Understanding The Aghoris And Tantra

Historically, while orthodox exoteric religion followed rules and regulations to guide humanity, the unorthodox esoteric spirituality followed trial and error to discover truth. Exoteric religion has typically stressed faith in a blind sense, where beliefs are to be accepted based on someone else's discovery or simply out of fear of what may happen if not followed (hell). Not true with esoteric, especially the tantric and taoist sects of India and the Orient (and quite possibly Egypt and S. America), where belief needs to be substantiated from experiences. 

Mantra is a tantric practice where the practitioner attempts to embody the essence/blessings of the mantra, often a spiritual concept that has been anthropomorphized. Mantras hold "seeds" (Bijas), that sprout new energies within oneself, altering one's consciousness to experience something beyond the ego-identity, something beyond a mere translation of sanskrit terms. Mantras are vibrations that create geometric patterns known as yantras. Once these yantras are established in the human vehicle, they become 3D geometrical mandalas that envelope the body, allowing the practitioner to completely dissolve into the essence of the mantra. This is a practice where experience is key, as compared to a faithful prayer (not attempting to negate faith, belief, or prayer, but a mixture of experience and faith I believe is optimal). 

In order to potentiate the experience, the ego-identity should be subdued to allow transmutation. In other words, our head can't get in the way, a typical problem that arises in attempting to unite with something more expansive. Hence, a practice geared towards stillness is key, where in order to experience the expansiveness of spirit, ego-death (removing the human/animal identity) is needed to experience a broader state of awareness. These states of consciousness are significantly broader than human constructs. Hence, typical traditional, cultural, and societal beliefs, all designed to manage our material world, hinder our conception of the spiritual world. That is why in Hinduism, four stages of life are depicted, with the first two stages geared towards management of the material world (including religion), and the last two stages geared towards discovering "Self". Hence, the final two stages are geared towards hermitage (getting away from society, tradition, culture), then as a wandering ascetic (to teach what has been experienced in a materially detached manner). Jesus, Siddhartha, and Mohammed practiced such hermitage, where what was learned was dispensed to the public thereafter. Do note, that none of these three taught or fully expressed themselves before their hermitage experience, nor were they attached the material world thereafter. 

In order to understand spirit, what we know of and understand spirit to be needs to be diminished, where knowledge is also considered maya, an illusion. Those that have pierced beyond the veil, speak of it in terms above Chuck Palahniuk's "Fight Club", where it is not that you can't talk about it, it's more like there are no vocabulary terms to describe it, as it is simply an experience. Hence, terms like Brahman and the Tao are used to describe this expanse, but feels unknowable by the definitions provided by our masters. Even the term "Allah", which is an Arabic generic term for "God" used before Islam, and used today by Christians in the middle-east, means "No-Thing", as in the indescribable beyond the tangible world of form. Hence, once the tangible is blown-out, Nirvana, what remains is the experience of the formless, Samadhi​. 

The Aghori sect is probably the most extreme of all tantric practices, where nothing is forbidden for minds that seek to remove all limitations. Tantra, stemming from numerous separate groups all attempting different techniques, historically chose to break societal (Brahmanic) norms in order to discover truth. However, many modern practitioners have realized the deeper meanings behind such practices, negating the need for rituals that are in the fringes of society. Mind you, it is through these groups that the world has been gifted the wisdom of the Kundalini and the Chakra system, a spiritual manual that pervades every esoteric tradition in both Eastern and Western (Tantrik, Taoist, Tibetan, Hermetic, Gnostic, etc.), where Kundalini is traced to a particular ancient hidden Tantrik Goddess cult, which is separate from Brahmanic Hinduisim. Nonetheless, masters of the modern day Tantrik practices stress the internal world, where imagination is real, and where these "forbidden" rituals, frightening enough for mainstream to grab their pitchforks, are to be conducted. Such has been expressed through numerous tantrik masters, one of which is Abhinavagupta under his magnum opus, the Sri Tantraloka, pervading the philosophy of the beautiful Kashmiri Shaivas. Nonetheless, it's through the shoulders of the lineage of individuals doing these trial and error practices that we are able to refine these internal esoteric practices today. So why the need at all for such odd practices?

Most exoteric religions and their practices fall under dualist teachings, the right hand path. Duality, or Dvaita-Vedanta beliefs are that we have an individual soul that is separate from the almighty soul aka God. Because of the separation, the human containing the soul has to follow righteous disciplines in order to purify oneself in order to liberate the soul. This is where concepts of morals, ethics, etc., all come into play creating external practices to avoid or cleanse oneself of "sin". 

However, the majority of tantrik practices are non-dualist teachings, the left hand path (Within the left hand path, you have another grouping of right-hand/left-hand which is more akin to light/dark, hence, high tantra and low tantra). Nonduality, or Advaita-Vedanta holds that the individual spirit known as Atman is not separate, but the same as Brahman. As described in the Upanishads as well as the Shaivas practical text the Vijnanabhairava, Atman is like the air inside of a jar, and Brahman is the air outside of the jar. Hence, the whole purpose of higher tantrik practices is to associate with the air within and around the jar as opposed to the jar itself.  

In the material world, our culture, traditions, societal structures, our learning, etc., is all associated with the jar. By identifying with the jar, what many label as the "ego", we perceive our relative existence with limitations, all of which have been defined and created by society. Hence, our minds become completely associated with the jar, and those of the dualist path seek external guidance [Deity(ies), Angels, Etc.]. We've (as in our Spirit) has gotten completely lost in the realm of matter, in the realm of separation, that even many in Advaita-Vedanta (including myself) use separate spiritual guidance to tap into one's own inner resonance. It's like dualist teachings are a stepping stone to recognize our connection with everything, the "all that is" permeating from source.

Again, so why the odd practices? To realize Advaita is to realize that spirit is always pure and pristine despite what occurs in matter. In other words, our soul has always been and remains untainted, despite what occurs in the material realm of density. Nonetheless, we're so psychologically ingrained with dualist cleansing teachings of pure and impurities, that "extreme" practices are needed in order for one to realize that Brahman still flows through you as it flows through all, within this illusory game that we're all playing (Maya-Lila). Add law of attraction beliefs in the mix where beliefs manifest in the material realm, imagine the experience one creates for his/herself with constantly labeling and believing oneself to be a "sinner". The majority of us walk around with such sentiments, not knowing that such beliefs manifests itself through our experiences. So long as one seeks "Self", the Brahman behind the jar labelled as Atman, sin is an illusory construct that must be removed not just consciously, but subconsciously, which becomes difficult given that Yogis (meditators; consciousness explorers) have realized that the subconscious is also tied to the collective conscious. Hence, the need for odd external practices are for those that cannot remove the psychological guilt of sin, shame, etc., that has been forced upon our psyche from birth (and prior life-times) given the dominance of dualist teachings, and the elites attempt to manage humanity.

The Aghoris are acetic hermits that seek the divine at cremation grounds, away from societal normalities to explore beyond the norm. Nonetheless, basic needs are still to be met, including food, where they rely on societal bread crumbs that are tithed, and have only one option in cooking their food in a spiritual tradition that believes in cremations. Using the kapala of a Brahmin, the symbol of Brahmanic tradition and culture, as well as the greatest "sin" in Hinduism (Brahminicide; figment of the illusory hierarchical caste belief systems), the Aghori seeks to psychologically dissolve such societal constructs and dualist beliefs that have become subconsciously instinctual, where any emotional triggering of disgust (impurity) needs to be neutralized. Aghoris are individuals who take up residence at cremation grounds for years to purge these societal beliefs and attachments, in search of one's true identity. Though a typical householder can similarly attain such goals without breaching societal norms, as found through the traditions of Kriya Yoga under Babaji, the Aghoris choose a path that suit their own inner resonance in seeking the divine, as we are all suited for different expressions.

For those looking at Aghoris with disgust, and with the belief that such practitioners are an abomination to Hinduism, or if such practices are an abomination in light of other traditional beliefs, I hope I have brought some light as to why such practices exist and the beautiful goal these practitioners are attempting to attain. Moreover, I will bring up a quote from another ascetic yogi who similarly faced his demons while meditating in a cave, "Judge not, that ye be not judged" (Matthew 7:1 KJV). Again, these individuals are seeking and finding expansive experiences of the divine, beyond faithful-belief systems. 

19th Century Tibetan Kapala Bowl