The conference was organized mainly by Rakesh Sharma and Beth Field. Ads were placed in various periodicals such as Hinduism Today and the Mountain Astrologer. This conference, unlike it's predecessors held primarily on the West Coast, was held at a place which supported the "Vedic" theme- namely, a temple/ashram compound under the direction of Dayananda Swami, an Indian monk. His various students and associates run the complex, which has a range of cabins, meeting and dining halls, a large temple room, regular worship ceremonies, etc. Everyone had a pleasant stay in the well kept compound which resembles a country retreat or resort.

A number of qualified teachers gave classes, including Chakrapani Ullal, K.N. Rao, Nandan Churmulay, and Dr. Charak. Except for Nandan Churmulay, the other teachers are well known to attendees of previous conferences.

Classes were given in different rooms on different subjects. Nandan Churmulay taught techniques on how to rectify charts. Dr. Charak taught basics and "Varshaphal" which means "annual horoscopy" or "solar return" techniques. Chakrapani Ullal taught about human behavior and the planets, and Mr. Rao gave the dominant courses, the main one of which covered Jaimini Astrology, which is an important sub-branch of Vedic astrology.

There was a special atmosphere at this conference. After a few days, everyone seemed to be very happy. Perhaps it was the spiritualized atmosphere. The temple has a few South Indian priests performing the very authentic South Indian style Siva worship daily in the temple room. Perhaps seeing the priests in their traditional dress and chanting of Sanskrit mantras transported the attendees to a higher place. All in all, there was a very nice mood amongst one and all it seemed.

As usual, everyone made new friends and got together with old friends. There is somewhat of a regular crowd of us who attend all the main conferences, and we're always happy to see each other once again, catch up on our life stories, share new insights, teach each other what we've learned, and have a happy time.

Four vendors were present at this conference. One was the temple book store, which stocks and was selling Vedic astrology books, mostly from India. The other three vendors were the three main Vedic astrology programs sold in the West, which includes myself showing my Goravani Jyotish program for Mac and Windows, and the creators of Parasara's Light and Visual Jyotish were also demonstrating and selling their Vedic Astrology software programs on various computer platforms such as Mac, Windows and DOS. The vendors who normally show at the larger West Coast conferences were absent including the other booksellers, gem sellers, and so on. Their presence was missed by many.

These conferences are an excellent way to learn Vedic astrology in more detail and in more reality because of the presence of such a diversity of experience. On the one hand you have the teachers, but on the other hand you have a number of practicing Vedic astrologers who live in and deal with Western clients daily. Their experiences are invaluable to a student considering this profession. Most of the attendees are Western astrologers or students of Western astrology who are adding to their knowledge or even fully converting over to Vedic astrology. The smaller group are those who have only studied Vedic astrology.

To attend these conferences usually costs at least $1,000 and sometimes as much as $1,500. There is your airfare or travel expenses, then the cost of the conference itself, then the cost of accommodations to house and feed your body while it's there. Most conferences cost around $300 to $500 for the tuition, and accommodations for the 4 to 7 days they normally run can range from $300 to $600 dollars, depending on the hotel or other location's fees, and then your travel entirely depends on where you live verse where it's held. In any case, it's a good idea to watch the trade journals for the earliest ads for these conferences, then plan ahead so that you can afford them.

In any case, there's no question about their value. If you are serious about astrology, you really must attend at least one convention per year in order to feed the growth of your knowledge. You will undoubtedly meet and learn many interesting things.

Next subject: Books. There are a number of sellers of books on Vedic astrology. My favorite is JDR Ventures of Ohio. If you call them, tell 'em I sent you. I don't get anything out of it except maybe a hug next time I see Deepak, the owner. In any case, here's their address:

JDR Ventures
918 Douglas Dr.
Wooster, OH 44691
216-263-1308

Then, if you're ready for deeper study, try the cornerstone classic of the entire Vedic system, "Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra", a 5,000 year old classic which is available in a very nicely translated English version (2 volumes).

The books by Sumeet Chugh and KN Rao are well written and understandable. They are the new trend setters in modern Vedic teaching. The classics Jataka Tattva and Phala Dipika are also very good.

Normally, most of us end up spending $500 to $1,000 on books- those of us that are totally and utterly into this pursuit. We want them all- one of each. I have about 60 books now myself- a mix of classics and modern works.

Another good vendor whose catalog you might want because it contains not only astrology books but many other items from India which are very useful and aid in your spiritual practice (ask for their catalog):

Krishna Culture
P.O. Box 12380
Philadelphia PA 19119
1-800-829-2579

So, in conclusion, it is in reading books, using a computer program or manually constructing charts of yourself and friends, or getting printouts of charts AND READINGS from somewhere, and by attending conferences or classes- by all of these methods most of us who are serious about developing our astrological knowledge and abilities are moving forward. The amount of discussion you can have on the Internet and other email systems, and even by voice phone calls, cannot ever compare to that which you get at conferences. Hour long meals together with 10 strong astrological minds around you take place at least twice a day at these conferences. What to speak of the hallway chats, classroom lectures, and so on.

However, there are some, such as myself to be honest, who can learn everything, or nearly everything, from books. Others need a more social and hands on approach with teachers and fellow students around.

In the end, it is the Supreme Lord, or Supreme Divinity controlling both the granting and removal of all our abilities who decides what we will and will not be able to accomplish in this life. Therefore, in the end, we have to take seriously our prayer life, our life of "sadhana" or spiritual practice. If we are not consciously asking the planets and their Lord to grant us entrance into the realm of real knowledge and truth, we probably won't get it. This is actually a great subject, not to be actually covered in a quick paragraph here. In the next lesson I will talk about one amazing astrologer who was present at the last conference. Hearing about him and his abilities will shed a vast amount of light on the importance of connecting with the Supreme.