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in Uttar Pradesh, India. Aghora also means not-terrible, the path of the Aghori is to take that which is considered terrible and transmute into a divine substance of God and Oneness. For the Agori, everything is spiritual no matter how scary or unknown it is. It too comes from the same divine source all things come from. The Aghori recognizes this oneness and takes it to the absolute extreme to experience it. Aghoris are devotees of Shiva and monists who seek moksha from the cycle of reincarnation or saṃsāra. Because of their monistic doctrine, the Aghoris maintain that all opposites are ultimately illusory. The purpose of embracing pollution and degradation through various customs is the realization of non-duality (Advaita) through transcending social taboos, attaining what is essentially an altered state of consciousness, and perceiving the illusory nature of all conventional categories. Furthermore, they demonstrate the Aghoris’ acceptance of death as a necessary and natural part of the human experience. They have the custom to engage in post-mortem rituals. They often dwell in charnel grounds, smear cremation ashes on their bodies, and use bones from human corpses for crafting kapalas (skull cups) and adornments. Gaj Mukta (elephant pearl): This is a brownish-white stone formed within an elephant. Gaj Mukta – Gaj Moti is a rare pearl, which forms near the ivory. This is a highly precious treasure stored in the treasure house of all the Indian kings and all so in the foreign region. According to Varaha Mihira, elephant pearls come from the root of the tusk of ancient elephants. These are real tusk pearls, hundreds of years old, which are of great value because of their supposed healing power. Many Aghori gurus command great reverence from populations, as they are supposed to possess healing powers gained through their intensely eremitic rites and practices of renunciation and tápasya. (wikipedia.org)) My friend AGHORI MANI BABA is a members of Aghor, a sect of renegades who proudly reject the trappings of social propriety, sectarian labels, and the world of appearances. Their secretive lifestyle, which includes ritual consecration and consumption of human flesh, and even sexual rites amidst burning pyres, is designed to shock the perceptual framework so as to break the barriers between what is considered sacred and profane, the holy and unholy—all rigid dichotomies that dominate the bourgeois middle class. Aghors are the only ones willing to please Kali, by “ripping the veil off reality and jumping straight into the abyss,” with no thought to self-preservation or the laws that govern polite society. The AghorIS I fell in with emphatically rejected Vedic notions of ritual purity, scriptural dogma, and priestly mediation between the world of the mundane, the so-called impure and the divine. They seek to cultivate a state of consciousness, known as Aghor, in which one transmutes and ultimately transcends base sensations like fear, hatred, disgust or discrimination. On attaining this state one does not view the world in dualistic terms of good and evil, sacred and profane, pure and impure—instead of relating to all of manifested reality as attributes of the Great Mother, MA. Varanasi : Benares : Banaras : Kashi Varanasi is also known as Kashi, Benares or Banaras. It is a city of God situated on the banks of the River Ganga in the Uttar Pradesh state of India. It is a worldwide famous city for its tourism and regarded as a holy city by all the Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. Varanasi is one of the oldest inhabited cities in India as well as in the world from the era of God. The culture of Varanasi is great and closely associated with the River Ganges because of the river’s religious importance. It has become a cultural and religious centre in North India for years. It is the origination of Indian classical music and most famous Indian philosophers, writers, poets as well as musicians are residing in Varanasi. Banaras is the most religious city in the world as Gautama Buddha has given his first sermon at Sarnath, the famous tourist place located in Kashi. People are often referred to Varanasi, Kashi, Banaras as the city of temples, the holy city of God of India, the religious city of India, the city of lights and learning, and one of the oldest living cities on the earth. Varanasi is Popular for many reasons some of are: Shiv Nagari (City of Lord Shiva): Varanasi is known as the City of Lord Shiva because it is considered as the city was created by the Hindu diety Lord Shiva before thousands of years. Varanasi city has become one of the most crowded destinations for pilgrims in India. There is a general belief that the Varanasi city stands on the “Trishool” (Trident) of Lord Shiva.