Ahimsa

Actually I did mean ascetics, not Aesthetics, sorry.

When Siddhartha began his search for enlightenment, he left his village and joined a group of “Aesthetics”, I believe, with whom he traveled. My question is, are the "Aesthetic" people described Hindu? If not what religion or philosophy would they be considered? If so, do they belong to a specific "branch" of Hinduism? Thanks for any help that you may have.