shrImAtre namaH

Based on some mails we received today, I thought of re-visiting the topic of mixing paths. The query regarding balidAna which Sri Anathakrishnan raised fuelled this post. An oft neglected difference between dakShiNa and vAmAchAra is the need for worship of vaTuka. vaTuka pUjA, as stated in dakShiNAmUrti samhitA, is not compulsory for an upAsaka following dakShiNAchAra. If done, well and good, but there is no doSha if not done. However, for someone following one of the six leftist paths, vaTuka pUjA is of prime importance without which balidevAtas will reject the balidAna offered. Also, according to Tantric lore, kAraNa dravya originates from vaTuka and surA-shuddhi is possible only by the grace of vaTuka:

avashyamAdau vAmAdau kuryAdvaTukapUjanam |
mArge.asmin vaTuko mukhyaH surAdyaM tena nirmitam ||

kulamAlinI tantra describes vaTuka as the devatA for the fifteen Rchas used during surA shuddhi. A dakShiNAchAri need not follow the elaborate procedure for dravya shuddhi as unlike surA, there is no shApa on kShIra and also because kShIra does not represent surA in the case of dakShiNAchAra. The prescription for tarpaNa in dakSha mArga is kShIra, Ajya and madhu, and these do not represent something other than what they are. When they are conceived to represent surA and shuddhi procedure is followed, it is characteristic of pUrva kaula, described in mahocchuShmAdi chAmuNDAnta tantras, and not dakShiNAchAra. When samskAra is done as described in these tantras, even kShira, Ajya, madvAdikas become surA, as stated in bR^ihadbaDabAnalIya and mArga paribhramaNa happens, which is not recommended for a dvija. kAlikA purANa says:

yo dAkShiNyaM vinA vipro mahAmAyAm prapUjayet |
sa pApaH sarvalokAttu chyuto bhavati rogadhR^ik ||

This is especially true for us following bimbAmbikA on the path of nirvana sundarI krama, where bR^ihadbaDabAnala is mukhya pramANa:

brAhmaNAH kShatriyA vaishyA dakShamArgAdhikAriNaH |
dvijavarjAstrayovarNA vAmakaulAdhikAriNaH ||

The complication in following vAmAdi mArgas for a brAhmaNa arises due to two important things:

1. He has to accept AchAras such as bhairavI chakra, surA pAna etc. which are niShiddha as also the varNAshrama parityAga within the kulachakra. parityAga of varNAshrama for any duration by thought or action is considered to cause hAni to brAhmaNya as stated by hArItAdayaH.
2. He has to sacrifice certain obligatory activities such as allegiance to Rshi, devatA etc. which are clearly prohibited in leftist tantras where these group of deities are replaced by yogini and bhairava chakras.

This will result in issues for most upAsakas except in the case where divyabhAva arises, which, as described in muNDamAlA, is one in a million. Now, yoginyAdi devatas can mitigate the pratyavAyAdi doShas occurring due to the above two issues, but only in the realm of earthly worlds, again based on the upAsanA dhArDhya of the aspirant. However, gati in lokattara gets ruined because of the other two issues:

vedamArgaparityAgI kaivalyecChAvivarjitaH |
vAmamargI siddhikAmI ihasiddhIshvaro bhavet ||

The same is stated elsewhere:

dakShamArgaparibhraShTo brAhmaNo vAmamArgagaH |
ihaiva siddhimApnoti nApavargaM kadAchana ||

Thus, the sUtra, nirbhayatA sarvatra is interpreted as "not caring for what happens in the lokottara" with the assumption of attainting jIvanmukti while in the body. One should carefully consider if this is possible for all before dehatyAga. And this is where the requirement of a siddha guru for leftist paths becomes even more important, as stated in kulArNava. Moreover, it is said:

kaulikaM kurvataH karma vaidikaM nAbhidhIyate |
virodhAdubhayaM naShTaM tasmAdekapathA charet ||

kulamAlinyAdi tantras prohibit a kaulAchari from performing certain kratus and vaidika karma. It is a general practice among some lineages to give up certain vaidika karma after pUrNa dIkShA and shakti svIkAra in kula patha based on this pramANa. The belief here is that giving up these should be okay as the same fruits are obtained through shaktisamyoga in the adopted path, which makes shrauta karma redundant. Moreover, kalpasUtra compares shruti to veshyA and shaktisa~Ngama tantra describes shruti pratipAdita karma as nirvIrya in kali yuga. mahAkAlasamhitA prescribes vaidika karma at day and kaulikI activity during night, but again describes this as a middle path offering slight relief from doSha for bad apples who are neither eligible for divya kaula bhAva nor worthy of vaidika mArga.

Also, every vaidika karma requires gotra of the dvija and a kaula, from the very moment of pUrNa dIkShA, loses his janma gotra:

yathA nArI piturgotrAt patyurgotraM samAcharet |
tathA shaktyupadeshena kaulo gotrAntare vrajet ||

kaulika gotra nirNaya is a large subject in itself which we shall consider in another post for the benefit of shAkta bhAndhavas who follow kaulamArga but are gotrahInas due to ignorance.

Moreover, after pUrNadIkShA, which involves shaktisvIkAra necessarily for a kaula, other prescribed activities such as tIrthayAtrA, sannyAsa, vrata, upavAsa etc. need to be given up. These activities, which are generally meant to grant shubha-phala, cause ashubha, if followed by a leftist:

tIrthATanaM cha sannyAsaM vratadhAraNameva cha |
upavAsaM muNDanaM cha sarvathA parivarjayet ||

The next loss for a dvija after kaula dIkShA and shakti svIkAra, is of varNa and Ashrama:

gataM shUdraysa shUdratvaM gatA viprasya vipratA |
dIkShAsamskArasampanne jAtibhedo na vidyate ||

It should be noted that this verse does not limit the claim to what is assumed true within the bhairavI chakra but states the above rather universally.

Without gotra, varNa and Ashrama, what really is the basis for performing vaidika karma?

Coming back to Anath's question, the prAdhAnya during balidAna is for vaTuka for the anuyAyis of vAma, kAulAdi ShaNmArgas. The first bali is offered to vaTuka and then to gaNapati. However, prAdhAnya is for gaNapati in the case of dakShiNAchAra and the direction to be followed is pUrvAdi prAdakShiNyena, which again differs in the leftist paths. When one looks at various such small but significant details from prAchIna tantras, it becomes clear as to why kAshmIra and gauDa deshasthas, who vouch for purity of sampradAya, refuse to accept the kalpasUtra as a valid pramANa.

Thus, it seems that this tendency to mix the paths began in the recent past, where brAhmaNas wanted kShipra siddhi from the leftist paths but did not want to lose acceptance from the brAhmaNa samAja. This seems to have led to desperate juggling, both intellectually and in practice, to consolidate or balance the paths when they are not really meant to be, resulting in truTi to both the paths. The result is, shall we say, na ghar ka na ghat ka?

yadi dehaM pR^ithakkR^itya chiti vishrAmya tiShThasi |
adhunaiva sukhI shAnto bandhamukto bhaviShyasi ||
na tvaM viprAdiko varNo nAshramo nAkShagocharaH |
asa~Ngo.asi nirAkAro vishvasAkshI sukhI bhava ||

brahma smarAmi kamalekShaNamabhranIlam