i came to india to do a show about hinduism. about karma. reincarnation. the cast system. and a little known hindu sect called the igori. >> what's happening now? >> i don't know. >> that's when things got out of hand.

>> pretty sure that's not what i was looking for. >> a scholar of religions. >> best selling author. >> scholar, muslim, american. >> what is your reaction? >> i've been studying the world's religions for 20 years. and now, i'm going to live them. religions are embedded in culture. in fact, they're inextricable from it. in many ways religion and

culture are one in the same. islam or capitalism in christianity. in hinduism, there is a religiously defined social construct that categorizes everyone in indian society. this is called the cast system. there is a sect of hinduism called the e gory while 500 years old is now trying to upend the cast system embedded in hinduism spiritual yalty. they are challenging the fabric of indian society. hindus blooer in reincarnation. the idea that after death we are reborn again and again. each rebirth is determined by the karma that you accumulate from your previous life.

karma can be based on things like words, thoughts, or deeds. but it can also be affected by hindu notions of purity and pollution. if i achieve enough good karma, then mitt next birth will be higher than this one until finally i achieve liberation from the cycle of birth and rebirth. karma can work the other way too, if i accumulate bad karma, i will have to pay the consequence of that in the next life. there's no such thing as hell in hinduism, but there is something that's almost as bad ixd be reborn as an untouchable. the untouchables, also known as the dallot occupy the lowest

levels in india's cast system. the bramen are at the top, untouchables at the very bottom. untouchables take care of society's most polluting task, cleaning the sewers, collecting the garbage. and in this city, disposing of the dead. this is not just a river. it's a goddess. the mother of india, she's the embodiment of all sacred waters. the descent from heaven has made her a vehicle from the assent of the soul back up to heaven. the dead are burned all along her shores in the gaits, the yes mags grounds. the ashes are then dumped into the water, allowing the soul to

achieve instant liberation. it's kind of a shortcut, a way out of the endless cycle of death and rebirth. this belief has transformed the holy city of the oldest cities in the world into a vast crematori crematorium. there are 87 of these gats all along the banks. their fires burn continuingly. every gat cremates 100 bodies a day. they are cremated by an untouchable cast called the dome doms. so you were born here, right? >> oh yes, i was born here. i've grown up swimming across the river and coming back every day. >> is that right? >> this is how i've grown up.

>> i understand that a lot of people come here at the end of their lives hoping to die. it's like a city of the dead in that sense. >> that is so correct. and there is a family of the doms who take care of an eternal fire which is burning there for ages. nobody knows how long it's burning. and these family of the doms there, they are the owners of this fire. and everybody has to come to the y cremation ground. so they are indispensable part of the society. but they are considered to be untouchables. they are considered to be an outcast. >> no one becomes an untouchable being born a dom is a result of

bad karma, acquired through the accumulation in your previous life. but because there's nothing more polluting in hinduism than a kormgs, the dom continue to accumulate pollution and bad karma, lifetime after lifetime. it's a vicious never ending cycle. how long have you been working on the gats? [ speaking foreign language ]

>> i understand that your wife passed away not too long ago. did you yourself take care of the body? [ speaking foreign language ]

>> hinduism is a beautiful religion. always been fascinated by it. i just can't wrap my head around this notion that there are people who simply, because of their birth, or because they did things in a previous life are then condemned to live life as an untouchable. i just -- i can't wran p my hea around it.

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say hi to xiidra, lifitegrast ophthalmic solution. the first eye drop approved for the signs and symptoms of dry eye. one drop in each eye, twice a day. common side effects include eye irritation, discomfort or blurred vision when applied to the eye, and an unusual taste sensation. do not touch the container tip to your eye or any surface. remove contacts before using xiidra and wait for at least 15 minutes before reinserting them. if you have dry eyes, ask your doctor about xiidra. in india, it's good to be a brhamen, living what could be their final life on earth. >> what role does karma play in this attempt at liberation? >> in the previous part, whatever you have done, it has imprinted your mind.

>> karma accumulates and helps you on the path up and life after life, birth after birth, until you finally achieve liberation? >> of course, of course. >> so if you are born in a lower caste, how do you achieve liberation? >> look, if persons who are living on this earth, they're not equal. they're not equal. >> although caste discrimination is outlawed, in practice most life for dalit's in india can be bleak and unjust. dalits are barred from selling produce in local markets, from touching food or water at common gatherings, from entering non-dalit homes. 54% of dalit women have been

physically assaulted. 23% have been raped. only 1% of these cases has ended in conviction. in the last few decades at the indian economy has boomed, life has improved for the untouchables, particularly in large urban centers like delhi and mumbai. but in a religious city like this, caste discrimination is still very much alive. this professor teaches journalism at the hindu university. so much of the hindu experience is about the caste system, can you talk about what that means? >> caste is for the people vested into this.

>> so in a way they're rejecting the very concept of caste.

>> i've heard of aghori before, they reject the notion of purity and pollution and so they have these things that they do, these kinds of outrageous actions to prove that nothing can pollute you so they'll drink the water straight. they eat corpses, human flesh. they have been known to sleep on corpses, meditate on corpses, they do everything that would make your standard, every day hindu freak out. all to sort of prove that nothing outside of you can make you unpure. nothing can pollute you. that, you know -- that god is within you. and so god can't be polluted, so then neither can you. they're not all that popular. i have to say because of some of these actions.

this is the most famous aghori in the area. everybody knows about him. >> welcome. >> thank you. >> this is a temple. >> while most aghori are no mads, he hosts guests. age mellows him out. he no longer takes part of the theatrics. these days he spends his time meditating and doing yoga, nothing but honey, which he drinks out of a human skull. >> there is my that.

>> he invited me into his inner sank tum which is part tempo which is part hindu rave complete with a laser light show. can you tell me, where did you get the skulls? the skulls come out of the water? >> yeah. >> why eat from the skull? >> there is lots of karma with the skull. powerful. you see, i'm 60 years old. just like body is like 30 years. >> i do not to want fight you. no. >> you could try.

>> that's okay. i've heard that some aghori eat rotted meat, rotted food, even human flesh. >> so you're not worried that you can be defiled or polluted or that you'll be impure if you touch the dead? >> what kind of power?

>> he wants me to bathe in the water and then he wants me to drink it. and you may not know this about me, but i have -- i'm like a germaphobe. this is -- like i don't want to be an american asshole or anything, but there is no way i am getting in this water. this is one of the most polluted bodies of water in the world. i mean, forget about like the ashes that are dumped in here, i actually have already seen three different cow carcasses, one i think was a cow carcass, i couldn't even figure it out, floating in this water. there are millions of leadeiter the human waste, untreated sewage that gets dumped into this water every day. i'm not kidding. yesterday, i saw a guy take off his pants and literally just take a shit directly into the

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because of my red sense about bathing in the area, he has agreed to purify me in his home using tap water. >> so i have to have a guru? >> yes. >> on the other hand side of the river, they are in groups of aghori nomads, hopefully one of them will take me on.

in >> can i join the fire? >> please sit down. >> i came to learn about what it means to be aghori. >> he says go te a bath and he will give you the sacred words to how to be an aghori. >> okay. i knew he was going to say that. oh [ bleep ], let's just do this. all right. here.

literally means without fear. without fear of pollution. without fear of taboo. and so it's time for me to put aside any fear i may have of germs and disease. to simply accept this experience for what it is.

it was peaceful up there. and the ashes being dumped in here and being mingling with my body. it was kind of a profound thought. also a little bit gross. >> he ask you do you believe the guard of the cremation, do you believe in him? >> yes. yes. why the color black? >> he says, the aghoris in our

sect, we use only the color black. >> thank you. >> please sit down here. he want you to sit here. he want yos tow sit close to him so that he can protect you. he's asking, will you be his disciple? >> yes.that he can protect you. he's asking, will you be his disciple? >> yehe can protect you. he's asking, will you be his disciple? >> yethat he can protect you. he's asking, will you be his disciple? >> yeso that he can protect you. he's asking, will you be his disciple? >> yes. >> that's from the cremation. ashes of the dead.

>> what was that? >> some kind of a lubricant from inside the skull. >> like a brain? >> exactly. that's one of the ways to practice aghori. >> i came here to ask you some questions. maybe later. maybe a little bit later.

>> he says, the guard from cremation, he gives them something to eat in form of rotten bones or some kind of human flesh. >> okay. maybe i'll take this off right now and then -- just -- thank you. okay. thank you. why are people on that side of the river so afraid of the aghori? >> i see. why --

>> making a mistake. maybe we just like -- somebody distracts him and i just leave. >> see where it goes. >> i can be very polite about it. >> i think you should stay. >> now he says that skull, that's empty, that's hungry, he wants you to feed that. he wants you to make some donation to that. >> what would he like me to -- [ speaking foreign language ] >> he wants that skull to be filled with alcohol. >> okay. actually, i think it's in the boat.

>> he says, he wants you to sit down, he wants me to go bring it for him. [ speaking foreign language b t brbt ] [ speaking foreign language ]

>> will he tell me now what i have to do? [ speaking foreign language ] >> he's not polite with me. and he knows -- oh my goodness. oh my goodness. >> [ bleep ]. [ bleep ]. >> that got out of hand real fast. and pretty sure that that's not the aghori that i was looking for. ght now sprint has this incredible deal on unlimited data, talk and text. seriously?

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definitely feel like i've taken a wrong turn. culminating in last night and running from my life from some crazy, drunken baba. i'm not the only one turned off by these aghori theatrics. it's no wonder they're feared and mocked throughout india, and

that's a tragedy. because the aghori message that god does not care about pure and impure, clean and unclean, brahmen or dalit is an important one. there are modern sects that have seen that the age old theatrics are now working to change their methods and their image. it began with an aghori guru, known to his disciples as bubba g. bubba g. brought aghorism into the mainstream where the values caught on with the rising middle class. although he died in 1992, his disciples have been carrying on his work, opening clinics and centers and schools all across india that disrupt the caste system. they've even started an orphanage. which is run by geerish sharma.

he grew up a wealthy brahmen but abandoned his caste when he became an aghori. >> they have a big beard and skull and drinking and all these like scary -- >> frightening. >> yeah, frightening. so he make few rules for them that now it will be a white place. nothing scary. so people can reach you and come to you and help them. >> i've spent some time learning about the aghor from some of the people, trying to express as much as i can, my belief that there is no such thing as purity and pollution. i truly do believe that, but i feel like so much of what i've been told and so much of what i've tried to do to express that, it seemed meaningless, it

seemed i was just trying to prove something. >> self-satisfaction. >> it was self-satisfaction. >> you have an idea in your mind, and you, from your action, you are trying to prove that idea that this idea is correct, which it's not correct. >> so how do i then express my aghori belief? >> just be a good human being. everything will be straight. everything you're taught will be straight. your action will be straight. you will think about yourself, your family, your friends, your society, your world. it will start to respect the things that you have. >> and is that the path to liberation, would you say? >> there is no other way. there is no other way. >> this is the only way. >> for a lot of these children, because many of them are from lower caste, they really wouldn't have any other possibility of getting this kind of education. >> aghori never associate with

the caste. for us they are just a human. doesn't matter from when caste they came. i welcome them and tried to give them equal facilities and equal love and equal opportunity to learn. god just create the humans, the lives. he doesn't create a cast des e on his own. this is created by the human. so we don't believe in this. >> how many? >> two. [ singing ]

>> there's a painting in the dining hall of he and his wife. and their son, when i first walked in here, i thought, wow, this like familial scene was an ironic painting to have in the orphanage. but then i realized, this is their father. pavarti is their ther. their brother. [ singing ] >> they're so bright-eyed. and i feel like i've learned something completely new not just about what it means to put your faith into practice, but i feel like i've in a way found the hinduism that i was looking for. the beauty of the religion,

minus this obstacle that i can't get past. it's a completely new lesson. eo. oh, did i say there's only one special edition? because, actually there's five. ooohh!! aaaahh!! uh! hooooly mackerel. wow. nice. strength and style. it's truck month. get 0% financing for 60 months plus find your tag and get $5500 on select chevy silverado pick-ups when you finance with gm financial. find new roads at your local chevy dealer.

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i feel like i may have found the guru i've been looking for. someone who offers a practical path for putting aghori principles into practice. the modern interpretation of aghorism in there's no division in the rich and poor, high caste and low caste in which hindu taboos are meaningless is precisely what i came to india to find. the sri literacy center is another of bubba g.'s schools. breaks all the rules. >> okay. ma. >> boys and girls and children from different they are all taught to read, write and speak english.

singh is one of the teachers at the school. >> there's a lot of discrimination against untouchables. >> in india they don't allow the children to work with them or play with them. not here. you can see in the school, we allow the children to play at liberty. >> this kind of discrimination makes it very difficult for lower caste kids to get any kind of education, really? >> yes. every year, 300 a year, they spread the message. >> not only do they get a education they are taught aghorism. >> everything is made possible here. there is no word impossible in the dictionary. >> doesn't matter what castore u are, or relidggion or race?

>> no. >> bye-bye, guys. see you guys. bye-bye. attached to this aghori school is a leporce, it's one of the most sigmafiesed, and every culture sees it as a sign of a curse or sin, and here in india, among many hindus, it's a sign of bad karma. if you have hreper see, you probably did something in a previous life to deserve it, and they are in essence the most untouchable of the untouchables, so millions of lepers are left

untreated, and many of them die. the patients here are not just treated, but they are loved and given compassion. the doctor is a second generation aghori and a doctor at this clinic. >> before this, there were untouchables, and people think it's not curable so they would ultimately die. so when he came, treating those patients and giving themselves respect and they are a human being, and said lepraosy is not untouchable. >> it's not just the fear of infection, it's the fear of pollution as well. they were seen as unclean and impure, and of course, the foundation of agohori philosoph

is there's no such thing as unpure. >> in the aghori system, there's nothing as untouchable. >> i feel like the aghori philosophy can change indian society? >> it's what i sincerely believe. we are trying to convert this society. >> it's funny, everybody talks about putting their faith into practice, that religion is supposed to be not just the things you believe but the things that you do. you want to know what putting your faith into practice looks like? this is what it looks like. ♪ worldsurprising moments. they're everywhere. and as a marriot rewards member,

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♪ what does it mean to live without fear? it means recognizing that purity and pollution are just an illusion. it means knowing that nothing you do, nothing you eat, nothing

you touch can cut you off from god. that if god lives inside you as the aghori believe, then nothing can defy you. the family you were born into, the color of your skin and the clothes you wear, your education, your wealth, none of these matter. what matters is what you do. how you love, how you care for the least among you. so i will eat the ashes of the dead. i will drink the water. i will worship the god within me.

i came to india to discover what it means to be aghori. what i discovered is what it means to be human. >> i believe there's no disconnection of the society between the gender and the religion. >> i believe in duty first to my responsibility and to my karma. >> i believe we are all part of one energy, one god. >> i believe in tpwagod more th religion, and it's a way of life for me. >> i believe in the hindu philosophy. it gives me inner strength. >> i believe in the rules, and the humanity and mankind. >> i believe the external bodies are different.

the true cross. the actual cross that jesus of nazareth was crucified on. wood infused with his blood and tears. >> it is literally the scaffolding upon which jesus saved the world. >> but the relic was thought to be lost to history. then a roman empress, helena, sets off on a dramatic quest to find it. >> helena changed everything. >> the discovery of the cross is shrouded in mystery. there is intrigue. there's murder. there's sex. there's violence behind all of this.