Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927 - 2001), affectionately known as Gurudeva by his followers, was born in Oakland, California on January 5, 1927. He established a Hindu monastery in Kauai, Hawaii and founded the magazine Hinduism Today. The author of many books on Hinduism and metaphysics, Subramuniyaswami was one of the most prominent faces of Hinduism during the last two decades of the 20th century. He was one of Shaivism's most orthodox and revered Gurus, the founder and leader of the Saiva Siddhanta Church, world's first Hindu church. Born with the name Robert Hansen in California in 1927, as a young man of 20, in 1947, he journeyed to India and Sri Lanka in search of his guru. Two years later was initiated into sannyasa by the renowned siddha yogi and worshiper of Shiva, Jnanaguru Yogaswami of Sri Lanka.