![men seated in a circle, one smoking a pipe](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/2026-03/image8.JPG?itok=kinlK9dK) 

 



 

#  Sadhus  

 





March 27, 2026

 

 

 [ Daniela Bevilacqua ](https://yso.soas.ac.uk/tutors/daniela-bevilacqua/) 

Edited by Aaron M. Ullrey

Indian religious traditions assign a special role and title to individuals who pursue ascetic religious goals, referring to these figures collectively as *sadhu*s. The term *sadhu* is derived from the Sanskrit root *sadh* (*sādh*), meaning “to reach one’s goal” or “to make straight.”\[1\] Today, the word *sadhu* denotes holy or religious men; its feminine form (*sādhvī*) refers to holy or religious women. In practice, the term *sadhu* encompasses a variety of religious identities evolving across historical periods and regions. Considering the plurality of religious paths in South Asia, the meaning of the word as well as the usage of *sadhu* as a term and title varies significantly according to the religious approach or path and regional interpretations and local usages of the word.

This chapter explores the term *sadhu* in South Asia, stressing its association with asceticism and the commitment to a religious path. By tracing historical developments and drawing on ethnographic data about contemporary contexts, individual experiences, and specific practices, the chapter explores various ways of being a “*sadhu*,” examines the ways knowledge is transmitted within the *sadhu*s’ society (*samaj*), and elucidates key practices that *sadhu*s follow to achieve their religious goals.

All the *sadhu*s’ statements below were recorded during my ethnographic research. All translations are my own, unless noted otherwise. Terminology is listed in Sanskrit, unless another language is specified; *sadhu*s often do not privilege Sanskrit terminology, preferring vernacular vocabulary, such as Hindi.



 

 

 

##  Historical Definitions and Backgrounds 

The term *sadhu* has deep roots in Indian religious traditions, denoting individuals pursuing all sorts of goals. The earliest use of the term appears in the *Rig Veda*, and it is used in the adjectival sense meaning “straight,” “right,” or “leading straight to the goal.”\[2\] In the *Mahabharata*, the adjective *sadhu* conveys integrity, virtue, and righteousness; its nominal form refers to individuals known for excellence: saints, sages, honorable figures. Throughout history, the word’s connotations evolved. The *Vacaspatyam* (Vol 6, 5279), a nineteenth-century Sanskrit dictionary, lists and explains some of the term *sadhu*’s long-standing variations, elaborating its derivation from the verbal root *sadh*, meaning “to accomplish” or “to realize” with the suffix -*u* forming a substantive noun that indicates someone whose very nature (*svabhāva*) is shaped by that verbal root. Hence, *sadhu* means someone whose nature is *sadh*: A *sadhu* is someone who is focused on realizing something.

Additional semantic nuances for *sadhu* appear throughout Sanskrit lexicons and sources, several mentioned in the *Vacaspatyam*. The *Amarakosha*, a thesaurus likely from the ninth century CE, defines *sadhu* as someone born into a good family—either a biological family or a family related to a religious lineage—but also defines a *sadhu* as someone handsome, idoneous, or adequate. The *Amarakosha* further explains that the *word* *sadhu*’s feminine form is *sadhvi*, and the word *sadhu* is equated with terms like *muni*, meaning “saint,” and *jina* (*jīna)*, meaning “a victorious religious practitioner.” The twelfth-century CE Jain scholar Hemachandra, cited in the *Vacaspatyam*, describes a *sadhu* as one who remains undisturbed by praise or blame. The *Medinikosha*, a ninth-century dictionary mentioned in the *Vacaspatyam*, further defines a *sadhu* as someone fascinating, who lives in a state of contentment (*saṃtoṣa*), who has an unbiased mind, who has won over sensorial faculties, and who lacks enemies; he is always quiet, prideless, and characterized by equanimity and being egoless. The *Agni Purana*, whose earliest version dates to the seventh century CE, contains a few twelfth-century CE chapters discussing grammar and lexicography; according to these chapters a *sadhu* is one who has abandoned pleasures and desires, who seeks the wellbeing of others, and who shares others’ suffering. A *sadhu*, the text says, is like a rain-bearing cloud, and he brings joy to others like a tree providing shade though bearing his own hardships in silence.

Definitions attested above show that the nature of a *sadhu*—detached, in control of his sensorial faculties, and so forth—mirrors the descriptions and aspirations of those who follow a religious path found in the ancient Upanishadic literature, much earlier than the attestations above. Dating from seventh or sixth century to second century BCE, the religious path suggested in the earliest Upanishads was based on the then novel idea that the individual was trapped in the wheel of life (*saṃsāra*), the continuous alternation of birth and death, forever stuck in a state of suffering. Since the cause of rebirth was desire and ignorance, knowledge (*jñāna*) became the source of release. Knowledge was acquired through philosophical inquiry into the relationship between the soul, which is the innermost Self (*ātman*), and the ultimate reality, which is the all-encompassing *Brahman*. Anyone realizing this truth would realize oneness with all things and would then be released from rebirth. The *Brihadaranyaka Upanishad* (4.4.5–6) explains:

A man resolves in accordance with his desire, acts in accordance with his resolves, and turns out to be in accordance with his action. On this point there is the following verse:

> A man who’s attached goes with his action,
> 
> to that very place to which
> 
> his mind and character cling.
> 
> Reaching the end of his action,
> 
> of whatever he has done in this world—
> 
> from that world he returns
> 
> back to this world,
> 
> back to action.\[3\]

That is the course of a man who desired. Now, a man who does not desire—who is without desires, who is freed from desires, whose desires are fulfilled, whose only desire is his self—his vital functions (*prāṇa*) do not depart. Brahman he is, and to brahman he goes.

The Upanishads’ emergent theories about human actions and the cyclical process causing rebirth led to the radical conclusion that one way to attain liberation from this cycle of suffering was to renounce social life and worldly activity. Ideals for escaping the wheel of life through soteriological knowledge inspired newfound advocacy for an ascetic lifestyle supporting ascetic and meditative practices. As South Asian religious landscapes came to accommodate diverse interpretations of ascetics, the term *sadhu* took on these ascetic perspectives.\[4\] Detachment and liberation were central and were eventually incorporated into the reconfigured definition of the term *sadhu*: an individual focused on answering existential questions who is on a path towards liberation (*mokṣa*).

In the medieval era, from the fifth to thirteenth centuries of the Common Era, Tantric and devotional movements, i.e., Bhakti movements, exalted the worship of Shaiva, Vaishnava, or Shakta deities—deities aligned with Shiva (Śiva), Vishnu (Viṣṇu), and goddesses—and introduced new religious paths with lifestyles and practices accessible to a wider variety of people who did not undertake a formal renunciatory path in order to follow a religious discipline (*sādhanā*), and these differed from the prior Upanishadic world-renouncing ideal. Innovative paths and lifestyles in Tantra and Bhakti were ascetic but were not necessarily renunciate paths and lifestyles. Upanishadic, Tantric, and *bhakti* definitions of the term *sadhu* all designate figures who follow a *sadhana*, who embrace a religious discipline as part of a religious path, but inside each tradition other terms than *sadhu* were used to address practitioners.

Practitioners of a Tantric *sadhana* were usually referred to as *sadhaka*s (*sādhaka*), a word also derived from the Sanskrit root *sadh*; the term *sadhu*, though, was sometimes a title to address any holy person or spiritual adept rather than a Tantric initiate.\[5\] Tantric traditions did not develop in a coherent and linear way. Tantric traditions were systems characterized by different practices, especially highly-ritualized ceremonies, meditation practices, and worship techniques for a range of emerging deities. Breaks and innovations developed by these traditions did not appear distinct from what came before, and religious practices in the many Tantric traditions produced the similar goals of liberation and transcendent powers (*siddhi*s). The quest for salvation through Tantra required *sadhaka*s to divinize their own bodies using mantras, *mandala*s (*maṇḍala*s, geometric symbolic patterns), *mudra*s (gestures), *nyasa* (*nyāsa*, mapping the physical microcosm to external macrocosmic elements and also assigning icons and sounds to specific locations), *dhyana* (*dhyāna*, meditation), and *puja* (*pūjā*, ritual worship). Tantric traditions recognized the body as an important tool to be harnessed in practices that transform it and make it divine, potentially leading to immortality, which differed from prior Upanishadic ideals that aimed to escape or transcend the body and the world.

From the seventh century onward, religious movements and groups based on devotion (*bhakti*) emphasized the creation of a mutual and intense exchange of love between devotee and deity, a mystical connection with the highest God developed through self-surrender and the embrace of an emotional approach toward the divine. In Bhakti contexts, the term *sadhu* could mean a renunciate, but a *sadhu* could also be a follower of *bhakti sadhana* without renouncing. Non-renunciate *bhakti* *sadhu*s live a righteous life characterized by deep love, humility, and surrender to the divine, itself a devotion practice (*bhaktisādhana*); hence, *bhakti*-oriented *sadhu*s were ascetics but were not necessarily ascetics in expected ways. Devotional movements dramatically influenced Indian religiosity and profoundly influenced the forms and shapes of religious orders. Devotion became the goal of religious life, and also became the means to reach religious goals, especially the release from suffering. Devotion led to the grace of God, and the grace of God led to liberation. Liberation was understood in two ways: complete liberation from the cycle of rebirth or reaching one of the heavens of Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa and continuing to exist there devoted to him.\[6\]

Not all religious groups followed the same disciplines nor identified God in the same way; religious paths were highly differentiated, increasing the number of possible roles a religious person could adopt and undertake. Although it is difficult to pinpoint the exact origins of the earliest organized groups of *sadhu*s, codes of conduct and practices demonstrate different stages and groups in the development of *sadhu* organizations, for each code represents the customs of a specific group or tradition of *sadhu*s. Various textual sources such as the *Dharmashastra*s or the *Samnyasa Upanishad*s describe different forms of renouncers based on codes of conduct, garments worn, accessories, and more. The emphasis on transmission of lore and practices across successive generations of renunciates contributed to the eventual use of the term *sampradaya* (*sampradāya*) to refer to religious groups.\[7\] Originally referring to an act of transfer, *sampradaya* came to denote received doctrines or teachings, but the word also came to mean “a tradition” or “a religious system.”\[8\] The earliest instances of *sampradaya*s as collected doctrines that were received and transmitted seem to be arrangements of theories, practices, and rules proposed by specific gurus or masters. Other terms for religious groups and systems include a *panth*—meaning “path” and, by extension, “group” or “sect”—and an *akhara*—(*akhāṛā*) meaning “encampment,” “school,” and, by extension, “group.”\[9\] Most *sadhu*s are initiated into one of these groups and their lineages that account for their religious community and identity. Within a single religious group, several guru-lineages known as *paramparas*—a term (*paramparā*) meaning “one after the other,” indicating an uninterrupted sequence of gurus and disciples—could emerge. These lineages developed distinct religious approaches, sometimes incorporating new trends emerging in their time. The *guru-shishya*-*parampara*, the transmission from gurus to a disciple or student (*śiṣya*), is a cornerstone of South Asian religious traditions. It underscores the importance of preserving spiritual lineages through which teachings, practices, and values are passed down to successive generations in a tradition. Organizing based on lineage enabled ongoing innovation, for teachings are reinterpreted and revised by successive generations of gurus. For such systems to endure over time, however, they required economic support.

From the second half of the first millennium, the economic patronage, land grants, and respect that religious groups obtained from donors, especially from kings and aristocrats, determined the development of religious institutions and funded the construction of monasteries (*maṭha*s). Through the patronage of royal supporters, monasteries became places of religious learning, but they were also intellectual, administrative, and educational hubs involved in charitable activities, including feeding pilgrims and the poor and establishing hospitals.\[10\] The institutionalization of centers and monasteries facilitated the transmission and codification of religious traditions and lineages. This process contributed to the formalization of religious hierarchies within these institutions. Within each order, different *sadhu*s, often of different types, performed roles according to the needs of the center or monastery, its organization, and their personal inclinations. Not all individuals could follow the same religious practice. Pragmatic responsibilities—such as managing an institution, contributing to its development, and writing texts in honor of the tradition—came to be understood as spiritual disciplines in themselves; also included among spiritual disciplines was engaging in military activities.\[11\]

   ![Ancient drawing of a war scene](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-03/Image%201%20%28high%20resolution%29.jpg?itok=nTk4oWta) 

 

“Akbar Watches a Battle between Two Rival Groups of Saṃnyāsīs at Thaneshwar.” (Right Folio). Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, 38.1x 22.4 cm. By Basawan Asi from the *Akbarnama* (1590-95). India, Mughal dynasty, possibly Pakistan. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Museum Number: IS 2:62-1896.Over time, groups of wandering *sadhu*s organized into armies whose military structures are still present among *sampradaya*s today. Scholars suggest that during uncertain political periods, temples and monasteries became similar to fiefs and their *mahant*s or abbots became similar to local landlords who looked to ascetic warriors for support and protection from robbery or persecution.\[12\] The label for these martial, warrior ascetics was *yogi*, an adjective defining those ascetics who were characterized by matted hair and nudity, which is the reason why they were also called *naga*, meaning naked (*nāgā*), as they tended to wear little clothing or just ashes on their body. These ascetic warriors could include Shaiva *gosain*s and *sannyasin*s (*saṃnyāsī*), Vaishnava *bairagi*s/*vairagi*s (*vairāgī*), and Sufi *fakir*s.\[13\] By the late seventeenth century, ascetic soldiers were employed as part of royal infantries and cavalries, and the groups accumulated power and wealth. Some worked as mercenary soldiers, some were even bandits. These martial ascetics competed against each other for control of pilgrimage routes, and their profits allowed them to invest in urban centers and landownership, to engage in moneylending, and to facilitate the trading of luxury goods. \[14\] *Naga* *sadhu*s were organized into martial regiments, and their regiments were identified as *akhara*s, a word that can refer to a monastery, but also to training grounds where martial arts are practiced, emphasizing the physical training *naga sadhu*s undergo.

Can we interpret the life of a warrior *sadhu*, engaged in a literal army of renunciates, as a religious path? If we follow the words of the eighteenth-century poet Padmakar describing the deeds of Anup Giri, one of the most successful mercenary *gosain* figures of the eighteenth century, then it would seem so.

> There are two types of men in this world who go on to pierce the beautiful disc of the sun: those who have been following the path of yoga by birth and fight with calm indifference, and those whose passion is roused by the battle and fights to the death then and there.\[15\]

Echoing the *Bhagavad Gita*, these verses illustrate the possibility of *sadhu*s fighting with detachment, remaining indifferent amid the chaos of the battle. Ascetics were, in fact, considered the perfect soldiers, for they were accustomed to physical disciplines, and they continually trained in austerities and itinerancy. *Naga sadhu*s, resembling these same naked yogis of the past, continue to capture the worldwide imagination to this day. Their naked bodies, covered by ashes, are the most represented images of the Indian *sadhu*.



 

##  Contemporary Sadhus 

Today, the word *sadhu* mostly refers to ascetics who cultivate detachment (*vairāgya*) in order to achieve spiritual goals through denial, discipline, and/or devotion; these approaches are embodied throughout institutions and structures in modern *sadhu* society (*sādhu samāj*). Specific *sampradaya*s, lineages (*paramparā*s), and individual *sadhu*s each worship different deities—Shiva, Vishnu, the Goddess, and those deities’ numerous manifestations. *Sadhu* groups have different religious objectives, and each follows specific rules and maintains its own attitudes and approaches towards lay society. Some religious orders, such as the Shaiva Dashnami Sampradaya, require *sadhu*s to completely renounce Brahmanical structures and practices. Others, like the Vaishnava Ramanandi Sampradaya, are “only” detached from Brahmanical structures and practices, allowing members to continue performing some Brahmanical rituals. This distinction is reflected linguistically in the term *sannyasin*, meaning “renouncer,” used for renunciate *sampradaya*s like the Dashnamis, while *vairagi*, meaning “detached,” is used for *sampradaya*s like the Ramanandis.

*Sadhu*s are recognizable by their external appearance. Symbolic elements signal sectarian affiliations: types and colors of clothing worn, marks applied to the forehead (*tilaka*), necklaces (*mālā*), and specific greetings used between one another—mostly related to and alluding to their main deity—and greetings used by outsiders to address the *sadhu*s. These elements and accoutrements are conferred upon each *sadhu* at initiation. There are also *sadhu*s not associated to any specific religious orders, who, unlike those belonging to any specific *sampradaya*, do not undergo a process of initiation—they build their religious path independently. Although there are female ascetics, their numbers remain limited: Gender, like caste, presents obstacles to admission into a *sampradaya*.

The structure of *sadhu* society contains hierarchies and relationships that parallel those structures in lay society, forming hierarchies and relationships befitting the *sadhu*s’ social worlds. Power relations are found between different *sampradaya*s and also within *sampradaya*s. Inside *sadhu* society, and by laypeople outside it, *sadhu*s are recognized by the *sampradaya* into which they are initiated, according to the lineage to which they belong, through their relationship to their avowed guru. The bond with the guru, that famous guru-disciple bond, defines the ascetic family of the *sadhu*. The guru is a spiritual father. All the guru’s disciples become “brothers” (*guru-bhāī*). The guru’s brothers are considered “uncles” (*kākā*) to the disciples. Other hierarchies are embodied through different roles a *sadhu* plays. Some *sadhu*s occupy high positions in prestigious religious centers and represent the order at a national or regional level, such as the *jagadguru*, meaning “guru of the universe,” and the *mahamandaleshvara*, meaning “superior of a religious district or province.” Other *sadhu*s known as *mahant*sor abbots own *ashram*s or manage and represent *sampradaya*s’ different local centers. Some *sadhu*s live in monasteries and spend their lives performing religious discipline and service (*sevā*); others wander in itinerant groups or live in isolation.

Today, money is very evident in the structuring of *sadhu* society. In the past, the spiritual paths of *sadhu*s, their practices, and their attainment, bestowed upon *sadhus* high-ranking positions and conferred power. In contemporary times, however, each title—*mahant*, *mahamandaleshvara*, and so forth—has a specific financial cost. *Sadhu*s without economic resources cannot improve their status. On the other hand, a person with a lot of money can “buy” high status titles even without the proper ascetic training, and this would not have been possible in the past. It becomes increasingly necessary today for *sadhu*s to have lay followers and devotees who financially support them as they advance.

Avoiding the clichés often expressed in textual sources, examples from my ethnographic research emphasize a range of reasons behind the important choice to become a *sadhu*.\[16\] Dissatisfaction with lay life and recognizing the insignificance of worldly concerns are common answers offered for why individuals decide to become *sadhu*s and how they undertake a specific religious discipline. Other reasons include the relationship with a guru. Garud Das, a Vaishnava *sadhu*, pointed out that a spiritual journey often begins by the need to answer the question “Who am I?”, and, he explained, obviously renunciation can be a way to answering this question, once you realize the body is going to dissolve in age and death. Practice begins by learning to detach.

The quest to understand this “I” and “Who am I?” was presented long ago in the earliest Upanishads, and it continues to push people today towards asceticism; despite all the developments in South Asian religions, the Upanishadic model remains pervasive. The *sadhvi* Durga Bharti said that when individuals truly want to answer questions about the self and existence and when they want to find God, then they must abandon the world. Detachment and renunciation arise through abandonment, which in turn enables important questions to be answered. Durga Bharti affirms:

> Our task as human beings is to understand the origin of things: that is, the five *tattvas* (elements). All animals have a purpose; what is the purpose of human beings? To seek. If the human being does not use this opportunity, then he is a *pashu*, just another animal, who does not understand that mine and yours do not exist, because everything is impermanent, and you cannot enjoy your money once you are dead. We are all dead.

Durga Bharti’s words emphasize that human life is a gift that must be utilized toward achieving soteriological goals.

   ![Woman in orange robes and head scarf seated cross-legged looking up](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-03/Image2.JPG?itok=fWITtu1-) 

 

Yogi Durga Bharti. Ujjain Simhast Mela, India, 2016. Photo by author.The decision to pursue an ascetic life can be influenced by age and practical circumstances; however, it is important to stress that caste plays a significant role in determining ascetic path and its affiliations. Some groups or subgroups admit only male Brahmins, members of the purest caste. Others accept male individuals only from the first three castes—Brahmins, Kshatriya and Vaishya—excluding individuals from the Shudra caste and even more vigorously excluding Dalits, a group designated to be outside the caste system. Certain ascetic organizations, namely the *akhara*s, are more inclusive. William Pinch notes that *akhara*s loosened social restrictions, probably to encourage recruitment, by admitting peasants and individuals of low or marginal status—such as Shudras, Dalits, and women—into monastic communities, especially during periods of socio-economic hardship.\[17\] As a result of this inclusion, these *akhara*s are now among the most populous and widespread ascetic organizations in modern India.

Some *sadhu*s enter the ascetic world as children to escape difficult family situations, or to leave school, or out of their desire to stay with itinerant *sadhu*s and roam from village to village. A child in the *sadhu* society is never alone as he enters a subsidiary family created around his guru. One ascetic claimed that as a child he thought *sadhu*s were magicians, and, wanting to become a magician, he left home to join them. Gurus often discourage young men from taking initiation because a son who decides to leave his family causes great pain, especially when he is the only son to his parents. Because mothers and fathers are considered to be an individual’s first guru, runaway *sadhu* children must return home after twelve years from their initiation to receive their parents’ blessing. It is believed that, otherwise, they cannot fulfill their *sadhu*s’ life and achieve religious goals, for they are not in accord with their very first guru. Abandoned children are sometimes rescued by *sadhu*s. But children can also be offered to a *sadhu* by parents: A couple’s first child might be donated to a *sadhu* when the *sadhu*’s blessing is considered the cause for pregnancy in a barren womb. Growing up among *sadhu*s can be tough, and physical punishments are common. One *naga* *sadhu* said that his guru gave him a lot of love and many blows with his tongs (*cimṭā*) and staff (*daṇḍa*), but even those blows were teachings because the *sadhu* always understood something deeper from the guru’s actions.

   ![Young boy with father and people in the background](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-03/Image3.jpeg?itok=_cictNMW) 

 

Child *sadhu* in the Ramanandi Sampradaya. Prayagraj Ardh Kumbh Mela, India, 2019. Photo by author.Many ascetics believe that the true *sadhu* is the *sadhu* who takes initiation (*dīkṣā*) in childhood because a child *sadhu* can fully and truly obey the guru and fulfill the guru’s words and teachings, for his mind and the body have not yet been defiled by growth into an adult. *Sadhu*s who are particularly skillful in their ascetic path, especially those who joined as children, are highly respected in *sadhu* society. It is not the age, but the years spent as an ascetic that generate respect. Many *sadhu*s take initiation later in life. Parental pressure dictates that many who would like to devote themselves to an ascetic life must wait until after they meet social expectations like marrying, establishing a household, and having children. Jogi Baba said that although he was mentally a *sadhu* from childhood—“since I was in the womb of my mother,” he clarified—his family forced him to marry.

> I gave them what they wanted, a daughter-in-law and a granddaughter, they made their peace with it, and I left. The girl is also married, has a son and they live in the city. We have no ties, sometimes they come, but I do not care. When you become a *bābā*, then you have to put aside your previous relationships, the woman, the mother, the father. This is our dharma.

Another *sadhu* claimed that he decided to become a renouncer when he was nine years old, but his family, especially his mother who feared being abandoned, opposed his decision. His mother asked him to wait to renounce until after she died. He started working, never married, and he eventually became an ascetic in 1988 after his mother passed away; since initiation, he never returned to his family village.



 

##  Gender Among Sadhus 

Embarking on the ascetic path in South Asia has always been more difficult for women than men because the ascetic choice toward renunciation challenges orthodox, Brahmanical images of women being dependent and submissive to men. Celibacy is fundamental in asceticism, a path considered more suitable for men, and women are considered impediments to men’s spiritual realization, their presence deemed suspicious and unfavorable. Male ascetics and gurus may have different attitudes towards female renunciates and female gurus. According to some *sadhu*s, there are no female ascetics—at least no “real ones.”

*Sadhu*s exhibit distrust toward women and toward male gurus who initiate female renouncers, especially when those female disciples are young. There are *sadhu*s who believe women are less suitable for renunciation than men and who often ignore women’s practices or ostracize them. The guru-disciple relationship is not taken as seriously between male gurus and young women, and gurus with young female disciples often face social criticism and may be required to continually demonstrate the integrity of their choices to initiate women. Most *sadhu*s share the opinion that women should follow their dharma to marry and care for their family and children, but this viewpoint is not universal.\[18\] Other *sadhu*s admit that women who undertake the ascetic path are often more upright than men, and they achieve spiritual results faster. Still other *sadhu*s accept the presence of women because the Self (*ātman*), which is the soul, has no gender, and they remark that anyone can embark on the path of renunciation if they wish to abandon the *samsara*. For this reason, many female renouncers prefer not to be addressed using feminine terms such as *sadhvi* or *yogini*, and they adopt male forms of address. In the Nath Sampradaya, at least within India, only a female guru can initiate women into the order. Although this rule is not always strictly observed, this limits the visibility of women initiated by male gurus, for those initiated have to hide their “illegal” status, further limiting access for women who are unable to easily find a female guru to initiate them. In other religious orders, female ascetics are only permitted to initiate laypeople, which prevents any establishment of female-including lineages.

Ethnographic studies by Catherine Clémentin-Ojha and Lynn Teskey Denton show that the reasons behind a young woman becoming an ascetic are not always a religious calling and can be based in critical social or economic conditions.\[19\] Among the female renouncers Denton has encountered:

> Few have entered the ascetic world out of an entirely free choice. \[…\](i) most have been placed here by impoverished, high caste families unable to provide a dowry for them, (ii) some have been sent by relatives unable to feed and clothe an orphaned child, (iii) some have parents who simply desire an orthodox education and protection for them, (iv) a few appear to have either been rejected by their husbands \[…\] (v) some are unable to compete in the marriage market because of physical disability or unattractiveness, suspicions about mental or emotional capacity, or relatively advanced age.\[20\]

*Sadhvi*s*,* female *sadhu*s, that I encounter in the field are women of advanced age or are widows who did not want to become a burden on the family after their husband’s death. Other *sadhvi*s embark on the ascetic path as a last stage of life: Having fulfilled their social duties as women, they are free to devote their lives to religious goals. Women who become ascetics in old age are often readily accepted by male ascetics. Many *sadhu*s advocate asceticism for women after wrong marriages or if they cannot marry. The *bhakti* path of asceticism is the suggested practice for these *sadhvi*s, and that devotional approach is often the religious path followed by these women before they renounce.\[21\]

   ![Woman in head scarf with tent in background](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-03/Image4.JPG?itok=pLPA_m3N) 

 

Mata Ji from the Dashnami Juna Akhara. Prayagraj Ardh Kumbh Mela, India, 2019. Photo by author.Female renouncers tend to participate less frequently in major religious gatherings—such as the Kumbh Mela or similar events where religious orders camp in densely packed spaces—particularly when no special arrangements have been made for their accommodation. In such cases, they only briefly attend events or limit their presence only to the most important day of the event. Nonetheless, some *akhara*s—notably the Juna Akhara, the largest among them—organize dedicated-female sections at main festivals. The Juna Akhara has made efforts to improve the status of its female *sadhvi*s, who often justifiably lament their discrimination and mistreatment compared to their male counterparts.

*Sadhvi*s rarely occupy positions of power within the religious hierarchies in *sampradaya*s. However, the presence of female gurus unaffiliated with older, established *sampradaya*s has grown in recent decades. The twentieth-century’s emphasis on personal spiritual experience, along with the influence of feminist ideals advocating female empowerment, has contributed—especially since the late 1970s and early 1980s—to the rise of many female ascetics who became spiritual leaders with large followings in India and internationally.\[22\] This trend encourages progressive families to support, especially financially, the raising of their daughters as religious figures, particularly when these daughters display a strong religious inclination, particularly in devotional storytelling and interpretation of “religious stories” (*kathā*). Such events can draw large audiences and are often broadcast on television, further boosting the visibility of new female spiritual leaders.

For men and for women, the decision to become an ascetic is only a starting point: A guru’s presence is required. As the *sadhvi* Durga Bharti says, “Only a guru can disclose the path. The guru gives the *sadhana*, the mantra and the knowledge, and then you have to practice it.” The guru progressively transmits the knowledge, lore, and practices that constitute the *sadhu* path that leads toward accomplishment and liberation.



 

##  Knowledge Transmission 

Orality is at the core of dynamics around knowledge transmission among *sadhu*s, and knowledge transmission is imparted through a direct relationship between guru and disciple. That vital guru-disciple relationship is considered the main source of ascetics’ knowledge. All the words of all the gurus and the words of other knowledgeable *sadhu*s encountered on the spiritual path are a body of oral texts. A disciple’s own guru’s explanations are the most important body of texts, even more important than revered scriptural sources. These oral-textual traditions are more valuable than the contents of any book.

Training includes memorizing texts of varied types that are mostly imparted through oral transmission.\[23\] *Sadhu*s learn by heart the oral texts and mantras used in worship rites and for specific tasks and results. They learn esoteric knowledge through text riddles used as mnemonic devices that are easier to remember than what are considered “the dry, cumbrous philosophical terminology of the scholastic traditions.” *Sadhu*s learn stories about their order, gurus, and ancestors and also about religious values and spiritual practices through oral narrations, which are less than fixed and differ according to lineage.

Levels of secrecy envelop and obscure teachings that are concealed in text sources and in oral transmissions. These levels of secrecy are overcome by the presence of the guru who knows how to properly interpret the teachings and explain them and the practices to disciples. Receiving these explanations is not a given for all initiates. Disciples on different levels of spiritual discipline receive different knowledge transmissions from the guru. Only those *sadhu*s who have fulfilled the goals of their practices have the authority (*adhikāra*) to transmit or receive subsequent esoteric knowledge.

Religious orders negotiate secrecy in different ways. In recent times, some groups and traditions are open to disclosing secret teachings in order to avoid them being altogether lost.\[24\] Other orders disclose their secret knowledge to provide proper interpretations of teachings that are wrongly interpreted.\[25\] *Sadhu*s are keen to talk with those willing to learn. As they say, a *sadhu* answers questions but does not preach to those unwilling to listen. However, there is a big difference between talking and teaching, and to receive the teaching one needs to be initiated. A vicious circle makes the transmission of secrets and practices difficult: It is hard to find real, good students, and it is equally difficult to find real, good gurus, and this makes probable the decline and demise of some practices. Most gurus maintain their standards and are not urged to transmit knowledge to unqualified disciples. Restricting the transmission of teachings only to disciples with the appropriate learning, skills, and abilities is far more important than the fear of losing knowledge by not transmitting it. It is better to lose a practice rather than a practice be passed into the wrong hands.



 

##  Practices to Support and Fulfill the Sadhana 

*Sadhu*s’ practices depend on and are determined by their *sampradaya*, their guru, and their religious goals. Some *sadhu*s retreat into isolation (*anuṣṭhāna*), focusing all their attention and efforts on their practices (*sādhanā*), but other *sadhu*s practice in a monastic context or in a community surrounding their guru, and still other *sadhu*s practice individually as befitting their lifestyle. Presented below are examples of religious practices *sadhu*s might follow: vows, austerity, study, mantra, meditation, worship, singing. This list is not exhaustive or comprehensive, and it could be greatly expanded.

### Vows (*vrata*)

A *vrata* refers to restrictions or observances, usually for a specific duration of time, applied to daily life; these are undertaken by ascetics and by lay people, especially women.\[26\] *Vrata*s become a key aspect of *sadhu* practice and lifestyle. Anyone undertaking such a formal religious observance is called a *vrati* (*vratin*), meaning “a vower.” Being a *vrati* indicates the great personal effort expended toward disentangling oneself from physical attachments and desires in pursuit of ritual purity and spiritual goals. Some *sadhu*s observe vows aligned with the Hindu religious calendar. A common example includes fasting on the eleventh day of a fortnight in a lunar month (*ekādaśī*), the new moon (*amāvasyā*), or the full moon (*pūrṇimā*). On Mount Abu, the Vaishnava Balyogi Murali Das described *candra vrata*, meaning “the moon vow,” which is a vow undertaken as an act of expiation. He explained: “You start by eating one *tulsi* leaf and increase to fifteen leaves on *purnima*, then decrease again to zero by *amavasya*, and in the meantime you can eat only dried fruits.”

The most common *vrata*s are fasting, celibacy, and maintaining silence, which respectively foster detachment from food, sexual desire, and mental activity. These vows are frequently integrated into *sadhu*s’ *sadhana*s. It is widely believed that undertaking *vrata*s will enhance any spiritual results and powers acquired through practices. The stricter the vow and more intense the practices, the greater the power is believed to be attained through undertaking them.\[27\] *Sadhana* practices often start with the ascetic declaring a solemn vow (*saṅkalpa*) articulating the intent and commitment to carrying out the practice.

### Austeritie*s* (*tapasyā*)

Self-imposed mortifications, penances, and ascetic practices are believed to produce an internal spiritual fire (*tapas*) that transforms the practitioner of austerities (*tapasvin*) into a vessel of heated potency. *Sadhu*s believe that when *tapas* saturates practitioners, it elevates them, propelling them above mundane human conditions.

*Sadhu*s who follow austerity-based practices may show outwardly-meaningful symbols: nakedness or near nakedness, matted hair (*jaṭā*), or covering their bodies in ash (*vibhūti*). Nudity symbolizes rebirth, transition, the absence of possessions, rejection of physical comforts, and a *sadhu*’s cultivated detachment, particularly detachment from the body. Nakedness eliminates the many distinctions of social hierarchy signaled by clothing. Matted hair traditionally denotes disregard for appearance, control over natural and physical forces, non-attachment to ego, the practice of austerity, yogic control, and the rejection of conventional social norms. Ash and wearing ash signifies death, cremation grounds, sacrifice, and the practice of austerities.

Contemporary ascetics define any practice, activity, or attitude as *tapasya* if it develops discipline and enhances willpower through intense physical or mental effort and if it enables a *sadhu* to reach specific, declared, and requested goals. Some austerities influence a *sadhu*’s daily life, especially his habits and movement, such as walking barefoot or not sleeping for long periods or sleeping only a few hours each night. Other austerities concern eating and drinking, and these vow-structured habits may be perpetual or for a set duration. A *phalahari* *sadhu*, a “fruit-taking *sadhu*,” eats mostly fruits. The word *phala* literally means “fruit,” but ideas about what is considered fruit may vary considerably: One *phalahari* declared to eat potatoes, for he considered them fruits not vegetables. A *payaharisadhu*, meaning a “milk-taking *sadhu*,” drinks only milk and eats nothing, the word *paya*s meaning “milk.” *Sadhu*s may impose stricter dietary rules than usual on themselves for short or long periods, sometimes associating these temporary practices to following a vow, showing that vows (*vrata*) and austerities (*tapasyā*) can overlap.

   ![Men seated around small rock fires, tents in the background](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-03/image5.jpg?itok=j1pUwQIw) 

 

Ramanandi *sadhu*s performing *dhuni-tap*. Prayagraj Ardh Kumbh Mela, India, 2019. Photo by author.*Sadhu*s may undertake different austerities during different seasons. Some choose to remain outdoors during the rainy monsoon season, exposing their bodies to torrential downpours. During the cold season, they may expose their bodies to the frigid weather or completely immerse themselves in cold water (*jal tap*, literally “water austerity”). In the hot season, they may sit surrounded by an increasing number of fires during the hottest hours of the day (*pañca*-*dhūnī tap*, literally “five-fires austerity”). Authoritative austerities have been transmitted over centuries, especially those focused on silence (*mauna*). Standing *sadhu*s (*khaṛeśvarī*) and those who perpetually keep an arm upraised (*ūrdhvabāhu*) follow revered but physically demanding forms of austerity that can have long-lasting consequences on the body, and can even cause death.\[28\]

In general, it is said that all *sadhu*s engage in some form of *tapasya*. *Sadhu*s follow different approaches to produce *tapas*, but they always begin *tapasya* under the guidance of their gurus who recommend the austerity most appropriate for each disciple. Some *tapasya* can even be creative and innovative, like wearing a cap or a jacket made by *rudraksha* seeds.

### Study (*abhyāsa*) 

Studyis the path of knowledge (*jñāna*). It involves deep philosophical inquiry and meditative contemplation, training, and practice that begin with years of study, memorization, and regular recitation of sacred texts under the guru’s guidance. For some *sadhu*s, this initial period of study is followed by participation in scriptural debates (*śastrārtha*) that refine *sadhu*s’ understanding of texts and doctrines. *Sadhu*s’ individual and personal study practices utilize rational inquiry and logical analysis to comprehend and internalize texts’ meaning (*manana*). The final stage in this path of study is meditative absorption upon and absorption into sacred texts’ soteriological content (*nididhyāsana*).

*Sadhu*s following the path of study are traditionally male of the Brahmin caste, and are often shaven-headed. Among the Dashnami order, *sadhu*s dedicated to the path of study are known as *dandi swami*s, recognized by their ochre robes and the stick (*daṇḍa*) wrapped in ochre cloth that they always carry.\[29\] Vaishnava followers of the study path are called *tridandi*, for they carry three (*tri*) sticks (*daṇḍa*). The different traditions emphasize literary sources and curriculum aligned with their tradition’s history and theology.

### Mantra (*mantra*)

Mantras are utterances consisting of sentences, specific words, and also non-semantic syllables (*bīja*); these are fundamental parts of *sadhu*s’ rituals and religious contexts, and different mantras are used daily for different purposes. A mantra, however, is only effective when imparted by the guru.\[30\] The first mantra received by a *sadhu* is given by the guru on the day of initiation. This mantra is repeated daily by the disciple, especially for the devotional practice of mantra repetition (*japa*). Other mantras are associated with specific rituals and specific activities throughout the day. Every action is theoretically accompanied by uttering a specific mantra: drinking water, bathing in holy rivers, preparing a necklace-rosary (*mālā*), arranging a body position (*āsana*), and more.

To be effective, every mantra must be perfected (in Hindi, *siddh*) through ritualized repetition (*japa*), which creates powerful connections between the mantra and what the mantra is directed towards. Continued repetition of a mantra produces powerful vibrations that create a bridge between the *sadhu* repeating the mantra and the object towards which the mantra is directed—a deity, an element (*tattva*), or a person; that connection dictates the manner and results arising from mantras’ use. When the connection is made stable, then the repeater is granted what he has requested due to the inherent powers of the mantra and due to the perfection acquired by the repeater. By repeating mantras associated with deities, the *sadhu* creates a connection that can make deities manifest before him or her. Ascetics repeat mantras thousands of times during any given day. Mantra repetition can fulfill religious and material goals, like provoking rain during a dry season. Mantras can also purify. They can activate deities and *cakra*s—supports for ritual visualization imagined in the shape of wheels or lotuses in the reciter’s body. Furthermore, they can develop devotion and increase concentration, especially when used as support for meditation. Mantras can also be associated with specific, even temporary, *sadhana* practices that are aimed at realizing specific results. Due to the different contexts in which they are used—for example, religious, such as meditation or generating devotion, or practical, such as creating abundance and provoking rain—mantras roles and goals are different.

Among *sadhu*s today, mantras are considered not as powerful as they were in past eras. *Sadhu*s undoubtedly believe in the power of mantras, but they also think individuals are not able to use them in the ways, to the degree, and for the results that mantras were used by ancient seers and sages. In the past, *sadhu*s say, seers and sages made things fly with their mantras, but now few people know how to fully use mantras, and contemporary people do not understand mantras’ powers; after all, mantras no longer seem to be able to make things fly. According to Shyam Anandanath, a *sadhaka* belonging to a tantric lineage, in this current *Kali Yuga*—the fourth, last, and most corrupt age in the Indian cosmic time cycle—mantras are less effective, and few gurus today, he explains, know how to unlock them or know how to enable and empower mantras. Referring to mantras that are preserved in tantric texts, Anandanath explains that each mantra needs another mantra activating it, which prevents mantras from becoming accessible to everyone and also makes indispensable a guru who knows how to unlock them. A guru who, on the other hand, is not aware of unlocking mantras and is ignorant about crucial details about mantra techniques can only give the wrong teachings; for this reason, Anandanath contends that people today can, in fact, only get the wrong results from mantra practices.

   ![Man seated with eyes closed and holding scarf](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-03/image6.JPG?itok=15EjiUSI) 

 

Jogi Baba doing *japa*. Ghar Jungle, West Bengal, India, 2018. Photo by author.### Meditation (*dhyāna*) 

Meditation is one of the most important among these *sadhu* practices because “it is meditation that gives way to knowledge,” says Kamal Giri, the *mahant*, meaning “monastic superior,” of Juna Akhara in Varanasi. Kamal Giri explained that the knowledge gained through meditation refers to realizations that gradually lead the meditator to the Absolute or to God. Meditation practices are necessary to train the mind, and training is required in order to attain the state of prolonged concentration necessary for realization. In meditation, the mind is calm and completely focused, though the object of focus may differ depending on the meditation and meditator. A meditating practitioner may focus his attention on a specific object, such as an image or symbol, or may become absorbed in devotion toward a deity. Another meditation technique focuses the meditator’s attention on the elements (*tattva*s) in order to “acquire” dominion over each element through internalizing the elements’ powers.

One of the most practiced forms of *dhyana* is mantra repetition known as *japa*, a term difficult to translate because it is imbued with so many meanings and because it is associated with so many practices.\[31\] Generally, *japa* is repetition and recitation, mostly out loud and in a low voice. Internal, silent repetition of *japa*, especially associated with *bhakti*, is also widespread, especially among Vaishnava *sadhu*s. According to Phalahari Baba, a Vaishnava *sadhu*, the life of a *sadhu* is such that “he only has to do *japa* and give blessing (*aśirvada*). Then everything depends on God’s grace.” *Japa* is a constant activity for such a *sadhu*.

Ram Priya Das, a female ascetic from a Vaishnava *sampradaya*, used to sit repeating her mantra for ten to twelve hours every day—five hours in the morning and then five or more in the evening. Her guru, Ram Caran Das, sat in the “perfected position” (*siddhāsana*) and performed *japa* for up to eighteen hours daily. Garud Das, a Vaishnava *sadhu*, considers the practice of *mantra-japa* to be one of the simplest paths but a path not at all less effective than more complex ones. By doing *japa*, Garud Das explains, one can lose oneself in bliss (*ānanda*) and will experience God. Another Vaishnava *sadhu*, Ram Svarup Das, claims that repeating the name of God accomplishes a range of results:

> Those who do not practice yoga sitting in a posture (*āsana*), must repeat the name of Ram. By constantly repeating the name of Ram, then their mind can still become focused in one point (*ekāgratā*), and they will reach a stage where the articulation of Rām’s name will last. At this stage whatever they do (to eat, to sleep, etc.) the name of Rām will remain in their mind. They will not do hatha yoga, but they will repeat the name of Rām, which will become perfected (*siddha*).

The number of mantra repetitions most often suggested for a *japa* session is 108 or 1008, both auspicious numbers, but *sadhu*s and texts regularly prescribe hundreds of thousands of mantra repetitions. Counting the number of mantras is often done using a *mala*, a rosary-like necklace that is a string of beads or seeds. When not in use, the *mala* is stored and protected by a small cotton sack (*gaumukhi*). Practitioners who count mantras on the *mala* extend their second and third fingers, for only the thumb and ring finger move the *mala* beads. Vishembar Bharti, a Shaiva *naga* *sadhu*, explains the experience of *japa*: “When the name of God and his remembrance (*smaraṇa*) are constantly in the mind of the devotee, then he has achieved the goal. Then he has reached the point where he desires nothing else and remains detached from all that belongs to the*samsara*.”

### Worship (*pūjā* or *arcana*) 

As part of their daily religious routine, all *sadhu*s worship the main deity of their *sampradaya* (*iṣṭadevatā*) and many also worship other divine figures and gods of the Hindu pantheon in their monasteries, shrines, caves, and huts: They worship God wherever they dwell.

   ![Man squating in front of alter, banner in background](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-03/image7.JPG?itok=WOo5n6ot) 

 

Nath Yogi performing the *puja* to his *dhuni*. Ambhubaci Mela, Kamakhya, India, 2017. Photo by author.The form and complexity of worship rituals can vary significantly depending on the *sampradaya* and a *sadhu*’s specific *sadhana*. Many Shaiva *sadhu*s, those *sadhu*s affiliated with the god Shiva, direct worship toward the sacred firepit (*dhūnī*), their guru, and their group’s presiding *ishta devata*; furthermore, these Shaiva *sadhu*s’ worship may be directed toward the Shiva *lingam*, a cylindrical aniconic representation of Lord Shiva. In certain Vaishnava traditions, those *sadhu*s affiliated with the many deities associated with Vishnu may follow more explicitly devotional practices. Their worship can involve detailed ritual attention to the deity’s daily routine and life, including symbolic acts like waking, bathing, feeding, dressing, and putting the deity to rest, some of which overlap with formal worship practices in temples.

In some devotional Vaishnava groups, *sadhu*s embody female roles as part of their religious practice. Such embodiment is grounded in theological and mythological models, and it serves to express a mood of intimate service (*sevā*) and surrender. They may wear female clothes to personify the female friends (*sakhī*) of Sita—Ram’s wife—or they may interiorize female feelings (*bhāva*) and express them in ritual circumstances.

### Singing (*bhajan*)

Singing is a devotional practice that glorifies deities, narrates sacred stories, and cultivates a meditative atmosphere. These practices also contribute to a communal religious atmosphere because most singing practices are done in a group. Some *sadhu*s accompany their vocal performances with traditional instruments such as the one-string lute (*ektara*), small cymbals, harmonium, and hand drums. Through singing, *sadhu*s cultivate and evoke inner devotional feelings (*bhāva*) and a sense of total surrender (*prapatti*), all of which make singing practices central components of *bhakti sadhana*. Deeply rooted in the *bhakti* traditions, sung vocal expressions musically repeat combined poetic lyrics in the form of *bhajan*s that are “shared songs,” *kirtan*s that are call-and-response between song leaders and audiences, and *sankirtan*s that are congregational singing. Singing transmits profound theological insights and teachings through the songs’ contents and through performing them.



 

##  Sadhus and Cannabis 

*Sadhu*s today are regularly photographed in a cloud of smoke coming from a *chilam*, a conical pipe smoked upright, inhaled downward and inward, often spelled “chillum” in English. At religious festivals, it is not unusual to see groups of *sadhu*s gathered around their sacred firepit (*dhūnī*), concentrated on, preparing, lighting, and passing a smoking *chilam*. As such, *sadhu*s are often associated with smoking, but this association leads to the misconception that smoking intoxicating substances, especially cannabis that grows natively in South Asia, is a fundamental tool or is an essential element in *sadhu*s’ practices and lifestyles. This misconception is not necessarily false, but it is not the whole truth. *Sadhu*s and smoking, especially smoking cannabis, need more context, and that context is provided by critical textual scholarship and ethnography.

The consumption of intoxicants for religious purposes in India is attested as far back as Vedic times, as early as the second millennium BCE, but cannabis cannot be definitively identified as a substance consumed by anyone until after the first millennium of the Common Era. In the *Rig Veda* and *Atharva Veda* scriptures, a substance called *bhang*—a name today for an edible concoction made from cannabis and other edible substances—appears associated with one of the plants used to produce *soma*—the psychoactive ritual drink consumed by gods and humans and that the Vedas praise for leading to immortality.\[32\]

*Bhang* recurs in Ayurvedic textual sources as an epithet for *soma*,\[33\] and the term *soma* and its botanical identity continues to be debated among scholars, yet the term *bhang* and its synonyms have been used by many sources to refer to plants other than *soma.*\[34\] *Bhang* regularly has been misinterpreted to be cannabis, but no reliable references to cannabis in pre-modern India can be dated before 1000 CE.\[35\] From the tenth century onward, Tantric texts prescribe cannabis among drugs used to regulate the functioning of the mind. Ayurvedic texts list cannabis among drugs for maintaining a positive health and that are generally useful for preventing and curing diseases.

The main information about the cannabis plant and its properties in India is the post-thirteenth-century *Anandakanda*, an encyclopedic text that is mostly about alchemy.\[36\] The *Anandakanda* section on cannabis is presented as a dialogue between the goddess Bhairavī and the god Bhairava, who explains that the plant is used by “holy persons (*siddha*), sages (*muni*), women, people of all castes, yogis, children, the elderly, the infirm, those suffering from sexual afflictions, and those with many wives” for a range of purposes including rejuvenation, knowledge, enjoyment, and “absorption into the divine.”\[37\] As an aid that perfects meditation, cannabis has been traditionally used in pill form, rather than smoked, mixed with various seeds and spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cumin, long pepper, black pepper, and Indian bay leaf.\[38\]

Historical sources are not unified when describing the effects and results of using cannabis, and no Sanskrit sources refer to smoking it. Yoga and tantra texts prescribe medicinal herbs that produce supernatural powers rather than prescribing intoxicating plants such as cannabis. The circa fourth-century *Yogasutra* (4.1) refers to certain herbs (*oṣadhi*) used to attain spiritual perfections or powers (*siddhi*s), but the text does not reveal much about the botanical nature or clear identities of these herbs. The fourth chapter of the fourteenth century CE *Khecarividya* recognizes the use of “drugs” for producing *siddhi*s. It also provides recipes in which powders of leaves, fruits, milk, and so forth are used to produce pills that were considered beneficial against illness, and some could also free the consumer from old age and death.\[39\] Medieval vernacular texts adopt a critical attitude towards the use of intoxicants. A medieval text difficult to date, the *Gorakh Bani* affirms in Saying 208: “How could those who consume opium and eat *bhang* achieve wisdom? The bile increases, the breath gets shorter: For these reasons, Gorakh does not eat *bhang.*”\[40\] And again, in Saying 213: “Dry throat, suffering from hunger; One’s body neglected, overcome by sleep; Speech without wisdom, restlessness – For these reasons, Gorakh does not eat *bhang.*”\[41\]

Cannabis is not smoked but is eaten in these older sources, just as it continues to be eaten today in addition to its combustion and inhalation by *sadhu*s and others who are not *sadhu*s. Smoking cannabis likely originated in Africa and reached Western Asia only in the sixteenth century, arriving together with water-pipe technology.\[42\] The consumption of cannabis in the ascetic milieu was likely introduced between the fourteenth and fifteenth century by Madariyya *fakir*s.\[43\] Tobacco, a product of the Americas, arrived in South Asia at the beginning of the seventeenth century. The introduction of tobacco smoking in the 1600s presumably led to conventional smoking of cannabis that was previously only eaten or drunk in suspensions.

The cannabis plant provides several intoxicating products. The dried leaves of the male and the pollinated female cannabis plants produce a powder called *bhang* that is mixed with an array of flavoring herbs and foodstuff and then eaten, or it can be made into a drink mixed with sweetened milk. The dried buds of female plants—flowering tops that contain a high concentration of THC, the intoxicating compound in cannabis—produce *ganja*, which is smoked. *Charas* is the resin extracted from the flowering tops or new leaves of the cannabis plant, similar to hash in the West except that *charas* is made from fresh or “living” rather than harvested and aged or “dead” cannabis.

Today, the use of cannabis among ascetics is justified as a means to “meet God and receive his *darshana*,”\[44\] meaning “having a vision of him” and “having his audience,” but this justification should be taken cautiously. Contemporary *sadhu*s admit that no *sadhana* can function properly in this degenerate time *Kali Yuga* era; smoking *chilam*, they say, is the only way to obtain spiritual results. Smoking cannabis becomes itself a form of *sadhana*. Some *sadhu*s joke that smoking cannabis should be considered “*ganja yoga*.” Since *bhang*, *ganja*, and *charas* are recognized as *prasad*, consecrated food from Shiva, smoking cannabis is interpreted as *puja*, ritual worship, towards Shiva.

In collective situations like religious festivals or during regular *satsang* gatherings, preparing and sharing *chilam* becomes a ritual that favors conversations on religious topics. Usually, one person lights the mixture in the *chilam*, and then those seated around the *dhuni* firepit—not only ascetics, but all participants gathered—use an individual *saphi*, a piece of cotton, to cover the mouthpiece; after taking a few puffs, the *chilam* is passed to the next person. This sharing is often accompanied by loud coughing, especially among regular users. Ram Caran Das remembered the *chilam* that his guru used to smoke, “as big as an arm with five pipes,” he said, each one containing a different intoxicant: *ganja*, tobacco, *caras*, opium and another plant I could not identify. It was hung above where the ascetics were seated, Ram Caran Das described, so that they could take turns smoking: when one had finished his puff, he would throw the hanging *chilam* to another *sadhu* and so on.

   ![men seated in a circle, one smoking a pipe](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-03/image8.JPG?itok=AW6U381L) 

 

*Sadhu*s belonging to various *sampradaya* smoking together. Ambhubaci Mela, Kamakhya, India, 2016. Photo by author.Smoking cannabis is associated with companionship, and smoking together supports the tradition of *satsang*, meaning “the company of truth,” that emphasizes congregating with like-minded individuals to discuss spiritual and religious matters. The smoking session becomes an important time for knowledge sharing among *sadhu*s. Cannabis, however, is not considered appropriate during the practice of yoga *sadhana*. Ishnath, a *sadhu* from the Nath *sampradaya*, was clear on this aspect:

> You cannot bring drugs into yoga, because intoxication and yoga do not work at all. You cannot be stoned. If one is intoxicated and he does *asana*s, something may happen, maybe not immediately but later. When you are intoxicated you cannot control your mind, which is instead the main reason for yoga, and concentrate. How can you do that if your thoughts are somewhere and your body is somewhere else, and you cannot even control your tongue? Some people make this mistake, they take psychotropic drugs and then do yoga.

Many *sadhu*s affirm that when an ascetic practices intensively and undergoes a spiritual retreat (*anuṣṭhāna*), he should avoid smoking or taking any drugs because these substances spoil the practice.

Some *sadhu*s are completely against smoking cannabis, others are ambivalent. Svami Atmananda emphasizes that smoking *ganja* does not allow the practitioner to go beyond the physical level: If one needs to smoke to sustain the practice, it means that one is not independent and still has attachment to and needs external substances. According to Garud Das, the real yogi does not smoke or even drink *chae*, Indian tea.\[45\] He turned away several disciples who had started smoking. Phalahari Baba, despite being a smoker himself, highlighted that not only cannabis but all forms of addiction should be avoided. Smoking *bidi*, small hand-rolled tobacco cigarettes wrapped in leaves, ruins the *sadhana* as well, he states. Phalahari Baba explains that smoking and trying to practice breath retention cannot lead to anything good because the smoke will enter the lungs, create pain, and the practice will be destroyed. *Sadhu*s who are against cannabis use argue that smoking would bring the *sadhu* to an intoxicated state or, in Hindi, “*naśe men*,” and here *naśā* means intoxication.

To no surprise at this point, among *sadhu*s there are numerous attitudes towards cannabis, its role, and its effects on *sadhana* practices; as this chapter shows, *sadhu* culture contains multitudes. Cannabis use is highly tolerated for *sadhu*s performing austerities (*tapasvin*s) to alleviate pain. A few *sadhus* have stated that smoking can relax the mind and supports practices, but it must be taken in limited quantities. Smoking is a tool and is not considered a source of intoxication. Jogi Baba, a Shaiva *naga sadhu*, said that *ganja* is like a received offering (*prasāda*) and that ancient seers and sages used it. He clarifies that only yogis and *muni*s know how to smoke properly to achieve the proper results, but others just get intoxicated. According to him, a yogi who smokes correctly does *kumbhaka* (breath retention) first, drawing in air and smoke to fill his upper body, and then he exhales the smoke slowly. A similar idea was given by Lokeshvaranand Giri, a *naga sadhu* from West Bengal who states that the meaning of the word *ganja* is “*gyan yog*”, because cannabis smoking helps to achieve knowledge.

> It is like if you want to climb a tree, obviously if someone pushes you, you can climb faster. So, it helps. But there are specific times to smoke while doing *sadhana*. The main purpose is to quiet the mind. If you have a *cancal* \[running\] mind you might have problems in calming down and concentrating, so smoking might help calm the mind.

When I told Lokeshvaranand Giri that some *sadhu*s say the exact opposite, stating that while doing *sadhana* it is better not to smoke, he replied: “Just as there are many fingers in a hand, so there are many answers depending on who you talk to. So different ascetics will deal with it in different ways.” This statement demonstrates the characteristically empirical approach of *sadhu*s, describing many aspects of practices and their effects while emphasizing that a *sadhu’*s path is a personal one. Unfortunately, many *sadhu*s today are undeniably addicted to cannabis and other substances such as alcohol or heavy drugs. Addiction among s*adhu*s is recognized and criticized, even by those *sadhu*s who smoke cannabis daily.

It is important to note that the use of herbs, plants, or flowers by ascetics is far more complex than this focus on cannabis alone and deserves deeper study. *Sadhu*s often have deep knowledge of plants and herbs (*jaḍībuṭī*), and *sadhu*s’ use and effects have not been properly investigated.



 

##  Siddhis (Powers) 

Described in early texts and still thought to be achieved by contemporary ascetics, acquiring powers called *siddhi*s is a purported result of *sadhu*s’ intense practices and austerities. The term *siddhi* derives from the Sanskrit root *sidh*, meaning “to succeed” or “to attain.” Adding the suffix -*i* to the root forms the abstract noun *siddhi*, meaning “accomplishment,” “attainment,” or “perfection.” Various religious traditions—such as the Buddhist, Tamil, and Nath—recognize eighty-four individuals known as Siddhas, “the perfected ones” who are said to have attained these *siddhi* accomplishments.

*Siddhi*s can be divided between two categories: worldly *siddhi*s (*sāṃsārik*), such as the so-called eight powers (*aṣṭasiddhi*s) or superpowers, and spiritual *siddhi*s (*ādhyātmik*) whose effects relate to God and the subtle world. Lists of the worldly powers traditionally include the power to reduce the body to the size of an atom (*aṇimā*), to expand the body to an infinitely large size (*mahimā*), to become infinitely heavy (*garimā*), to become almost weightless (*laghimā*), to be anywhere at will (*prāpti*), to realize anything one desires (*prākāmya*), to obtain supremacy over nature (*iṣṭva*), to control natural forces (*vaśitva*), and to obtain complete satisfaction (*kāma*-*avasayitva*). Lists of these powers can be different across sources, and no list of powers can fully represent the variety of *siddhi*s in different South Asian traditions.

Texts, especially about yoga, often dismiss *siddhi*s as distractions from true spiritual goals; they note, however, that miraculous powers are useful for attracting laymen. Powers, in fact, can prove that yoga practices have been perfected, hence the translation of the word *siddhi* as “a perfection.” Knut Jacobsen explains, “Powers are understood by devotees to provide proof about divinity, asceticism, and knowledge. These powers were attained by many founding gurus of religious traditions, they are generally accepted as signs of divinity.”\[46\] But do *sadhu*s still obtain *siddhi*s today, and are *siddhi*s still a goal for *sadhu*s’ *sadhana* practices?

   ![Person in orange robes and head scarf walking along a pathway](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-03/Image9.jpg?itok=EUahWUs4) 

 

Jogi Baba walking in his forest. Ghar Jungle, West Bengal, India, 2017. Photo by author.The answer to these questions is affirmative, provisionally. The idea persists that a yogi obtains incredible powers through their practice of yoga, but to reach such a level of practice that confers *siddhi* powers requires incredible effort, work, and a suitable guru who can teach the *siddhi*-producing practices and who has himself acquired the *siddhi* powers. *Sadhu*s’ understandings and approaches to *siddhis* resemble the perspectives on *siddhi*s presented in texts. To summarize the different positions, *siddhi* powers are a hindrance when they distract the practitioner from their true religious and spiritual goals, and yet *siddhis* are the result of an effective, accomplished *sadhana*; therefore, these powers can be used to convince people that an ascetic is genuine. According to some *sadhu*s, people today are more skeptical towards them than in the past. To convince laypeople of their accomplishments they must display “miracles,” and miracles are produced by *siddhi*s.

According to followers of Jogi Baba, the *sadhu* manifested several *siddhi* powers attained by his extensive austerities in the jungles. Devotees hail him for being able to miraculously feed all the people who visited his *ashram* despite their large numbers; some devotees swore they had seen him change size and walk on tree leaves.\[47\] Jogi Baba points out that “You only get power through the Mother’s grace (*kripā*). Without the grace of the Mother, without her *śakti* \[energy\], yoga cannot produce powers.” Ram Avadhut Das explains the following:

> *Siddhi* is an energy, a form of the God we worship. All powers, all the perfections one would like to attain, cannot be reached without the grace of our God. You can maintain asana and do sadhana as much as you want, but you may not necessarily achieve anything. Even the opening of the *cakra*, without the grace of *shakti* is not possible.

Echoing vernacular devotional sources, powers are not exclusively the result of dogged practice, for the grace of God or Goddess remains a prerogative to attaining power. This idea is widely shared by *sadhu*s across religious orders. The energy or grace of God is obtained through “worship, meditation and reflection, if we repeat the name of *shakti* a reaction is triggered,” said Ram Avadhut Das. *Siddhi*s can be gifts of grace.



 

##  Concluding the Path 

According to the law of karma, the life of any individual is shaped by accumulated actions, good and bad, performed across this life and in previous lives. A *sadhu*’s life, in particular, is considered the result of positive events from previous lives or is considered the continuation of previous ascetic lives aimed toward eventually achieving an end to the cycle of rebirth, yet *sadhu*s acknowledge that their religious discipline alone does not guarantee liberation or a heavenly rebirth. These outcomes depend on subtle, often unknowable karma across lifetimes. Aware they are subject to time and physical decay while still bound by unresolved karma, some *sadhu*s undertake practices to prolong their lifetimes in order to burn off all their karma while they are living, including rare practices like prolonged breath retention or *kayakalpa* (*kāyakalpa*), a long retreat for cathartic purification that is intended to bring about a superior state of being.\[48\] A *sadhu* from the Nath Sampradaya once expressed to me the importance of eradicating every trace of karma before death to thereby avoid rebirth, but he also underscored the importance of *bhakti* devotion in *sadhana*, a sentiment echoed across *sadhu*s’ traditions, that theoretically could also confer liberation.

 Yogi Shivanath emphasizes the importance of a meditative practice to “kill the mind” because it is only when the mind is completely under control, i.e., when the mind is killed, that the meditator accesses higher levels of reality and achieve liberation (*mokṣa*). When liberation is attained during life, the *sadhu* becomes a *jivanmukta*—a person who is liberated while living—although liberation is believed by many *sadhu* traditions to occur after death. Theories about liberation and reported experiences of liberation are shaped by distinct doctrinal frameworks that vary across different *sampradaya*s. Liberation is not considered a guaranteed outcome for every *sadhu*, and many *sadhu*s recognize that multiple ascetic lifetimes may be required to achieve the final goal. Some *sadhu*s embrace extreme forms of austerities at the risk of death, while other *sadhu*s may falter, lose their devotion, succumb to desire, or become driven by greed and the pursuit of power. Not all *sadhu*s become accomplished beings or *siddha*s; many remain bound by the very attachments they seek to overcome.

But what happens when *sadhu*s actually achieve their spiritual goals, whether their goals be *siddhi*s, knowledge, encounters with God, devotion (*bhakti*), or the union with the divine? Although further inquiry is necessary to fully capture the complexity of *sadhu* society, two outcomes appear common. On the one hand, those *sadhu*s who sincerely follow their guru’s instructions and persist in religious practice may reach a point where they no longer accumulate karma. These individuals are said to be beyond the law of karma, to act without desire, to be unaffected by dichotomies such as happiness (*sukha*) and sorrow (*dukha*), and to be unaffected by good and evil. On the other hand, accomplished *sadhu*s who consider their personal religious journey complete for this lifetime may turn their attention to service (*sevā*), and then caring for others becomes their focus. Service itself is valued by *sadhu*s across traditions as a form of religious practice. This dual portrayal of the *sadhu—*beyond karma or completely devoted to others—mirrors textual depictions presented at the beginning of this chapter.

Textual analysis combined with ethnography that engages *sadhu*s today offers valuable insights into the rich and multifaceted world of these figures, and further research will undoubtedly deepen our understanding of *sadhu*s, their lifestyles, and their practices. This chapter has attempted to demonstrate that despite the great diversity among *sadhu*s—in terms of historical developments of religious groups, identities, practices, roles, and goals—the core ideals encompassed in the term *sadhu*—detachment, discipline, devotion, the pursuit of liberation (*mokṣa*), and the capacity to bring benefit to others—remain constant throughout the centuries.



 

##  Notes 

\[1\] Monier Monier-Williams, *A Sanskrit English Dictionary* (Clarendon Press, 1965 \[1899\]), 1201.

\[2\] Ibid.

\[3\] Patrick Olivelle, *Upaniṣads* (Oxford University Press, 2008), 65.

\[4\] In the Jain context, the term *sadhu* refers exclusively to the mendicant. Padmanabh Jaini, *The Jaina Path of Purification* (Motilal Banarsidass, 1979). In Baul contexts, the term *sadhu* is a title of respect. According to Bangladeshi practitioners, the term can indicate non-celibate practitioners. Keith Cantù, “Songs for Siddhi: An Ethnographic Analysis of Bāul Fakiri Sādhanā,” in *The Ethnography of Tantra*, eds. Carola Lorea and Rohit Singh (State University Press, 2023), 205.

\[5\] Ascetic groups who developed from tantric contexts today adopt the term “*sadhu*” as a general term to identify themselves.

\[6\] Shaiva devotional traditions had a more limited impact in South Asian than Vaishnava traditions.

\[7\] The terms religious order and religious group are synonyms in this chapter. These terms encompass *sampradaya*s, *panth*s, and *akhara*s.

\[8\] Analyzing the term *sampradaya*, Federico Squarcini stresses that the stem form *dāya* in its first occurrence is linked to the transfer or partition of goods. Federico Squarcini, *Tradens, traditum, Recipiens, Studi Storici e Sociali sull’Istituto della Tradizione nell’Antichità Sudasiatica*. (Società Editrice Fiorentina, 2008), 46.

\[9\] The term *panth* was first used in the fifteenth century in the context of Sikhism, and it referred to a community bound by shared religious beliefs and practices*.* *Panth* was then applied to other groups that were generally less related to Brahmanical religious approaches, such as groups that developed around the figures of the Sants, a broad term for devotional gurus belonging to backward castes and other religions—such as Kabir, Dadu, and Raidas—not connected to Brahmanism or what comes to be known as Hinduism. Sant religious groups were addressed by the term *panth*, and they still exist under such names: Kabir Panth, Dadu Path, and so forth.

\[10\] Matthew Clark, *The Daśanāmī-Saṃnyāsīs: The Integration of Ascetic Lineages into an Order* (Brill, 2006), 183, 185. Valerie Stoker, *Polemics and Patronage in the city of Victory* (University of California Press, 2016), 21.

\[11\] David N. Lorenzen, *The Kāpālikas and Kālāmukhas, Two Lost Śaivite Sects* (Thomson Press 1972), 25.

\[12\] Farquhar argues that fighting ascetics were depicted in the chronicles of Rajputana that describe these figures to be naked and devoted to the God Bhairava. The earliest reference is in Bana’s *Harshacarita* (seventh century CE) in which two ascetics supporters of Bhairavacarya join the personal guard of King Pushpabhuti of Sthanisvara (i.e., Thanesar). John N. Farquhar, “The Fighting Ascetics of India,” *Bulletin of John Rylands Library* (1925): 436–37. Also, David N. Lorenzen, “Warrior Ascetics in Indian History,” *Journal of the American Oriental Society* 98, no. 1 (1978), 61–75, 67.

\[13\] William Pinch, “Yogis’ Way of War,” in *The Cambridge World History of Violence, Volume III: 1500-1800 CE*, ed. R. Antony, S. Carrol, and C. D. Pennock (Cambridge University Press, 2020), 159.

\[14\] Bernard Cohn, “The Role of the Gosains in the Economy of Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Upper India,” *Indian Economic and Social History Review* 1, no. 4 (1964): 175–183.

\[15\] Pinch, “Yogis’ Way of War,” 163

\[16\] Daniela Bevilacqua, *From Tapas to Modern Yoga: Sādhus’ Understanding of Embodied Practices* (Equinox, 2024), 89–97.

\[17\] William Pinch, *Peasants and Monks in British India* (University of California Press 1996), 29.

\[18\] The term *sadhvi* can designate a perfect wife rather than a female ascetic. The ideal Hindu wife was thought to live her life as her own ascetic path through total surrender to her husband’s will, sacrificing her own desires to serve her husband.

\[19\] Catherine Clementin-Ojha, “Outside the Norms: Women Ascetics in Hindu Society,” *Economic and Political Weekly* 18 (1998): WS34-WS36. Lynn Teskey Denton, *Female Asceticism in Hinduism* (State University of New York Press, 2004).

\[20\] Denton, *Female Asceticism in Hinduism*, 137–8.

\[21\] Antoinette DeNapoli, *Real Sadhus Sing to God: Gender, Asceticism, and Vernacular Religion in Rajasthan* (Oxford University Press, 2014).

\[22\] Karen Pechilis, “The Female Guru: Guru, Gender and the Path of Personal Experience,” in *The Guru in South Asia: New Interdisciplinary Perspectives*, eds. Jacob Copeman and Aya Ikegame, (Routledge, 2012), 113; Catherine Clémentin-Ojha, “The Tradition of Female Gurus,” *Manushi* 31 (Nov–Dec 1985): 2–8.

\[23\] Agehananda Bharati, *The Tantric Tradition* (Rider, 1965), 170.

\[24\] Ian Baker, *Tibetan Yoga. Principles and Practices* (Inner Traditions, 2019), 9.

\[25\] Carola Lorea, “‘I am Afraid of Telling you This, Lest You’d Be Scared Shitless!’” The Myth of Secrecy and the Study of the Esoteric Traditions of Bengal,” *Religions* 9, no. 6 (2018): 1–24, 19.

\[26\] Pearson has emphasized that *vrata* vows provide women the feeling that “they are in control” of their own bodies and that they can control “men’s use of their bodies.” Because *vrata*s are religious practices performed for the benefit of male family members, “there is little resistance to a woman’s performing as many *vrata*s as time, resources and her stamina allow” (Anne Mackenzie Pearson, *Because It Gives Me Peace of Mind: Ritual Fasts in the Religious Lives of Hindu Women* \[State University of New York Press, 1996\], 10).

\[27\] Ramdas Lamb, “Yogic Powers and the Rāmānanda Sampradāy,” in *Yoga Powers: Extraordinary Capacities Attained through Meditation and Concentration*, ed. Knut A. Jacobsen (Brill, 2012), 442.

\[28\] See Bevilacqua, *From Tapas to Modern Yoga*, 120–41.

\[29\] The Shaiva Dashnami Sampradaya is characterized by two main divisions: *dandi swami*s and *naga* *sadhu*s.

\[30\] See Bharati, *The Tantric Tradition*, 106.

\[31\] André Padoux, “Contributions à l’étude du Mantraśāstra: III. Le Japa,” *Bulletin de l’École française d’Extrême-Orient* 76, no. 1 (1987): 117–64.

\[32\] For a summary account on *soma*, its origin, its alleged composition, and its connection to similar traditions, see Matthew Clark, *The Tawny One: Soma, Haoma, and Ayahuasca* (Muswell Hill Press 2017).

\[33\] Bhagwan Dash, *Fundamentals of Ayurvedic Medicine* (Bansal & Co., 1980), 142.

\[34\] See Finnian M. Moore Gerety, “The Soma Question: Interrogating the History of Psychedelics with Sanskrit Mantras,” in *Psychedelic Intersections: 2024 Conference Anthology*, ed. Jeffrey Breau and Paul Gillis-Smith, 29-34 (Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard Divinity School, 2025).

\[35\] Dominik Wujastyk, “Cannabis in Traditional Indian Herbal Medicine,” in *Ayurveda at the Crossroad of Care and Cure*, ed. A. Salema, 45-73 (Manohar Publishers & Distribut, 2002).

\[36\] Oliver Hellwig, “Intoxication,” in *Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism*, eds. Knut A. Jacobsen et al, 459-471 (Brill, 2011), 464.

\[37\] Patricia Sauthoff, “Cannabis in Traditional Indian Alchemy,” in *Suhṛdayasaṃhitā: A Compendium of Studies on South Asian Culture, Philosophy, and Religion. Dedicated to Dominik Wujastyk*, eds. Philipp A. Maas and Anthony Cerulli (Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing, 2024), 167.

\[38\] Sauthoff, “Cannabis in Traditional Indian Alchemy,” 171.

\[39\] James Mallinson, *The Khecarīvidyā of Ādinātha: A Critical Edition and Annotated Translation of an Early Text of Haṭhayoga* (Routledge, 2007), 134.

\[40\] The *Gorakh* *Bānī*, *The Sayings of Gorakhnath*, is a late-medieval text in Old Hindi traditionally attributed to Gorakhnath. Gordan Djurdjevic and Śukadeva Siṃha and, *Sayings of Gorakhnāth: Annotated Translation of the Gorakh Bānī* (Oxford University Press, 2019), 91.

\[41\] *Gorakh* *Bānī*, 92.

\[42\] Adam Bremer-McCollum, “Just Call it Weed: On Arabic Edibles,” Research Reflection, Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard Divinity School, March 3, 2025, [https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2025/03/just-call-it-weed-arabic-edib…](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2025/03/just-call-it-weed-arabic-edibles)

\[43\] Alexis Sanderson, “The Śaiva Religion among the Khmers (Part I),” *Bulletin de l’École Française d’Extrême-Orient* 90, no. 1 (2003), 390-462: 366.

\[44\] Robert L. Gross, *The Sādhus of India: A Study of Hindu Asceticism* (Rawat Publications, 1992), 367.

\[45\] According to *sadhu*s who smoke, drinking *chae*, the Hindi word for tea, helps to clear the throat. *Sadhu*s are concerned not only about becoming addicted to *chae*, but they worry about the amount of sugar added when preparing the drink.

\[46\] Knut Jacobsen, *Yoga Powers: Extraordinary Capacities Attained Through Meditation and Concentration*. *Yoga Powers* (Brill, 2011), 4.

\[47\] See Daniela Bevilacqua, “Old Tool for New Times,” *Journal of the British Association for the Study of Religion* 20 (2018): 45–66.

\[48\] *Kayakalpa* (renewal of the body) is a term not found in Sanskrit medical or yogic literature. It appears in medical traditions associated with the Tamil Siddhas under the name *kayakarpam. Kayakalpa* is a prolonged retreat from the world in a dark, quiet hut, during which the practitioner, after proper preparation and following a precise diet, undergoes a cathartic purification intended to reorganize the organism into a superior state. See Robert Svoboda, “The Ayurvedic Diaspora: A Personal Account,” in *Modern and Global Ayurveda: Pluralism and Paradigms*, eds. Dagmar Wujastyk and Frederick M. Smith, 117-128 (State University of New York Press, 2008), 126.



 

##  Bibliography 

Baker, Ian A. *Tibetan Yoga: Principles and Practices*. Inner Traditions, 2019.

Bevilacqua, Daniela. *From Tapas to Modern Yoga: Sādhus’ Understanding of Embodied Practices*. Equinox, 2024.

———. “Old Tool for New Times.” *Journal of the British Association for the Study of Religion* 20 (2018): 45–66.

Bharati, Agehananda. *The Tantric Tradition*. Rider, 1965.

Cantù, Keith. “Songs for Siddhi: An Ethnographic Analysis of Bāul Fakiri Sādhanā.” In *The Ethnography of Tantra: Textures and Contexts of Living Tantric Traditions*, edited by Lorea Carola and Rohit Singh, 191–218. State University of New York Press, 2023.

Clark, Matthew. *The Daśanāmī-Saṃnyāsīs: The Integration of Ascetic Lineages into an Order*. Brill, 2006.

———. *The Tawny One: Soma, Haoma, and Ayahuasca*. Muswell Hill Press, 2017.

Clémentin-Ojha, Catherine. “Outside the Norms: Women Ascetics in Hindu Society.” *Economic and Political Weekly* 23, no. 18 (1998): WS34–WS36.

———. “The Tradition of Female Gurus.” *Manushi*, no. 31 (Nov–Dec 1985): 2–8.

Cohn, Bernard. “The Role of the Gosains in the Economy of Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Upper India.” *Indian Economic and Social History Review* 1, no. 4 (1964): 175–83.

Dash, Bhagwan. *Fundamentals of Ayurvedic Medicine*. Saharanpur: Bansal & Co., 1980.

DeNapoli, Antoinette. *Real Sadhus Sing to God: Gender, Asceticism, and Vernacular Religion in Rajasthan*. Oxford University Press, 2014.

Denton, L. Teskey. *Female Asceticism in Hinduism*. State University of New York Press, 2004.

Djurdjevic, Gordan, and Śukadeva Siṃha. *Sayings of Gorakhnāth: Annotated Translation of the Gorakh Bānī*. Oxford University Press, 2019.

Farquhar, John N. “The Fighting Ascetics of India.” *Bulletin of John Rylands Library* 9, no. 2 (1925): 431–52.

Gross, Robert L. *The Sādhus of India: A Study of Hindu Asceticism*. Rawat Publications, 1992.

Hellwig, Oliver. “Intoxication.” In *Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism*, edited by Knut A. Jacobsen, Helene Basu, Angelika Malinar, and Vasudha Narayanan, 459–71. Brill, 2011.

Jacobsen, Knut. *Yoga Powers: Extraordinary Capacities Attained Through Meditation and Concentration*. Brill, 2011.

Jaini, Padmanabh. *The Jaina Path of Purification*. Motilal Banarsidass, 1979.

Lamb, Ramdas. “Yogic Powers and the Rāmānanda Sampradāy.” In *Yoga Powers: Extraordinary Capacities Attained through Meditation and Concentration*, edited by Knut A. Jacobsen, 427–57. Brill, 2012.

Lorea, Carola. “‘I am Afraid of Telling you This, Lest You’d Be Scared Shitless!’: The Myth of Secrecy and the Study of the Esoteric Traditions of Bengal.” *Religions* 9, no. 6 (2018): 1–24.

Lorenzen, David N. *The Kāpālikas and Kālāmukhas, Two Lost Śaivite Sects*. Thomson Press, 1972.

———. “Warrior Ascetics in Indian History.” *Journal of the American Oriental Society* 98, no. 1 (1978): 61–75.

Mallinson, James. *The Khecarīvidyā of Ādinātha: A Critical Edition and Annotated Translation of an Early Text of Haṭhayoga*. Routledge, 2007.

Maas, Philipp A. “Rasāyana in Classical Yoga and Ayurveda.” *History of Science in South Asia* 5, no. 2 (2017): 66–84.

Monier-Williams, Monier. *A Sanskrit English Dictionary*. Clarendon Press, 1965 \[1899\].

Moore Gerety, Finnian M. “The Soma Question: Interrogating the History of Psychedelics with Sanskrit Mantras.” In *Psychedelic Intersections: 2024 Conference Anthology*, edited by Jeffrey Breau and Paul Gillis-Smith, 29–34. Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard Divinity School, 2025.

Padoux, André. “Contributions à l’étude du Mantraśāstra: III. Le Japa.” *Bulletin de l’École française d’Extrême-Orient* 76, no. 1 (1987): 117–64.

Pearson, Anne Mackenzie. *Because It Gives Me Peace of Mind: Ritual Fasts in the Religious Lives of Hindu Women*. McGill Studies in the History of Religions. State University of New York Press, 1996.

Pechilis, Karen. “The Female Guru: Guru, Gender and the Path of Personal Experience.” In *The Guru in South Asia: New Interdisciplinary Perspectives*, edited by Jacob Copeman and Aya Ikegame, 113–32. Routledge, 2012.

Pinch, William. *Peasants and Monks in British India*. University of California Press, 1996.

———. “Yogis’ Way of War.” In *The Cambridge World History of Violence, Volume III: 1500*–*1800 CE*, edited by Robert Antony, Stuart Carroll, and Caroline Dodds Pennock, 156–73. Cambridge University Press, 2020.

Sanderson, Alexis. “The Śaiva Religion among the Khmers (Part I).” *Bulletin de l’École Française d’Extrême-Orient* 90, no. 1 (2003): 349–462.

Sauthoff, Patricia. “Cannabis in Traditional Indian Alchemy.” In *Suhṛdayasaṃhitā: A Compendium of Studies on South Asian Culture, Phi­losophy, and Religion. Dedicated to Dominik Wujastyk*, edited by Philipp A. Maas and Anthony Cerulli, 165–79. Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing, 2024.

Stoker, Valerie. *Polemics and Patronage in the City of Victory*. University of California Press, 2016.

Squarcini, Federico. *Tradens, traditum, Recipiens, Studi Storici e Sociali sull’Istituto della Tradizione nell’Antichità Sudasiatica*. Società Editrice Fiorentina, 2008.

Svoboda, Robert. “The Ayurvedic Diaspora: A Personal Account.” In *Modern and Global Ayurveda: Pluralism and Paradigms*, edited by Dagmar Wujastyk and Frederick M. Smith, 117–28. State University of New York Press, 2008.

Wujastyk, Dominik. “Cannabis in Traditional Indian Herbal Medicine.” In *Ayurveda at the Crossroad of Care and Cure: Proceedings of the Indo-European Seminar on Ayurveda held at Arrábida, Portugal, in November 2001*, edited by Ana Salema, 45–73. Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2002.



 

Author Biography

### Daniela Bevilacqua 

 

Daniela Bevilacqua is a researcher at the Centre for Research in Anthropology (CRIA, University Institute of Lisbon, ISCTE-IUL) as PI of the project “Performing the Sacred: Ethnographies of Transgender Activism in the Kinnar Akhara”. She is specialized in Hindu religious orders, embodied practices and gender issues in religious contexts, investigated through an ethnographic and historical perspective. She authored *Modern Hindu* *Traditionalism in Contemporary India* (Routledge 2018), *From Tapas to Modern Yoga* (Equinox 2024), edited volumes, and written articles on Hindu ascetic traditions, gender, and embodied practices.



 



      ![Daniela Aaron looking into the camera](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/2026-04/Danib.jpg.resize.jpg?itok=vdaqCttu) 

 

 

  

 



 

 

 

##  Suggested Citation 

Bevilacqua, Daniela. "Sadhus." *Archive of Mystical Experiences*. Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard Divinity School, 2026.



 

 



 

 See also:- [ Archive of Mystical Experiences ](/topic-tags/archive-mystical-experiences)
- [ Transcendence and Transformation ](/programming-threads/transcendence-and-transformation)