| has gloss | eng: Vāmācāra (pronounced: vāmāchāra) is a Sanskrit term meaning "left-handed attainment" and is synonymous with "Left-Hand Path" or "Left-path (Sanskrit: Vāmamārga). It is used to describe a particular mode of worship or spiritual practice (Sanskrit: sadhana) that are not only heterodox (Sanskrit: Nāstika) to standard Vedic injuction, but extreme in comparison to the status quo. These practices are often generally considered to be Tantric in orientation. The converse term to Vamacara is Dakshinachara (Sanskrit) (glossed Right-Hand Path) which is used to refer not only to orthodox (Sanskrit: Āstika) sects but to modes of spirituality that engage in spiritual practices that not only accord with Vedic injunction but are generally agreeable to the status quo. That said, left-handed and right-handed modes of practice may be evident in both orthodox and heterodox schools of Dharmic Traditions such as Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism and is a matter of taste, culture, proclivity, initiation, sadhana and Dharmic lineage (Sanskrit: parampara). |
