Monk and the Provocateur: A fascinating true story of a father's search for meaning of life and his son's quest for a place in computer industry, and how their quests finally converged.

By Sachidananda Kangovi

It is a story of a father and his son, and their search for a purpose in life. Arthur Osborne graduated from Oxford in 1928 with a degree in history. Yet, he could not bring himself to "teach about other people's lives." Instead, he was driven to understand meaning of his own life. He read about philosophers like Rene Guenon and supported himself by working as an English tutor in Poland. Prior to World War II, he and his young family evaded capture by Nazis by relocating to Thailand. Rumors began to fly about an impending Japanese advance, and Arthur sent his wife and children to live with his British friends in a small Indian village called Thiruvanamalai. In 1941, Arthur was captured and interned by the Thai government and spends 5 years in prison. After his release, he joined his family in Thiruvanamalai, where he met Sri Ramana Maharshi, the Hindu saint made famous by Somerset Maugham and Paul Brunton. Like Maugham, Osborne considered the Maharshi as a guru who fulfilled his restless spiritual quest. Arthur's son Adam spent his early years in the Ramana ashram, but was sent to boarding school in England at the age of 11. He grew up resentful of this perceived abandonment by his parents. Adam's restless energies, on the other hand, found a goal when he arrived at Silicon Valley. He became a pioneer in computer technology. At one point, he was one of the three pillars of the then nascent computer industry. Ultimately, by the combination of his own ego and circumstances, Adam lost out. Financially, mentally and physically devastated, he returned to his roots in Thiruvanamalai. Did Adam find solace before breathing his last? What were his seminal contributions to the computer industry? This book answers those questions.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1653808853
• ISBN13: 9781653808854
• Release Date: December 2019
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 184 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"