The Aghor initiation

 

Shri Aghoreshwar in Samadhi

Taken from the Biography of Aughar Bhagwan Ram

When Baba Bhagwan Ramji reached Kina Ram’s monastery, the prior (mahant) was sleeping. It was on Saturday. The following day, on Sunday, a devotee had sent some food, as a special gift. Ashu Baba gave rice mixed with fish and other things to the young man. As till then He had been living as a Vishnuit, when He began to eat, He started hiccupping. He ate some rice, threw the rest of the food into the Krin Kund and sat down. Right then this thought crossed his mind: “If I must be an Aghori, I will have to win this feeling.” Step by step the difficulty towards the food vanished. Afterwards the prior sent Him to Harishchandra ghat shmashan with Ashu Baba to take the wood. He threw Himself into this work with excessive severity and, because of His age and as He wasn’t trained to heavy manual labours, He was physically exhausted and, after He came back to the hermitage, He consulted His enlightened Master. The master advised him to go on with determination and within days even this difficulty vanished.

Baba Kina Ram at Krin Kund Sthal

 

For his initiation many sadhaks had come. The prior began the Chakra Puja. From the same goblet the prior had drunk the liquor from, the disciple drunk the remnant. The venerable told that when He was doing His Vishnuit sadhana and was living in the Yaggiaavatarji temple, he used to eat boiled rice he brought from home with a tulsi leave, even if that behaviour didn’t conform to the tradition of that ashram and village. From time to time a young friend from the village offered betel to Him and, as the venerable refused, he brought Him some food from home and went away thinking He was behaving like an Aghori. He accepted madira (liquor) for the first time at Kina Ram’s camp as a gift, an offerings to the master. To complete the rite there was also some special secret ceremony. After that the prior tore some hair out of His sikka and threw it away and at the same time a barber shaved His head by order of the master. The master initiated Him into Mantras and the other sadhaks came back to their residences.

 

Kali – Ara Shmashan 

 

Since he was a child, he used to wake up at dawn, take the bath and do His religious practices. So He started to make all the works in the ashram, to repeat Mantras and serve the Master. At daybreak, immersed in the Ganges at Shri Hanuman ghat, he used to repeat verses and prayers. Some time later he obtained even the grace of the Supreme Master.

Once he was in the ashram near the holy brazier half asleep. He had a vision of a divine being who, wearing wooden clogs, stood next to Him. This being put one foot on His chest and in a loud voice said a Mantra. He repeated it urged by an inner inspiration and imprinted it in His memory; since then He kept repeating that Mantra. After this unexpected apparition of the Master, another similar event happened to Him and confirmed His faith in that Mantra.

He was tidying the tomb of Baba Kina Ram when, as He reached the southern side, He clearly heard that same Mantra and, at the same time, was also ordered to repeating it by the divine. For a while He stayed there and practiced. In the meantime another event happened to Him. In the hymn of praise of Shiva, with the mantra ‘Agoranna paro’, the supernatural powers of that Mantra are mentioned. It was rainy season and, before leaving, the prior gave Him the key of the storeroom. The disciple was busy fulfilling His duties when unexpectedly the prior came back and asked Him the key of the storeroom. He didn’t remember where He had put the key and said to the impatient prior that He had lost the key and that, if He had had time until the following day, He would have found it. Then the prior got very angry and wanted the room to be immediately opened to see his own goods. The young disciple was very surprised and try to persuade the prior again, but he didn’t yield. So, before all the people present, He touched the padlock that opened immediately. Seeing his goods in order, the prior calmed down but he was disturbed by a new thought: probably His disciple had another master. Because of that feeling Bhagwan Ram ji couldn’t stay in the ashram for a long time and was obliged to fulfil most of His sadhana by himself. He started to work by himself for the sacred words and amulets, for the method and the practice and the necessary realization.

 

Aughar Bhagwan Ramji

 

During that period He met the enlightened (Avadhut) Baba Chedi Ram, belonging to Kacheha Baba’s Yagiraj scholastic tradition. In Kashi, near Ishvarganji, at Nai Basti (new settlement) is a noble Kshatriya family in which the famous saint Babu Vishveshwar Singh lived. His descendant Chedi Baba was living there as an Avadhut. From time to time he used to go to Krin Kund in the Kina Ram’s camp. Shri Bhagwan Ram, living away from the ashram, wanted to go there to practice and in a moment He moved to the vyayamsala, near Ishvarganji, and He stayed there for some time, practising under Chedi Baba’s direction.

Since He was a child, He used to wake up at dawn, and, after bathing and doing morning ablutions early, He spent most of the time meditating and praying. He often had difficulty in going begging; at midday He used to go from door to door saying: ‘Mother, give me some bread’, but He never insisted.  That’s why it was Chedi Baba who used to go begging. Furthermore, during His religious search, Chedi Baba told Him interesting legends to increase His faith and perseverance. On the banks of Varuna river, on Nikki ghat, there is a nice place, founded by a hermit, where till today many Vishnuit saints meet. Chedi Baba also used to go there with Him. Chedi Baba introduce Him to Babu Uma Shankar ji, from Kajimandi district in Kashi, and to his family. Babu Uma Shankar ji lived in Allahabad and always treated the mahatma with great veneration and generosity. He spent about two years this way and at Kumbha Mela the venerable went on foot to the Prayag and probably on this very occasion He parted from Chedi Baba. Chedi Baba’s family is closely related to the well-known saint Kachcha Ram from Kashi. The tomb of the divine saint Kachcha Ram is in the village of Jalhupur in the district of Varanasi. Once Baba Bhagwan Ram too walked from Ishvarganji to go and worship this tomb. Eating fruit during this travel and walking all the day long, at night He reached Jalhupur. He spent some days there and worshipped the tomb, feeling an unprecedented peace but, as He had walked for ten miles without stopping, He fell ill. During this period He spent most of the time in the three main places in this neighbourhood: Punastet garden, Ray Gunarudas garden and Devalariya, a nice monastery on the bank of the Varuna river north of the railway line in Chandra Ghat. While living there, He used to pay homage to Dhumavati Devi ji everyday and during spring Navaratri (nine days and nine nights – in Chaitr and Ashvin – during which Goddess Durga is celebrated), having got the inspiration, He go to the Mount Girnar and then, for a while, he lived in Punastet garden near the dwarf tamarind. The authorities were afraid that the venerable would have stayed in that place, but, before being a source of worry for them, with the help of Shri Laskshmishankar ji Tivari (mahant of Vishvanath monastery in Kashi) moved to Ganarudas park and settled there. Little by little, round the venerable, devotees as well as onlookers started to gather.

 

 

In 1954, in Prayag, a big crowd was gathering for the holy bath (Khumb-snan) and the venerable too decided to go there. Although it was winter, He hadn’t nothing to wrap up and to lie down, and wore only a piece of light muslin cloth. On the way He ate only when someone, moved to pity, offered some food to him. For many days, as he hadn’t found food, He lived only on the water of the Ganges. Once He met an old lady. She felt pity for Him and took him to her hut. She gave Him new clothes and some food, too. The venerable told that from the day He was given alms by the Mother, He hadn’t to be worried about finding food anymore.

During night, He spent his time at the dhuni with other sadhus. Once a contractor got angry with the venerable and told Him not to burn such an expensive wood. The venerable didn’t say a word. The contractor saw Him shivering and brought Him an old blanket. In the same period a naked Avadhutin (Aghorin) settled near the dhuni where the venerable was. Three other sadhus were living there. Early in the morning the Avadhutin used to sit down completely naked just next to the venerable. They tried to send her away but the woman didn’t left the dhuni. She stayed there for twenty- twenty five days. She didn’t washed her face, nor used water after relieving herself. She was very beautiful and strong. During the day she wandered around the fair (Mela) with a flag and in the evening she sat down at the dhuni. She had a garland of flowers in her hair and an arhane flower on her vulva. She belonged to a well-off family. At last the sannyasi Parmanand ji succeeded in sending the Avadhutin away from the dhuni.

 

Baba Aghoreshwar

 

During His religious quest, such events happened often but He felt for women nothing but motherly feelings. A child does always get strength from his mother, while those who have opposite feelings lost their strength forever. After spending a month in Prayag, He came back to Kashi. In that period his master Rajeshwar Ram ji had to undergo an operation. He should have stayed for some time to look after His master but one day, by order of Rajeshwar Ram ji, He left the sthal and went back to wandering on the banks of Punyasalila Jahanvi. A sadhak with divine feelings doesn’t feel lonely at all even if he lives alone. In this state every external urge is more terrifying than a cobra.  At that time there wasn’t a modern lighting, and, at night, in the dark, He felt a strange excitement and, even if He kept having the comfort of the presence of the divine, He was afraid that, because of lighting, He could be caught by illusory worldly feelings again. Sometime later, at the insistence of his devotees, He started living in a hut just out of the village but even there He couldn’t sleep because of lighting and the rest. That is why He didn’t allow anyone to stay near His hut after 9 in the evening.  Sadhaks, ascetics must keep away from human society because living with people moved by desires stops the ascetic practice which is free from desire. People’s attachment,  influence and will cause agitation and disturb the sadhak. He ate nothing but the food shepherds and people gave to him spontaneously and had only a piece of cloth He wore in the day and used at night as blanket. He didn’t stay too long in the same place. At that time He settled for a while in a cave on the bank of the Ganges, near the village of Sherpur, in the district of Gajipur. Once He went to the village for begging and some boys began to torment Him, as they thought He was crazy. When He begged, even peasants ignored Him and didn’t care about Him, while countrywomen felt pity for Him and helped Him and, as they saw Him so hungry and thirsty, gave alms to Him.

 

 

The venerable decided to stay for some time in a lonely place, a cave on the bank of the Ganges. Nearby there was an akhara (a sadhus’ gathering) and also a Shri Hanuman temple, so, although He stayed closed inside the cave, some groups of boys disturbed it during the day. Thanks to his devotees, that trouble ceased soon but, at night, He felt a strange remorse and cried. At that time nobody was able to comfort Him. His mind started being troubled, while He tried to meet the Mother. But the Mother didn’t let her child cry and despair. After getting her love, He started to obtain the more and more intense affection of respectable people on that place but He considered that affection as a bond and set out towards Bihar and reached Baksar on the day of Holi. Before He left Sherpur, an event happened. Not very far from the cave a respectable man was awarded the contract for crossing the Ganges. Some day before Holi, this man went to the venerable to convince Him to spend the day of Holi in Sherpur. The man told Him that they all would spend the day of Holi in that same ashram and that, on that occasion, they would provide for the clothes and the rest. The venerable answered kindly but He didn’t commit himself to stay there for the day of Holi.

 

 

An Avadhut uses only the things people abandon and consider not to be necessary anymore. Once, about this subject,  He talked about Mahokh bird and told that this bird is a sannyasi because it eats only wombs and insects and doesn’t damage harvests. Right on that night, on the bank of the Ganges, He found a corpse, wrapped in a long shroud. He thought of using that shroud for the festival of Holi. He came back to the cave and rested. The following day, at dawn, He came back to bank of the Ganges and saw that jackals, dogs and vultures had torn the shroud. He took a two meters long piece and silently left the cave and set off towards Bihar. On the way to Ara, He spent a night in Ahiruli, north of Baksar. On the way a generous and friendly man pressed Him to accept hospitality but He left that man soon. Further on He found an orchard and settled in the platform on a tree. Sometime later, a well dressed young man came to the orchard, came near the platform where the venerable was sitting to urinate. The venerable told him not to do that and the young man was scared by the venerable’s  clothes and  run away. After he took heart, the young man came near and said that he was the owner of the orchard and that, if the venerable wanted to settle in the orchard, he would have offered his services to Him. The venerable didn’t commit himself even with that man.

When that man went away, at around 11 pm, He started being tormented by the cold and the heartburns because He hadn’t ate. In a nearby camp some tomato plants have been planted but there was a keeper. At midnight the festival of Holi started and the keeper went away and joined the festivities. Then the venerable left the platform and began to think if He would commit a theft, picking some tomatoes to eat to appease his hunger. For a while He was immersed in that thought and remembered how the great Rishi Durvasa, Vishamitra and others used to behave. In the end He went near the camp and picked some tomatoes but after He ate some morsels, He left them there as they were unripe and sour and went away. The following day he reached Gundii, his native village. People were celebrating Holi. His relatives and friends tried to take Him home. He was very shaken and moved and, remembering His mother’s love, He cried for hours.

 

 

He had taken the firm decision of breaking the eight chains, that is to say every worldly bond, so He went to the village looking like a real penitent. His body was covered with a piece of shroud, with a hand He dragged the corpse of a dog and with the other hand He held a bottle of liquor. He looked very frightening. His attempt was successful as most of people took an important decision: at that point He wasn’t worth being admitted again in his family. He didn’t even meet His mother, although filial love wasn’t far from His mother’s heart. By showing such an indifference He tried to relieve His mother’s heart. In the meantime His childhood mates and the Paramhansji surrounded Him and pressed Him to join the festivities. He told them to organize the chaita chant for the opening of the New Year’s Day and that He would have taken part in it. By joining the festivities with these friends of Him, He made their enthusiasm greater. At the end of the festivities, at daybreak, while people was going to sleep, He stood up and silently went away. He came back to Kashi and sometime later He started travelling along the banks of the Ganges again.