If Truth Be Told: A Monk's Memoir

by Om Swami

In fact, Baba had done numerous sadhanas across the five schools of tantra. These are different paths available to any seeker who wishes to use tantra as a rapid path to self-realization: dakshinachara, the right-handed path; vamachara, the left-handed path; kaulachara, a school introduced by the Saivites of Kashmir, which emphasizes the Siva–Sakti union; samayachara, where the primordial energy of Mother Divine is worshipped within the body above the navel and descending into the lower chakras, and sexual union with a female consort is forbidden; and mishrachara, a system that allows mixed practices depending on the state and stage of the seeker. Vamachara and kaulachara almost always involve rituals and sexual union with a consort of the opposite sex. Dakshinichara and samayachara, on the other hand, emphasize complete abstinence whereas mishrachara permits it at the discretion of the guru. The five paths of tantra originate from the Atharva Veda, the fourth Veda.