Sadhus: India's Mystic Holy Men
by Dolf Hartsuiker
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Book Summary Information
Author: Dolf HartsuikerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1993-09-01
ISBN: 0892814543
Number of pages: 128
Publisher: Inner Traditions
Book Reviews of Sadhus: India's Mystic Holy Men
Book Review: A life less ordinary
Summary: 5 Stars
"Sadhus" is a book about the more extreme aspects of Hinduism. It's not intended to be sensationalist, but nevertheless gives that impression, with its colourful photos of bizarre and deviant ascetics in India. The text is informative and obviously based on scholarly sources. This isn't a Hindu book or a work recasting Hinduism as New Age. This is the real thing - take it or leave it. Or part of the real thing, since Hinduism encompasses much more than these "holy men" and their hard-line renunciation. (Indeed, it could be argued that "Hinduism" is actually an agglomeration of several different traditions, interacting with each other in various ways. But I'm digressing.)
The book covers both Shaiva and Vaishnava asceticism, and also mentions a few rather extreme groups. There are the Aghoris, who deliberately act mad and drink from human skulls. The Sakhis are transvestites who worship Krishna by pretending to be his female consort, Radha. Both groups are intensely controversial. More respectable are the Wrestlers, a group of devotees to the monkey god Hanuman, who spend most of their time wrestling and body building in honour of their god.
Many of the photos border the disgusting and can be quite shocking. (One of my friends almost threw my copy into the garbage bin after leafing through it!) Some ascetics keep one of their arms permanently raised for years, until the arm withers away and becomes a useless stick. Others rub their nude bodies in ashes...from cremation pyres. "The fire austerity" is also pictured in which the ascetic meditates for hours with a burning bowl on his head. A less dangerous ritual is to simply smoke hash!
To be perfectly honest, I consider these sadhus to be quite insane. Our physical bodies aren't evil and are made to be used. These people are super-alienated. A different kind of society would presumably make this strange phenomenon go away. In the future, people will read "Sadhus" and wonder what on earth these people thought they were doing. But then, they might just as well ask the same questions about us. Climate change, anyone?
Summary of Sadhus: India's Mystic Holy Men
Liberated from earthly concerns and living beyond the limits of space and time, these mystics form a vital and unbroken link between the birth of yoga millenia ago and its present-day expression. Spectacular color photos and evocative text trace the historical roots of the S?dhus and illuminate their beliefs and behaviors.
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