The Saint's Of The East

The Holy Men of Asia

India being such an ancient and wondurus civilisation is the land of holy men , aesthetic , Sadu’s and Saints. My travels took me to far away places which are the gem’s of indian spirituality , smouldering with the flavour of Hinduism these pilgrimages where the most enriching experiences of my travelthon. From the banks of ganaga in Hrishekesh and Haridwar . The sadhu’s were everywhere .Smoking chillums , meditating , chatting and drinking sugar cane juice . Some throwing food to the monkey’s that crowd the many temples of the holy cities. In the morning the sadhu’s come for the holy dip into the river . Many come to them to perform puja for their ancestor’s and haw an . In Haridwar their is a famous eatery called Chotiwala which has it’s symbol as a pot bellied sadhu with a huge pony tail. I meet Haridas a sadhu in Hrishikesh “ I pray only at 3 ‘o’ clock in the morning , it’s the best time of the night all energies are aligned and one can get into trance dental states with ease , if one focusses and meditates on the lord Shiva.” Haridas had lived in Kenya for years and was in the Human Resource business until he lost his fortune and thus lost fiends and his only wife . Most of his family are a bunch of greedy liar’s according too him and that is why he became a Sadhu . “ I have been wandering these holy places , also Kedarnath , Chaar Dhaam and the Himalaya’s for two decades now , look at my skin it is all dark and black . I sleep under trees and bate in the river small price to pay for the freedom one enjoy’s “. He was a enthusiastic admirer of OSHO and despised most holy men to be fakes and quacks. “ It’s just a money making exercise , i go to these sabha’s which are telecasted on spiritual channels on T.V , most of the crowd is paid there . When i am short of money i go to these places one can earn a fe thousand bucks just by being there.

In Kedarnath i meet Badri , a young Naga who was covered in ash , with huge dread locks and a trident in his hand , he looked like the fearsome Shiva. I told him about the tragic death of my father and he said don’t worry just remember at any given point of time the universe is giving you the best result . Life moves from perfection to perfection . With these words he blessed me and gave me a silver leaf , which i still carry in my wallet .

In Badrinath i meet Veer a sadhu who begged outside the Badrinath Temple . He was old and dark and smoked bhang . He invited me to his den i sat amongst his merry group to smoke the prasad of Shambhu every day before i went a for a swim into the Garam Kundh . It is a place were pilgrims bathe and purify themselves . Just under the temple run’s the ganga in all it’s rage and icy cold. Badri worshiped kali and sang old bhajan which were a treat to listen . I treated him to a dosa and lassi for lunch and thanked him for his smoke.