Bangalore Venkata Raman

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Indian astrologer of great note, a specialist in Hindu astrology. He graduated university with a degree in Homeopathy, an honorary Ph.D., a Doctorate in Literature and a Doctorate in Letters. He founded "The Astrology Magazine" in 1935 and built up his note for books (more than 20), lectures and researches, specializing in astro-psychology; weather and political forecasts and medical diagnosis. World lectured, he was the first in the world to present an astrological lecture at the U.N., 10/09/1976. He was one of the principals behind the resurgence and foreign popularity of Jyotish, or Hindu astrology in his own words, as he wrote in English very well, better than many Hindus. Raman got quite famous with his magazine, a very technical and research oriented organ, especially by western standards, which helped him make a name for himself. One tricky and picturesque fact is his argument with many of his colleagues, including K.N Rao, about his unusual ayanamsa. They had a falling out on this some years back. His ayanamsa was some 1deg 30 minutes off Lahiri's or Krishnamurti's, which are the most commonly used ones. K.N Rao contended, with the help of Raman's own chart, that Raman's ayanamsa makes no sense particularly when one uses the several divisional charts in Jyotish which are upset by small degree differences, and produce different divisions. They are a case in point, since they show practical considerations on children, parents, marriage etc, the traditional forte of Jyotish compared to western astrology. Raman married Srimathi Bajeswari, a yoga specialist. After a lifetime of perfect health, he died on12/20/1998 of a heart attack while editing the Astrological Magazine. His daughter, Gayatri Devi Vasudev, (born 1949 in New Delhi) took over as editor-in-chief of the magazine. She is very accomplished and has a strong spiritual presence. Her brother Niranjan Babu (born 1951, Bangalore) is also an astrologer. They have both been visitors to Los Angeles. Link to Wikipedia biography