Aghori in India

Introduction / History

The Aghori are a monastic order of sadhus which would usually give them high status. They are not well accepted in regular Hindu society because of their macabre and unorthodox practices. Their sect began between the 7th and 8th centuries CE. Their primary pilgrimage site is in Varanasi, India.

What Are Their Lives Like?

The main source of subsistence for the Aghori has been begging and consuming leftovers from feasts or hotels. Some are rickshaw-pullers or laborers. However, today there are some in government and private service.

Social control is maintained by a headman (mukhia). The priest (sardar-naya) and the treasurer (bhandari) are the other officials. Unless the council's decisions are obeyed, the offender is usually excommunicated.

What Are Their Beliefs?

They worship family deities (gosai) such as Bhairals, Bishahar, and Panchunath. They worship Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction, and Kali. Believing that spiritual power comes from the dead, they participate in morbid rituals that involve smearing ashes from cremation sites on their bodies and eating the flesh of the dead. The Aghori use human bones to craft skull caps, eating utensils and jewelry. Sometimes they sit in a meditative posture on top of corpses. They are deliberately being socially offensive as a way to demonstrate their belief that death is necessary and natural. They also believe everything is beautiful; part of the creation of the gods. Nothing is base, not even eating excrement or human flesh. They firmly stand against discrimination and the caste system.

The Aghori believe in getting into total darkness them moving into the light symbolizing self-realization. They practice a form of “healing” that involves ritual purification and animal sacrifice. They believe themselves able to transfer their own healing to their patients.

What Are Their Needs?

Some of the people in this community speak a language (Hindi, Maithili) that has many Christian resources available. Scripture and the JESUS Film are available in these languages, as examples. Workers are needed to carry these resources to the people.

Prayer Points

Pray for them to understand and respond to Christ.
Pray God will have mercy on the Aghori, doing whatever it takes to place them in a position to receive him.
Ask God to open the hearts of the Aghori to the gospel leading entire families to the foot of the cross and the empty grave.
Pray for an unstoppable movement to Christ among them.

Text Source:   Joshua Project