He attended Trinity College Dublin in 1882, received a degree in divinity, and sought ordination in the Anglican tradition at the age of 24.
Disillusioned with the Christianity practiced by his fellow Anglicans, he left the Mission quarters and took up residence in a little hut in Krishnagar where he devoted himself to the study of Bengali and Gaudiya Vaisnavism.
His contact with Bengali Hindus led him to the opinion that Protestant spiritualty was inadequate to meet the needs of his deeply spiritual Vaisnava friends.
Having been rejected by the Mill Hill Fathers, he requested admission to the Jesuit Order whose members were active in Bengal.
He entreated his superiors in Belgium to send their most talented scholastics to engage in the deep study of Hindu texts.
In his own writings, he reiterated Upadhyay’s approach regarding the suitability of Indian philosophy as a natural foundation for supernatural religion.