Birth details             

Might be a good thing to start with giving some birth details, since this site is all about astrology, but.... not too much, since a horoscope can be quite revealing. At any rate, my main preceptor in vedic astrology always encourages research, so...

I was born in February 1967, in Belgium, the dutch speaking part. After high school i went to college in Ghent studying Accountancy/Computer science.

After a year in the Army, followed by several years in the Ministry Of Finance in Belgium, vedic culture really got me hooked, not in the least after reading Bhagavad Gita As It Is and becoming vegetarian.

I realised there is still life in my inner brahmacari, so soon enough i joined the bhakti marga of Iskcon; a whopping 5 years in a row. After 2000, another little spell as interim 'chef d'équipe' in Radhadesh, Benelux's most productive Gaudiya-Vaisnava ashrama. The zonal chief wips even allowed me a stint as chairman of a small non-profit bhakti-yoga centre (2005-2008). 

Anyhow, as my devotional life really started to get a turbo boost in the 90s, so did my interest in many occult sciences, astrology in particular. Looking back, like many, especially here in the West, not respecting much the concept of 'disciplic succession', i sadly did plenty of speculative dabbling in, what is otherwise a 'super science', as KN Rao would put it.

KN Rao, the grandmaster

Just as in martial arts, where you have levels, gradations in skill but also in contribution to the system, KN Rao definitely falls into the higher Dan category, especially for his tireless research and innovative approach.

Just like my spiritual guide Srila Prabhupada, although coming from an orthodox Hindu background, KN Rao fearlessly fought to make astrology believable again. I.o.w. by cutting the hard knot of dogmatic sastric reference, both have made their respective subjects scientific again, up-to-date; taking the 'desa, kala, patra principle' into consideration.

Thus after my marriage in India in 2008, i stumbled upon KN Rao's works, trying to put them to good use, before and after the birth of my daughter in 2011. If anybody on the astrological front was going to take away this enemy called doubt, then i figured to put my money on him and some of his sincere and serious students, like Marc Boney and Paul Manley. In other places on this site i will refer further to them, amongst others in the form of books. It is the least i can do.

Because my spiritual life continues even in grhastha ashrama, householder life, i, just like KN Rao, have been grappling with the idea of continuing with vedic astrology, especially when my sadhana (spiritiual practice) is in good standing. A little Paramatma (Supersoul) voice said, to nevertheless take the bull by the horns while at the same time maintaining the family.

So, "De kogel is door de kerk" as they say in Dutch and as the respected reader meditates on the About myself?, Acyuta Jagannatha Das (A. Santens), please take into account that i have a brahminical nature, even more so after joining Iskcon (Hare Krsnas) and thus purely work on the basis of donations. If it comes, fine, if not... Bhagavad Gita As It Is chapter 9, text 22. The last one should give you an idea where my Jupiter is placed. Hmm... surely i've said way too much with that hint.

Well... Ok, just one more tip: i speak 4 languages, of which German is the least good, French is reasonable, English is ok enough and Dutch happens to be my mother tongue.

Colleagues :

Shelke S. : contact, promotion, administration & translation (hindi/marathi)

Santens T. : promotion, lay-out website & translation (hindi/marathi)

Namaskar or as they put it within the spiritual gotra : "Hare Krsna !"