India's first civilization was dark-skinned. The people seemed to live by a religion of gentleness, with particular respect for animals. Then came the light-skinned Aryans, singing hymns to their many gods. Around 500 BCE, the older religion re-emerged in five new forms: Buddhists, Ajivikas, Jains, Gymnosophists, and Lokayatas. Together, they were called Shramanas. None of the five new groups believed in gods. Most of them practiced ascetic nudity: when they gave up worldly goods, they gave up everything-including clothing. The Gymnosophists were a small group in India. They lasted only two centuries. But in their last days, they happened to meet with the invading soldiers of Alexander the Great. Marvelous things came from the cross-fertilization of cultures-each with its own nude tradition. Greek art, and even athletics, flowed east. Indian philosophical concepts flowed west. For twenty-three centuries, this small band of naked philosophers has continued to fascinate the West. Age after age has reshaped their story. In essence, this book tells the same story 91 different ways. One can legitimately say that each succeeding age wandered farther from the truth. Yet, in another way, the unencumbered Gymnosophists have helped thinking people of each age to discover their own truths. Naked philosophers from exotic India, Alexander the Great, Lots of atheistic religions, Mind-opening logic, Plagiarizing saints, Pious medieval frauds: They're all here in the world's first collection of documents on the ancient Gymnosophists. This book fills an important gap in the bookshelves of nudists, as well as students of Indian religion, Greek history, philosophy, athletics, and medieval literature.