Aghori (Agori)
“Agori” and “Jogi” are often used in South Asian spiritual and cultural contexts, but they refer to different, though sometimes overlapping, traditions.
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- Aghori (Agori)
• Origin & Tradition: Aghoris are a small sect of Shaiva sadhus (ascetics) in India, associated with the worship of Lord Shiva in his fierce form Bhairava.
• Beliefs:
• They believe in advaita (non-duality) — that everything in the universe, pure or impure, is part of the same divine reality.
• Aghoris reject social taboos and see no difference between life and death, clean and unclean.
• Practices:
• Often meditate in cremation grounds (shmashan).
• May use symbolic ash from funeral pyres in rituals.
• Some perform intense austerities to transcend fear and attachment.
• Purpose: To break free from illusions (maya) and achieve liberation (moksha) by confronting what society fears or avoids.
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- Jogi
• Origin & Tradition: “Jogi” (also spelled Yogi) is a general term for practitioners of yoga and asceticism, often linked to Nath tradition in India and Nepal.
• Beliefs:
• Focus on spiritual discipline, meditation, and union with the divine.
• More mainstream compared to Aghoris, and their practices are often socially accepted.
• Practices:
• Meditation, pranayama (breathing exercises), mantra chanting.
• Wearing saffron or simple robes, carrying a begging bowl.
• Purpose: Attain self-realization and spiritual knowledge through disciplined living.
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Key Difference
• Aghori: Radical, taboo-breaking path, focused on transcending fear and impurity.
• Jogi: More conventional ascetic or yogic path, centered on meditation and discipline.
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If you want, I can also write a folk-style Nepali description of Agori Jogi, since in Nepali culture the term sometimes appears together in songs and stories as a mystical wanderer figure. Would you like me to do that?