Across the Indian holy towns of Ujjain, Nasik, Haridwar and Prayag, the number of new aspirants who want to become a Swami has come down drastically in recent times, because of the tough penance and tougher initiation rites that becoming a Swami often entails.
A group of senior Swamis meeting at the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu festival held every 12 years and attended by several million Hindus, have discussed the problem and have proposed to start recruiting Swamis from the USA since USA is the most religious country in the world. The Swamis have noted that part of the problem is that as Indian economy grows, young Indian people have too many opportunities in a variety of industry and commerce. The situation appears more serious for the ash-smeared, chillum-smoking and stark naked Swamis (called Nagas), often the picture postcard image of religious India. They are fast becoming an endangered species. .
