Who are Aghoris?

Who are Aghoris?

Being in India, we most often come across them in streets, temples et. But how often do we make an effort to know who they really are? Aghoris are sadhus belonging to an unconventional clan who are Shiva worshippers. While some believe that they have divine powers and others think they are sadhus with black magic which can harm people. But undoubtedly they have a mystical personality.

GHOR means scary. AGHOR means beautiful.

The teachings of Shiva or the message of Divine is beautiful, So Shiva is definitely beautiful or Aghori.

Aghoris are seen to be mostly naked and accepting of their bodies. You can see Aghori in completely naked bodies covered in ashes from the dead bodies. It definitely scares some people while some people find it enticing.

Aghoris let their hair grow long and believe in no haircuts. After all, that is how we were born and what better way to accept our natural self. You will never see Aghori in short, trimmed hair.

For them Shiva is Everything. Aghoris immerse themselves in the devotion of Lord Shiva. They believe that Lord Shiva is the answer to everything as he is omnipresent and absolute. They perform penance, which is of three kinds that are called Shiva Sadhana, Shav Sadhana, and Smashaan Sadhana.

They have NO HATE IN HEART. These sadhus share their food with the animals in the cremation ground. Be it a cow or a dog, every life is the same for them. And they believe the person who hates cannot truly meditate.

These sadhus survive the harshest and extreme weather conditions. They are known to live in the scariest jungles and also the snow clad mountains. They are also found in the hot desert, in conditions where a normal human being doesn’t survive well.

Aghoris are known to perform black magic but not to harm anyone or anything but they say that it heals them and increases their supernatural powers to talk to the dead. They perform a lot of rituals, strange in the eye of a common man to perform dark magic.