Meet Jagdish Maheshri | Contemporary Vedic Astrologer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jagdish Maheshri and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jagdish, other than deciding to work for yourself, what else do you think played a pivotal role in your story?
On one May afternoon in the late sixties in India I accidentally ran into my (distant) uncle, He was on his way to attend a lecture by a well-known astrologer. He pretty much dragged me along. This was my first exposure to astrology. Honestly, I wasn’t impressed by the lecturer. But it was after the lecture when the lecturer uttered the word “solid geometry” to a few of us that aroused my curiosity. Perhaps, I wouldn’t have become interested in astrology and been writing my first book if it weren’t for this incident. He was telling the people surrounding him how important it is to know the principles of solid geometry, in particular, pertaining to the three dimensional celestial space.

Those were my college days, and I just had completed a course in solid geometry. My curiosity was aroused. So I bought his books to find out how solid geometry is used in astrology. To my dismay, I did not find a whole lot about solid geometry application in his books.

But some of the things that I read in those books were so ridiculous to me, that I took it as a personal challenge to prove them wrong. I ended up doing a lot of reading and research. The more I tried to challenge rules (the logic of interpreting a planetary configuration for predicting an event) the deeper I got into the mess. Although I discovered many rules that resulted in unsuccessful application, the very questioning of those rules forced me to seek solutions elsewhere. The next several years I continued my pursuit as time permitted. I analyzed thousands of horoscopes. In the beginning it was a hobby. Soon it turned into a profession. With the use of a computer, I figured out a way to compute the geocentric positions of the planets. Later, in the early eighties, using my personal computer my program would print out a horoscope in less than 30 seconds. That was a big step! I was no longer spending 30 to 45 minutes to manually cast a horoscope. I could now devote more time for research on analyzing and interpreting a horoscope. I was improving and using unique approaches in interpreting a horoscope with a fairly good accuracy. But when it came to timing a prediction, an important step of astrology, there were cases that would defy the prediction logic which I thought was unchallenged!

I wasn’t very happy with the methods of timing a prediction with a reasonable degree of accuracy. It was not until the early nineties when I accidentally discovered a new approach. This approach has totally revolutionized the way to time a prediction. It has dramatically reflected in my confidence and success rate. In later years I further refined the method and included the influence of planetary transits with respect to the natal chart to highlight the important events in life.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
In my opinion, astrologers today have a greater responsibility to observe the ethics in this profession required to maintain the level of respect and importance for astrology. The first and the foremost responsibility is the confidentiality. When it comes to personal consultation, it should always be provided on one-on-one basis, unless the client insists a third party involvement. Confidentiality makes client at ease and it allows astrologers to guide their clients more effectively by accurately comparing the actual facts provided by his client against the client’s natal chart. Thus, a mutual trust between an astrologer and his client is absolutely a must as professional ethics. And therefore, astrologers do have obligations to abide to confidentiality.

The second responsibility is to accentuate the positives without compromising the truth as interpreted by analyzing all the aspects of the natal chart. I strongly believe that predictions arrived by analyzing natal chart are not cast in concrete. There always exist a potential to turn things around in the positive direction. Astrologer should attempt to focus on the areas of the client’s chart where the possibility of realizing such positives are high. I believe there is not a natal chart worse than any other natal chart, and it’s a challenge for an astrologer to figure out what that uniqueness the chart offers to that individual and give it to that individual.

As in any profession, an astrologer must listen to client and client’s immediate needs. And he must address those as openly as possible without sacrificing the quality of the predictions. A good astrologer is always open-minded in his quest for unraveling the essence of his client’s chart. He never assumes anything and let his own judgment come in the way of the chart analysis. In other words, he respects astrology, the profession of astrology, and never lets his bias guide him when it comes to reading. The reading is strictly based on the sound principles of astrology, his keen observations and detailed analysis of the chart. He should never get overwhelmed by astrology, and consequently becomes a slave of astrology.

In my opinion, astrologers should stay away from making fatalistic predictions. They should always consider the usefulness of their predictions or consultation to their clients. For instance, predicting death for his client serves no purpose under any circumstances, but its negative implication would certainly adversely affect client’s state of mind. The astrology must be used to enhance client’s life by suggesting the best life choices and the right life goals. A good astrologer always knows limitations of astrology based predictions since the predictions are based on so many factors—planetary positions with respect to zodiac signs and the houses in the natal chart, the inter-relation and interaction among the planets through aspects, angles and sign ruler-ship. I’m of the opinion that no astrologer can make any prediction with absolute certainty. In other words, astrological predictions only point to probability or likely hood of certain events or achievements that client might experience.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Beaches, Museums of interests to both, walk in woods, quiet places where “Nature” is all over and inviting, coffee shop hangouts.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
NCGR (National Council for Geocosmic Research) American Federation of Astrologers, Inc. MyIndigoSun.com My clients

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