Three ways to enter the express checkout line when buying a one-way ticket out of the cycle of reincarnation: rid oneself of Shame, Fear, Revulsion.

So told one Aghori to a good friend of mine.

WHO ARE THE AGHORIS?

some www (Words of Wisdom from Wikipedia):

The Aghori are a Hindu sect. Aghori means non-terrifying in Sanskrit.

Goal: Aghori ascetics adhere to the common Hindu belief in moshka from samsara i.e. liberation (moksha) from the cycle of reincarnation (samsara).

Wierd Goth: Members of the Aghori drink from human skulls and practice cannibalism in the belief that eating human flesh confers spiritual and physical benefits.

Nice: The Aghori ascetic is himself a symbol of the god Shiva. He goes naked or wears the shroud of a corpse, he covers himself in the ashes of the cremation ground--which would be polluting for an orthodox Brahmin--and his ritual practices are symbols of his non-dualistic beliefs. The corpse upon which he meditates is a symbol of his own body and the corpse devouring ritual is a symbol of the transcendence of his lower self and a realisation of the greater, all pervading self.

Shaivite sadhu [above] drinks from his human skull bowl. A picture of Shiva can be seen behind him. Although the practice of taking all of one's food and drink from a human skull is rare nowadays, certain sadhus, particularly the Aghori sub-sect, still hold to it as a daily reminder of human mortality and as a challenge to transcend the duality of life and death.
( text & images © Thomas L. Kelly )

You have to hand it to them. They may not have the most appealing rituals, but they have a cool philosphy behind it. And isn't that the key: the ritual is as good as the story and the story is as good as the tellah?

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