Mendicants of the Most High

While called a mendicant, reminiscent of a Christian monk from Earth, the Sanskrit word sādhu is much more apropos. They are found throughout the Realms, following a simple life free from worldly possessions and ties, practicing a form of yoga, and following a disciplined practice that allows them to focus on achieving freedom from the worldly cycle through contemplation of the Cosmos. The Cosmos, in Hindu philosophy, would be called Brahman, but these mendicants have many names and concepts for it. Each has their own, personal and spiritual understanding of what the Cosmos is, gained through their religious practice. In general, they simply refer to the nature of the Cosmos as the Most High, a translation from their common philosophical roots.

Origins

The mendicants are originally from the planet Ombhada in the Om system in the galaxy Khanda from the dimension cataloged in the Astrakhan Registry as ansNP8n3Oa. The omhu have a similar appearance to humans except they have three eyes, six fingers and toes on each hand or foot, and have two hearts. An omhu mendicant can be male, female, or teesa (they have a third physical sex). Non-omhu mendicants are likewise unrestricted by physical sex. Most live a life where gender plays little part.

Terminology

The mendicants call themselves abādhu which has a similar definition to sādhu. The word for Cosmos is mānda, which roughly translates to "Most High" with many levels of spiritual and religious connotations. As a group, they are called abādhuon nē mānda, literally translated as "mendicants of the Most High." Their equivalent of yoga is called virgāla and a practitioner a virgāli.

Non-Omhu Mendicants

Although the "order" was founded on Ombhada, it is thousands of years old and has been taken by the abādhu to the far reaches of the Realms. There are members from nearly all spiritually-oriented species. Its similarity to an Earth religion and philosophy has attracted many humans to it.

Mendicants as World Walkers

Students of the Cosmos quickly learn that to truly understand it, they must embrace it. For the abādhu that aren't natural World Walkers, most quickly develop a sort of mystic ability that replicates, in part, the abilities of a World Walker.