At first I just pretended to go and then went somewhere else, like taking a walk in the park. Soon my parent knew that I was no longer interested in the church and gradually accepted it. In fact I led what became a family movement away from the Catholic Church. But at the time I still felt some guilt about the matter. I was not attending church but I had not left its influence entirely behind me either. At the age of fifteen I had a remarkable schoolteacher who taught a class on ancient history that opened my eyes about the ancient world. The class focused on ancient Egypt, which I found to be utterly fascinating. Out of the enthusiasm so generated I memorized the entire list of the pharaohs of Egypt and would recite them with pride. 

I could sense in ancient Egypt a monumental spiritual culture with great inner power and magic. I imagined living at that time, which seemed much more interesting than the modern world in which I was trapped. This began my fascination with ancient cultures that eventually led me to the Vedas. I sensed that the ancients had a better connection to the universe than we moderns and that their lives had a higher meaning. I gradually studied the ancient history of other lands, particularly ancient Persia, which also had a special pull for me. Clearly the American focus of our education left out most of humanity both in time and space.