Dispelling the Darkness around Aghoris

Deep in the dense jungles of Bengal, the hot deserts of Gujarat and the cremation grounds of Varanasi, exists an order of ascetics known as the Aghoris. One of the most extreme and feared of all sects of sadhus, they are abhorred for their cannibalistic habits and revered by rural Indians for their Tantrik healing powers. The burning grounds of the Hindu dead is their place of meditation. These followers of Lord Shiva worship his third face or the destructive side of the god. They indulge in meat eating, alcohol drinking, consumption of beverages and foods with opiates, hallucinogens and cannabis products, and Tantrik sexual rituals.

In essence, Aghoris base their beliefs on two principles. First, that Shiva is perfect. Second, that Shiva is responsible for everything; every rock, tree, animal, and every thought. Everything that exists must be perfect, and to deny the perfection of anything would be to deny the sacredness of all life in its full manifestation as well as to deny the gods and goddesses and the demigods in their perfection.



It is for this reason that an Aghori lives a simple yet extremely challenging life. For 12 years he meditates in the name of Lord Shiva and eats everything from human faeces to the flesh of dead bodies. Aghoris believe in preserving the perfection of nature and would never touch fruits or food that requires cooking. They see no difference between chicken and human flesh. To them both are meat and when they have a sudden hunger or desire to eat, they can have anything. At such times, the feeling is so overpowering that they do not know what they are eating or doing. The power in them is so strong that they can consume an entire human body,

An Aghori does not hold hate in his heart. They believe that one who hates cannot meditate. Sharing food with dogs and cows does not sound repulsive to them, rather it is how they eat their meals - alongside the animals which frequent cremation grounds, out of the same bowl. It is their belief that if they were to start worrying about insignificant things like animals dirtying their food, they would not be able to focus on their higher aims of meditating and becoming one with Lord Shiva.

Once a powerful sect, Aghoris now are just a handful in number. The sect is not hereditary. Often men have been known to take it up as a challenge. The Hindu belief that the human soul reincarnates in an endless cycle of life, death and rebirth is embodied by Aghoris. Ultimate salvation is got when one can liberate himself from this cycle and this is what they try to achieve through their meditation. The cremation grounds are their empires, where they can get everything. Clothes and food are often left by relatives of the dead or drawn from offerings to the dead body.

The Aghori has no fear of the dead or the burial ground. His life centers around it and he lives there night and day. Fire, ash and wood is available in plenty. As flames reduce the body to ashes, it is returned to the elements from which it was forged. Ash is the cloth for Aghoris as was used by Lord Shiva. As his child, the Aghori must use it as well. Being made from the 5 elements, ash is essential to protect him from disease and mosquitoes. His constant state is to be one with Lord Shiva, and he starts to do this by imitating his physical appearance. Nothing can give them more pleasure than to be in this state.

The human skull or 'kapal' is the true sign of an Aghori. This is the first thing he must procure from the floating corpses of holy men in rivers where they are laid to rest. After he receives the magical incantation from his guru, he starts his life as an Aghori, eating the remnants of the dead and bathing in the icy waters of the Ganga. The fire pit is his temple, and the abode of ghosts and evil spirits his home. At night, when people do not go near cremation grounds for fear of ghouls and phantoms, he meditates in peace. Breaking the rules between the clean and the unclean, the pure and the impure is the way in which he hopes to gain magical powers to cure and heal.

The end of his education is signified by a visit to his home by his guru who chants sacred mantras to call the gods and goddesses to enter his body and talk to him. This is rumored to be the instant when the guru gives the Aghori the power to heal and drive away evil spirits. Their rituals are strange, as defined by instances when they are 'called' by the gods to consume food, drink or have sex. Alcohol and opium are widely consumed. In keeping with their convention of not disturbing the perfection of life, they drink from the blood of dead humans and eat from their flesh. A sex tradition is followed where at certain instances they must have sex with dead bodies which are found floating in rivers, not to appease their lust but to answer the call of the gods.

For an Aghori, God imbues everything, the best and the worst in the world. Nothing is profane, everything is sacred. The equality of all humans with the most powerful of animals, the most flighty of birds, the meanest of insects, the oldest of trees and the most insignificant of grains of sand reinforces their belief in the perfection of God and his creation, the universe. As they meditate, they ponder over deeper issues than we can ever imagine as being possible. The men of Shiva gain in wisdom, understanding, simplicity and humility.

The myriad ways of Hindu sects have rarely been known to advocate restraint from the world's pleasures, rather they support indulging in wealth, beauty, pleasure if one has the desire to do so. Aghoris have a healthy acceptance of tabooed people such as prostitutes. They call them mother or sister and eat with them in their homes, thus earning the respect of these socially unacceptable people. This is even when the world refuses to acknowledge their presence, while secretly alluding with these faceless in the safety of darkness.

Are the Aghoris cannibals who do not shy from necrophagy in any form or are they demigods capable of unleashing and controlling the power of spirits? Or are they really just men who live their lives in a reality impossible to be understood by us?




P.S. Anyone interested in starting a partial Aghori sect? We can skip the drinking blood and eating dead bodies part, but wouldn't it be cool to be in a sect where your God tells you, "Okay, you can have alcohol now because this is the sacred time for you to do so!"