Sri Narada asked Sri Bhagavan "Which are the paths of the yogis called Paramahamsas and what is their aim?"

Sri Bhagavan replied "The path of a Paramahamsa is extremely difficult to achieve. Paramahamsas are not many, one can be seen very rarely. He is totally divine. The learned know that a Paramahamsa is Veda Purusha himself. He is a great soul. His mind is always dwells on me. I also dwell in him always. He, leaving his wife, children and relatives, removing hair, yagnopaveetham (poonal), not indulging in any karmas including Veda adhyayana, forsaking this big world itself, for the sake of decency and for the sake of convenience he has a langod wrapping a towel around it and also a dandam. Even this is not important to him.

He travels everywhere without even a dandam or hair or poonal without minding heat or cold. He does not have passions or distress. He is not bothered about mana or apamana (self respect or abuse). Without anger, pride, astonishment or wants or avarice or ostentation he considers his body as a dead body. He, having totally detaching himself from the body which was the cause of doubts and avidya, having realised the supreme truth of his Atman sees himself as Supreme Bliss and Supreme truth. He has attained the supreme truth that Atman and Paramatman are one and the same. This merger (sandi) is his Sandya Upasana.

Whoever is able to totally destroy all desires and dwells always in the state of Advaita he possess the danda of Gnana and he is called Ekadandi.