I think that the PerlMonk levels aren't meant to be in line with TomC's Perl levels. TomC's Perl levels directly measure skill and knowledge of Perl. However, the PerlMonk levels measure experience on the PerlMonk's website, which only indirectly includes knowledge and skill of Perl. More directly, the PerlMonk levels measure helpfulness, originality, and even participation, as well as the general approval of one's posts by other monks.

I think that's actually the more valuable measure for a community like this. In particular, someone who as yet has a limited knowledge of Perl can make worthwhile posts, while someone with a very advanced knowledge of Perl could certainly make unhelpful or unfriendly posts.

In conclusion, you're a monk because you earned the level of monk!