"This old man has held up his arm for a great many years. The muscles are withered and his elbow is stiff." A bearded man dressed in rags with a cloth headdress and necklace is holding his left arm above his head. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi].
"To do penance and gain merit this man has held up both arms and has become as helpless as a baby." A bald man dressed in rags sits on the floor with his knees bent up to his chest an his arms held above his head. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi].
"This man tortures himself by holding his breath. His nostrils and his mouth are stopped. He claims he can hold his breath 5 minutes." A man sits cross-legged on the ground with a robe wrapped around him. There is a wire fence in front of him. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi].
"The foot sticking out over this man's shoulder is his own foot that he has twisted around. This is his idea of earning religious merit." A bald man sits on the ground dressed in rags with bracelets around his arm and necklaces around his neck. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi].
"A "holy man" on his bed of spikes. By torturing himself in this way, he believes he will go to the Hindu heaven without repentance for sin." A man dressed in rags with a necklace around his neck sits on a bed of spikes. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi].
"Another Hindu "holy" man with one arm raised up over his head. The man sitting at his side counting the prayer beads is his disciple." Two men sit cross-legged on the ground next to each other. One is holding his hand above his head, while the other counts prayer beads. They are both wearing prayer beads. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi].
"To earn religious merit one of these men has his head buried in the earth. His cmpanion attracts attention to shi act and counts his prayer beads." One man is lying on the ground with his head buried and his hands counting prayer beads. Another man gestures to the first man. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi].
"This boy is lying on a bed of spikes believing that if he does this for a number of years he will gain merit and earn salvation." A boy lies on a bed of spikes with his head propped up on a wooden board. His knees are bent so that his feet are flat on the spikes. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi].
"The foot sticking out over this man's shoulder is his own foot that he has twisted around. This is his idea of earning religious merit." Despite the caption for this picture, this man does not stick his foot over his shoulder. Instead, he sits cross-legged with both feet facing the sky. One of his arms is raised and the hand on that arm has very long fingernails. He is wearing a necklace. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi].
"This old Hindu took a vow that he would never again lie down. He has to sleep with ropes tied under his arms in order to keep from falling down." An elderly man with a long, bedraggled beard, holds a set of beads in his hands while he is being held upright by ropes around his arms. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi].
"A balancing trick. To earn merit this man swings on a stretched wire and counts his prayer beads." A nude man lies on a single wire that is stretched between trees while he counts prayer beads. He is also wearing beads around his neck. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi].
"Three "holy" men. The two in the foreground are lying on thorny cactus with the locks of their hair tied together." One man lies on a single wire stretched out and two other men lay on a thorny cactus beneath him. They have intertwined their hair. A few men stand in the bakcground, watching these men in their religious pursuits. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi].
"A "holy" man on his bed of spikes which is so arranged that it can be pulled about." A nude, bearded man sits on a bed of spikes that has wheels on it so that it can be rolled around. Two other men sit near him and a cow stands to his right. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi].
"The form of penance of these two "holy" men in the foreground is to go about naked." Two nude men sit cross-legged on a mat in the foreground, while other people sit around them. These two men are wearing beads around their necks. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi].
"Sadhus torturing themselves by sitting in the hot sun with five fires around them. The temperature was 120 in the shade when this picture was taken." Five men sit cross-legged on the round with rags around their legs in a row. Each man has five fires around him. There is a group of people sitting underneath umbrellas behind these men. Some of the men have rags on or around their heads. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi].
"A Hindu trying to earn merit by burying his head in the ground. The other man is his companion who calls out to passers-by." A man lies face-down with his head buried in the sand and one knee bent with that foot in the air. His companion sits cross-legged beside him, calling out to people passing by. There are two piles of sticks near them. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi].
"A boy worshipping the tulsi plant which is considered to be very "sacred" by all Hindus." A boy with only a simple rag clothing him worships a plant that is on top of a stone pedestal. His hands are clasped as if in prayer. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi].
"A Hindu "holy" man reading a Gospel. Because of the influence these men have over the Hindus, when they become Christians they do a great deal of good." A man with long hair that is tied up in a bun on his head reads the Bible while sitting on the ground in front of a tent. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi].
"This Hindu "holy" man sitting on his bed of spikes has his forehead painted with a "sign of the beast". The two little idols in the foreground are worshipped by the Hindus." A gathering of men, women, and children watch a man who is sitting on a bed of nails. The man is dressed in rags and hs two white stripes painted on his forehead. There are two HIndu idols sitting on the ground next to him. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi].
"Two Hindus worshipping figures of snakes. Many of the heathen believe their idols are demon possessed." Two men are worshipping stone carvings of snakes. One sits cross-legged by them and stares at the ground with his hands clasped. The other man kneels and has his forearms on the ground with his head leaning on his hands. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi].
