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Thread: Aussie Scientist becomes Holy Man

  1. #1
    Senior Member Aianawa's Avatar
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    Aussie Scientist becomes Holy Man

    Australian Man forced to Holy mandate > http://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/world/...id=HPCOMMDHP15

    When he arrived, he was an atheist with no real interest in the country.


    "Someone brought me to India almost against my will. I had no plan, I got here completely by accident," he recalls.

    Today, he's a revered Hindu holy man who says he can't even remember his name from his previous life.

    "I found answers to all kinds of things that I'd been thinking about for a long time," he says of his conversion to the Hindu faith.

    Foreign holy men — called sadhus — are extremely rare in India, so Giri attracts a lot of attention.





    Especially at the Kumbh Mela — a gigantic gathering of the faithful that happens every four years at the confluence of India's most sacred waterways.

    The Kumbh is the largest religious gathering on Earth.

    150 million people visit the festival over two months and the sheer mass of humanity is visible from space.

    For a man who went to India on a whim with a friend, Giri looks very much at ease in the garb of a Hindu holy man; simple robes, long hair tied in a topknot and a flowing beard.

    He still has a broad Australian accent, but rarely goes back to his homeland.

    His mother is his only living relative, and when he visits her, he stays in an austere hut in Melbourne.

    He spends his days roaming around India, visiting other holy men and gurus and living off donations from the faithful.

    For centuries, sadhus have renounced the pleasures and possessions of normal life in order to pursue their connection with god.

    Some orders of holy men eschew clothing altogether.

    Others cover their bodies in cremation ashes, grow their hair into dreadlocks that touch the floor, or spend their days smoking copious amounts of cannabis.

    Holy men fear sacred festival is going commercial

    Modernisation is putting pressure on the sadhus to change their ways, even at Hinduism's holiest festival.

    "There's much more technology involved," Giri says.

    "There used to be a rule that you could only use canvas and bamboo [to build structures at the Kumbh Mela]."

    But in 2019, simplicity has given way to modernity.

    There are luxury tents for pilgrims who can afford them, although millions of worshippers come by train and sleep out in the open.

    There are also giant posters of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi throughout the festival grounds.

    His Government poured millions of dollars into infrastructure for this year's festival.

    They've built new roads, bridges and lighting in a bid to consolidate the support of his Hindu nationalist base ahead of elections in a couple of months.

    Even the name of the city hosting the Kumbh was changed by the Government last year.

    The Muslim-sounding Allahabad was replaced with the Hindu-origin name, Prayagraj.

    Some people have complained that the festival has become politicised, but many Hindus don't mind the Government spending money on religion.

    Festival culminates in holy dip

    For the sadhus and gurus, the highlight remains the bathing rituals at the centre of the event.

    Giri belongs to one of the biggest monastic orders, or "akharas", in India.

    Along with the most religious sadhus, on the most auspicious days of the festival he gets to bathe first in the holy waters where the sacred Ganges and Yamuna rivers meet.

    Millions of everyday worshippers take a dip after the sadhus have had theirs.

    "I'm not sure how many past sins have been washed away by the bath," he says.

    "Hopefully I'll get into heaven. That's the point. Getting into heaven and not coming back."

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    Chris (10th March 2019), Christopher (10th March 2019), Elen (11th March 2019), Emil El Zapato (10th March 2019)

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    OK . But what does he do for others ?
    Has he retained any interest in Cricket because I wonder if he is Shane Warne in disguise .

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    Aianawa (10th March 2019), Elen (11th March 2019)

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    Senior Member Aianawa's Avatar
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    Mr Gayle has been terrorizing English persons of late, not Warno lol

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    Elen (11th March 2019)

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    Quote Originally posted by Aianawa View Post
    Mr Gayle has been terrorizing English persons of late, not Warno lol

    No . One delicious innings of 160 in a match the Windies lost .
    The complete tour was a disaster for them and they were bowled out for 45 in their last attempt to face the Big Bash World Champions .
    The Elegant English as we modestly say .


    Anyhow my new theory is that the wandering Holy Man could be David Icke .
    Or even Alan Dale who played Jim Robinson in Neighbours .

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    whoever he is i wish him god speed on otta here in a hurry...

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