A sadhu may or may not wear saffron. Any one who has ‘sadhutva’ is a sadhu. Sadhutva is a set of noble qualities; saintliness, compassion for all and a divine dignity. Those who take the least and give out the most are sadhus. They are renunciates who have no value for wealth ,power, and fame. They are in search of higher realms of happiness and peace. Shunning life ,they are no go-getters. They seek not ,as they need not. Generally, they have no possessions apart from two sets of unstitched cloth, a stick and a bowl. A sadhu is not a consumer, but a contributor. He imparts knowledge of the ultimate Reality due to compassion for a suffering humanity ,giving solace and allaying fears and sorrow.
The saffron cloth denotes true social distancing, physical and mental. Not that a sadhu doesn’t have emotions, only that emotions cannot have him! He is of the world, yet untainted by it, as lotus leaves on water! ‘ Padma patra mivambhasi’.
The results of interactions with a sadhu are proportionate to your thoughts and actions. The Einsteinium laws of cause and effect are, that action and reaction are equal and opposite. The reaction of any deed has to wait for an opportune moment to bear result, but the reaction with a sadhu gives immediate results. Respect shown to a sadhu reflects as instant blessings from the mirror-like transparent purity of his mind. Similarly, scriptures state , that insulting a sadhu has ‘instant’ consequences. It burns down immediately all ones good karma, health ,wealth , fame and family.
‘ The glory of the sun when he unfolds it,
Depends on the object that beholds it.’ W. Blake.
The reflecting surface determines the reflection.
Prarthna Saran President Chinmaya Mission Delhi.
Email: prarthnasaran@gmail.com
This first appeared on 26 April, 2020. The writer is not writing due to unavoidable circumstances