sadhu:
(also written: ‘saddhu’; also called ‘yogi’ or ‘sanyasi’; plural: ‘sadhus‘; for the right pronunciation of this word, please click here)
sadhus at a temple
a Hindu holy man who has given up the materialistic life — possessions, family, comforts, etc., in seeking the spiritual enlightenment;
a Hindu ascetic,
a modern day sadhu with a cigarette in one hand and a cell phone in the other
You see a sadhu in every village, however small the village may be, and everything goes well, the sadhu in time becomes the godman of that village.
The Maha Kumbha Mela, a festival season held every 12 years at which millions of sadhus meet, completely naked except for the sacred ashes smeared on their bodies and faces, in India meet on the banks of the holy river Ganges at Allahabad, in Uttar Pradesh state in India, is known to be the largest religious gathering.
Though they are supposed to be holy and to renounce everything materialistic, sadhus are often connected with crimes and politics, such as rape, murder, theft, supporting candidates in elections, etc., and are given the dark shade of the limelight from the media.
