What does Dakshinachara mean by?

 There are 2 main ways to progress in the spiritual journey. Dakshinachara and Vamachara practices.

Dakshinachara practices generally conform to social norms and are generally accepted by the people. These are the ascetic practices traditionally followed to attain ascension. These practices seek to improve sattva guna – the positive principle of cosmic truth in our body.

Vamachara practices, on the other hand, involve prohibited activities (pancha (5) makara – alcohol, mansa (meat), matsya (fish), mudra, and maithuna (sexual intercourse) are found. 

Dakshinachara worship provides a safe way to move forward in spiritual journeys. On the other hand, Vamachara practices involve unconventional methods, if not practiced with full awareness and under the guidance of a wise teacher, it can easily make one fall!

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We have to remember that Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa himself was deprecatory of Vamachara practices.  His statements on Vamachara practices, quoted for illustration purpose, are as follows:

 

“Narendra (Swami Vivekananda) refers to the Tantrik sects of Ghoshpara, Panchanami and others. Thakur (Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa) describes their practices and condemns them.

He says, “They can’t follow spiritual practices correctly. They just satisfy sensual desires in the name of religion.”

“Many of these people conduct themselves according to the Radha Tantra. They practise spiritual disciplines with the five basic elements – earth, water, fire, air, and ether – through the use of excrement, urine, menstrual flow, and semen. It is a very dirty practice, like entering a home through the toilet”.

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In Ramayana, there was a mention about Dakshinachara. Consider the following sloka from Ramayana.

Sage Valmiki described the preparations of Sri Hanuman, when he decided to flew in Southern direction for searching Seeta in Lanka, as follows:

अञ्जलिं प्राङ्मुखः कृत्वा पवनायात्मयोओनयो |
ततो हि ववृधे गन्तुं दक्षिणो दक्षिणां दिश्म् ||

(Sundara Kanda 1 Sarga 9 sloka)

“Hanuma (dakshinah) turned towards east, saluted his father, the Lord of Wind and increased his body to go towards southern direction”.

Sage Valmiki used the words दक्षिणो दक्षिणां दिश्म् in the sloka. If the words दक्षिणां दिश्म् indicate Southern Direction, why did the sage used the word दक्षिणो (Dakshino) again?

 Did he use the word दक्षिणो (Dakshino) without any purpose?

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 I have gone through many translations, but almost all the translators, except (Late) Sri Gunturu Seshendra Sarma, did not give explanation to the word दक्षिणो (dakshino). (Late) Sri Gunturu Seshendra Sarma in his literary work "SHODASI - Ramayana Rahasyalu (Telugu)" give the following explanation for the word दक्षिणो (dakshino).

The word दक्षिणो (Dakshino) was used to indicate that Sri Hanuman had been the follower of DAKSHINAACHARA, i.e., the VEDIC way life. Sri Hanuman was described by the Shri Rama, as expert in 3 Vedas.

 

नानृग्वेदविनीतस्य नायजुर्वेद्धारिणः।

नासामवेदविदुषश्शक्यमेवं विभाषितुम् ।। 4.3.28।।

 “Unless well versed in Rigveda, Yajurveda and Samaveda, for sure, it is not possible for anyone to articulate so well”.

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Please Note the words used by Valmiki Maharshi - dakshinO dakshinam disham - दक्षिणो दक्षिणां दिश्म्. It seems to me that he adopted this phrase from a Rigvedic Rik composed by the Rig vedic sage Vishwamitra.

Sage Vishwamitra says in these Riks, dedicated to Indra, दक्षिणे दक्षिणावान् - dakṣiṇe dakṣiṇāvān:

 Rig Veda 3.39.6

इन्द्रो मधु सम्भृतमुस्रियायां पद्वद्विवेद शफवन्नमे गोः ।

 गुहा हितं गुह्यं गूळ्हमप्सु हस्ते दधे दक्षिणे दक्षिणावान् ॥

indro madhu sambhṛtam usriyāyām padvad viveda śaphavan name goḥ | guhā hitaṃ guhyaṃ gūḻham apsu haste dadhe dakṣiṇe dakṣiṇāvān |

 Rig Veda 3.39.7

 ज्योतिर्वृणीत तमसो विजानन्नारे स्याम दुरितादभीके । इमा गिरः सोमपाः सोमवृद्ध जुषस्वेन्द्र पुरुतमस्य कारोः ॥

jyotir vṛṇīta tamaso vijānann āre syāma duritād abhīke | imā giraḥ somapāḥ somavṛddha juṣasvendra purutamasya kāroḥ ||

 Shri Aurobindo’s translation:

 “He having Dakshina with him held in his right hand (dakṣiṇe dakṣiṇāvān ) the secret thing that is placed in the secret cave and concealed in the waters. May he, knowing perfectly, separate the light from the darkness, jyotir vṛṇīta tamaso vijānann, may we be far from the presence of the evil.”

 Shri Aurobindo explains as follows;

 We have here a clue to the sense of this goddess Dakshina, who seems in some passages to be a form or epithet of the Dawn and in others that which distributes the offerings in the sacrifice. Usha is the divine illumination and Dakshina is the discerning knowledge that comes with the dawn and enables the Power in the mind, Indra, to know aright and separate the light from the darkness, the truth from the falsehood, the straight from the crooked, vṛṇīta vijānann .

The right and left hand of Indra are his two powers of action in knowledge; for his two arms are called gabhasti - गभस्ति, a word which means ordinarily a ray of the sun but also forearm, and they correspond to his two perceptive powers, his two bright horses, harī, which are described as sun-eyed, sūracaksasā and as vision-powers of the Sun, sūryasya ketū.

Dakshina presides over the right-hand power, daksina, and therefore we have the collocation dakṣiṇe dakṣiṇāvān. It is this discernment which presides over the right action of the sacrifice and the right distribution of the offerings and it is this which enables Indra to hold the herded wealth of the Panis securely, in his right hand. And finally we are told what is this secret thing that was placed for us in the cave and is concealed in the waters of being, the waters in which the Thought of the Fathers has to be set, apsu dhiyam dadhise.

 It is the hidden Sun, the secret Light of our divine existence, which has to be found and taken out by knowledge from the darkness in which it is concealed. That this light is not physical is shown by the word vijānann, for it is through right knowledge that it has to be found, and by the moral result, viz. that we go far from the presence of evil, duritād, literally, the wrong going, the stumbling to which we are subjected in the night of our being before the sun has been found, before the divine Dawn has arisen.

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 We have therefore three possible senses for daksa in the Veda, strength generally, mental power or especially the power of judgment, discernment. Daksa is continually associated with kratu; the Rishis aspire to them together, dakṣayā kratve, which may mean simply, “capacity and effective power” or “will and discernment”.

 Continually we find the word occurring in passages where the whole context relates to mental activities. Finally, we have the goddess Dakshina who may well be a female form of Daksha, himself a god and afterwards in the Purana one of the Prajapatis, the original progenitors,—we have Dakshina associated with the manifestation of knowledge and sometimes almost identified with Usha, the divine Dawn, who is the bringer of illumination.

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Rig Vedic Sages want to hold Indra's right hand to gain self-realisation, the divine light and the discerning knowledge that comes with it. 

Rig Veda 10.47.1

 जगृभ्मा ते दक्षिणमिन्द्र हस्तं वसूयवो वसुपते वसूनाम् । 

विद्मा हि त्वा गोपतिं शूर गोनामस्मभ्यं चित्रं वृषणं रयिं दाः ॥

jagṛbhmā te dakṣiṇam indra hastaṃ vasūyavo vasupate vasūnām | vidmā hi tvā gopatiṃ śūra gonām asmabhyaṃ citraṃ vṛṣaṇaṃ rayiṃ dāḥ ||

English translation:

We have grasped your right hand, Indra, seeking goods, you goods-lord of goods, for we know you as cow-lord of cows, o champion. – To us give bright, bullish wealth.

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Therefore, I believe that Dakshinachara means striving for self-realisation, the divine light and the discerning knowledge that comes with it. 

 A vedic way.