Aghor Sadan

Amidst the din of the extremely busy streets of Benares, my eyes traveled from atop the “cycle rickshaw” in which I was sitting with a friend, towards this magnificent gate that sent a chill down my spine. On both sides of the gate stood grinning at me a set of three human skulls sitting one atop the other. I squeezed my friend’s arm and pointed silently out to him that which we were planning to visit and that which we had heard myriad stories about and that which was “should be avoided” as per mom and others who were original residents of this city and have now migrated to Mumbai. There was a familiar twinkle in his eyes…which meant that he was ready for the adventure. I smiled back at him – SO WAS I!
We decided that next day should be the fateful evening. With heart thumping against my rib-cage, I and my friend disembarked from the cycle rickshaw (the cheapest and the popular mode of transport in the holy city) in front of the gate. There was a chill in the evening air and I dismissed that to be the December chill. A place to remove the shoes guarded by this very simple looking man (what was I expecting?) beckoned us to do the needful. A non-descript flower stall stood stoically almost rebelliously against the backdrop of the myriad and competitive flower markets next to the more important places of worship (which are too many in Benares). “Err…what are we to worship inside?” I asked my friend. He gestured to keep my mouth shut and follow what an old couple was doing. They too bought some flowers and very demurely walked towards the gate. Beautiful strings of “bhajan” was emanating from within the walls of the “Keenaram Ashram”…something which would seem out of place about a structure that had been so embroiled in myths and controversies (after all this was a place of the “aghorees” and do “aghorees” listen to “bhajans”?)
Within the precincts of the “house of aghorees” we walked through a beautiful garden (the lilting musical bhajan still following us all the time). Strewn around the some what serpentine walk were boards written in simple hindi and English. These were aphorisms of Aghora wisdom. We stopped to read a few. They were nothing deeply occult (yes…we were expecting that!!)…nor rebellious. These were simple thoughts…deep in philosophy…uplifting human values. Thoughts that do not disturb you…but calm you…full of warmth. We strode around wanting to know what more was in store for us that was silently breaking all our myths.
A silent quadrangle greeted us. Spick and span with some very few people circumambulating the place. A signboard advised us to keep calm for this was the place of meditation and internalization. We were already feeling calm within and did not feel like talking (was this the effect of the place?). In a slightly elevated sheltered place was the shrine. An huge life sized idol of “Bhagwan Ram”, the erstwhile head of the ashram graced the middle. In front of the statue were his “padukas” (slippers) where we offered the flowers like the old couple before us did. The entire atmosphere was silent and full of grace and our heads bent automatically in silent surrender and a prayer emanated from our hearts. A non-descript man sat by the side in simple garbs (we were expecting jatas and fiery eyes) of a shawl and civilian clothes…clean shaved! But when his hands went up to proffer us the simple “Prasad” of ashes from an “akhanda dhuni” we did not miss the “veer kangan” that he was wearing – he was an “aghoree”. The man was quite and just nodded at times to familiar faces…not talking much…not talking at all.
After taking the “prasada” from the “aghoree” (we were sure that he was one) we went across to the “akhanda dhuni”. Some two three people were sitting across the caged pyre. A signboard had advised us a little earlier not to offer anything to the fire. It was a fire that was lit four centuries ago from the fire of a funeral pyre of “harishchandra ghat” (one of the two most famous “smashanas” of Benares) and has been protected and nurtured since then. For four centuries the fire still burns a silent testimony to remain alive for centuries to come. After a small prayer we strayed across to explore the surroundings. To the south of the quadrangle on a slightly elevated platform rested 11 “shivalingas” in the form of an interesting pattern…later on we found out that it was the “yantra” (mystical symbolical representation) of the Devi Hinglaj (a shakti peetha in Balochistan, Pakistan). Folklore says that the great Aghori Keenaram brought the devi from now Pakistan and established “her” within the Ashram premises. Next to “her” lies the mortal remains of the 16th century aghoree and the founder of the “aghorashram” and the 11 “Shivalingas” are actually the 11 “samadhis” of the eleven erstwhile heads of the organization. All around the remains are established the four faces of Shiva, indicating the “abheda” (non discrimination). Over and above these lies the fifth “face of Shiva” in the form of a lingam symbolizing the fusion of “Shiva and Shakti”…the face of aghora. A scriptural reference can be found out that the four Vedas are abrogated to the 4 faces of Shiva and the fifth face is the face of “aghora”. A “peepul” tree stood peacefully by the side and underneath it stood the great face of that which lurks behind our masks…the great SKULL. We learnt later that the skull represents the cosmos and called the “brahmanda khappar”. The bare row of teeth and the dark orbs actually encompasses what goes on in our mind. Could it be the “brahmanda khappar” is actually the entire creation encapsulated? And it is actually what must be going on in God’s mind?? I had no clue how to get that answer. But the dimming evening lights brought a soothing calm…no clashing thoughts…no chasing dreams…no discrimination…almost like the state of “aghor”