Jay Shetty is a life coach and influencer who left a corporate career to become a Hindu monk. He lived at an ashram, or Hindu monastery, in Mumbai, India, between 2010 and 2013, where he studied Hindu scriptures, focusing on the ancient texts known as the Vedas. He continued his studies after he left the ashram, studying the Vedas for a total of 16 years.

Born in 1987 in London, England, Shetty had a middle-class upbringing. Although raised by Indian parents, he was not brought up in the Hindu religion. When he was 18, he entered Cass Business School in London to study management, with a focus on behavioral science. He first became acquainted with Hindu philosophy during this time, at a talk he attended by Gauranga Das, a Hindu monk. The experience set him on the path to spiritual studies and becoming a monk himself. While finishing his college degree, he split his time between management studies and studying as a monk.

In Shetty’s first book, Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day, he describes the transition that occurred in his thinking when he desired to “immerse [him]self in the monk mindset” (Shetty, Jay.