(“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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