Product Description
by Muni Natarajan (Author)
A Monk's Tale chronicles the life of Philip Johnson (later named Muni Natarajan) as he meets his spiritual teacher, Subramuniyaswami, affectionately known as Gurudeva, and spends 37 years living as a monk, practicing an ancient and traditional system of yoga. As a story that is true, fascinating and full of much more adventure than one might expect from a monk's tale, this book provides a candid, behind-the-scenes look at a modern-day yogic lifestyle that is still thriving today within the walls of the first and only fully orthodox Hindu monastery in the West. A Monk's Tale is also a story about Gurudeva, the beloved Sat Guru and spiritual head of Kauai's Hindu Monastery, the founder of the international magazine, Hinduism Today, and the winner of the U Thant Peace award in the year 2000.
Author Biography
For 37 years, Muni lived as a monk in a Hindu monastery on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. The primary focus of his monastic study was an ancient and traditional yoga called "Raja Yoga." During his monastery years, Muni (also known as Natarajnathaswami) served as a primary teacher of younger monks. Additionally, he held yoga workshops for spiritual seekers visiting the monastery, and participated as a teacher on the monastery's travel/study programs. These travel/study programs, called Innersearches, merged pilgrimage with yoga during travels to India and other global destinations. Prior to entering the monastery, Muni was a professional jazz musician who played drums for Quincy Jones, the Glen Miller Band, and Don Ho in Hawaii. As a result of his musical inclination, Muni became the monastery's primary chant and bhajan leader. He studied the Indian musical system of ragam and talam and received instruction in tabla and classical North Indian singing from the highly esteemed Swami Nada Brahmananda of India. Muni had the distinct privilege of traveling the world with his guru, Satgurudeva Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, an enlightened mystic who received the Year 2000 U Thant Peace Award from Sri Chimnoy of the United Nations. Muni also worked as an artist, designer, writer and editor of Hinduism Today magazine. His writing focused on yoga, vegetarianism, meditation and Ayurveda. Since departing the monastery in 2007, Muni has been writing books about yoga and sharing his inner discoveries and inspirations through world music and art. His most recent book, A Monk's Tale, chronicles his adventures living as a Hindu monk in San Francisco, Hawaii and India. Muni's book, Into the I of All: An Ultimate Yoga, serves as a basis for his weekend workshops and classes. As a teacher, Muni's intention is to do as his guru did - help students find inner peace and contentment amidst everyday challenges while seeking Self Realization in an ultimate practice of yoga.
