Text and photographs by Dolf Hartsuiker, author of the book "Sadhus, Holy Men of India".

Spiritual adventurers, ascetic warriors, devout mystics, occult rebels or philosophic monks, the sadhus are revered by Hindus as representatives of the gods, sometimes even worshipped as gods themselves.

1,393 Standing the world on its head, Shiva Giri practices yoga everyday. This posture is emblematic for the life of a sadhu, for by 'reversing all values', by acting contrary to human nature, they intend to speed up enlightenment.

Holiness is still common in India. In most Hindu households, shops and businesses you will find altars and shrines, and the day is routinely started with worship of gods and gurus. Many mountains, rivers, stones and trees are sacred. Dozens of cities are holy and, of course, the millions of temples and idols. Quite a few animals are holy -- the cow, of course, but also the bull, the monkey, the elephant, the peacock, the snake, the rat.... So it may come as no surprise that people can be holy too, though they have to become holy. To Hindus, spiritual enlightenment has always represented the highest goal in life, the one thing that gives it meaning and purpose. Moreover, enlightenment is a state of being that is in principle attainable by everybody. The average individual, however, would need many incarnations to become enlightened, to see God, to become one with the Absolute, to merge one's mind with Cosmic Consciousness -- in short, to become holy. But since time immemorial shortcuts have been available for people wanting to become enlightened in this life rather than the next. Those who follow the fast track, mostly men, are the sadhus, the 'holy men' of India.

0964 Performing a hatha yoga posture, the headstand, after the 'five-fire-austerity'.

For thousands of years they have been around. Once they must have been more numerous, but even today there are still four to five million sadhus, constituting about half a percent of the total population. Organised in various sects, they passed on the wisdom of old, the method of yoga, that is 'yoking' soul and Soul together. The sadhus radically renounce 'the world' in order to focus entirely on the Higher Reality beyond. They abstain from sex, cut all family ties, have no possessions, no house, wear little or no clothing and eat little and simple food. Usually they live by themselves, on the fringes of society, and spend their days in devotion to their chosen deity. Some perform magical rituals to make contact with the gods, others practise intense forms of yoga and meditation to increase their spiritual powers and acquire mystical knowledge.

1852 Janaki Jivan Sharan, a sadhu who is regarded as a jivanmukta, i.e. a 'soul liberated while still alive.'

1003 Bajrang Das, a 'standing' baba, who never sits down, day and night. He sleeps standing too, hanging over this swing. A metal chastity belt covers his genitals.

For an ordinary human being these 'basic' self-abnegations are already hard to comprehend. But almost unimaginable are the extreme self-mortifications by which a number of sadhus intend to speed up their enlightenment. There are those who keep their right arm straight up until it degenerates into a kind of stick. Some do not sit and lay down for years on end, or keep silence for many years, or wear a 'chastity-belt' forever, or fast for a long time...   Most sadhus, however, take it a lot easier. And for many the main 'self-mortification' seems to be the smoking of hashish. According to age-old tradition they follow the example of Shiva in this respect. To them Shiva is not only the Lord of Yogis, but also the Lord of Hash, the hash smoking god, forever High. Shiva is the god of Destruction as well as Creation, which in a perpetual cyclical movement follow one another. His body is covered with ashes, symbolic of death and regeneration.

1544 Hari Giri, a Naga baba, covered in ash, is smoking a chilam filled with hash and tobacco.

Shiva is always naked, which symbolizes his primal condition, his non-attachment to the world. His body shows feminine characteristics, like soft rounded contours and no beard, which is symbolic of his transcendence of opposites, the primal unity of polarities.
With half-closed eyes he is immersed in meditation, in divine bliss. The Ganges springs from his long hair, his jata, as a fountain, splashing in the Himalayan mountains in the distance. The crescent -- the new moon, 'Shiva's moon' -- on his forehead, the cobra around his neck, the white bull Nandi, the river Ganges, and the full moon form a symbolic cluster which indicates Shiva's function as a fertility deity, a moon god.		On his forehead are three horizontal lines, painted with ashes, representing the three main gods, the three 'worlds', etc. Around his neck is a garland of 108 beads, the 108 elements of material creation, and in his hand a rosary of 50 beads, the 50 letters of the Sanskrit alphabet. The two large rings through his ears are indicative of his extra-sensory perception. He is seated on a tiger skin, a symbol of power, showing his mastery over the animal world.

In appearance sadhus try to resemble the gods as they are known through ancient myths and popular legends, especially Shiva. Though Shiva is popularly known as the God of Destruction, for sadhus he is foremost the Master of Yogis.
0111 Shyam Giri and Ram Giri, two Naga babas of the Juna Akhara.	Following his example, quite a few sadhus walk about naked, symbolising their renunciation of the world of mortals, and rub their body with ashes of their holy fires, symbolic of death and rebirth. Many sadhus wear extremely long hair (jata), again in emulation of Lord Shiva, whose long strands of hair are regarded as the 'seat' of his supernatural powers. Other deities besides Shiva are worshipped too, such as Rama or Krishna, who are both incarnations of Vishnu, a god who rivals with Shiva for the supreme position in the Hindu pantheon. Or one of the many goddesses, like Kali or Durga. The allegiance of sadhus can be recognised by differences in the marks on their forehead, and the colour of their clothes. In the past, there have been intense rivalries between the various sects, even leading to battle. But in essence all sadhus have the same roots.	0779 Bhagwan Das' elaborate facial painting marks him as a devotee of Lord Rama.

Holy Women In contrast with the many young male sadhus, a beautiful young woman is but rarely seen in the brotherhood. About ten percent of sadhus are women, called sadhvis, but most of them are old, having become sadhvi after they were widowed. This reflects the generally subordinate position of women in Indian society -- the popular belief is that women have to be born again as men before they can be spiritually liberated -- and the even more marginal position of widows. Choosing the sadhu life was -- and still is -- about the only respectable way to escape from the 'living death' of widowhood. Nevertheless, since time immemorial there have been female sadhus. And quite a few have, like their male counterparts, chosen the sadhu life in their teens, convinced as they were of their spiritual predestination. Quite a few sects do not allow women because the celibates fear their 'corrupting influences'; some sects are mixed, but then female sadhus usually have their separate quarters; some minor subsects are all-female. Though generally speaking their position in the spiritual hierarchy is inferior to men, there have always been great woman-saints and female sadhus are treated with much respect -- being for instance addressed as 'Mataji,' that is 'Revered Mother'.

1975 This graceful lady sadhu, Sobhna Giri, belongs to the Juna Akhara. She entered sadhu life when still a child and thus committed herself to life-long celibacy and other ascetic practices.

2553 Rama-priya Das, an American who has been a sadhu for four years and has even attained the rank of Mahant, poses in a yoga posture. His body and hair are covered with ashes from holy sadhu-fires.

Foreigner sadhus Ever since the 'sixties', with an upsurge of interest in the 'mystic East' mirroring a growing discontent with the 'materialistic West', scores of young Westerners went to India searching for the meaning of life and often finding a guru. Many became disciples of famous, international gurus such as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Bhagwan Rajneesh, and Saï Baba, but others chose the more individualistic path of the sadhu and committed themselves to the hardships of the ascetic life. So today there are at least a few hundred foreign sadhus, male and female, some of whom have been sadhu for over twenty years, and it seems that their number is still increasing. They are formally initiated into various sects, receive their sadhu name, and in appearance and behaviour conform to the sadhu life-style. Pious Hindus, especially those in rural areas, treat these foreign holy men and women with the same respect as they would Indian sadhus. Though most nationalities seem to be represented -- notably American, German and Japanese -- it is quite remarkable that most of these foreigners are of Italian or French extraction. Some foreign sadhus are 'part-timers', who time and again plunge into the adventure of sadhu-life but keep their ties to the home-front. Others burn all their bridges, as it should be done, and totally commit themselves to the realization of the sadhu ideals.

Enlightenment Certainly, not all sadhus are enlightened. But believers regard them all as holy anyway, if only because of their radical commitment. And successful sadhus are even worshipped as 'gods on earth'. Believers only have to 'behold' a sadhu -- as a kind of living idol -- to receive a spark of his spiritual energy. They give donations to the sadhus -- regarded as offerings to the gods -- and get their blessing in return. Thus, since time immemorial, has Indian society been organised to support the holy men, for they are not supposed to work. But in India the times are changing too.

2157 If these acrobatics, performed here by Mahant Rameshwar Giri, seem at first glance to be devoid of any spiritual meaning, it must be recognized that in Hinduism all levels of religion -- from gross materialism to sublime spirituality -- can be experienced and expressed simultaneously.

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For comments: dolfhart@knoware.nl