Vedic counseling is life guidance based upon the Vedic tradition of Self- knowledge and cosmic knowledge. Vedic counseling helps us determine our Dharma along with the laws of nature and consciousness that work behind the visible universe. It enables us to access the unlimited wisdom, energy and vitality inherent in the cosmos.
We can define Vedic counseling as dharmic guidance on right living, right action, right relationship, and right awareness. Its basis is self-understanding and bringing us to a direct perception of the truth, not imposing a belief system, formula, or set of preconceptions upon anyone. It addresses all the goals of life from a background of physical and psychological well-being.
A Vedic counselor is a teacher of Vedic ways of knowledge. He or she can be defined as “Vedic educator,” guiding others on Vedic ways of improving communication, social harmony, respect for nature, and inner realization. A Vedic counselor is a guide to higher living and deeper awareness.
What is the Basis of Vedic Counseling?
Counseling has been an important part of all Vedic disciplines and teachings since their inception thousands of years ago by the great rishis and yogis of the Himalayas, such as mentioned in Vedic texts. This guiding role has taken many names and forms as the guru, pandit, acharya, or vaidya, such as could be found in each village or community, who provide guidance in all aspects of life, including recommending healing practices, rituals, Yoga, mantra and meditation to help us overcome our difficulties in life and to promote overall well-being.
Such traditional teaching roles can be revised in a counseling model to reflect the conditions of the modern world and its different guidance based disciplines and approaches. We have many specialist teachers, guides, counselors or coaches in the world today, in health, psychology and spiritual fields.
What Constitutes a Vedic Counselor?
A Vedic Counselor is an aware and compassionate guide who knows the core Vedic knowledge of universal unity, through the underlying principles and practices of Vedic philosophy and psychology. He or she is able to guide others at an individual level on the principles and practices of dharmic living in a meaningful, creative, and adaptable manner. A Vedic counselor helps us unfold our lives as a way of Self-knowledge and Self-realization, uncovering greater capacities that link us to the universe as a whole and create harmony and abundance for all.
Such counseling may relate to any of the four main goals of life or to wellness as the foundation. It includes not only therapeutic approaches but more general life-guidance on all levels. This makes it useful for everyone for improving their lives and managing their karma.
- Dharma, soul purpose and career
- Artha, goals, values and prosperity
- Kama, happiness, relationship, creativity
- Moksha, liberation of consciousness, Yoga, Vedanta and Self-realization
- Arogya, health and wellness for body and mind, including Ayurveda and Yogic psychology
Specializations of Vedic Counselors
A Vedic counselor has an overall training in general life-counseling and life-guidance, centered on addressing psychological and spiritual issues, and helping us unfold our optimal potentials outwardly and inwardly. This is the foundation of all Vedic knowledge approaches, which require good counseling skills and communication abilities. Vedic counseling is based upon an understanding of dharma, or our individual nature, and karma or our patterns of action, and how we can achieve all the main goals of life, including right relationship, right vocation and the fulfillment of all our duties and responsibilities to the whole of life. Such foundational Vedic knowledge is necessary for any Vedic or yogic applications.
In addition, a Vedic Counselor may follow one or more specializations in particular Vedic and yogic fields, including Yoga in all of its many branches, Vedanta (Self-knowledge), Ayurveda (Vedic medicine), Vedic astrology (Jyotish) and Vastu (Vedic directional science). All Vedic sciences develop various aspects of the Vedic approach to life.Vedic astrology is particularly important in show us our karma in all the domains of life.
Those already practicing one of these specialized Vedic disciplines can benefit greatly by learning the core Vedic counselor knowledge that is common to all of these. Such benefit can extend to all those working in the healing, counseling and spiritual fields, who want to bring a rishi or seer vision into their work.
Why Should I seek to become a Vedic Counselor?
Training as a Vedic counselor enables you to provide the full wealth of Vedic guidance. Vedic counseling is part of a path of Self-knowledge and Self-realization that is the highest aim of life for every creature. A Vedic counselor is one of the most important spiritual occupations that one can take up. It provides an excellent foundation for any higher type of guidance, instruction or service. It helps ennoble the spirit and bring out our deepest potentials. It shows us how we can bring a transformative awareness into life in order to make our every thought and action reflect a greater meaning and relevance to humanity as a whole.
How does a Vedic Counselor Differ from other Counselors and Guides?
A Vedic counselor is rooted in a core knowledge of Dharma with access to all the branches of Vedic and yogic knowledge that provide an unparalleled set of resources for right living. He or she has an understanding of the complete and integral human being from the physical body to pure consciousness, from individual to universal existence, along with the appropriate tools and practices to create harmony on each level.
Other counselors tend to be specialists relative to a particular aspect of body, mind or life experience and seldom are rooted in a full science of consciousness. Their tools tend to be limited to a particular field or only address one aspect of the human being. A Vedic counselor reflects a Vedic view of life and the human being, including not only the physical aspects of our being, but the subtle, causal and transcendent. This is radically different than other counseling and life-guidance approaches today.
Why Should I add Vedic Counseling to my Vedic Practice?
Many Vedic practitioners lack good counseling skills as well as an overall understanding of Vedic counseling models and resources. Those who learn such Vedic sciences as Yoga, Ayurveda, Vastu or Vedic astrology are not always taught good counseling skills on how to interact with clients and address their changing needs. In addition, they may not adequately know the foundation of dharma and karma or the interrelationship of all Vedic disciplines. They may get caught in technicalities or partial views. A study of Vedic counseling can aid in countering such limitations and provide a better foundation for practice.
With the background of Vedic counseling, you can be much more effective in your Vedic practice, whatever it may be. The Vedic counseling approach will improve and broaden your skills in guiding others. It will help you integrate your Vedic specialization into the greater scope of Vedic knowledge. It will take you from being a specialist to providing an integral life-guidance.
What Courses are Available in Vedic Counseling and Life-Guidance?
The main approaches to Vedic counseling today occur relative to specializations of the Vedic sciences of Yoga, Ayurveda and Vedic astrology. Such Vedic practitioners may receive some training in counseling, but it is not always sufficient or complete. They are usually not taught how to deal with all the goals of life and spiritual issues overall as these are outside of their particular fields. That is why we are introducing a specific Vedic counseling and life-guidance approach to fill in this gap.
We call our approach Integral Vedic Counseling because it rests upon understanding the background Vedic knowledge of dharma and karma as a basis of approaching all the goals of life, with reference to all the main systems of Vedic and yogic knowledge. It is a not a specialization approach, but provides a comprehensive view.
Our course is not short or introductory course but goes into depth and detail into its subject like a university course, with extensive text and readings but also numerous audios and several videos.
Dr. David Frawley
