Is an Indian wise man called guru or saddhu?
Is there a word for the Indian wise man other than that two?
Is an Indian wise man called guru or saddhu?
Is there a word for the Indian wise man other than that two?
My problem with the original question is that it asks for a different word for an "Indian wise man". The word "guru" covers the "wise man"-part, because I assume that a "wise man" knows a lot about a particular subject, but "guru" doesn't tell us where this wise man is from.
If I say to someone, 'I saw this guru the other day and he gave me some interesting advice', the person I'm talking to, is not going to know straight away where this guru was from unless I specifically state it, but if I say, 'I saw this Indian wise man the other day and he gave me some interesting advice', they'll know immediately that this wise man was either born in India or from Indian descent.
I believe the question is clear about the fact that the OP is looking for the word that describes a wise man of the Hindu religion (reinforced by the word 'saddhu'), even if the OP used the ambiguous term 'Indian'.
Both "guru" and "sadhu"are Hindi words. The former means "teacher" and the latter "holy man". Most teachers are not holy men, but some holy men are (spiritual) teachers. One cannot become a Hindu unless one is born a Hindu, changes religion and then returns to Hinduism. It is not necessary to be an Indian national to be a Hindu, but you would need to be of (ultimate) Indian descent.
I see. Well, in that case, I guess that "guru" and "sadhu" could be used in place of "Hindu wise man", though according to the Wikipedia definitions, guru and sadhu are not the same. In other words, it would depend on what kind of "wise man" he is.
My confusion arose because joyce6 used "Indian" to describe what kind of "wise man" he was.