At 14, he decided to alter his life.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.

“It gave a higher taste of spirituality,” he said.

Lifestyle Changes

At 20, Das moved to a temple in Portland where he adhered to the four principles of initiation to a spiritual life, which he would follow his entire life: no meat, fish or eggs; no intoxication, including caffeine and cigarettes; no illicit sex; and no gambling.

Das said that one year shaped his life in a positive way.

“I quit smoking pot, and there was no intoxication,” he said.

His devotion made him less materialistic and therefore less affected by lust, greed, envy, pride and anger, he said.

“My (life’s) priority then was to advance materially,” Das said. “My priority now is to make advancement spiritually.”

He regarded himself as someone from the “lost generation” who had no guidance toward life’s realm and thus became more attracted toward spirituality.

The former punk rocker’s daily routine reflected his devotion toward his spiritual attainment.

“He wakes up early; devotes himself to the temple all day long and helps people ’til late at night,” said Rachel Blackwell, one of his neighbors in Dallas.

For Bhakta Mark, a member of the Dallas temple, Das connected to him as a friend.

“He is very compassionate and a spark of energy,” Mark said. “He wants to share the joy that he gets from this loving, devotional service. He wants to educate.”

Das said taking the spiritual path made him closer to the spiritual world, but distanced him from his family and friends. His father, a Jehovah’s Witness, didn’t show his appreciation, nor did his friends. He said his friends didn’t want to hang out after knowing about his new way of life.

“A lot of friends are not your real friends,” Das said.

However, that neither saddened him nor made him feel isolated, Das said. His mother and one of his friends supported his spiritual path; many others befriended him as he made his journey through the U.S. and the world before settling in Dallas in 2005.

Continuing the Journey

He also met his wife through his spirituality.

Das cracked a smile as he disclosed his love story.

“I sold her a book in the New York subway station,” Das said.

Mangala, also a punk rocker, saw him preaching and gave a donation for the book.

“I looked like you,” Mangala chuckled, remembering their first conversation when Das commented on her looks.

Mangala said his devotion toward spirituality impressed her.

Das works for the Hare Krishna temple in Dallas. He does guest tours of the temple for various groups and updates the database of the congregation. He also lectures to a wide array of people, in and outside the temple, from different backgrounds on spiritual science.

“He practices what he preaches,” said Ricardo Meza, one of the volunteers in the temple. “He is a very social, carefree, charismatic person,”

From singing in punk clubs and garages to relishing his spiritual journey, Das said he made the journey on his own. He gave up everything he wanted and chose a path where he realized the existence of his soul.

For Granger, life changed – and for Das – life began with an aim to better himself and to be purely devoted in his spirituality.