Standing on Faith and Discipline
A Photographic Journey into the Life of Kamal Giri Baba...
This project tells the story of Kamal Giri Baba, also known as Kadeshri Baba(Standing Baba) a Naga Sadhu who has taken one of the most extreme vows of faith and discipline to stand for 12 years without ever resting his back on the ground. He eats little, lives simply, and sleeps upright in a swing-like cradle, never bending his spine or touching the earth.
I first met him at the Kumbh Mela in 2019, where his presence struck me deeply. Among millions of pilgrims, he stood not as a spectacle, but as a living symbol of devotion and endurance. His vow is not a performance it is his way of serving God and humanity. He believes that through this discipline, his body becomes an offering to Lord Shiva, and his spirit a channel of divine energy.
As a Naga Sadhu, Baba belongs to an ancient Shaivite order founded by Adi Shankaracharya. These warrior ascetics dedicate their lives to sadhana (spiritual practice), sewa (service), and detachment from the material world. Their practices often appear extreme, but their purpose is simple: to go beyond pain, ego, and fear in order to reach truth.
One of the most striking moments I witnessed was Baba performing a yogic act known as lingasana lifting another man using only a rope tied around his genitals. For outsiders, it may look shocking, but for him it is a sacred practice of Tantric Vidya an inner science where the body’s energy is transformed into spiritual power. Through this, he seeks mastery over pain, over desire, and over himself.
His path also connects to that of the Aghoris, ascetics who meditate in cremation grounds and break social taboos to remind us that purity and impurity, life and death, body and spirit are all one. Both Naga Sadhus and Aghori's walk fearless paths, dissolving the boundaries that define ordinary human life.
Despite his austerity, Kamal Giri Baba is not cut off from the world. He feeds the poor before eating himself, blesses pilgrims in silence, and offers his life as a form of service. People are drawn to him not out of curiosity, but because of the peace and stillness that radiates from him.
For me, this project is more than documentation it is a pilgrimage. Through my camera, I did not only capture his body standing; I witnessed a life surrendered to faith. His vow is not about denial, but about transcendence. It is not about isolation, but about connection to God, to people, and to the eternal truth of Sanatana Dharma.
Kamal Giri Baba’s story is not just about endurance it is about what it means to dedicate your whole existence to something beyond yourself. His standing is both literal and symbolic: a reminder that the human spirit, when rooted in discipline and faith, can rise beyond limits.