Aghori

The Aghori (from Sanskrit: अघोर, lit. 'not dreadful', 'dreadless', IAST: aghora) are a Tantric Hindu monastic order of ascetic Shaivite sadhus based in Uttar Pradesh, India. They are the only surviving sect derived from the Kāpālika tradition, a Tantric, non-Puranic form of Shaivism that originated in Medieval India between the 4th and 8th centuries CE. Like their Kāpālika predecessors, the Aghori engage in post-mortem and strongly antinomian practices. They often dwell in charnel grounds and cremation grounds, cover or smear their bodies with cremation ashes, and use human remains, including bones, to make jewellery and kapāla, or skull cups, of the kind Shiva and other Hindu deities are often iconographically depicted holding or using. Their antinomian practices include consuming ordure and human corpse-flesh. They practice this post-mortem cannibalism by eating flesh from foraged corpses, including bodies obtained from cremation ghats. Some Aghori also consume an intoxicating drink of bhaṅga. The Aghori venerate a tradition of gurus and worship Śiva in the form of Aghora, or the goddess as Śītalā, Parnagirī or Kālī. Their practices are sometimes considered contrary to orthodox Hinduism. Many Aghori gurus command great reverence among rural populations and are widely referred to in medieval and modern works of Indian literature, being reputed to possess healing powers acquired through intensely eremitic rites and practices of renunciation and tápasya. Aghori gurus were traditionally not cremated after death, but buried in an upright meditation posture.