Gymnosophists

Gymnosophists (i.e. 'naked sages'), the name given by the Greeks to those ancient Hindu philosophers who lived solitarily, wore little or no clothing, and addicted themselves to mystical contemplation and the practice of the most rigorous asceticism. Some, like Kalanus, even burned themselves to death in order to enter a state of purer being. Strabo divides them into Brahmas and Samans, the former of whom adhered to the strictest principles of caste, while the latter admitted any one into their number regarding whose character and kindred they were satisfied.