LHP vs RHP

[The Hammer]

Is there really a difference in which path one takes to achieve their spiritual goals? Is one path more valid then the other.

Why is one looked at as being benign, while the other is looked at as dangerous?

------

I see one as searching for the Gods without - RHP

While the other searches for the Gods within. -LHP

(Yes this is a severe simplification and generalization)

Edit: Left-hand path and right-hand path - Wikipedia

P.S. as an aside, if there are two paths, and multiple paths within each overarching path... Then multiplicity is a fundamental aspect of reality.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

Is there really a difference in which path one takes to achieve their spiritual goals? Is one path more valid then the other.

Why is one looked at as being benign, while the other is looked at as dangerous?

------

I see one as searching for the Gods without - RHP

While the other searches for the Gods within. -LHP

(Yes this is a severe simplification and generalization)


P.S. as an aside, if there are two paths, and multiple paths within each overarching path... Then multiplicity is a fundamental aspect of reality.

Well, Left Hand Path is kind of like trying to find easier enlightenment through the darkness. Rather than attempting to reach for the light far above. To use a metaphor.

It takes a different kind of grounding and discipline than Right Hand Path. For me, it was kind of like using inverted controls on a First Person video game like Halo.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

To elaborate further, I probably couldn't find the posts now, but in posts where I expressed my philosophical views after that time I subscribed to Left Hand Path, I struggled in complex Morality and Ethics based discussions and debates on this forum, and after expressing some of my ideas under my new Left Hand Path worldview, I found myself apologizing because I pretty much was jumbling things in my discussion for a full 3-5 weeks just trying to get accustomed to that new, harder path.

 

[dybmh]

Why is one looked at as being benign, while the other is looked at as dangerous?

IMO...

RHP invokes the will of God. This is deemed safe if God is benevolent.
LHP invokes the forces of nature. This is deemed dangerous because the forces of nature are very powerful and things can get out of control if the practioner isn't cautious or experienced.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Quick aside. It is baseball season. The Mariners are on fire. So I clicked on what looked like a debate about Left Handed Pitchers vs Right Handed Pitchers.

As to religion, I would suggest that you follow the path that feels right to you. One can generally choose one, or the other, or neither. Regardless of your choice I wish you good luck with your journey.

 

[crossfire]

According to Joseph Campbell:

 

[Suave]

Is there really a difference in which path one takes to achieve their spiritual goals? Is one path more valid then the other.

Why is one looked at as being benign, while the other is looked at as dangerous?

------

I see one as searching for the Gods without - RHP

While the other searches for the Gods within. -LHP

(Yes this is a severe simplification and generalization)

Edit: Left-hand path and right-hand path - Wikipedia

P.S. as an aside, if there are two paths, and multiple paths within each overarching path... Then multiplicity is a fundamental aspect of reality.

"Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run.
And there's still time to change the road you're on."

 

[crossfire]

If you want an overly simplified psychological description of some of the common methods: RHP = ego death via being absorbed by the collective unconscious or by the so-called abyss. LHP = ego death via ego being consumed by the Shadow (personal unconscious.) This doesn't fit neatly into each in that there are other ways and techniques, but each mentioned technique fits into the RHP paradigm and the LHP paradigm, respectively.

 

[Guitar's Cry]

Drawing a circle deosil is drawing it widdershins from another's perspective.

Whether you look inward or outward, seek value through selfish or community means, or work black or white magic, it all comes down to your relationship with everything else and the meaning you derive from it.

 

[The Hammer]

Also, to add my own views.

I think both paths are equally valid. With one no more dangerous then the other, as long as precautions are taken.

Typically with a teacher, mentor or guru.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

Is there really a difference in which path one takes to achieve their spiritual goals? Is one path more valid then the other.

Why is one looked at as being benign, while the other is looked at as dangerous?

------

I see one as searching for the Gods without - RHP

While the other searches for the Gods within. -LHP

(Yes this is a severe simplification and generalization)

Edit: Left-hand path and right-hand path - Wikipedia

P.S. as an aside, if there are two paths, and multiple paths within each overarching path... Then multiplicity is a fundamental aspect of reality.

I think they're both great for growth and Becoming, but in different ways. The Left Hand Path is better suited for growth as an individual and self discovery whereas the Right Hand Path is better suited for aligning yourself with the universe/God/outside forces.

That's my opinion at least. In the end it's just about how you want to live your life and what type of enlightenment you seek.

 

[Ella S.]

I see "The Left-Hand Path" as an umbrella term for very specific forms of philosophy tied to Crowley, LaVey, and Aquino, since they are the ones who laid out its philosophical implications.

I don't think it makes sense to see "Right-Hand Path" religions or methods as necessarily antithetical to or at odds with Left-Hand Path philosophies and the religions they're tied to. I don't think it's a straightforward binary like that.

In saying that, I also realize that the term "Left-Hand Path" has become a lot more vague and does not always refer to the philosophy that LaVey and Aquino worked so hard to define. This is partially because it's still used as an insult sometimes by Rosicrucians and Theosophists, leading to some people taking up the term independently of LaVey and Aquino as a self-descriptor either out of ignorance or rebellion.

To me, "Left-Hand Path" exclusively evokes the imagery of a Social Darwinist form of ethical egoism, which is how it was used by LaVey and Aquino who popularized the term as a self-identification. I don't think it necessarily implies any sort of metaphysical or mystical beliefs.

 

[The Hammer]

I see "The Left-Hand Path" as an umbrella term for very specific forms of philosophy tied to Crowley, LaVey, and Aquino, since they are the ones who laid out its philosophical implications

It's roots go much deeper then LaVey or Aquino, all the way back to medieval India circa 3rd-8th centuries.

Tantric Buddhism and Hinduism are the first to coin the terms LHP and rhp. Afaik.

"In more recent definitions, which base themselves on the terms' origins in Indian Tantra, the Right-Hand Path (RHP, or Dakshinachara), is seen as a definition for those magical groups that follow specific ethical codes and adopt social convention, while the Left-Hand Path (LHP, or Vamamarga) adopts the opposite attitude, espousing the breaking of taboo and the abandoning of set morality."

 

[Ella S.]

It's roots go much deeper then LaVey or Aquino, all the way back to medieval India circa 3rd-8th centuries.

Tantric Buddhism and Hinduism are the first to coin the terms LHP and rhp. Afaik.

"In more recent definitions, which base themselves on the terms' origins in Indian Tantra, the Right-Hand Path (RHP, or Dakshinachara), is seen as a definition for those magical groups that follow specific ethical codes and adopt social convention, while the Left-Hand Path (LHP, or Vamamarga) adopts the opposite attitude, espousing the breaking of taboo and the abandoning of set morality."

But it wasn't a self-descriptor in English until occultists adopted the term from the East, and the way they use it is really not the same as Hindus do.

 

[The Hammer]

But it wasn't a self-descriptor in English until occultists adopted the term from the East, and the way they use it is really not the same as Hindus do.

Idk. That's how I view it, I see it as pretty similar. One is focused on sublimation into a Deity. The other of breaking moral and ethical boundaries, or becoming deity. Both are meant to divest oneself away from duality into non-duality.

It's in the non-dual sphere that all magicks gets conducted.

 

[crossfire]

I see "The Left-Hand Path" as an umbrella term for very specific forms of philosophy tied to Crowley, LaVey, and Aquino, since they are the ones who laid out its philosophical implications.

Crowley was RHP, albeit a dark RHP.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Is there really a difference in which path one takes to achieve their spiritual goals? Is one path more valid then the other.
Why is one looked at as being benign, while the other is looked at as dangerous?

Both paths are valid in Hinduism. We have a further division of LHP: Socially accepted and Socially not accepted.
'Tantra' without orgies may be socially accepted, but 'Aghor' as in your video is not socially accepted. There is a limit to how far the society will go.

 

[The Hammer]

Both paths are valid in Hinduism. We have a further division of LHP: Socially accepted and Socially not accepted.
'Tantra' without orgies may be socially accepted, but 'Aghor' as in your video is not socially accepted. There is a limit to how far the society will go.

I am still under the impression that Tantras and other LHP elements of Hinduism and Buddhism are considered "dangerous practices". Is that accurate or just propaganda to deter would be practitioners?

 

[Aupmanyav]

Technically, they may not be dangerous. But, of course, most people consider them as such. The fault lies with those who overdo them.
True, LHP may not require any brahminical rituals, so brahmins will consider them as no-gain dangerous, just like they branded Buddhism..

 

[Aupmanyav]

.. it is really not the same as Hindus do.

You are right, Ella S. I would not view it as anything other than the type of search that I undertook in 'Advaita'. No bad connotations unless the LHP is harming anyone else. In practice, fake practitioners of LHP do it for sex or money. That is what brought it a bad name.
One does not need to go to 'non-duality' through any left-hand path. You can go there more easily with RHP. But then, peoples' views differ.