Aghori
Aghori (Sanskrit: अघोर, aghorī, literally: "the fearless") are a thousand year old religious community of Shivaitic Tantric Hinduism in India . They stand out from Hindu society in particular through their rejection of traditionally and sociologically based conventions . Her name refers to Aghora , an epithet of Shiva.
The founder of the sect is probably Kina Rama (18th century), but it is considered the successor organization of the notorious tantric sect of the Kapalikas . Aghoris are known for their particularly strict asceticism, which is why the number of followers is rather small. It is estimated at around a thousand, a large part of which is found in Varanasi , where the main center with the tomb of Kina Rama is located. They live in cremation places, and their distinguishing feature is a skull as a begging bowl, which is supposed to constantly remind them of transience. They consciously act “crazy” in language and behavior. The extreme behavior is intended to express overcoming the world. Their practices are kept secret. It is rumored, however, that they would eat body parts and excrement and cook their meals on remains of corpses. They are also said to have had sexual intercourse with the dead. Everything that Hindus consider unclean serves them for internal purification. So they eat raw meat, drink alcohol and rub the ashes of burned corpses.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Olaf Ihlau: World Power India. The new challenge from the west. Siedler Verlag, Munich. P. 175
- ↑ Axel Michaels: Hinduism, past and present. Verlag CH Beck Munich, p. 350
- ↑ Axel Michaels: Hinduism, past and present. Verlag CH Beck Munich, p. 351
literature
- Jonathan P. Parry, Death in Banaras. Cambridge University Press 1994.