Appendix A: Interview Protocol Research Questions The following are the research questions this study aimed to answer: Research Question 1: What is the meaning of happiness from the perspective of sadhus? Research Question 2: Do sadhus perceive themselves to be happy people? Research Question 3: What the sadhus perceive to be the factors that influence their happiness? General Introduction and Relationship Building I aimed to build a solid rapport with the sadhus before the interviews Building rapport with the study participants is a key strategy of a qualitative research so the participants openly shared their knowledge (Ravitch & Carl, 2015) The interview questions were in sync with the phenomenological method to ask questions—in-depth and open-ended (Creswell, 2012) Introduction • Hello / Namaste / Om Namo Narayana Swami Ji (a usual way to greet a sadhu or monk in India), my name is Gopesh Sharma I am a researcher, a doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania, USA Swami Ji X (referee), referred your name I am researching on happiness in the lives of sadhus This research requires me to interview and speak to the sadhus at length to find the truth about happiness as experienced by the sadhus You have all the information from the Study Information Sheet Do you have questions for me? 224