Brief history of Aghoreshwar Bhagwan Ram Ji

Parampujya Baba Aghoreshwar Bhagwan Ram Ji was born in a small village named Gundi in Bhojpur district of Bihar state. According to the Hindi calendar Parampujya was born on the Shukla Saptami (seventh day of the bright fortnight) of Bhadrapad (sixth month of Hindu calendar) in Samvat 1994 (A.D.1937). Parampujya Aghoreshwar was the only child of his parents- father Sri Baijnath Singh and mother Shrimati Lakhraji Devi. His father was a well to do landlord, widely known all around the area. Before his birth, the mother had a dream that the child she was going to give birth to would not be an ordinary mortal, but Bhagwan Himself (God). Therefore, when the child was born, his father named him "Bhagwan".

Unfortunately, when Bhagwan had barely reached the age of five, his father passed away. After this, the child was looked after by his grandfather Sri Hridai Prasad Singh. His grandmother took great interest in his upbringing and Bhagwan also was too much attached to her. She also arranged for His early education. Bhagwan, however, seemed little interested in education and was more inclined to go to the temple to worship God and meditate. Bhagwan had with him religious books containing stories of different devotees like Bhakta Prahlaad, Bhakta Dhruva etc. He loved his fellow companions very much, and often organized collective games and taught other boys to be fearless and courageous.

Noticing Bhagwan’s spiritual inclination, his family members built a small temple in the village and Bhagwan himself installed a Shivalinga in it and ever since He devoted more and more time to prayers, chanting and meditation. The child, Bhagwan remained with his family only up to the age of seven years. After that he did not stay longer at any place, never ate in his house but was fed by people at their homes or in the temples. Keenly interested in the worship of the Almighty, he even forgot to eat and remained without food and water for many days. He never cared for his clothes, comforts or protection of his body from heat and cold and thus started a life of penance. When interrogated by his family members, he felt uneasy and therefore, left the village and went to visit the holy places like Gaya and Puri. He stayed in these places for sometime and then came back to His village for a brief period.

Initiation: Aghor Diksha :

Bhagwan finally left the surroundings of Gundi village at the age of nine years and came to the holy city of Kashi (1946-49). He had a longing to have a darshan of Lord Vishwanath (Shiva). He reached the Dashashwamedh ghat but from there he did not know where to go. Meanwhile, an old woman in a silk sari approached him and asked if he wanted to go to the Vishwanath temple. He replied ‘yes indeed’. He was asked to take a bath in the Ganga after which the old woman accompanied him to the temple. He was overjoyed by the darshan of Lord Vishwanath in Kashi (Varanasi) and wished to remain there for the rest of his life. But soon after he and the old woman moved on towards the Annapurna temple, where to his great surprise, the old woman disappeared. He was puzzled as he did not know who she was.

Nevertheless, he moved towards the Harishchandra ghat where there is also the place of Maharaj Sri Baba Kina Ram. Here, he met the then Mahant of the place, Baba Rajeshwar Ram Ji (the 11th successor of Maharaj Sri Baba Kina Ram Sthal). It was decided that he should join the order of Aghories and go through the ceremony of diksha (initiation). Although prior to this, he had been initiated by a Vaishnav Saint, he took Aghor Diksha from Baba Rajeshwar Ram Ji and was named Bhagwan Ram.

Self-Realisation :

However, Bhagwan Ram could not remain in Baba Kina Ram’s Ashram for long,he left the place in 1949-50. He wandered on the banks of the Ganga and Sonbhadra and carried on penance and worship of his own. He attained self-realisation in his early teens (age of fourteen-fifteen) after undergoing severe penance of three days and three nights sitting on the bank of Ganga, in the cremation ground of Mehraura (near Sakaldiha, now in Chandauli district, Uttar Pradesh).

People of the area started respecting and paying reverence to Parampujya Aghoreshwar Bhagwan Ram. The poor and the suffering came to him for His blessings. Many were relieved of their suffering just by being in his presence. The devotees never had to express their feelings to Parampujya Aghoreshwar. Words were not necessary in his presence and even without a word being spoken the people realized that they had benefited. A mere glimpse of Parampujya was enough to initiate peace and pious feelings in the hearts of people. After coming in his proximity, one used to feel the presence of Almighty within. He would take no credit for the miracles, his love for the fellow humans was all encompassing.