Isai Baba, the Catholic priest in saffron robes

A Catholic priest dressed in saffron robe and sporting long hair is a spiritual celebrity in Faridabad, Haryana.

Aji Sebastian, a seminarian who hails from Kerala and who is now an Ayurvedic medic, yoga instructor and teacher for the Fazirpur Kadia village says he wants to promote the "Indian Christian identity."

Popularly known as 'Isai Baba', he says, "The saffron dress helps me to connect with people easily as they regard me as a religious person after seeing my robe."

According to a media report, the villagers in the small town have even set up an ashram for him.

"It is an old village Panchayat building, which has now been refurbished into an ashram or what I would call a local hospital," says Sebastian.

Sebastin however asserts that he does not force Gospel on anyone who visits him. Most of them come for the Ayurvedic medicines that he gives out, he says.

"People know me as an Isai baba and they respect me for that. I tell them that their body is the temple of god just like what the Bible says, but I don't preach the gospel as a whole. I prefer my way of life to be a role model for others," He says.

On Yoga, the Christian says, is about meditation. "It relaxes one's body and I have been doing it for many years. Teaching Yoga has nothing to do with being a Hindu or a Christian."

"I am least bothered about structural formations of religion. What I follow probably is the Indian Christian way."

Sebastin has also sponsored education for children in the village. He proudly states that he was able to send at least 112 students to schools and their fees paid by the ashram through the farming he does