(“wine”) Wine is the first of the Five Forbidden Things in tantra, a secret ritual-based religious practice (panchamakara).
Because "respectable" Hindu culture forbids the
intake of alcoholic drinks, its ceremonial usage in tantra must be understood
in the context of tantra as a whole.
The ultimate oneness of everything that exists is one of the
most fundamental tantric principles.
To proclaim that the whole cosmos is one principle from a
tantric viewpoint implies that the adept must reject all dualistic conceptions.
One method to achieve this is to consume the "Five
Banned Things," purposefully breaching cultural conventions prohibiting
the intake of intoxicants, non-vegetarian cuisine, and illegal intercourse, and
thereby making holy what is generally forbidden.
Tantric adepts point to the ceremonial usage of banned
objects as evidence that their practice entails a higher level of exclusivity
(adhikara) and is therefore superior to ordinary practice.
The intoxication generated by wine in its ceremonial
use—which is normally in very tiny quantities—is an approximation of the
ecstasy of enlightenment.
See Arthur Avalon's (Sir John Woodroffe's) Shakti and
Shakta, 1978; Swami Agehananda Bharati's The Tantric Tradition, 1977; and
Douglas Renfrew Brooks' The Secret of the Three Cities, 1990 for further details.
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