Sadhu

==Etymology==
[[File:Sadhu and a picture of Siva.jpg|thumb|250px|A sadhu in [[yoga]] position, reading a book in [[Varanasi]]]]
The term ''sadhu'' (Sanskrit: साधु) appears in ''[[Rigveda]]'' and ''[[Atharvaveda]]'' where it means "straight, right, leading straight to goal", according to [[Monier Monier-Williams]].<ref name=mmwsadhu>[http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/mw/1200/mw__1234.html Sadhu], Monier Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary with Etymology, Oxford University Press, page 1201</ref>{{refn|group=note|See for example:<br>अग्ने विश्वेभिः स्वनीक देवैरूर्णावन्तं प्रथमः सीद योनिम् । कुलायिनं घृतवन्तं सवित्रे यज्ञं नय यजमानाय '''साधु''' ॥१६॥ – Rigveda 6.15.16 ([https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_६.१५ Rigveda Hymn सूक्तं ६.१५], Wikisource)<br>प्र यज्ञ एतु हेत्वो न सप्तिरुद्यच्छध्वं समनसो घृताचीः ।  स्तृणीत बर्हिरध्वराय '''साधू'''र्ध्वा शोचींषि देवयून्यस्थुः ॥२॥ – Rigveda 7.43.2 ([https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_७.४३ Rigveda Hymn सूक्तं ७.४३], Wikisource)<br>यथाहान्यनुपूर्वं भवन्ति यथ ऋतव ऋतुभिर्यन्ति '''साधु''' । यथा न पूर्वमपरो जहात्येवा धातरायूंषि कल्पयैषाम् ॥५॥ – Rigveda 10.18.5 ([https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_१०.१८ Rigveda Hymn सूक्तं १०.१८], Wikisource), etc.}} In the [[Brahmana]]s layer of Vedic literature, the term connotes someone who is "well disposed, kind, willing, effective or efficient, peaceful, secure, good, virtuous, honourable, righteous, noble" depending on the context.<ref name=mmwsadhu/> In the Hindu Epics, the term implies someone who is a "saint, sage, seer, holy man, virtuous, chaste, honest or right".<ref name=mmwsadhu/>

The Sanskrit terms ''sādhu'' ("good man") and ''sādhvī'' ("good woman") refer to renouncers who have chosen to live lives apart from or on the edges of society to focus on their own spiritual practices.<ref>Flood, Gavin. ''An introduction to Hinduism''. (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1996) p. 92. {{ISBN|0-521-43878-0}}</ref>

The words come from the root ''sādh'', which means "reach one's goal", "make straight", or "gain power over".<ref>[[Arthur Anthony Macdonell]]. ''A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary''. p. 346.</ref> The same root is used in the word [[sādhanā]], which means "spiritual practice". It literally means one who practises a ″sadhana″ or a path of spiritual discipline.<ref name="Yogananda, Paramhamsa 1997 p.16"/>
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