States over the last 20 years have also brought with them an interest in the subject.
During the past few decades, numerous books written by Westerners on Vedic
astrology have emerged. One of the first books was Constellation Astrology According to
the Hindu System, written by Robert De Luce in 1963. This groundbreaking book was
primarily addressed to Western astrologers to produce a bridge of understanding
between followers of the two systems. A Western sidereal astrology (the Fagan-
Bradley system) eventually arose, taking aspects of Hindu astrology.
Perhaps the most important single Westerner promoting Vedic astrology has
been James Braha. He began with Ancient Hindu Astrology for the Modern Western
Astrologer in 1986, the first comprehensive book on Vedic astrology published in the
West, and has continued with several more important titles. A year later, Tom Hopke
(Nalinikanta Das) wrote How to Read Your Horoscope, which provided in-depth information
on Jyotish from a Vedantic perspective. Then, in 1990, David Frawley wrote
Astrology of the Seers: A Guide to Vedic/Hindu Astrology. Frawley’s extensive background
in Jyotish, Ayurveda, and Vedic philosophy provided the reader with much
Vedic knowledge.
Vedic Astrology in the West
THE ASTROLOGY BOOK
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