Ramamurthy Natarajan

Asceticism - an Analysis Ramamurthy Natarajan

Asceticism - Hindu Sanysasam - We hear and come across various terms like Rishi, Muni, Yogi, Siddha, Sadhu, Sanyasi, Yathi, Ascetic, Pakkiri, Swamiji, Madadhipathi, Jeeyar, Paramahamsar, Chaitanya, Agori and so on. Some have dressed up in saffron. Some people dress in different colors such as white, light saffron, red, green, yellow, blue, etc. Some people even do not dress up. Some people have tonsured their heads, but some have jada hair and beard. Some have a stick in their hand, some have three sticks and some do not have any stick. They have a small cloth tied at the tip of the stick. What are all these? What are the differences? All these words denote the same people?