David Frawle American writer, Ayurvedic physician and Vedic astrologer Country: USA

Biography of David Frawley

David Frawley is an American writer, Ayurvedic doctor, and Vedic astrologer, renowned for his books on Hinduism, Yoga, and Ayurveda. He is the founder and director of the American Institute of Vedic Studies in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where courses on yoga philosophy, Ayurveda, and Vedic astrology are taught. Frawley is also a professor of Vedic astrology and Ayurveda at the International Vedic Hindu University.

Born in 1950 in La Crosse, Wisconsin, David Frawley grew up in a Catholic family and was the second of ten children. He attended a Catholic school until the age of ten, after which his family relocated to Denver, Colorado.

Frawley went on to establish and lead the American Institute of Vedic Studies in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The institute offers courses on Hindu philosophy, Jyotish (Vedic astrology), and Ayurveda. Frawley regularly visits India, where he delivers lectures and organizes conferences. He is recognized in India as an "Acharya" (teacher of the Vedas) and is one of the few Western followers of Hinduism to be acknowledged as such.

In his book "How I Became a Hindu," Frawley describes his spiritual journey, starting from his Catholic upbringing to his acceptance of Hinduism. The book details how he independently began studying the Vedas and Sanskrit in the early 1970s, using a Sanskrit grammar textbook.

In 1987, David Frawley obtained a diploma in Chinese traditional medicine, becoming a qualified doctor. From 1984 to 1990, he taught Chinese medicine at the International Institute of Chinese Medicine.

In 1991, on the initiative of the Hindu guru Avadhuta Shastri, David Frawley received the name Vamadeva Shastri, in honor of the great Vedic rishi Vamadeva. In 1993, Vamadeva Shastri became one of the first Americans to be awarded the title of "Jyotish Kovid" by the Indian Council of Astrological Sciences, the world's largest association of Vedic astrology. In 1995, he received the title of "Dharmacharya" and the "Brahmachari Vishwanathji" award for his knowledge of Vedic teachings in Mumbai.

Vamadeva Shastri sees his role as popularizing Vedic knowledge, considering himself a teacher and assistant who enables people to use Vedic systems for spiritual enrichment and self-realization. He views Vedic wisdom as a means of liberating the soul rather than a dogma meant to enslave humanity. According to him, Vedic knowledge is a means of communication with the conscious universe.