Astrologer Rakesh Joshi
Vedic astrologer Rakesh Joshi picked up an award in Indore this week at the Devagya Samman Samaroh, organised by the International Association of Astrology. The citation was for excellence in Vedic astrology paired with spiritual worship. People who work in this field say that combination is rarer than most clients realise.
Here’s the thing about astrologers. Most of them pick a side without really meaning to. Some go heavy on calculation and chart mechanics and barely touch the spiritual end of it. Others lean so far into ritual that the actual astrology becomes almost an afterthought. Joshi doesn’t work that way, and that’s more or less why he got the award.
“If you strip astrology down to just numbers and planetary positions, it doesn’t mean anything to the person sitting across from you,” he said after the ceremony. “The spiritual part isn’t extra. That’s actually where it starts to make sense for people.”
The International Association of Astrology has been putting on the Devagya Samman Samaroh in Indore for a few years now. People in the community consider it one of the tougher ones to get picked for, it’s not really about showing up, it’s about having built something the judges think stands apart. This time around, what stood out to them about Joshi was how broadly he applies that spiritual-plus-astrology approach. Not just in one area. Across most of what he does.
His consultations cover emotional healing and relationship clarity for people trying to untangle what’s gone wrong at home or with a partner. But that’s not all he does. He also works with people on career and life direction when they’re stuck at some kind of crossroads, and does straightforward spiritual consultations too, for clients who aren’t even dealing with a relationship issue, just people trying to figure out where their life is going.
“Someone comes in wanting to talk about switching jobs. Forty minutes later we’re somewhere else entirely, maybe a decision-making pattern they keep repeating, or something from ten years back that never got resolved,” Joshi said. “The chart gets you started. Where it goes after that is really up to the person.”
That’s basically what the judges pointed to. One of the organisers, talking to reporters after the event, said Joshi clearly knows his classical texts, but he doesn’t hide behind them either. He talks plainly. A lot of astrologers lean on Sanskrit terms and dense jargon in a way that leaves the client more lost than when they walked in. Joshi apparently doesn’t do that.
He’s also built a decent following on Instagram over the last few years, posting shorter thoughts on astrology and spirituality and answering questions from people who probably wouldn’t otherwise get in front of an astrologer who works this way. Joshi said the Indore award means something to him personally, mostly because it backs up an approach he stuck with even when specialising narrowly would’ve been the easier career move.
“For years people kept telling me to pick one thing. Just do relationship readings. Or just do career stuff. Easier to market that way,” he said. “But nobody’s life actually splits up that neatly. Someone’s love life, their career, what they think they’re here to do, it’s all tangled together. I never wanted to pretend it wasn’t.”
The ceremony pulled in astrologers and spiritual practitioners from around the region. The International Association of Astrology says events like this are meant to recognise people who hold onto traditional knowledge while still making it useful for how people actually live now.
Joshi doesn’t think the award changes much about his day-to-day work. But he’s hoping it puts his approach, spiritual grounding alongside plain-language, modern astrology guidance, in front of more people who didn’t know a consultation like his existed.
To learn more about Rakesh Joshi’s work, including career guidance, spiritual consultation, and emotional healing sessions, follow him on Instagram at @astro_rakesh_joshi1.
About the Author
