#03 / The Aghori, India's cannibal holy men

I first gave this lecture at Treadwells Occult bookshop in
London. It documents my experiences photographing the Aghori
while working as a photographer travelling around India. The
Aghori are a Shaivite sect who practice cannibalism and commit
profane acts living in and around the spiritual capital of India
- the ancient northern Indian city of Varanasi where I spent two
weeks tracking them down to shoot the work referenced in this
podcast.


The Aghori believe that nothing is blasphemous or independent
from God. The Aghoris are distinct from other Hindu sects and
Sadu’s (priests) by their alcoholic and cannibalistic ceremonies.
Skulls and other human bones are obtained from the cremation
grounds and used due to having life-force which they believe can
be harnessed for ritual purposes. They are also alleged to pull
bodies from the river Ganges, which are then eaten. 


They do things which a common man finds to be terrifying, so they
overcome fears by facing them and acting out horrors, since they
do it regularly it is a common thing for them. They have been
known to consume human flesh and human waste and use alcohol and
drugs as part of their religious practice. It is said that they
are crazy or ‘God-possessed’. They call this transcending of
boundaries; ‘Non-discrimination’.


It’s worth orientating westerner occultists. These Sadhu’s are
Left hand path in their ritual practices but the outcome of these
rituals is not necessarily designed to attain a dark outcome.


"Ordinary morality is only for ordinary people." —
Aleister Crowley


The YouTube video  -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_y2aC2Fqis


To see the photographic essay -
https://www.darraghmasonfield.com/index/G0000qURq7lptH_8


Music by Obliqka - https://soundcloud.com/obliqka


The Mirror -
 https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/pictured-aghori-cannibals-who-drink-3223085