I agree with your premise, particularly as it is practiced in India--There, the ideal life is lived in three stages: 1. The student (learn, learn, learn) 2. the householder (family career) and 3. The holy man (when the urge for simplicity, some solitude, and spiritual pursuits often impel the individual to wander the countryside as a Sadhu simply experiencing life) I almost skipped the second stage and now consider myself an American Sadhu. Randy