Aghoris- the most feared and respected clan of Indian aesthetics, infamous for their uncommon and ghastly rituals that they perform as a part and parcel of their religious routine.
They believe that Shiva is All- the creator, preserver, destroyer, revealer and concealer of all that is. Shaivism is prevalent throughout India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The Aghoris are known to engage in post-mortem rituals, like dwelling in funeral grounds, smearing cremation ashes on their bodies, and use bones from human corpses for crafting skull bowls and jewellery. Due to their practices that are contradictory to orthodox Hinduism, they are generally opposed and looked down upon.
Orgin of Aghoris can be traced to Kina Ram, an ascetic who lived 150 years, dying during the second half of the 18th century. An Aghori believes in getting into total darkness by all means, and then getting into light or self-realization. They are notoriously known for their rituals that include such as shavasamskara – worship integrating the use of a corpse as the altar to invoke The Mother Goddess in her form as Smashan Tara.
Aghoris are well known for their extremely nauseating appetite with their food habits including whatever a civilized human being will never eat at any cost, such as rotten foods, foods from dumpster, animal faeces, animal urine and deteriorating human bodies which are eaten in a human skull. But they seem to have their own reasons for their nasty appetite. Consumption of excreta is said to kill ego and derail the human perception of beauty, which is essential for a man to lead his life as an Aghora.
There are records that say than an Aghori, named Tailanga Swami was slapped and driven out of the Kashi Vishwanath temple by a priest when he was worshipping and performing a puja on the shiv ling using his own excreta. It is then said that Lord Shiva himself appeared in the dream of the local king of Benaras and protested against the insult meted out to Tailanga Swami, and also revealed that the swami was an incarnation of his holiness himself. The priest was found dead mysteriously, later.
Many of the Aghoris are naked, representing the true form of any human and their detachment from this world of mortals who, according to them live in a world of delusion.
Aghoris are also known for their healing powers and it is due to their expertise in Black magic, which they never use for harmful deeds or for destruction, instead they absorb the diseases into their bodies and incinerate those diseases using Black magic. Aghoris who intensely practice Black magic gain more powers by immensely pleasing Lord Shiva and Goddess Kali and have control over the environment. But they never do it, as they adore and respect Mother Nature.
By: Archa Dave
