About JayaKamalā: Meet the Vedic Astrology & Coaching Founder

Varun Rishi Uniyal

Founder, Jyotisha Pandita (Vedic Astrology Expert)

I am currently based in Melbourne, Australia, where I have been living since 2018. For over two decades, my life has been shaped by rigorous yogic discipline and sustained inner practice under the guidance of my Gurudev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji. My daily sādhana includes Sudarshan Kriya™, Sahaj Samadhi meditation, Samyama, daily japa (mantra practice), and Vedic Panchayatana puja—practices that cultivate clarity, stability, and self-awareness in both inner and outer life.

My spiritual orientation is firmly rooted in Shaivism. I have received multiple spiritual initiations, including initiation into the sacred and powerful Pañchākṣarī mantra, which continues to inform my contemplative life, ethical grounding, and understanding of consciousness.

Alongside my spiritual path, I am a certified professional coach and an experienced Business Analyst with over 18 years of industry experience. I have worked with global multinational consulting firms and billion-dollar product organisations, collaborating closely with CXOs, founders, and leadership teams. This professional background has trained me to think clearly, ask the right questions, and engage complex problems with objectivity, structure, and realism.

Since 2016, I have been deeply immersed in the study of Jyotiṣa (Vedic astrology). I completed the Parāśara Jyotiṣa course beginning in 2020 as part of the Mahādevā batch. My ongoing advanced studies are under the guidance of renowned Jyotiṣa Guru Sri Sanjay Rath, including focused exploration of the Sri Shiva Mahāpurāṇa and the Jyotiṣa Gemstones, Talismans & Yantras 2026 Series. My primary interest lies in applying classical, śāstra-based Jyotiṣa in a practical, grounded manner—especially where it intersects with self-understanding, life decisions, leadership, and long-term strategy.

In my work with Jyotiṣa and coaching clients, I bring together three streams: traditional Vedic wisdom, modern analytical thinking, and lived spiritual discipline. My approach is not predictive sensationalism, nor motivational abstraction—but clear, ethical, and context-aware guidance rooted in discernment.

I am calm yet curious. Self-aware and deeply observant. Caring yet objective. Honest and patient. A straight-talker with compassion. Flexible and creative, yet firmly grounded in reality. Respectful, intuitive, supportive, and courageous. Dedicated, trustworthy, and focused.

Born in the himalayas...

Born in June 1985, in the silence and beauty of the Himalayan region of Pithoragarh, Varun had an early influence of the ancient Vedic teachings and the elders especially his maternal grandfather who was posted as a Chief veterinary officer in the Kumaon region during this time.

His father Shri. Rishi Kumar Uniyal is a top class professional in the Printing industry (Karaka Mangala/Mars) and his mother Smt. Amita Rishi Uniyal is a home maker. During his birth, his mother was staying with her parents in Pithoragarh and father was posted in Pune where he taught (and still teaches) students the nuances of printing on any material. He has his own big and passionate student following, who have been very successful as professionals and entrepreneurs all over the world!

He spent his early days in the Kumaon and Gharwal regions. Though he had an absolutely deep liking for one city in particular - the city of lakes Nainital. This city left an indelible mark on his heart forever and as destiny would want it, Nainital would become pivotal in his spiritual journey.

More on that later below.

Some Ancestors

Maternal Lineage

His family originates from the Bharadhwaja rsi gotra. His gotra pravara is Angirasa – Barhaspatya – Bharadhwaja (tri-rsi-Pravara).

There is though, a very interesting connection to how his family has come together. It's a classic case of South meets the North! Let's explore this history below.

His mother's maternal grandfather Late Shri. Vasudev Nambudri, was the head priest or the Rawal of the reverred Badrinath temple in the Northern India. He was a Nambudri Brahmin from Kerala, India. He passed away when Varun was quite young but as a kid he had heard many stories about him that fascinates and inspires him even today!

One such story was when there was a raging flood in the rivers and the villagers were terrified about the destruction that the floods would bring down on the village. The petrified villagers came to Vasudev ji and requested his divine assistance. Unfazed by the impending destruction, he picked up a coconut and with the power of his mantra shakti planted a mantra in it and put it on the banks of the river where it would enter the village when flooded.

Sure as destiny would want, the flood came and as soon as it came near this small little coconut the river turned its face away and went into a different direction saving the entire village from impending destruction!

To this date Varun still wonders what was that divine power behind such a powerful remedial measure. And this constantly inspires him even today, to explore this vedic knowledge and rediscover the power of sacred mantras that his great grandfather possessed.

Late Shri. Vasudev Nambudri, Rawal of Badrinath temple along with his wife Late Smt. Sureshi devi.

Early days for Varun with Late Shri. Vasudev Nambudri, along with Varun's mother Smt. Amita Uniyal

Paternal Lineage

His father's paternal grandfathers were Sanskrit scholars at the Lahore University (before Partition).

Late Shri. Narottam Datt Uniyal (see image - front row sitting 3rd from left) and his elder brother Late Shri. Guna Nand Shastri Uniyal (see image - 6th from left) was part of the Lahore University's top ranks. Later, after partition in 1947, the entire family migrated to the Gharwal region and reestablished their lives.

They have been a constant inspiration to Varun's pursuit of learning Sanskrit properly.

His paternal grandfather, Late Sri. Hari Prasad Uniyal was a very strict personality and was a school principal. His paternal grandmother, Late Smt. Sarla Devi was a homemaker. Of all the things Varun remembers the most, is how his paternal grandfather used to address him as a child - Pandit! Words are way too powerful indeed.

His maternal grandfather, Late Sri. Purushottam Kala was a Chief Veterinary surgeon and had the biggest influence on Varun since his childhood. His maternal grandmother, Smt. Prema Kala is a homemaker and currently lives with her son.

His maternal grandfather was an erudite scholar and a great philosopher in himself and knew by heart the Bhagwad Gita, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Puranas like Shiva Mahapurana and the Upanishads and was very fond of prose and poetry. He had met many saints during his time and was a staunch Shiva bhakta. The level of his spiritual development was phenomenal and is something Varun misses dearly even today. One such incident is worth mentioning that is dear to Varun's heart. The day his maternal grandfather met Varun's spouse Pallavi Joshi, right after their vivaha/marriage, the first upadesha came from the Ashtakavakra gita on the purpose of marriage and enlightenment! This was such a dear moment to both, which shows that here is a man who can live in this world fully absorbed and yet live like an enlightened being.

Varun's life was totally turned upside down by the passing away of his maternal grandfather during the unfortunate COVID-19 lockdowns. What Arjuna must have felt for Pitamah Bhishma, that same feeling echoed for Varun after his maternal grandfather's passing. These are some wounds that even time doesn't have an answer for. The idea of starting this website was rooted in his maternal grandfather's passing. Varun was working in his office in Melbourne, Australia, when the idea of starting a Jyotisha website was hung up on a wall, written on a big piece of paper in front of him. Just before Varun received the tragic news, the paper on which this idea was written fell from a gust of wind in a completely sealed room! Never before or after it happened again. Although it took a few years after this event to convince Varun to start this website.

Late Shri. Narottam Datt Uniyal and Late Shri. Guna Nand Shastri Uniyal who were erudite Sanskrit scholars.

Paternal grandfather and Late Sri. Hari Prasad Uniyal and grandmother, Late Smt. Sarla devi

Maternal grandfather, Late Sri. Purushottam Kala and grandmother, Smt. Prema Kala with a teenage Varun!

Varun has always known that without the blessings of the ancestors, no divine blessings in this bhu loka (or Earth) can manifest. Ancestors can single-handedly block all the tsunamis of divine blessings coming our way. A testament to this is the story of Bhagiratha and Ganga Mata (river Ganges).

So to all my ancestors, who are here and who have moved on; here's a prayer to the mother Ganaga - for she is the one whom we pray to carry our prayers to all our ancestors: Om Pitru Ganaaya Vidmahe Jagat Dhaariney Dheemahi Thanno Pitro Prachodayaat

Parents

Varun was raised most of his life in Pune, Maharashtra, where he completed his early studies and then later Engineering in Electronics and Telecommunications.

His father's influence taught him the value of hard work and a never-die attitude, whilst his mother's was always the compassionate one. Quite early in his childhood, his father made sure that Varun and his sister travelled along with him to different regions of South India extensively. That served a very significant experience in his life as later he found his Spiritual Guru in the South Indian State of Karnataka.

As a small kid with his mother, Varun had extremely curly hair!

Varun's father was and still is quite protective of him! Here's a childhood photo after a head tonsure ceremony.

Breaking the cocoon

Despite lacking nothing in life, Varun was not satisfied with the mundane existence. Quite early in his life, as an early teen, he started reading Swami Vivekananda, Swami Sukhbodhananda, Buddhist teachings, J Krishnamurty and even Osho! There was something inside that wanted an answer and nothing was making sense despite reading high philosophies and having some spiritual experiences.

Life didn't make much sense the way it was running, and no one seemed to have an answer to the question he had "What is the purpose of life?"

Then something big shifted...

From Siddhartha to Gautama...

At the ripe age of 15/16 years, Varun came across the story of the enlightenment of Gautama Buddha.

He read the entire description of that night when Prince Siddharth sat down under the Bodhi tree and became Gautama Buddha, and a wave of change came over him as well. His resolution to find that state became crystal clear, and he began to meditate every night based on what he had explored so far on his own.

Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months, and there was no progress but only more darkness. After six/seven months, he finally made another resolve to find a Guru or give it up. A silent prayer was all that he could say.

Life took its own course after that. Then came the day after six years of waiting.

When the Guru answered

During his ,graduation years, when Varun was about 20/21 years of age, a chance meeting led him to watch a video that changed his life completely. That video was called Love Moves the World - 2006! A saintly figure with a long beard is introduced, and a question is posed

"Guruji, you have visited so many countries around the world, where is your favourite place?"

The saint answers, pointing to his heart "Right here."

Varun doesn't remember what else went on in the video, but recognised that six years back, what he had prayed for intensely was finally answered. It finally felt like a homecoming after long years of fruitless search. It finally felt at home!

He immediately ended up learning the Sudarshan Kriya and doing the then-called Basic course offered by The Art of Living Foundation.

At the end of the course, the night of 31st December 2006, when the entire world was celebrating the new year, Varun went to bed early! He had finally found peace after searching for so long and frantically. That night, he vividly dreamt of his Guru, who had just been introduced in the course he finished. He was caressing his head on his lap and said, "So you have finally arrived!"

That night and many, many nights later (and to date), it opened a series of vivid dreams and conversations with his Guru. He had finally found him for what felt like many eons, and today Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has been his spirit guide since then.

Life with Gurudev

Today, Varun has been with Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for over 18 years. He has served seven years in the International Art of Living Centre, working alongside the digital teams to create enterprise-level IT systems for the foundation that are currently being used in 180 countries! He has completed several programs during these years: above 70 advanced meditation courses, the Sahaj Samadhi program, blessings program, DSN, Youth Plus program, Shakti Kriya, Chakra Kriya, Sri Sri Yoga program and Sanyama.

He has also completed some very advanced courses, like a Teacher Training program, to be able to then facilitate the teaching of Sudarshan Kriya to others. In 2013, whilst living at the Art of Living International Centre, he got married to Pallavi Joshi on the advice of Gurudev, and since then, they have walked this path hand in hand together. And not very surprisingly, Pallavi happens to be from the city of lakes - Nainital. Destiny truly brought Varun back to his childhood's favourite city!

Currently a full-time Vedic astrologer/jyotisha residing in Melbourne, Australia since 2018, Varun is deeply focused on the direction given to him by Gurudev - excelling in Jyotisha and setting up a Vedic learning centre.

Varun, Pallavi with Gurudev in 2013 at Radha Kunj in the Art of living International Center

Stumbling into Jyotisha/Vedic astrology

Jyotisha or Vedic astrology for Varun was a happening rather than something that he pursued intently.

As a kid, he was very observant of his surroundings, highly sensitive and always questioning things. He could observe many signals in nature but he always found himself at a loss when his parents discussed the principles and rules of Jyotisha at home. His father had a book on the numerology of Cheiros that he later practised during his graduate years with high accuracy, but ultimately left even that because it was a very mundane thing he felt.

Out of nowhere during his first Sanyam program at the end of 2017, something drastically shifted inside him, and the principles of Jyotisha started becoming more and more clear with the least effort. He made a shocking prediction of the arrival of his Australian visa within a week's timeframe and true to that prediction, the visa suddenly arrived out of nowhere!

He started learning Jyotisha officially at the start of 2018 but faced many challenges one after another until September 2020, when Gurudev advised him to learn Jyotisha directly from Shri Pandit Sanjay Rath. This was a high point in his life where he now found his Jyotisha Guru! The grace of the guru is truly unfathomable.

Varun has been studying Jyotisha under the Raj Jyotisha tradition of Odisha, which is headed by Shri Pandit Sanjay Rath, who is the head guru. He completed a rigorous 5-year graduation Parashara Jyotisha Pandita program under the mentorship of Jyotisha Guru Branka Larsen and Jyotisha Guru Zeljko Krgovic . Along with his wife Pallavi, they are together studying the Shiva Mahapurana course, taught directly by Shri Pandit Sanjay Rath.

Tradition is everything when it comes to Varun and what he loves. He was born with an exalted Shani atmakaraka (Vishnu swaroopa = Kurma avatar) and so he loves going slow and steady into the pure traditional teachings. The Jyotisha tradition that he belongs to comes from Jagganath Puri, Odisha. Pandit Sanjay Rath, who is the param guru of this tradition, comes from the revered Atri gotra and is an exceptional scholar par excellence!

Please take some time out and take a look at how rich this Raj Jyotisha tradition is at Rathātreya

Closing Remarks (Jyotisha)

If you have been following Varun's story, you will notice that his great maternal grandfather went by the name Vasudev, and his maternal grandfather went by the name Purshottam. Life isn't accidental if you know how to connect the dots. But to connect the dots, you need knowledge and awareness, both!

Vasudev is the name of Sri Krishna's father and shows Surya (Ravi).,

Purushottam is the name of Vishnu himself and Sri Krishna was called Lella Purushottam.

Sri Krishna is the avatara of Vishnu that is connected to exalted Chandra or Moon. And this same Moon or Chandra happens to be exalted in Varun's rasi chart and navamsa as well, making it Vargottama (which means it sits on the head) and very strong!

No wonder these two ancestors had a very heavy impact on his life. What is more interesting is that he finally got connected to the tradition of Jagganath Puri - again, Sri Krishna.

Jai Gurudev
जय गुरुदेव

Hare Rāma Kṛṣṇa
हरे राम कृष्ण