[Advaita-l] Advaitic Foods - Vedic ritual involving animal-killing

[Sunil Bhattacharjya]

The ultimate aim of Tantra is noble indeed. The passion is the final obstcle in most aspirants. Even the great Viswamitra could not escape the wiles of Menaka. The Samayachara changes the attitude of the aspirant trough devotion to the most beautiful universal mother and an initiate is introduced to its own way of advancing in that path. The Vamachara Tantra does it by taking the bull by the horns. It allows the aspirant to indulge in the senses. Abhinavagupta says that the deities of the senses have to be pleased and  that according to him is what Lord Krishna had also said in the Bhagavad Gita. Suppression of senses should not be the way. As I understand he says that indulgence followed by meditation and repeation of these two in alternate cycles delivers the goods. In the process the attitude of both the anjoyeing and being enjoyed vanishes, resulting in getting rid of the ego of the individual self.

Regards,

Sunil K. Bhattacharjya

--- On Wed, 1/5/11, Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com> wrote:

From: Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] Advaitic Foods - Vedic ritual involving animal-killing
To: "A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta" <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
Date: Wednesday, January 5, 2011, 8:55 PM

On Sat, 1 Jan 2011, Sunil Bhattacharjya wrote:

> May I add a few lines here. Manu had sanctioned eating meat but that should be sanctified before cooking.

I think that is an overly simplified view of what he said but I'll write more on that topic later.

> The procedure folowed by many Hindus is that the raw meat is first offered to Mrigendra (lion) form of Lord Vishnu. (See Vishnu sukta). It is generally accepted that even for the ritual killing the animal has to be killed in one stroke with a very sharp jack-knife. If the animal is not killed in one stroke it is painful to the animal and is considered a great sin and it is believed that he (to whom the meat is offered) becomes angry.

The practices followed in the North-East are base on vamachari tantric principles and is condemned by the Vedas.

In vaidika dharma blood and the shedding of blood is considered polluting and the sacrificial animals were garotted with a noose not decapitated. In the tantras, the flow of blood is important precisely because it is polluting hence the use of a knife or sword.

Although the sacrifice of animals was part of the shrauta ritual because it a microcosm of creation and death is a part of life, it was still considered unauspicious and was done in a place on the edge of the sacrificial ground.  By contrast, tantric sacrifice takes place on the altar itself.

Many years back, the local Bengali community didn't have a priest for Durga Puja and my Guruji was asked to officiate.  He refused unless he was allowed to conduct the havan etc. according to Gujarati achara.  A Smarta may no more be involved in such tantrik worship than in Muslim or Christian worship.

On Tue, 4 Jan 2011, Venkatesh Murthy wrote:

> Is a Tantrika allowed union with his own wife in Maithuna part of
> Tantric rituals? Some people say this Maithuna is symbolic only but
> not real. Where this Maithuna is used?
> 

The Vamacharis in fact say it should be another woman involved.  The whole point of their philosophy is to be as transgressive of the norms as possible.  Less extreme tantriks say it should be with ones own wife and the dakshinacharis who are more in tune with the Vedic path say it is a symbolic concept only.  (This is also why we make balidana with a coconut or a melon instead of an animal.)

> In Dharma Shastra a man can go to his wife in the Ruta Kala but not
> other times.  Then he keeps his Brahmacharya.
> 

Shastras say should not go but do not forbid it outright.  Even without bringing tantra into the picture, kama is a purushartha just like dharma and artha and the pursuit of pleasure is not wrong as long as it does not violate the niyamas of dharma.

-- Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
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