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Underground > Temple >

Hindu Cannibalism?

15:59 / 14.07.03

Thanks to Fortean Times news archive:

Aghoris , followers of a radical sect of Hinduism, wander the jungles and cremation grounds of India, some of them eating human flesh and practicing gruesome, uncanny rituals.

One of the followers is an American who may have killed a man in San Francisco and may be connected to missing hikers in Hawaii.

ps if this doesn't belong in the Switchboard, please move to where it's appropriate.

03:21 / 15.07.03

This Gypsy Journal page, which seems to be a collection of essays or something by travellers from around the world, has several mpgs, including on of Kapalnath eating flesh.

*

04:21 / 15.07.03

Is it just synchronicity this is getting talked about on zeelist, or are you people following me?

09:45 / 15.07.03

think “Ghori” means “horrible/revolting” which the “a” serves to negate – thus “aghori” = “not-horrible” ie. nothing in itself is revolting. There’s a series of books called “by Robert E. Svoobda on this subject – the first of which is “Aghori: At the left hand of God”.

I’d like to know how much contact this guy had with the religion - not much I think, sounds like he just found a space to act out his pathology. But then I’ve often wondered if the more extreme sects in India serve to “channel” people who don’t fit in elsewhere in Indian society, not necessarily serial killers, but those who might have a problem elsewhere. Really interested in these ideas. I’ve actually heard a story about Indian aghoris being arrested and prosecuted for their practices recently as India society becomes more and more westernised – these extreme practices are now beyond the pale.

I’d move for this thread being shifted to The Magick, if there are no objections

trouser the trouserian

10:18 / 15.07.03

Here's a response from Hindus who are objecting to the way the story has been reported.

10:50 / 15.07.03

As a Hindu, I find the way this story is being reported by the Western media quite offensive. Yes, Hinduism has a number of left-hand, black-magic paths within its teachings. Unlike most religions, we just haven't totally cut off people who practice this form of worship from the general community.

I guess what I'm trying to say, is that the Aghori's are to Hinduism as "Satanists" are to Christianity. If someone killed a bunch of babies in America in some Satanic Ritual, they'd be labelled a crazy Satanist.. not a crazy Christian. Xtianity rejects the negative side of the Divine, calls it "The Devil", and tries to distance itself from it.

One thing I realized when I was in India this January is that Hinduism tries to embrace everyone in society.. even the people at the edges. Yes, we have the horrible caste system, but what other religion has a Goddess of Whores and a God of Thieves, and makes even the criminal elements of a society feel like they are part of the Wheel of Dharma?

-Shivesh

12:38 / 15.07.03

Yeah, I found a couple of Christian newsgroups where they were saying pretty horrible, upsetting things. It is being reported in several local Florida newspapers, rather than, say, the NYT or Washington Post, at least to my knowledge--I don't know if I'd call that "Western media". Here is a page at Tampa Bay Online, I guess a portal site for Tampa, which tries to acknowledge the slanted reporting. From the original Tampa Tribune article (the link seems to be broken right now):

But Nath has since been taken into custody by Indian authorities
because his visa expired. He is now in a mental institution in that
country, said his father, Robert Stevenson of Houston.

Stevenson, 82, said he had not seen his son since he left home at
15. He spoke to him once about 10 years ago when Nath lived in
Hawaii.

``He's done nothing but practically ruin my life,'' Stevenson said.
``The only reason he ever got in touch with me was for money. He
didn't want to talk to his father.''

Still, Stevenson does not believe his son is capable of the murders
he discussed with Yon.

``He's got a severe mental illness. He wouldn't hurt a fly. He's
nothing but a con man,'' Stevenson said. ``The only help he needs is
some institution.''

My own first reaction was that this guy had evaded justice and was abusing the Hindu faith... but now I'm not so sure. I mean, the first part could still be true, though if his father's claim is true he's was probably just trying to get Yon to give him money. Shivesh, what would Hinduism require Kapal Nath to do if the California or Hawaii police turned up evidence against him?

18:31 / 20.04.04

I met Kapal Nath in Bangkok, Thailand in early January 2004. He chatted me up one morning while eating breakfast on Khao San Road, which is a main tourist area.

We talked for a long time about a lot of things. He always talks with Hawaiian slang, such as calling people "Bra'h," which means brother.

He told me of his cannibalism, Michael Yon, and other stuff. He showed me many pictures of him at cremation grounds and of burning bodies. He told me to look up more pictures of him on the net. That's when I found all the articles about him in the Florida press and on Gypsy Journal.

Today he looks little like the pictures on Gypsy Journal. His head was shaved and he looks a lot thinner and older. He told me some sort of parasite he contracted made him age so fast. He's also lost the beard he was sporting.

He was in Thailand because he had to leave Nepal, where he had been staying for 6 months. He was supposed to meet the author, Michael Yon, sometime in the afternoon of the day we met. Yon was supposed to help him get a new passport since his was expired by a few days. He was upset that a new passport would cost so much money.

I seen him again that night and he came and sat at my table in a restaurant. He was drunk. Really drunk. He claimed to have already drank a bottle of Jack Daniels and had with him a liter of Finlandia vodka that was half empty. He was also showing off his new knife and brass knuckles he had bought that day. He said a lot of bad things about Germans and how he didn't like them because they make fun of him.

He was suddenly in a good mood then and told me he had met with Yon and that Time Magazine wanted to do a story on him. He was happy because he believed Time would pay him money for their story.

He was scaring me with his knife, brass knuckles, and carrying on, so I excused myself and left. I was in Bangkok several more days around the same area, but never seen him again. I wonder if he was arrested or something.