Dark Matter

Aghori is the Indian yoga path of embracing what our religions consider taboo activities. Since everyone has a personal shadow, a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the question is how to deal with it. Do you acknowledge the dark side in you, but ignore it, or do you embrace it and let Dr. Jekyll study the implications when Mr. Hyde is up and about? I don't have an answer for you, only you can decide what is helpful along your spiritual path. Either way, I would argue that our aghori folks have a point that you can learn a lot about your true nature by studying your shadow as well.

Becoming whole is a journey towards an equilibrium, a path towards peace. Along the way you are bombarded with countless decisions and your mind can help you only so much with them, in the end it is a feeling that lets you know what the right choices are. Becoming whole means that you can feel your way, recognize what is truly you and what is just a psychological mask. Don't beat yourself up over supposedly wrong choices along the way. As long as you can feel or realize that this persona wasn't really you, it must have been a worthwhile insight nevertheless.

I am more mind than feelings driven, so recognizing that Mr. Hyde is not my true self while he is out of hiding never really worked for me. What I have learned though, is that the activities Mr. Hyde feels exited about launch you on a path to nowhere and with every step you take the glue is getting thicker and stronger. Freedom is the opposite. When you are truly yourself then every step you take is voluntary. The Tao invites you to dance, and as you dance you completely merge with the moment and you are still free the moment after. When you enjoy aghori moments, you are less free to choose afterwards and Mr. Hyde who got you on the trip in the first place beats you up in the process. Addictions are just the end-game of all aghori activities, but you can feel the subtle psychological process already forming early in the process.

On my path I aim to cut out interferences as best I can. If I engaged in aghori activities, I would always be confronted with a voice that reminds me afterwards that I shouldn't have done so and that because of it I undermined my power supply. This may or may not be true, in fact, the voice is probably nothing but my super ego, that is, ideas that our society and religions have put into my head rather than my true self.  Either way,  a lot of manic stuff going on in your head which you can simply cut out by keeping Mr. Hyde at bay. As I said, this happens to be my choice, but there are many other paths as well. I am convinced that aghori masters have great insights into the workings of our super-ego and I am sure that they will find that no matter what you have done in the past, you will always have full access to the Tao in the now. As always, many paths lead home, so happy wandering along your Way.