Different Ways of worship, in Shiva & Shakta Sect
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description of Dakshinachar or Pashwachar, Kaulachar or Virachar and Siddhantachar or Divyachar
According to the different sources of Tantra, the various practises through which the worship of Shakti and Shiva can be performed are Dakshinachar (the practise related to righteousness), Vamachar (the practise which is unorthodox in nature) or Kulachar (the practise also related to Vamachar) and Divyachar (last and highest position). A brief description of these three practises arranged according to their importance to the Shakti worshippers are as follows:-1. Dakshinachar or Pashwachar (Pashu-Achar, the custom concerned to the animal nature of human beings) : It involves practises such as worshipping in the day time, regular bathing habits, following pure and pious activities and also having vegetarian food habits, worshipping three times a day, strict ban on worshipping at night, using rudraksha rosary as an inevitable part of meditation, practising Brahmacharya, avoiding the use of non-vegetarian food items in worship and so on. It is compulsory to observe the rules of Brahmacharya in Dakshinachar, in other words, the accompaniment of wife can also be considered to be equivalent of practising Brahmacharya. It is absolutely restricted to worship with the items of Panch-Ma-kaar (namely, meat, fish, alcohol, posture and copulation). If need be, instead of directly using these components, their alternatives could be employed. This form of worship begins with certain animal expressions, but gradually the worshipper moves towards accomplishing his ultimate goal.
2. Vamachar : In this kind of practise, the worshipper does not have to observe any kind of restrictions, such as maintaining physical purity, taking bath regularly, etc., he is empowered to meditate in any place and under any circumstances that suits him the best. The most ideal time for worshipping is considered to be the middle of the night,. the deity is offered meat, alcohol and fish very regularly, the followers of this practise treat each and every individual with an equal point of view, they never discriminate human beings on the basis of caste, creed, religion or any other aspect.
3. Divyachar : It is also closely associated with Raja yoga or Vamachar.
These three religious practises together is termed as the trio of attributes, including the animal attribute, the fearless attribute and the divine attribute. Among these three attributes, the animal attributes are the oldest ones. Human beings are considered to be the most superior among all kinds of living beings, as they possess the capability to think, understand and applying intelligence. Until the human intelligence is developed to its highest possible level, he is considered to belong to the animal category. A person's knowledge level is usually measured by the amount of intellect he possesses. It is advisable to begin the process of worship from the very grass root level, which also coincides with the animal attribute. If a person tries to attempt whole-hearted devotion, the first and foremost factor would be to initiate the process by shedding off animal attributes. It is considered to be of the lowest category of all attributes, Goddess Tripur Sundari herself had described it as the worst as well as an all-despised attribute in the Bhaav Chudamani Tantra. Once the devotee attains the desired knowledge and gets rid of the darkness around him caused by ignorance, the animality present in him disappears. According to the old scriptures, the eight kinds of human nature that bears the indication of animality are : 1. hatred, 2. doubt, 3. fearfulness, 4. shame, 5. abhorrence, 6. ancestry, 7. modesty, and 8. communal feeling. The above mentioned human traits are the obstacles to the spiritual growth of human beings and hence should be avoided by all means. Thus, a worshipper at the initial stage of worship, who is trying to get rid of animal traits, should focus on being victorious over these negative character traits.
Hatred
Hatred is such a feeling that involves certain factors which do not appeal to our physical or mental being or even to our sense organs. If a person is averted to anything mortal or immortal, that is composed of Pancha-Tatva, that feeling would be referred to as hatred. It gives birth to pride and ego. A human heart always carries a feeling of either likeness or dislike for everything he comes across, as he is often unaware of the existence of the Eternal soul in every element.Doubt
When the devotee reflects a feeling of suspicion towards others, it is termed as doubt. A common man, thoroughly engrossed in material possessions, entrapped in various worldly attractions, often takes resort to a wide range of dubious as well as manipulative activities, for his own development. In course of time, he cheats others, often tells lie, becomes proud of his own physical appearance, and consequently, starts doubting others, as he feels the people around him are also of certain distrustful characters.Fearfulness
A common human being is very often attracted to his physique, his near and dear ones, his earthly possessions, his most desirable items, etc. and hence, he is always afraid of losing these things. He is often scared of the fact that he would have to let go of such material pleasures, but he is not worried about losing his soul, or his incapability to truly analyse his inner beings. He does not consider it to have any importance to learn more about himself.. At times, it may also happen that certain things, occurring in front of us may give rise to fearfulness.Shame or bashfulness
A human heart often experiences the feeling of Honor and dishonour within his heart. Such a feeling may be termed as shyness or shame. We usually fail to realise that our physical existence is nothing but a blessed gift from the Divine Soul, and hence we should not be bothered about such petty feelings. Human beings are mortal in nature, and thus, the attributes of Honor or dishonour are should not bear any significance.Abhorrence
It involves the human characteristic of criticising others. It is quite a regular habit of human beings to find the flaws in the acts of others, while we often fail to blame ourselves for the mistakes done by us. Ancestry This points to the clan to which a human being is born. A person taking birth in a so-called high-class ancestry considers himself to belong to the upper echelon of the society, and looks down upon those born to some other ancestry. But this kind of feeling has a negative impact on the character of a human being as he starts discriminating among people on the basis of caste and creed.Modesty
Good manners or well-behaviour of a person gives rise to modesty. The attitude of a human being towards others, the services rendered by him, his each and every movement when he is with others-everything combines to be termed as modesty. Once the devotee can detach himself from such petty feelings of being modest, he becomes independent in all his judgements as well as activities. He does not need to worry anymore about the fact that the others might disapprove his behaviour.Community
If a human being is highly influenced by communal feelings, it will often bring a sense of differentiation in his heart. Soon he would start considering people to be of lesser or greater importance solely on the basis of caste difference. A person who makes such discrimination is considered to be grossly affected by animal attributes. We should always keep in mind that all four classes of human society, namely, Brahman (the priest), Kshatriya (the royalty), Vaishya (the trader) and Shudra (the untouchable) all are the offspring of the great creator, Lord Brahma.If the devotee aims to achieve Shiva-tatwa (the willingness to merge with Lord Shiva), he ought to get rid of all the above mentioned negative features. If he is entrapped by any of these traits, if he is suffering from any mental disorder, he is by no means capable of continuing with his worship irrespective of time, place and surroundings. The heart should be pure, in order to possess equal mindedness, and to give rise to the feeling of sacrifice. Consequently, the purity of heart can only be achieved through sacrificing all the animal traits that often engulfs us. Once the devotee, beginning his journey from being possessed by animal attributes, wins over all the negative character traits as well as mental disabilities, he can move on to belong to Veer Bhaav (the gallant phase). Thus the devotee solely aims towards attaining success through this path.
Veer Bhaav (the gallant attribute) : Once the devotee achieves this attribute, he is expected to be completely aware of the negative impacts of the eight animal traits. At this stage, even though he is desperate to get rid of these traits, he does not easily succeed in doing so. Thus the devotee engages himself in purifying his body and soul and begins the journey towards gallantry. The prime focus of this attribute is that, in this method, the devotee does not find any difference between himself and his most favoured deity, i.e., through the process of his worship, he gradually possesses the same characteristics as his lord. It is one of the toughest modes of worshipping, one should seek the blessing of his master as well as should be led to the correct way by the master, otherwise it may prove to be detrimental to the worshipper. Some other names given to this mode of worshipping are Kulachar, Vamachar, Kaulachar, Veerachar (all related to ancestry or family or bravery of human beings) and so on. Simultaneously, the devotee should compulsorily be perseverance, it is not advisable to divert to any other path once the journey has started along this path, such diversion may lead to harmful consequences. A person should possess certain outstanding merits in order to be permitted to worship following the Veer Marg, which are, not to be affected by worries, to be absolutely fearless, not to be afraid of any kind of threats, ability to wander to any place at any given time, unaffected by shame or curiousness, devotion towards the study of Vedas and other ancient scriptures etc. The devotee has to include the symbolic Pancha-Tatwa in this phase of worship, which is also known as Pancha-ma-kaar.
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Reason to Use of alcohol, fish, meat, female company or sex in Shiva and Shakta sets
Maharishi Vashishtha observed this path alone in order to attain accomplishment from the blue-complexioned goddess Tara Maha Vidya. Initially, he was advised by his father Lord Brahma to worship goddess Tara following the vedic rituals, but even after doing the same for thousands of years, he could not be successful. It angered him so much that he cursed the Tara Mantra (the holy chant to praise goddess Tara). Afterwards, he was guided by a divine oracle, and went to visit China and to meet Lord Buddha. There, he received knowledge about Kulagam (the advent of the clan), and simultaneously, was blessed to view the holy image of the goddess. In this way, he also got his much desired accomplishment. As mentioned earlier, the devotee is expected to follow the path of Pancha-Ma-kaar vidhi consisting of five essential elements namely 1. Alcohol, 2. Meat, 3. Fish, 4. Hand Gestures, 5. Copulation. Together, they are also known as Kul-Dravya. Usually, other than the posture (including hand gestures and Chavarn Anna or Snacks), all the other five elements are considered to be stigmatised. In fact, those belonging to the Vaishnava community treat these materials to be the sole reason of sin. The consumption of alcohol is considered to be one of the worst sins. In spite of this fact, these things have been used in the worship of gods since time immemorial. Kulachar is just one of the ways of substantiation, in this path, the devotee is guided towards being independent and unleashing his inner soul through the penetration of the eight negative character traits. The Pancha-Ma-Kaar vidhi is not to be applied for the self-satisfaction of the devotee, he can never grow habitual to these, he is only supposed to offer these materials to the deity he praises before his intake, as these are meant to be included in prayer, not for the enjoyment of the worshipper. Even though these might be very much favoured by him, he should never get addicted to these, and the ability of the worshipper not to be distracted by these attractions proves his culmination.The use of alcohol, meat, fish etc. in the worship of gods as well in the yajnas offered to the ancestors, which are performed by the Shaiva's (the community following Lord Shiva) and the Shakti community can be frequently seen since ancient times. According to Rig Veda, the violence through killing which is caused by actions related to gods or ancestors, are not considered to be sinful acts. According to the Kularnava Tantra (the tantra that narrates Kaul or knowledge of the clans), it is justified in the ancient scriptures that if a devotee consumes meat or alcohol after offering the same to the deity, he would not be committing any sin. On the other hand, the consumption of meat or alcohol without offering it in any fire sacrifice, is categorised into transgression. If the devotee consumes any of the Kula Dravyas, after it has been offered to his master or deity or has been purified by the chanting of certain mantras, he can find salvation from the bonding of the mortal world, and becomes free from any guilt. To sum it up all, after the ordination in the Kaula Marg, the consumption of fish, meat, alcohol etc., without including those in the worship of gods, is considered to be sinful.
Reason behind the consumption of alcohol, meat, fish etc. : Usually, alcohol is categorised as a malicious item, but in the group of the various kind of addictions, it is the most superior of all. Human beings who are addicted in any kind of hard drinks, forget about themselves and loses control over their mind. It does not make a person lazy, in fact, it is said to have special power to make a man even more active.
If a person is unable to be determined enough to get rid of the trap set by his bad habits, he can take resort to drinking alcohol as medicine in order to exercise control or to completely remove himself from the entrapment. Consumption of alcohol helps to focus our mind in a much concentrated manner during meditation, and thus, it is mostly used by the Shakti worshippers. Under any circumstance, the worshipper can concentrate entirely upon his prime goal. In reality, once the worshipper gets drunk, he forgets everything about his surroundings as well as himself, and also becomes free from all kind of worries, thus it becomes easier for him to focus more on his meditation. Alcohol is a fervently exciting element, it is usually consumed in combination with meat, fish, etc. This is done in order pacify the poisonous quality present in alcohol. It should also be kept in mind that consumption of alcohol must be complemented with nutritious food items as well, otherwise it may cause death of the human being. On the other hand, alcohol or any other addictive thing, when combined with meat and other non-vegetarian food, adds vigour and power to a human character. The root cause of being attracted to the female : It is believed that desire, attraction or lust towards the female is the main hindrance in the Sadhan Marg (the way of worship), but, at the same time, human beings cannot emerge victorious over this vice just by staying away from female company. A person, who is so deeply engrossed in love, forgets the difference between correct and incorrect and acts in an arbitrary manner. Thus, it is considered to be the best option to free oneself from lust, love,desire etc. while staying in close relation with female power. The offering of various materials to the god is not the only mode of worship, it also involves the complete satisfaction of the god. We must remember that all the elements have been created by the Eternal. Hence, Pancha-Ma-Kaar Marg leads to the ultimate sacrifice of all the desirable elements, while consuming as well as enjoying those. It is highly desirable for the devotee to be truthful and honest, if he has been demoralised, has disobeyed his master, or loses the purity of his soul, he would in no time follow the path to sin.
According to the Shakti Sangam Tantra, the female chosen for the purpose of copulation should necessarily be a follower of all rites and rituals, should be an ardent believer in god, should have faith in chanting mantras and other sort of divine works. If the devotee gets carried away just by looking at any female, it may cause terrible harm to him. If he maintains relation with a female who is disloyal, is not attentive towards family values or religious matters, he will never be able to accomplish his goal. The female should be praised before establishing any relationship with her, she should not be resented and so on. If a person enjoys female company only for the sake of his self-satisfaction, he would soon find his way to hell. The devotee should abstain himself from the usage of other people's objects, food, wives etc. He can also maintain the purity of his character by not participating in gossipping about others.
The main purpose of observing Pancha-ma-Kaar path.
This mode of worship is solely meant for praising ones most favoured deity, it should never be applied for self-satisfaction or personal enjoyment. This method may lead to free oneself from all kinds of substantial pleasures. Common people always find happiness in being engrossed in petty worldly possessions, and desire to obtain even more. In this way, he soon gets enslaved by such things. But a devotee, who has successfully achieved the gallant attribute, can easily stay away from all such provocations, he has not right to engage himself in any worldly matters, he should always be open-minded towards all beliefs, and should never give in to any kind of permanent habits. While copulating with a female, it should not affect his mind or soul, he should be influenced by love or lust. Similarly, while consuming alcohol, meat, fish etc., his physical existence should not come under any bad influence caused by these. The devotee should be fully conscious even while consuming alcohol.In reality, these five so-called vices help human beings to get rid of the trap laid by the eight negative character traits as mentioned earlier. Through the practice of Pancha-ma-kaar methods, one can develop a sense of detachment towards all the material pleasures, even while enjoying those. A human being is referred to as a common living thing until he can overcome his petty desires, attachment towards earthly possessions, and the pride of his physical being. Once he moves above such trivial matters, he becomes equalised to the ultimate lord. The sole purpose of Shakti worship is to gain oneness among Shiva, all creations and all theories. According to this theory, the human being is treated as a temple, where, Lord Shiva resides in the form of self-revelation. Unless the devotee is free from all his greed and desires, he would never be able to feel the presence of Sada-Shiv within himself. Thus, it is only through following the Pashu-bhaav or Veer-bhaav that enables people to graduate into successful devotee. Following the Veer-bhaav is one of the toughest way of worship. It not only includes worship through the five vices, but the devotee practically needs to be gallant as well. The devotee needs to be completely unbiased towards each and every thing around him that are composed of the five basic elements, he is not in a position to judge anything on the basis of being superior or inferior. In this manner, he treats all the so-called inferior things, such as, dead bodies or corpses, faeces, human excreta, female seminal fluid, bones, rotten components etc. from an indifferent perspective, thus finding the true meaning of his inner soul as well as the existence of Brahm within oneself. He has to behave like a bold and fearless warrior under all circumstances. He should not be afraid of any situation, like even if he has to visit the burial grounds, forests, river banks, deserted temples or any such desolate place for the purpose of worship at the dead of night.
According to Gyanarnav Tantra, Lord Shiva once narrated to his wife Parvati that the purity of everything can be achieved only through the attainment of complete knowledge. While water is considered to be the residing place for many gods, then for no reason urine should be treated as a matter of disgust, as it is also formed of water alone. The intake of Gau-mutra (the urine of cow) can rid us from the sin of consuming beef or killing of the Brahman etc., thus proving the fact that Gau-mutra can even purify the worst of the sinners. Hence, considering urine as an unholy thing is absolutely illogical. The female seminal fluid is the most important component for the creation of life, and it is through this human body that one can achieve the ultimate goal. It is said that human birth is possible after passing through the creation of 84 thousand species, and this birth is necessary for attaining salvation. Hence, we should not develop any feeling of hatred towards female seminal fluid. On the other hand, the male seminal fluid helps in the formation of the seven present in human body that is symbolic to Shiva. If it so happens that the devotee harbours a sense of discrimination towards certain elements, he does so only because of his ignorance, and thus he commits sin. For instance, when a human baby takes birth from its mother's womb, it is very likely that each and every part of its body is in close contact with the mother's vagina, and it even includes the male genital organ. But since, at that time, the baby is not in its senses, it is not considered as a crime. But, as he grows up, and his mind is full of lust and he tries to perform certain mischievous acts with his mother citing the reason that while taking birth, his body has already been in contact with his mother's genitals, then that person displays a sense of perversion and he would be a sinner too. Desire is the root cause of all the guilty feelings, and through trying to achieve the gallant attribute, the devotee actually tries to get rid of any kind of desire. Any object which is easily and regularly available, soon loses its attraction, for e.g., if a person consumes meat on a daily basis, he would no longer be attracted to eating meat. Similarly, the main purpose of pancha-ma-kaar sadhana is to encourage the devotee to develop a sense of complete distraction towards these five vices. This method of worship converts the vices described in the holy scriptures into golden virtues. It helps to remove the trap laid by the eight negative character traits and to free the soul from all desires. Once the devotee is free from all such passions, he does not need to pay any attention towards the worldly pleasures that cause temporary satisfaction. Through the freedom of the soul, he achieves a divine spirit.
Thus, to sum it up all, in the very beginning, the devotee starts meditation through the animal attributes and strengthens his physical existence as well as guides his mind entirely towards the thought of his favoured deity, followed by which he starts practicing the gallant attribute. In this phase, he gets rid of any sense of discrimination, hatred etc. and develops a sense of equality towards all elements, thus feeling the presence of the divine soul within himself. He also sheds off his feelings of shame, worry, fear and so on and thus unleashes himself. Finally, he achieves the divine feel and finds the existence of god in himself and everything surrounding him.
