In Conversation With Varanasi’s Aghori Babas About Their Extreme Lifestyle | Curly Tales

by Tooba Shaikh
In Conversation With Varanasi’s Aghori Babas About Their Extreme Lifestyle | Curly Tales

If you’ve heard of the Aghori tradition that is followed by many in India, the first word that anyone would think of is grotesque. The Aghoris are ardent followers of Lord Shiva. In this edition of India’s Most Extreme, we spoke to some of the most feared and mystical saints of India, the Aghori Babas. Varanasi is easily one of the most mystical and enchanting places in India and this is where our host, Neha Nambiar, spoke to a fascinating Aghori baba.

Locating Varanasi’s Aghori Babas

If you know anything about the Aghori babas, you know they’re not easy to find. That is why we took help from a local in locating a baba to whom we could speak. The trouble was locating a genuine Aghori baba. There are many who pose as one but they aren’t genuine and don’t really belong to the ancient mystical tradition. Finally, we found the house of a baba who belonged to the Aghori tradition. His name is Satyanand Giri but he is also known as Lali Baba or Chakraborty Aghori Baba.

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Lali Baba’s And His Aphoristic Lifestyle

Our host asked the baba a slew of questions about everything from his lifestyle and appearance to the Aghori tradition. When asked why the Aghoris rub ashes on their body, he responded by saying that the practice is beneficial. He said that when the body is burnt, there are still many nutrients that remain in the ashes as residues. Hence, rubbing them all over the body provides energy.

He also revealed to us that in the old times, people living in the jungles along the Ganga river used to eat the bodies floating in it. Those who had the means to cook them did so, and those who didn’t, consumed them raw. We also asked him why people approach the babas for help and what can the babas actually do.

Lali baba said that there were a number of things that the Aghori babas can do for people. There are certain things that cannot be accomplished by rituals and pujas. This is where the Aghori babas come in. They can accomplish what these rituals cannot.

Aghori babas
Credits: Internal

Rules That The Aghoris Follow

We also discovered that there are certain rules that Aghoris follow. First is meditating on shamshaan ghats. Next, roaming around in little to no clothes. One of the more macabre rules is possessing the skull of a human after they have passed.

Also Read: I Went Hiking From Rishikesh To Kedarnath Covering 242 Km In 8 Days; Here’s How I Did It

Have you seen this extreme episode yet? What was the most interesting part about it for you? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Cover Image Credits: Internal