Photo by W. M. Zumbro 



A YOUTHFUL PIUGRIM 



Sometimes, at pilgrimages, a little boy is seen carrying a kavadi (a heavy, decorated 

 frame of wood) in the fulfillment of a vow made by his parents. Notice the different sect 

 marks worn by the bystanders on their foreheads (see pages 1272 and 1273). 



In India the ascetic with his self-in- 

 flicted torture is ubiquitous. He wanders 

 everywhere, from the snowy Himalayas 

 to where the quiet waters of the Indian 

 Ocean break in ripples on the shore at 

 Cape Comorin. You find him in the 

 streets of the great city going from door 

 to door begging a handful of rice for his 

 daily meal ; he will stop for days in the 

 shady grove by a quiet river or in a cave 

 in the mountains. You find him in the 

 lonely desert or in the deep forest living 

 the life of a hermit until death overtakes 

 him or he is eaten by wild beasts. 



Oftentimes he will establish himself 

 under a shady pepul tree near a village 

 and by some act of severe penance at- 

 tract the attention of the people, who 

 soon come in great numbers to see him. 

 These Sadlius come from all ranks of life 

 and from all hereditary castes ; they rep- 

 resent every shade of religious habit and 

 opinion — philosophical or speculative. 



THE EMBLEM AND RELIGIOUS IDEAL OE A 

 NATION 



The foreigner hurrying through India 

 rarely understands or appreciates these 

 Sadhus. He looks upon them as droll 

 fellows or simpletons, knows little of 

 their subtle philosophy, and sees only the 

 body clothed in white ashes, dirt, and 

 rags, or the self-torture by which they 

 seek to gain release. 



The Sadhu, sitting unmoved by sun or 

 rain, regarding not heat or cold, light or 

 darkness, the pangs of hunger nor the 

 ties of family, bathing betimes, his 

 thoughts turned within, his gaze centered 

 on the tip of his nose in meditation, is the 

 fitting emblem of the people, as he is their 

 most cherished ideal. 



Asceticism, self-torture, and penance 

 are by no means limited to India ; they 

 are found in various forms in all lands, 

 amongst all peoples. The founder of 

 Buddhism was an ascetic. Christianity 



1259 



