Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
cosy nook, the latter has no home at all. I find both of these
within me. I want to roam about and see all the wide world, yet
I also yearn for a sheltered little nook, like a bird with its tiny
nest for a dwelling and the vast sky for flight.
- Rabindranath Tagore
I had heard rumours from several sources over the past months
about a reclusive yogi who lived in secrecy somewhere around
Tiruvannamalai, yet could easily be found in a part of the town bazaar
where pots and pans were sold at sunset each day. Since India teems
with wandering
sadhus
, most of whom seem little more than charlatans
and parasites who prey on the superstitions and charity of the poor,
the very fact that a particular one was mentioned generally indicated
that he was worth a visit.
The tradition of renunciation runs deep in the Indian psyche.
Early in life a genuine seeker of truth may choose this path, giving
away all he owns, donning the ochre robe (the colour of leaves that
have detached themselves from the tree) and wandering the land
alone, living off alms, performing the spiritual exercises prescribed
by some pundit or guru. Such people tend to travel the great pilgrim
circuit, from Badrinath in the Himalayas down to the island of
Rameshwaram, close to Sri Lanka. In between are seven holy cities,
several hundred temples, several thousand shrines, all manner of
ashrams, thirty-seven million villages, and many many miles.
These
sadhus
are not supposed to beg; they should receive only
what is freely given them. Few seem aware of this restriction about
asking, however, even though much is freely given in this generous
land where there is little to spare. Most large temples regularly feed
renunciants and the poor - the gods can't use everything they're
offered, after all - and every Indian is enjoined to give alms to the
needy each day if he or she can.
Sadhus
also have a reputation in
folklore for laying curses, which the more unscrupulous ones tend
to play up. They are rarely turned away. You hardly ever see one
who looks as if he's missed a meal in his life.
And for all Hindus, pious or not, the pilgrimage to holy sites is
still what it once was in medieval Europe: a religious obligation
that is more holiday than hardship to those who can afford it.
Sadhus
