Dakshinachara

(“right-hand practice”) In the secret ritual
tradition known as tantra, this is the
term for a type of tantric practice that
does not avail itself of any forbidden
substances or promote any behavior
that the orthodox would consider scandalous or objectionable. It stands in
opposition to the vamachara, or “lefthand practice,” which uses such forbidden substances in its ritual, and shows
no such regard for conventional sensibilities. The most common forbidden
substances are the Five Forbidden
Things (panchamakara), so called
because they all begin with the letter
“m” (in the sacred language of Sanskrit,
makara) madya (wine), matsya (fish),
mamsa (meat), mudra (fermented or
parched grain), and maithuna (copulation). In left-hand tantra these forbidden things are used in their actual
forms, whereas right-hand practitioners
substitute other more socially
acceptable things for them. This is one
more instance of the pervasive Hindu
polarity between right and left, which
carries inherent value judgments. In this
case, the left-hand practitioners are
seen as impure and dangerous, because
they intentionally violate social boundaries, whereas the right-hand are
socially respectable. For further
information see Arthur Avalon
(Sir John Woodroffe), Shakti and Shakta,
1978; Swami Agehananda Bharati, The
Tantric Tradition, 1977; and Douglas
Renfrew Brooks, The Secret of the Three
Cities, 1990.
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Dakshina