Early Life
Born fifth son of the seven children of René Mahieu and Anne Vandelanotte, Francis Acharya was baptized John Richard Mahieu. He had his early education and college studies in Brussels. At the age of twenty he went to England for higher studies. In 1931, John Richard was very much impressed by Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to London, when Gandhi came to participate in the second Round Table Conference as - some English politician said - 'a half naked fakir'. The young man sympathized with Gandhi’s non-violent fight for India’s independence. As his own spiritual development unfolded, he saw in Gandhi a fellow traveler on the path toward a more spiritual and more harmonious world civilization based on a balance between action and contemplation, combining the best of East and West. In 1932, Mahieu had to complete his compulsory military service, in Belgium. During this time, he decided to become a monk, join the Cistercian (Trappist) Order, and go to India to lead a contemplative life in an ashram. He asked his father’s permission which was denied: his father was totally opposed to such vocation. In 1935, the young man joined a group of pilgrims going to Rome.
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