What is the purpose of a holy man?

[veil_le_pantera]

So I've been reading some Herman Hesse lately. Specifically Siddhartha, and noticed that he has two 'holy' men. One is Gotama, who preaches enlightenment and draws a crowd, yet stays humble, while the other, Siddhartha, spends his life contemplating a river and ferrying travelers.

Both are supposedly holy, but live very differently. One begs for a living, but doesn't need to, the other works for a living, but was rich enough to retire. Neither care how they live.

What are there roles from their own perspective, and what are societies roles for them?