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Hinduism - What Is Mamsa? Why Is Mamsa Ritually Impure? Who Is Allowed Mamsa In A Hindu Society?

 


 (“meat”) Meat is the third of the Five Forbidden Things (panchamakara) in the secret ritual-based religious practice known as tantra; the panchamakara are used in their actual forms in "left hand" (vamachara) tantric ritual, whereas they are represented by symbolic substitutes in "right hand" (dak shinachara) tantric ritual.

“Respectable” Because nonvegetarian food is severely condemned in Hindu culture, its ceremonial usage must be viewed in the greater tantric perspective.

The ultimate oneness of everything that exists is one of the most widespread tantric conceptions.

To proclaim that the whole cosmos is one principle from a tantric viewpoint implies that the adept must reject all dualistic conceptions.

The "Five Banned Things" give a ceremony for breaking down dualism; in this ritual, the adept defies society conventions prohibiting intoxication, nonvegetarian cuisine, and illegal intercourse in an attempt to sacralize 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 hence is superior to ordinary practice.

See Arthur Avalon's Shakti and Shakta, 1978; Swami Agehananda Bharati's The Tantric Tradition, 1977; and Douglas R. Brooks' The Secret of the Three Cities, 1990 for further details.


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