India is a land of Spirituality. World over the pictures of Sadhus with long hair and in meditation pose are common. People from Hollywood, and other fields having celebrity status come to India to find solace and to discover themselves. Any foreigner who comes to India thinks that perhaps every person with long hair and with scanty clothes on body, wearing Rudraksh necklace is a real monk. It is only after their encounter with the reality they discover that they have been duped and made less richer monetarily as well as spiritually.
According to one estimate there are around more than two crores of Sadhu in India. These people are pest, not willing to work, smoke chilams and cannabis and claim to be nearer to God. Islam have its own Fakirs, Jains are having their own people, Budhists have Lamas, Sikhs are having Nihangs, Hindus are having the largest variety of the. It includes the various akharas, Aghori, Naga and many more.
If you go by the rituals of becoming sadhu, Naga sadhu, Aghori sadhu it is really disgusting and shameful. Certain rituals include eating dead bodies, human excreta and above all to get yourself made Mahapurush (castration).
Nagas Sadhu were created to protect Hinduism and to fight for the cause of religion. These nagas are more known for fighting amon themselves for the Shahi sanaan (royal bathing) on the occassion of Kumbh, ardh Kumbh and Sinhasth Kumbhs. These Naga remain naked for their life and sometimes carry sword with them Many a times they create lot of anarchy, when ever they pass from certain inhabited area. Aghoris are not far behind in the case of folloeing nonsense rituals. On every Saturday you will find kids and grown ups on every chowk asking for money in the name of Shani Dev.
Jains have their monks who remain naked throughout life since they have denounced the world.
Nihangs of Sikh religion too remain intoxicated with cannabis and ready to fight. Now a days you can find them on the roads selling intoxication (grounded cannabis mixed in water) in the name of religion.
Fakirs are seen at every mosque who are asking for the help. Teenage kids are seen carrying green clothes and asking for for money. It is a routine scene.
My idea of discussing all this is to question that if we really want these stupid people who have nothing to do with spirituality and we are paying for their existence. Why these people can't be made work for themselves and for the society. At least they should earn for themselves. But all the religious settlements are providing food, shelter and clothes to them. A person who would not care about the workers at his working place will search for these people in the morning to distribute home made food, blankets, clothes and other items.
These people are pest on the economy. They are reservoir of diseases and they are least concerned about their hygiene. I think that the number of Sadhu is much more than the government figure. Imagine such a huge number of workable persons are non working and dependent upon others. The population of Australia is even lesser than this number.
More over the image that is being spread all over the world about these sadhu is also disturbing. We are projected as a country of snake charmers and sadhus. How we can feel proud of this ? How the act of Naga sadhu and Aghori Sadhu can be justified ? Why can't this nonsense be stopped ? Why can't these fakirs be removed from the religious places? Why can't the Nihangs be made to work and stopped from selling intoxication ?
I know the answers are not easy to answer. But we need to think and find solution for this problem. Otherwise it is damn easy to denounce the world and force others to pay for your existence in the name of religion.