Psychiatrist R.L. Kapur gets curious about a possible connection between psychology and asceticism. Intrigued by Indian spiritual traditions and mindful of the number of people in India who visit ascetics to treat psychological problems like schizophrenia, Kapur takes a year’s sabbatical to learn yoga from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, keeping a meticulous diary of the effects of the exercise. Armed with the experience he climbs the rocky slopes of the Himalayas to meet and interview ascetics from different sects of Hinduism. He comes across a varied group—philosophers, intellectuals, artists, visionaries; some believed they were destined to become sadhus, others were prompted by circumstances.

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