satguru sivaya subramuniyaswami (january 5, 1927 – 2001), known as gurudeva by his followers, was a hindu leader and author. he was born in oakland, california. he made a hindu monastery in kauai, hawaii and founded the magazine "hinduism today". subramuniyaswami was an author of many books on hinduism and metaphysics. he was one of the most traditional and well known people of hinduism during the last two decades of the 20th century. he was one of saivism's most revered gurus, the founder and leader of the world's first hindu church ("saiva siddhanta church").