Just In
- 2 hrs ago
World Menstrual Hygiene Day: What Is Cycle Syncing? How Does It Benefit Your Productivity And PMS Symptoms?
- 5 hrs ago
Covid-19 In Babies: Here's What To Expect & What You Should Do
- 6 hrs ago
World Menstrual Hygiene Day 2022: What Is Oligomenorrhoea? Causes, Symptoms & Treatments Of Irregular Periods
- 7 hrs ago
Meet 42-Year Old Laxmi Jadhav, Mumbai's First Female BEST Bus Driver
Don't Miss
- Finance
Which Bank Is Offering Maximum Interest Rates On FD After Recent Hike: Check Latest Rates
- News
PM Modi inaugurates Nano Urea Liquid plant in Gandhinagar
- Technology
Honor Watch GS 3 With GPS, Bluetooth Calling Listed On Amazon; India Launch Expected Soon
- Movies
Latest TRP Ratings: Yeh Hai Chahatein Jumps To 2nd Spot; Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah Returns To Top 10
- Sports
GT vs RR IPL 2022 Final Stats & Records Preview: Buttler, Chahal, Ashwin, Hardik eye big milestones on May 29
- Automobiles
Next-Gen Maruti Suzuki Eeco To Arrive In Festive Season
- Travel
Everest Day 2022, Indian Mountaineers Who Climbed Mount Everest
- Education
RRB NTPC CBT 2 Level 2, 3, And 5 Exam Schedule Released, Check Exam Dates Here
11 Lesser Known Facts About The Aghori Sadhus
We often hear the word Aghori, which we know is a term related to sages, whom we see as fearsome looking men with ash smeared all over their body. While some say they are holy saints who have divine powers and supernatural abilities, others say that they are Tantriks (those who perform black magic) who might harm anybody any time using their supernatural powers. Some others believe that all they do is practice absurd things which are actually demeaning.
Here we are going to tell you all some of the most important as well as interesting things about Aghoris. Take a look.
1. Aghoris are devotees of Shiva, who take the form of saints and worship Shiva in strange ways. In fact, people even believe that they are incarnations of Lord Shiva.
2. Aghoris believe that human beings are souls and have a number of flaws. Either they are born with these flaws or get them as an effect of the materialistic world. These flaws include materialistic tastes and pleasures such as sensual pleasure, greed, hatred, lust, anger, etc.
These come under the major eight Ashtamahapasa, the other name for flaws. Their aim is the eradication of these flaws and thus, the attainment of the supreme power, Shiva.
3. For this aim, they perform sadhana (penances) on the cremation grounds. They believe that being freed from the bondage of the eight desires, Ashtamahapasa, is the basic and the highest requirement for attaining Moksha (salvation). This is what they call attaining Sadashiva.
4. Basically, the sadhana that they do, which is the other name for penance, is of three types. These are Shiva Sadhana, Shav Sadhana and Smashaan Sadhana, which means penance before Shiva, penance before the dead body and penance in the cremation ground, respectively.
It is believed that they eat stinking flesh. Many of them even stay naked, which they believe is a way of getting rid of shyness.
5. It is believed that they stand on one leg above a dead body. The main inspiration here is Parvati standing on the chest of Shiva. They even offer flesh to the dead body as prasad.
6. While performing the Smashan Sadhana, they offer prayers on a grave and offer gangajal and sweets as prasad, unlike Shav Sadhana, wherein they offer flesh as prasad.
7. Another belief says that Aghoris search for dead bodies, which they can easily find in waterbodies when the dead are not burnt but either buried or left afloat.
8. While they sleep in the daytime, they spend the whole of their nights in cremation grounds, performing the fearsome rituals. Because a major part of the sadhanas is performed in the crematorium, they prefer staying there itself.
9. Yet another belief says that they can even talk to the dead. Through their rituals, they can connect to the departed souls and, therefore, can share thoughts with them.
10. Some say that Aghoris, while performing the Shav Sadhana, aim to invoke Smashaan Tara, the goddess who can bless the devotees with supernatural powers. She is one of the ten Mahavidyas, the ten goddesses in Hinduism, worshipped for achieving Siddhi.
11. Some texts say that Dattatreya was the founding Adi Guru of the Aghor tradition. Dattatreya has been described in the Hindu scriptures as Aghori, which there means the one who performs Tantrik rituals using the left hand. He is highly revered by the Tantrik traditions as per Hindu scriptures.
Thus, the Aghoris belong to the age-old traditions of Hinduism, which is practised until today in order to attain salvation as well as supernatural powers.
- faith mysticismFasting In Hinduism: What You Need To Know
- faith mysticismPitru Paksha 2020: Significance And Shradh Dates Of This Period
- festivalsSawan Somwar 2020: Here’s The Date, Muhurta, Puja Vidhi And Katha Of This Vrat
- festivalsNag Panchami 2021: Date, Time, Mantra and Puja Vidhi
- thoughtFour Signs That You Have Been To Heaven
- faith mysticismPractices That Bring Demons And Negative Energies In Your House
- faith mysticismThese Are The 8 Types Of Marriages In Hinduism
- faith mysticismFamous Saints And Their Disciples From The Mahabharata & The Ramayana
- faith mysticismSpiritual Gurus And Saints of Hinduism
- faith mysticismImportance of Worshipping A Bilwa Tree On A Monday
- faith mysticismImportance Of The White Aak Plant In Hinduism
- faith mysticismThe Significance of Shiva's Trident