Naga Sadhus
Naga Babas or Naga Sadhus is a very familiar name for those who know about Kumbh Melas and secret yogis in the Himalayas. Naga Sadhus or Naga Babas are a sect of worshippers of Lord Shiva who believe in the philosophy of becoming shiva to worship shiva. They are fierce in appearance but very gentle and detached totally from this world. Naga babas are the masters of intense, extreme and esoteric yogic practices. They call Lord Shiva as Aadi Yogi, the first yogi.
Naga Sadhus or Naga Babas appear in huge numbers at the time of Kumbh Melas. Holy bath of Kumbh Mela starts with the Naga Sadhus. They take the holy bath first and then remaining devotees follow them. They naturally appear naked or wearing a piece of loin cloth, smearing ash on their body and all the time they will be in trance.
Naga Babas wear rudrakshas and trident or trishool.
Naga Sadhus are considered as the direct followers of Lord Shiva. Some stories about them say that they have wonderful cures for every kind of diseases in this world. It is also said that they withstand extreme cold and hot conditions by relaxing their blood flow, that is having excellent control over the body which is possible only with years and year of vigorous yoga practice. To everybody’s surprise they vanish after Kumbh Mela without disturbing any transport systems. They are said to live in secret caves of Himalayas.
Jai Matangi Maa _/\_
