Interview with Sri K.N. Rao - 1

[Guest guest]

– Interview with Sri K.N. Rao

 

By Vaughn Paul Manley, M.A.

 

 

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi

 

 

The Limitations of Learning Astrology

Learning astrology is usually a private hobby, or for some – a

private obsession. Once you've learned enough to realize that

astrology is a sacred science that can give you reliable insights into

your life and other's lives you're at risk of becoming obsessed.

You've entered the minority of people on the planet who have seen

beyond the all-too-common notions of astrology as foolish hearsay and

astrologers as fortune telling charlatans. You'll likely find

yourself buying more books than can fit on your shelf and spend many

late nights trying to make sense of the puzzle of existence.

 

However, the path of astrology is typically a solo journey. You may get

readings, take local classes, or eventually attend an annual conference

but basically you're on your own. There are self-study certification

courses available but astrology is generally not recognized as a valid

science. It is not taught at colleges or universities (except in some

parts of India) even though long lists of famous scientists believed in

astrology.

Astrology - The Unrecognized Science

This is all quite ironic because archaeologists have found ancient

records of the study of astrology in the ruins of almost every ancient

civilization – Greece, Babylon, China, Rome, India. It is the oldest

science in the world and the mother of astronomy. Many of the great

Western astronomers, like Copernicus and Kepler, were also astrologers.

In the East, the great astronomers were always knowledgeable in

astrology. There is also, of course, the biblical reference of the three

wise men being astrologers from the East.

 

However, astrology today is assigned an undignified place in the

scientific and academic world. Students of astrology sometimes feel

ashamed of admitting they're studying or practicing astrology for

fear of ridicule by reputable professionals or academic scholars. When

the famous Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung, told Sigmund Freud of his

professional use of astrology in his psychiatric practice it represented

his break from Freud and the conventional scientific community.

The Research Problem

Without support from the scientific community astrologers have had a

difficult time generating substantial research. Without substantial

research astrology has not been able to gain the recognition it

deserves. It's been a catch 22 situation. The popularization of

astrology through columns in newspapers and magazines hasn't helped

in this regard and has further removed it from science into the realm of

fanciful superstition.

 

Today astrology is an unrecognized, virtually unregulated profession

without any licensing requirements to speak of. Anyone can claim to be a

professional astrologer, hence the opinion that astrologers are quacks

and charlatans is not without substantiation. And now with the explosion

of the Internet, and worldwide, unregulated advertising, anyone can

represent astrology in any manner whatsoever.

 

 

Sri K.N. Rao

 

The Work of Sri K.N. Rao

 

Sri K.N. Rao was all too aware of these problems with astrology. He saw

the great need for scientific, replicable research to help restore

astrology as a sacred science. Even though he had a full time government

position he spent his evenings doing his own research into the ancient

principles of Parashara and Jaimini - the great sages of Vedic

astrology. He published these finding in astrological journals and

publications across India. He became well known as one of India's

most brilliant astrologers and made many dazzling predictions that

gained him recognition.

 

 

Yogi Moorkhanandji and Sri K.N. Rao in 1981

 

The Prediction of Yogi Moorkhanandji

 

Even with increasing recognition Rao developed a distaste for astrology.

He saw that most people were just interested in mundane concerns like

money, job, marriage, etc. instead of using astrology to understand

their karma and grow spiritually. He decided to give it up altogether.

 

However, in 1980 an event happened that changed all that. A great yogi,

Yogi Moorkhanandji (a.k.a. Swami Vidyaranya), told Rao, " This

knowledge of jyotisha (astrology) is not lost but is hidden, as at

sunset. There will be a revival of it and you will be the medium through

whom it would happen. " Mookhanandji forbade him to give up astrology

saying that he could not avoid this mission. It was his karma.

 

About Yogi Mookhanandji's words Rao writes, " Since I believe in

the words of such Mahatmas (great souls), I knew that sometime, even in

the India of my times, some chances would come and I would be fulfilling

some astrological mission, about which I had hints from others also. But

none has said it in so clear a language. "

 

The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan School of Astrology

– New Delhi, India

 

With Moorkhanandji's encouragement Rao continued with his astrology

work, always giving readings without charge, and focusing mainly on his

research and writing. Even though he had little time for teaching, Rao

naturally attracted students around him. He is charismatic, articulate,

possesses a wealth of classical knowledge, combined with a modern,

systematic approach based on original research. Teaching was inevitable.

 

Gradually the vision of creating a school of astrology took shape in the

late 1980's after Rao's job was transferred to New Delhi. This

gave him the opportunity to submit a proposal to begin an astrology

school at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, a worldwide institute devoted to

the preservation of India's culture, based in New Delhi. The school

began accepting students in July of 1987 and was designed as a two-year

course of study offering Jyotish Alankar and Jyotish Acharya degrees.

Click here

<http://www.bvbdelhi.org/institute_info/ins_astro/ins_astro.html> for

more information about the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Institute of

Astrology.

 

Meeting Sri. K.N. Rao

 

I first met my teacher, K.N. Rao, in the fall of 1993 on Rao's first

visit to the US. He was talking at an informal gathering at the home of

Vedic scholar, David Frawley, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His school had

already become highly successful and had attracted the attention of the

American Council of Vedic Astrology (ACVA). Frawley, the president of

ACVA, had visited Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and invited Rao to be the

keynote speaker at the Second International Symposium on Vedic Astrology

in San Rafael, CA that fall.

 

K.N. Rao's mission had begun to take on a global influence. Never

had an astrologer from India captivated a Western audience like Rao. His

visit to the US represented a landmark in the study of Vedic astrology

in the West to the point that David Frawley summed it up as, " Vedic

astrology in the US before Rao, and after Rao. "

 

Even with increasing global recognition, Rao preferred to remain in

India and focus on developing his school. In April 1997 he launched the

first issue of the quarterly magazine called the " Journal of

Astrology " which was created in order to publish the ongoing research

produced at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. They have since published more than

25 issues, which are currently distributed worldwide. Click here

<http://www.journalofastrology.com/enter.html> for more information

about the Journal of Astrology.

 

 

A typical classroom of students at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan