Eric G. C. Weets was born in Belgium in 1951. Brought up by his maternal grandparents and severely dyslexic, he failed at almost everything in school. He trained as a diamond cutter, but eked a living doing odd jobs to sustain his growing interest in painting and in jazz. Chronic stage fright put an end to any hopes of a performing career. Radically pacifist by nature, he became disillusioned with the hippie movement as it became increasingly commercial. He traveled to the Philippines, eventually settling in India, where he met Filomina Pawar who represents him to a world from which he has increasingly withdrawn.