An Authentic Life v 1.2 - Universalist Radha-Krishnaism

wouldn’t take me because I had too much acne on my
back that might stain their pretty white uniforms. So,
I accepted a full scholarship to Pratt Institute Engineering
School in Brooklyn and got a thousand dollar
student loan to cover living expenses.
Although my family wasn’t religious and didn’t
attend church, after his stroke, Dad took a mail order
course with Mom’s help, and he became an ordained
minister. He set up a church in our home basement
and invited family and friends. Of course I had to attend.
He preached angry, hell-fire-and-brimstone
sermons no one wanted to hear. Fortunately, this did
not last too long, and he unsuccessfully pursued other
ministries.
In my senior year of high school, I thought, “I
should find out about God, the nature of the soul, the
purpose of life, and the afterlife before I leave home.”
I attended adult confirmation classes at a local Missouri
Synod Lutheran Church. The pastor answered
my questions with unsatisfying dogma, and I saw the
church as a social club. The sermons put me to sleep. I
stopped attending soon after confirmation.
After graduation in the summer of 1964, I read
Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. It proved a seminal, life
changing book. Kerouac presented a captivating, alternative
vision of life in stark contrast to the dull
suburban life I lived. Like him, I searched for beatific
experience found by living life fully--both materially
and spiritually. Since then, I follow the road of life as a
dharma bum.
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