Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Note on Transliteration Introduction: Sannyasinis as Persons 1. Gendering Hindu Renunciation 2. Walking a Tightrope: Renunciation as Love 3. Real Saints Don't Need Sleep: Renunciation as Service 4. (Ir?)reconcilable Tensions: Individual Existence as Spiritual Journey 5. The Genuine and The Fake: What's Attitude Got to Do with It? 6. Sannyasinis as Women Notes Glossary Works Cited Index

About the Author

Meena Khandelwal is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Women's Studies at the University of Iowa.

Reviews

..". This book provides richly detailed accounts of the author's many months living with, observing, and interacting with sannyasinis, their followers, and fellow ascetics. Descriptions of daily life at the ashrams, reports of long conversations, attention to the details of place, dress, food and its preparation, and the descriptions of visitors all help create vivid pictures of the lives of the sannyasinis."