Substituting the Pañcamakāras, Forbidden Offerings

Right now in our How To Do Tāntrik Pūjā lecture series, we're exploring the topic of Mānasa-pūjā, mental worship, the process of internalizing everything that we would otherwise be doing outwardly.

This approach is of course very, very helpful when it comes to things like pañca-makāras or even bali (animal sacrifice) because although these things are very much part of Kālī pūjā, the external observance of these things might not be appropriate in some contexts and certainly won't suit the temperament of many practitioners! 

The solution for such practitioners? Omit it/substitute it or internalize it! 

In this talk, we discuss what the pañca-makāras (the 5 forbidden offerings) are and make a points about for whom this practice could be beneficial and for whom it could, perhaps potentially be ruinous! 

Given all the fascination (as well as superstition) around this topic and of course, given its centrality in the Kaula marga and the worship of deities like Mā Kālī, it's worth taking a swipe at in a mature and grounded way!