2008 Woodie Awards
Hinduism turns former punk into spiritual monk
Bibek Bhandari
Issue date: 10/16/07 Section: Features
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Sun, sand and surf suddenly lost significance for this Hawaii native. He trimmed his Mohawk, dismantled his punk band, changed his religion and tattooed the Sanskrit chant of Hare Krishna, a Hindu deity, on his hand.
Troy Granger, who is now Nityananda Chandra Das, is living a spiritual life.
Dressed in a traditional Hindu costume with a sacred paste on his forehead and a small ponytail in the middle of his shaved head, 29-year-old Das looked cheerful as he spoke of his days of transformation.
"I went from punk to monk," Das said, remembering his past.
As the vocalist of his band, Skeksis - named after a character from a 1982 fantasy film "The Dark Crystal" - Das defined himself as an avatar of a punk rocker: an 18-inch Mohawk, pierced lips, nose ring, a tongue ring and kooky clothes.
"One of my pants had 500 safety pins, and my belt had all kinds of spikes," he said.
As a teenager, Das said he surfed, hung out with his friends, smoked pot and partied.
"I was at concerts all the time and rode my motorcycle," he said. "There were all kinds of underground punk, metal and ska bands."
Das characterized himself as a fun, laid-back guy who worked midnight shifts doing telephone surveys, attended school and then wandered with his buddies.
His wife, Krishna Mangala, agreed with Das about his laid-back style.
"He is fun to be around," she said. "He will make you feel better."
As a teenager, Das said he liked reading about government conspiracies, aliens, karma and reincarnation. But, life changed for him after one of his friends introduced him to the religious philosophies of Hinduism and explained this view's definition of the soul and the difference between body and soul.
He said Hinduism gave a detailed perception about the self-soul, karma and reincarnation and this became the sole rationale for his inclination toward the religion. Also, Das despised the slaughterhouses, and since this religious path denounced the killing of animals, his fascination intensified.
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