(“fish”) Fish is the
second of the "Five Forbidden Things" (panchamakara) in the secret ritual-based
religious practice known as tantra.
They are utilized in their physical forms in "left
hand" (vamachara) tantric ritual, but are represented by symbolic
equivalents in "right hand" (dakshinachara) tantric ritual.
Because nonvegetarian food is severely condemned in
"respectable" Hindu culture, its ceremonial usage must be seen in the
light of the greater tantric setting.
The ultimate oneness of everything that exists is one of the
basic tantric concepts.
To proclaim that the whole cosmos is one principle from a
tantric viewpoint implies that the adept must reject all dualistic conceptions.
The "Five Forbidden Things" serve as a ritual for
dismantling dualism.
In this ritual, the adept defies society norms by consuming
intoxicants, eating nonvegetarian cuisine, and engaging in unlawful sexual
activity in an attempt to sacralize what is generally banned.
Tantric adepts point to the ceremonial usage of banned
objects as evidence that their practice entails a higher level of exclusivity
(adhikara) and is therefore superior to ordinary practice.
See Arthur Avalon's (Sir John Woodroffe's) Shakti and
Shakta, 1978; Swami Agehananda Bharati's The Tantric Tradition, 1977; and
Douglas Renfrew Brooks' The Secret of the Three Cities, 1990 for further details.
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