Nepal Tourist Trap Tips by tiganeasca

Sadhus...real or fake? Street Peddlers Review

Fake sadhus. My dictionary says that a sadhu is a 'Hindu mendicant ascetic.' Which means (in ordinary English) a holy man (about 90% of them are men) who depends upon charity to survive. In Nepal they usually wear orange robes and have hair and beards that have long remained uncut. Sadhus belong to many different sects or orders. When one joins a sect, he must undergo an initiation-rite. This is regarded as a symbolic death which is followed by rebirth. The polluted earthly life is left behind and the initiate is reborn into the divine life. (There is a wonderful introduction at http://utopia.knoware.nl/users/dolfhart/index.html to various sects.)

Unfortunately, because most Westerners know little or nothing about Hinduism, there are more than a few fakes, just as there are beggars throughout the world not in need of alms. Be careful! The genuine sadhus are truly holy men but poverty is so dire that more than a few that you meet who claim to be, are not. I wish I could offer an easy way to tell them apart but I guess your instinct must be your guide.