Indian ascetics

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

>I have a very naive question about the Indian ascetics: we see on many
>photographs of Indian streets naked mendicant ascetics coated with ash,
>etc.  Do these people belong to some particular sect?  Can we say that most
>of them belong to the Naatha sect, for example?

Not without looking for more specific signs. Most of the naked mendicants
coated with ash and with matted hair would be Naga sannyasis. However, this
is nothing more than giving a name to a thing, because the word Naga comes
from nagna = naked. For assigning a sect affiliation more specifically, you
have to look for things such as whether they wear earrings (and what kind),
whether they have specific marks on their foreheads, whether they carry a
human skull with them or not, whether they smoke derivatives of cannabis or
not, whether they cry out "Alakh Niranjan" or "Jai Bholenath". If you were
to go ask those who maintain and study at the Nathpanthi monasteries, they
will disclaim any affiliation with the vast majority of the street
mendicants.

Nowadays, a safe bet would be that the greater portion of such people on the
streets simply represents a homeless population without any great
personal/religious compulsion to have become a monk. Their sectarian
affiliations are strictly udara-nimitta. They are quite likely to be people
who have migrated into towns and cities in search of employment, but who
have found being a mendicant a better business proposition. Pictures of such
mendicants are v. popular, especially if they are taking in a deep whiff
from a chillum or a hookah. It creates a picture of Hinduism/India as still
wholly exotic and very mysterious. And this is not limited to producers of
tourist literature. You will rarely see pictures of the Sankaracharyas or
the Srivaishnava Jeers or the Mahants of other orders. Contrast that with
nice glossy pictures of the Dalai Lama in books on Buddhism!

Vidyasankar
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