English-Man, Beggar-Man, Holy-Man: Teenage Hippy becomes a Sadhu, (Holy-man), Swami & Yogi in India

In 1965 I left England and I spent a year travelling overland until I reached India.I only planned to go as far as Istanbul.However I found myself on what became known as the "hippy trail". I was 17 when I left home and 18 when I reached India.By the time I got to India I was physically and mentally exhausted. Looking back I was probably severely clinically depressed, physically unwell, and suffering from the effects of too much cannabis use.I found myself in a spiritual centre called an ashram, (not like a monastery )I met my first Guru, (my spiritual teacher) - a Swami & sannyasin, (renunciate in ochre robes)I never had at that time any intention of becoming a monk for 10 years.However I spent 10 years in India living the life of a monk otherwise known as a sadhu, who sometimes travelled and eventually saw nearly every part of India.The first few chapters of my book talks about my travel through various countries of Europe and Asia, in the days before the name "hippy" or "flower power people" was known(I was a "beatnik).I then talk about my time with my first Guru, when I became initiated into monastic Hinduism and the life of a celibate (Brahmachari), in white cloth.I was that teacher's disciple for over four years. He was an orthodox Swami, very high up in the hierarchy of the system, & I travelled widely with him on the religious lecture circuit.I learnt a lot and I changed into somebody completely different from who I had been My book then moves on to my travels around India and my adopting of the red robes of a sannyasin, living the mendicant (sadhu) life. I then found a new teacher in the form of Swami Muktananda who became well-known in the West He attracted hundreds if not thousands of Western devotees.In the 70s there were quite a few similar teachers who became popular in the West.It was the time of the Beatles meeting the Maharishi (Mahesh Yogi), the "stardom" of a variety of Gurus, and interest in the spiritual practices of the East.A lot of the book consists of descriptions about Yoga, Hindu spiritual practices, and temple worship.Also covered is the quest for enlightenment, and descriptions of the way of life of Hindu monks & sages. The intention as never to compete with other religious or spiritual pathways, only to point out that the core practice illustrated originates way back in Vedic times, and maybe not only in India, and maybe even pre what is currently known as Hinduism.The main issue at stake is Reality, Truth, and Unity. This issue is universal, global, and international, and cuts across religion, culture, language and belief systems. It is an issue for all seekers of Enlightenment of Realisation. (Nirvana and Moksha).