Revealing the Indian Sadhus’ Tangled Journey

In the eyes of foreigners, visual appearance of Sadhus (holy man) and Sadhvi (holy female) perplex them. A lot of questions and curiosities run in their mind while it’s a common appearance for Indians.

As per the holy books, Sadhus would pray to God for several years to attain enlightenment and to understand the purpose of the existing life. Presently a few people believe that Sadhus acquire mystical knowledge and power to find out the future. Because they are considered virtuous, many feared for their curses too. Some live in mountains, caves, ashrams, temples for years to attain enlightenment. Sadhus are popularly known as “Baba” who prefers ascetic life. Babas are devoted to a few Gods and Goddess of India such as God Shiva and God Vishnu.

In India, one can experience to see things differently such as we cannot touch the sun but we can experience the sun rays and add more meaning to its rays such as a source of energy, surviving and a destroying agent too. Similarly, Indian concept of holiness starts with a holy man and woman too.

Understanding Sadhus’ life closely

What does dreadlock Hair, Tilak, bizarre life and yoga resembles in the Sadhus’ life?

Each human being tries to perform or implement something which is closely associated with their role model. This psychologically guides their life during the development process. Many of us would have seen children imitating their adults’ behavior and style just to get closer to them. Based on our perception, we strive for happiness in what way we could. Similarly sadhus follow their own way of life.

Dreadlock Hair contrasting being Bald – Both Dreadlock (Jata) and bald sadhus are seen in India. Both approaches are completely different still views are respected. Jata dhari Sadhus believe that having dreadlock hair resembles strength and power. In ancient times, Lord Shiva used his mattered lock hair to control the force of River Ganga on his head. Having dreadlock is a way to show the unique expression of a cultural connection and an attitude toward strong religious energies.

In contrast being bald is considered to be a sacred ceremony. Hair is a matter of pride and glorifies a person’s look. On shaving off the head, it’s believed that we are getting rid of our pride and ego. Thus it’s a small step taken to be closer to God without any negative thought in mind.

Vibrant colors on forehead-Popularly known as Tilak, it’s an auspicious mark worn on forehead. Usually sadhus put turmeric, sandal, ash, red turmeric and saffron. All these material used for Tilak have medicinal properties. The U shape or V shape mark on the forehead provides a cooling effect on forehead which helps in concentration and meditation. Applying tilak in a particular style helps to identify the particular sect (Lord Shiva or Lord Vishnu). This also helps in uniting the other people following the same path. Tilak reminds of love, sharing and positivity with others and be away from anger, jealousy and sexual feeling.

Renounce Worldly life–It’s believed that world is full of Mayas. All of us are bound with each other through love, care and affection. Once we are devoid of these social obligations, we can be completely free and concentrate on achieving enlightenment. Thus Sadhus free themselves from the social bonds and family attachments to come closer to Nirvana. The inner confidence and contentment with the nature are their strength. In this generation of mobile phones, computers and comfortable life, material possession for them is of no use. They walk several hundred kilometers sometimes with very less clothes and food. Hopefully their self-confidence encourages them to make their own destination and follow their own way of life.

Mysterious Yoga Postures–Modern generation needs a yoga mat, yoga dress and cool place to show off their extremely flexible body. However, Sadhus in comparison are completely different. Sadhus who practiced knowledge and yoga for centuries are seen in postures which are beyond imaginations. They practice complex bodily postures to demonstrate agility and strength of a particular deity. Some vow not to sit for years while others will fast for days together and would depend on breathing pattern to live for days together without eating. Many of them will stand still in just one leg. For general public, yoga is a means to attain flexibility and led a healthy life but for Yogis, it’s a means to break illusions that are attached to the human body. It’s a system of self-realization.

Smoking Marijuana-Followers of Lord Shiva involve themselves in the consumptions of Charas, Chilam or Marijuana and put ashes on their whole body. They chant “Hara Hara Mahadev” where ever they go. Basically it means, O Great God, liberate us from all ignorance, sorrows and grievances. A large gathering of sadhus can be seen along the sacred rivers and The Kumbh Mela festival in India reunites millions of sadhus. It is used as a tool for self-control even in an intoxicated state. Probably hallucination state helps them to achieve a higher divine experience. 

Hype vs Reality

Most Hindus respect Sadhus and Sadhvis however many of these are fake Babas and Mata ji’s. They indulge in corrupt practices and try to involve the general public to gain acceptance in the society. Many of them will be wearing colorful dresses to attract photographers and ask money in return.  This is certainly a mockery of the pure Hindu saints. However, there are genuine devotees too who spend their entire life to receive a spark of spiritual energy and be able to connect with God in the present life instead of waiting for the rebirth. So they completely dedicated themselves to achieve Moksha (liberation) through meditation and spiritual practice.

I don’t know if leading an ascetic life really helps in achieving enlightenment however everyone is free to lead their own way of life. Sometimes it’s difficult to understand other peoples’ viewpoint so it’s better to focus on doing one’s duty and concentrate on improving the purpose of one’s life on this earth.