SADHUS : GOING BEYOND THE DREADLOCKS
There are millions of them - these Indian wandering renunciants, begging monks, mystical walkers, roaming philosophers, miracle-workers, hashish smokers, holy men; but little is known about them. They are often photographed yet their words are seldom heard. Some began this way of life from childhood, others were civil servants, shop keepers, real estate agents, thieves. . . they left their families and jobs to become renunciants, sadhus. They refuse to work; and vow not to accept any wages. They pursue the path of liberation. A few accomplish rigorous austerities, but most of them dedicate themselves to non-action. In a world verging on its short term ecological doom and demographic tsunami, the sadhus are the messengers of a kind of freedom and moderation that our commercial civilization has forgotten, with its preaching of labour, consumption, economic growth and competition.