Howard Beckman (Hamsavatar Das) was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA in a family, including both gemstone merchants and practitioners of law. As a child, Howard found that he had clairvoyant abilities. His awareness of such other “dimensions”, as he terms it, lead him to studying philosophy of all cultures from his teenage years. He found a great wealth of knowledge and kinship with the philosophy of India and began to practice yoga and meditation by the time he was 16 years of age. Although he attended Temple University studying Philosophy and Religion his main attraction was to Eastern philosophical thought.

It was during this time he met his spiritual master, A. C. Bhaktivadanta Swami Prabhupada, who initiated him into the most esoteric teachings of Bhakti-Yoga and gave him his spiritual name Hamsavatar das.

Introduced to Vedic astrology (called “jyotish” in sanskrit) by another disciple of his teacher, Howard soon began to also study this most important science of prediction and divination. He was fortunate to be able to study with three jyotish masters in the years that followed. This, along with his constant practice of yoga and study of Vedic spiritual philosophy, kept Howard living in India for the next 10 years. During this time he would visit Thailand, delving further into the knowledge of precious gems and their powers to heal.

Upon returning to live in the US Howard entered the family gemstone business, and gained a degree as a Graduate Gemologist from the Gemological Institute of America. He was also certified as a master appraiser of gems and is still a senior member of the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers.

Howard is one of the few people in the world today who has been given the title of 'Planetary Gemologist', awarded him by the Planetary Gemologists Association in Bangkok, Thailand. He is recognized as the sole gemologist in the U.S., who is also expert in the field of Vedic astrology and gem therapy and is presently the acting Secretary of the Planetary Gemologists Association.

Howard is the author of “An Introduction to Vedic Astrology ... Spiritual Science of the Ancients", "Mantras, Yantras, and Fabulous Gems ... Healing Secrets of the Ancient Vedas" and his latest ground breaking work “Vibrational Healing with Gems”.

Between 1992 and 1998, Howard had a profound influence in establishing Vedic astrology in Europe and the U.K. He and his wife, Jennifer, established the Vedic Cultural Fellowship during this time in the UK, a nonprofit organization devoted to teaching and spreading the sacred, spiritual sciences of ancient India. He divided his time between teaching and seeing clients for jyotish consultations and ayurvedic gem therapy, where he made great strides in combining modern scientific technology with this little-known science of healing.

In 1998 he and his wife returned to the US to establish the Vedic Cultural Fellowship's world headquarters in Pecos, New Mexico, and in 1999 they purchased and moved to their present location, New Rishikesh, where is planned a Vedic cultural and spiritual center of epic proportions. This, Howard says, is a project meant to become a beacon of Vedic knowledge and lifestyle for many generations to come.

Today Howard maintains a busy astrological practice seeing clients from all over the world, and does many consultations for out of town clients by telephone and mail. He is also consulted by other Vedic astrologers and ayurvedic practitioners for opinions and recommendations of gems for their clients, being considered one of the world's foremost authorities in both jyotish and ayurvedic gem therapy.

He travels regularly for teaching and seeing private clients throughout the US, UK, Europe and India and has just recently established the Vedic Cultural Fellowship as a foundation/trust in India along with his fellow board members in that country.

His close friend and associate, Dr. David Frawley who is head of the American Institute of Vedic Studies, joined the board of directors, also, and is now working closely with Howard to develop the Vedic Cultural Fellowship's New Rishikesh as a major teaching and retreat center. They are together seeking to raise funds for new buildings and further renovations to existing ones to keep expanding the VCF center for present and future generations to take advantage of the storehouse of knowledge offered here.