Into the Mystics

Over the years on my peregrinations through India and Nepal, into the mystics of Asian religions, I had the good fortune (occasionally, misfortune) to encounter some of the holy men of this region, wandering on their own spiritual journeys. I say men because there are very few women who take up this spiritual challenge. Holy men, or sadhus, have chosen an austere lifestyle, renouncing all worldly attachments, including homes, family and careers to dedicate their life to achieving the Hindu belief of moksha, the fourth and final stage of the cycle of life and death. The process and rituals for becoming a sadhu vary with each sect of Hinduism, but in almost all sects a sadhu is initiated by a guru, who gives the initiate a new name and a sacred mantra that they repeat during meditation. Sadhus engage in a wide variety of religious practices, some practicing asceticism and solitary meditation, others performing group prayers, chants or meditations. There are also some sadhus who are entertainers. But regardless of their inner convictions, Hindu society reveres these holy men, generously supporting them with donations. The Ganges River is considered sacred and personified as a goddess, purifying devotees who bathe in her waters. Sadhus live at various locations along this river and as wandering mendicants, they walk barefoot from one holy temple to another with few or no possessions. Naga (naked) sadhus are one of the extreme pilgrims who live without any comforts in caves near the headwaters of the Ganges. Every three years, there’s a mass-gathering of sadhus at one of the four confluences of the Ganges, where Vishnu spilled drops of Amrita (the drink of immortality). It is only during this event, the Khumbh Mela, that the naga sadhus visit civilization. This series is not a comprehensive look at sadhus, rather it’s a collection of my favorite moments photographing a culture that is antipodal to mine. I hope it will give the viewer, as it did for me, a glimpse at an alternative way of living that needs to be respected and preserved.