Aghori Parampara - Sadhana, and Philosophy
A sect that has borne the brunt of being caricatured ad infinitum is the Aghorī. It has been othered like no other and has spawned many a fantastical tale around its origins, practices, and membership. Making fun of its adherents for looking a certain way or creating an Indiana Jones level of misinformation around its supposed practices, is a reductionist caste, cows, curry (Rajiv Malhotra) approach towards a very revered panth. Trying to appreciate a different sect on its own merit takes patience, understanding, and empathy. It needs us to be non-judgmental and willing to open our hearts and minds.
Among the many legends that surround the Aghorī, some that stand out are that they are cannibalistic since they eat corpses, that they indulge in strange sexual mores at midnight hours, that they smoke marijuana, that they run amok naked, that they are often found frequenting cremation grounds and so on. In impressionable minds these tales conjure the macabre and end up generating fear and loathing for the Aghorī-s amongst most Indians. When we examine closely the very idea of what is macabre and what is not, what is acceptable societally and what is not, ultimately all this stems from our own colonial conditioning.
Added to this, what does not help clear misconceptions is the consistent negative press the Aghorī gets. While for most of us the window into the Aghorī world of beliefs and practices was opened by Robert E. Svoboda with his Aghora: At The Left Hand Of God (first of a three part series), for many others it was the 2017 CNN documentary by Reza Aslan that exposed them to the ‘Holy Men of the Dead’, to ‘India’s Cannibals’, to these ‘Man Eaters’, epithets hurled at a group who have no history of harming anyone wantonly. They have to also bear the brunt of the state in the form of anti-superstition laws such as those instituted by Maharashtra (2013) and Karnataka (2017) which bans many of their practices arbitrarily without consulting them. Although they indulge in extreme practices which may be unlawful, they are fully aware of kārmika consequences of their actions and participate in each ritual consciously for a higher purpose, in line with their dharma. Unlike say a promiscuous libertine, who ironically is allowed his indulgences in the name of ‘freedom of the individual.’
The Aghorī wants to examine physical death at close quarters because are we not all headed towards that same end? They take an extreme view of achieving one-ness, and make it their life’s mission to overcome fear, shame, passion, resistance, hate, disgust, and other negative traits within themselves via engaging in secret acts that offend normal sensibilities. In the process of practicing their sādhanā they end up riling the onlookers who are neither forced nor coaxed to participate or view any of these esoteric tāntric rituals. Their secretive ways have unfortunately made it even more difficult to appreciate them and take them as they are. For example many of the Aghorī-s have addressed abject poverty caused by colonialism by taking up charitable works as service to society but even this is not known amongst the public.
How then do we learn more about a group of people who are normally not so accessible even to regular Hindus?
Given his first-hand experience with the Aghorī sampradāya, Shri Prabhav Paturi would like to clarify certain misconceptions that people might have in their minds when they hear of the Aghora-s (adjective) and / or the Aghorī-s (noun).
The first article in this three part series takes a comprehensive and detailed look at the Aghorī-s. The second article debunks and counters certain baised and ignorant narratives made notorious by various news, and entertainment channels/ organizations. The third article, albeit shorter, promises to be interesting as it deals with his personal experience and how he got the insider’s knowledge of this rare and much misunderstood tradition.
Who are the Aghorī-s?
They are an independent tāntrika sect that claims its lineage from Guru Dattātreya to whom Sadāśiva revealed the knowledge of his aghora mukha or his aghora face.They are vāma panthi-s, who do not follow the vaidika strictures of society, hence causing a lot of fear and loathing amongst people, more so in non-Hindus who may not know the origins and the philosophy behind the various practices of the Aghorī-s.
Aghora is a form of Śiva, the Supreme God of Yoga, the destroyer. The Aghora form represents destruction and faces southward. God Śiva as Aghora is represented by a magnificent 6th century vigraha at the Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai, Tamil Nadu. As Aghora (“To Whom Nothing Is Horrible”) he depicts the uncanny traits of his nature (evil, death, punishment) and also their opposites (Encyclopaedia Britannica).
As per ‘The Practical English Sanskrit Dictionary’ by Vaman Shivaram Apte (Pg No.34):
Aghora (अघोर).—a. Not terrific [terrifying] or fearful. -raḥ [nāsti ghoro yasmāt]
1) Name of Śiva or of one of his forms, (īśānāghoranā- mānau vāmadevastataḥ param |
sadyojāta iti proktaḥ kramaśo’rcanakarmaṇi ||)
2) A worshipper of Śiva and Durgā. -rā [aghoraḥ śivaḥ upāsyatvena asyāṃ sā, aghora-ac]
The fourteenth day of the dark half of Bhādra sacred to Śiva (bhādramāsyasite pakṣe hyaghorākhyā caturdaśī |
tasyāmārādhitaḥ sthāṇurnayocchivapuraṃ dhruvam ||).
iha no likhitaṃ vyāsabhayāccānupayogataḥ /
tā eva nirmalāḥ śuddhā aghorāḥ parikīrtitāḥ // 257
ghoraghoratarāṇāṃ tu sotṛtvācca tadātmikāḥ /
sṛṣṭau sthitau ca saṃhāre tadupādhitrayātyaye // 258
Tantrāloka Chapter 3, (tṛtīyamāhnikam)
The relevant part roughly translates to: those forces that are flawless and have the quality of the aghora (fearless) delve deep into more horrifying depths of the human mind to emerge as courageous on that auspicious occasion.
Aghora – adjective; un-dreadful, fearless, without fear Aghorī – noun; a sect of people who are un-dreadful, beyond seeming dreadfulness, beyond fear, who live without fear Aughar – colloquial North Indian word for an Aghora.
In their own words, Aghora-s (individuals) have defined the Aghorī (the sect, and a group of people i.e. Aghora-s) as people who live life in an unlimited form. They are not bound by societal rules, norms, and taboos. They are boundless. The sthiti and avasthā, or state of being, where nothing is scary, nothing is disgusting, in one word, where nothing is ghora is: a+ghora. Those who live in such a state are called the aghorī.
They live in a state of detachment and dispassion all the while completely adhering to the principle of the whole world being their family. They stand by anyone in the time of need, regardless of religion. They regard themselves as being placed on earth to solve humanity’s problems both at the macro and the micro levels. They strongly believe that they are here to protect dharma. Their ultimate aim is to emulate Śiva, who only knows how to give and not take. Their life’s purpose is to attain liberation through this method.
When we examine their name further we see that the real scary, disgusting, or ghora that exists within this world is the thought that goes “regardless of what happens to anybody else or whatever else, I will live my life, and I will be happy by taking whatever I please by hook or crook to survive.” Aghora tattva or essence of Aghora aims to counter this worldly thought and encourages a sense of complete giving and dedicating oneself to the betterment of society by upholding dharma.
Their method of realizing one’s self is via a practical nature-driven approach, since they are masters in traditional sciences such as āyurveda and yoga. Their sādhanā mārga includes mantra japa, mudra pradarśana, havana, yajña, karma, kriyā, nyāsa, rakṣā, samasya-vimukti, duṣṭa-śikṣaṇa, śiṣṭa-rakṣaṇa, and through all this dharma samrakṣaṇa.
Their sādhanā is done in three distinct phases, while the duration of each phase varies from sect to sect. The first phase of their sādhanā is called śiva-sādhanā, the second phase is smaśāna-sādhanā while the third and final phase after which one becomes a pūrṇa aghorī is the śava-sādhanā. Once they do become a pūrṇa aghorī, they dedicate themselves completely to the cause of the betterment of society.
Societal identities do not form barriers to entry on this path, however being a Guru yoga , one is initiated into the path only after the required testing process.
Guru is central to the Aghorī-s, service to one’s guru, adherence to one’s guru’s words, commitment to one’s guru, all these traits are essential markers. Worship of one’s guru is primary even before worship of the chosen deity.
This article presents facts that were learned directly from the practitioners within the sampradāya. It gives an introductory but comprehensive look at the sampradāya. In the next two parts more myths will go bust, taking you deeper into the depths of this unique, fascinating, and much maligned sampradāya.
Authored by Prabhav Paturi. Published by Brhat.