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Why people are afraid of Aghoris?

Is that because of their face and living style or do they have any supernatural powers?

I heard irrespective of religion, anyone can become Aghori. Is that true?

What is the Significance of Aghoris?

Do they work on Black Magic?

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People are scared of Aghoris because of traditional myths associated with them..

Some people believe that they have black magic powers, some believe that they eat human flesh, some believe that they are favourite devotes of lord shiva and they have "Saath Khoon Maaf"

Not all Aghoris are really Aghoris.. Majority of them are just wanted criminals from different region of the country and living unidentified life.

However, the real Aghoris have to find a GURU to become an Aghori. It is a process of 14 years.. where your GURU teaches you all the tricks and tips of a successful Aghori.. In the initial years of training they have to find a human skull from the carnation grounds and turn it into a bowl and eat in that bowl everyday. They also rub ashes on their body to keep them warm and make them look like lord Shiva.

Aghoris do eat dead human body because they think its a "PRASAD" from lord shiva. Some people find it Taboo but some find it as blessing if their loved one's dead body get eaten by an Aghori.

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    Welcome to Hinduism.SE! You should cite sources.
    – Keshav Srinivasan ♦
    May 19, 2015 at 5:20
  • aghori eating dead body is just a myth, i have read at many places, secondly, many researchers claim, that most of aghori eating filth is spread by britishers and western missionaries to degrate the religion.
    – Mr. K
    May 25, 2015 at 13:52
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    My answer was more based on experience instead of myth.. I have followed Aghoris for 2 months (in Varanasi and Himalayan mountains) and in that time I have met lots of different Aghoris.. Some are vegetarian, some sacrificed living dog and chicken, some drank alcohol and some also ate human flesh.. But I am a big fan of them because i have also seen their strengths.. I saw a group of them walking naked in snowy mountains when I was shivering in my Kathmandu jackets.
    – Lokapedia
    May 26, 2015 at 22:07
  • Tantra prescribes something called pancha-ma-akara. Although, they do shava-sadhana i.e. doing ritual on a dead body, they definitely do not eat human corpse.
    – Vineet Menon
    Jan 25, 2017 at 9:36
  • Why they gotta sacrifice animals ? Nooo. Are there any vegan Aghori. Hopefully.
    – veganenvironmentalist
    Nov 25, 2022 at 16:43
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Aghora is one of the 'vaama-marga' in Hinduism i.e. left-hand-path is considered vaamachaara. The normal Hindu rituals are dakshinachara or colloquially called right-hand path.

Aghoris believe that although dakshinachara is more easier, socially accepted and 'saner' way to attain moksha and elevate kundalini it's painfully slow. Aghoris on the other hand use vaamachara, which is considered very difficult (it's very easy to fall from dharmic path to adharma), socially taboo (the ingredients in a tantric pooja and the yantras etc).

Tantra prescribes something called pancha-makara (5 things starting with 'm'). These include Madya (wine), Mamsa (meat), Matsya (fish), Mudra (cereal), and Maithuna (sexual intercourse). Often it's said that these are allegories for other subtle elements. There are tantric yogic mudras like sahajoli, vajroli mudras which are again related to sex organs.

The reason Tantra is not popular compared to dakshinachara is that it's very easy to stray from the path of moksha and indulge more in the mundane world when surrounded by earthly pleasures including tamasic food, intoxicants and sex.

Since these things are considered taboo and scorned off in dakshinachara, people started concocting stories around people who practice vaamachara including but not limited to Aghoras being necro-cannibals (corpse eaters) and what-not.

For a more elaborate treatment, I recommend a three part book series titled Aghora.

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