Mamsa

(“meat”) In the secret ritually-based religious practice known as tantra, meat is
the third of the Five Forbidden Things
(panchamakara); the panchamakara
are used in their actual forms in “left
hand” (vamachara) tantric ritual,
whereas they are represented by symbolic substitutes in “right hand” (dakshinachara) tantric ritual. “Respectable”
Hindu society strongly condemns the
consumption of nonvegetarian food; its
ritual use therefore must be seen in the
larger tantric context. One of the most
pervasive tantric assumptions is the
ultimate unity of everything that exists.
From a tantric perspective, to affirm that
the entire universe is one principle
means that the adept must reject
all concepts based on dualistic
thinking. The “Five Forbidden Things”
provide a ritual means for breaking
down duality; in this ritual the adept
breaks societal norms forbidding
consumption of intoxicants, nonvegetarian food, and illicit sexuality in a
conscious effort to sacralize what is
normally forbidden. Tantric adepts
cite such ritual use of forbidden things
as proof that their practice involves a
more exclusive qualification (adhikara),
and is thus superior to common practice. For further information see Arthur
Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) Shakti and
Shakta, 1978; Swami Agehananda
Bharati, The Tantric Tradition, 1977; and
Douglas R. Brooks, The Secret of the
Three Cities, 1990.