His mother, Madeleine Clamorgan, descended from an old and noble Norman family. His father was a Breton politician, an anti-clerical, and was several times Government minister. During these years, he discovered music and painting. He then left France to attend an American school at Annapolis, where he earned pocket-money by selling his paintings and playing the piano at silent movie theatres.
He gave recitals and exhibited his paintings. In , he made a trip to explore the Afghan Pamir, and, in , an endurance test by car from Paris to Calcutta.
At Benares, he discovered the traditional culture of India, into which he was gradually initiated. He was to stay there for fifteen years. He studied classical Indian music with the prestigious master Shivendranath Basu, and learned to play the vina like a professional. He also studied Hindi, which he spoke and wrote fluently as his own mother- tongue, Sanskrit and philosophy, with masters who were among the highest authorities of tradition.
He was introduced by them to the famous Sannyasi, Swami Karpatri, some of whose writings he translated. Karpatri initiated him into the rites of Shaivite Hinduism, under the name of Shiva Sharan protected by Shiva.
Greatly interested in the symbolism of Hindu architecture and sculpture, of which he made a thorough study, he made long trips together with Raymond Burnier to Khajuraho, Bhuvaneshvar, and Konarak, as well as to many lesser-known sites in Central India and Rajputana.
