--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "rudra_joe" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Pretty much figured it out Oh Shankara. You can't hide stuff from
Shiva. Thanks for this whole thread though. It was very meanigful to
this erstwhile stoner.
**************
Some more links on the relationship of ganja to spirituality, ritual,
offerings and sadhana in some traditions.
Along with others, perhaps Rick's friend Dana could comment on his
observation of its spiritual / ritual use (or abuse) in India.
Some mantras:
He is invoked before taking the first puff by shouting one of many
chilam-mantras:
"Alakh!"; "Bam Bam Bholanath!"; "Bom Shiva!"
Mantra for offering ganja to Balarama:
Baladev Baladev Hara Hara Ganja.
Other:
"Om Shiva Shankara Hari Hari Ganga!"
http://www.lifepositive.com/Mind/evolution/drugs.asp
In India, the Aghora sect of Tantra and a significant section of
Shaivite Tantrics ritually partake of marijuana as part of their
sadhana (spiritual exercise).
"With the first drag, Shiva (a Hindu deity) made the sky. With the
second, he made the earth and with the third he made this world."
This, according to Dr Molly Kaushal, research officer at the Indira
Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in New Delhi, is how the Gaddi
tribals of the northern Indian hill state of Himachal Pradesh describe
the act of Creation. The 'drag' here, of course, refers to a puff of
cannabis.
As she tells me this, an excited Madhusudan Baul, a folk singer from
the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, chips in: "These three puffs
are extremely important. There is a proper ritual involved in taking
them. There should be a gap of at least 90 seconds between each puff.
And the high that you reach after three puffs is the climax. No
further smoking will make any difference."
And what does he feel when he is on such a high? Madhusudan closes his
eyes in bliss as he recalls: "We all know that God resides everywhere.
But we see Him in bits and pieces. Cannabis makes me see God in His
entirety. It is a sight of such unalloyed joy that tears well up in my
eyes."
Neem Karoli Baba forwarded a similar view when he was asked by one of
his disciples whether taking hashish helps spiritual development. "You
should smoke hashish like Lord Shiva," he said, "only to be with God.
But smoking hashish is not necessary to reach God. The effect only
lasts a short while. Devotion to God is an addiction that lasts all
the time."
http://surrealist.org/prayforpeace/1997b.html
Excerpt from Sadhus: India's Mystic Holy Men, by Dolf Hartsuiker Inner
Traditions, Int'l. (1993), p. 97-98
<<A common ritual [for devotees of the God Shiva] is the smoking of a
mixture of tobacco and charas (hashish) in a chiam (pipe). Although
this undoubtedly serves the more earthly purpose of socializing with
Sadhu-brothers and devotees, the smoking of charas is nonetheless
regarded as a sacred act. Intoxication as a 'respected' -- amongst
Babas anyway -- method for self-realization is related to the drinking
of soma, the nectar of the gods, which is recommended in the Vedas as
a sure means of attaining divine wisdom.
<<Mythologically charas is intimately connected with Shiva: he smokes
it, he is perpetually intoxicated by it, he is the Lord of Charas. He
is invoked before taking the first puff by shouting one of many
chilam-mantras: "Alakh!"; "Bam Bam Bholanath!"; "Bom Shiva!" Babas
offer the smoke to him; they want to take part in his ecstasy, his
higher vision of Reality. As a final gesture of devotion, a Sadhu may
mark his forehead with the chilam-ashes, or even eat them, as prasad
from Shiva. Charas may be used by Shaivas (Shiva worshipers) and
Vaishnavas (Vishnu worshipers).>>
Lord Balarama & Ganja
Worshipers of Shiva traditionally offer their ganja to Shiva before
smoking, but what about followers of Krishna? Krishna generally does
not accept ganja offerings, although He clearly states that He is the
healing essence of all herbs. In ancient India, the temple incense was
infused with hashish so worshipers could inhale the sacred smoke and
experience love of God. Although hash incense is no longer available,
Krishna worshipers offer ganja smoke to Krishna's brother, Balarama,
and receive the Lord's blessings.
Mantra for offering ganja to Balarama: Baladev Baladev Hara Hara Ganja.
http://www.tripzine.com/print.asp?id=dowhatido
She brought out a heavy auburn cone of clay which had an inner rod
that fit snugly inside the hollow cone. She ripped a tattered fragment
off of her orange sarong and tied it around the thinner end of the
cone, brought out a small cup made from an immature ash-blackened
coconut in which she crumbled up a 1:2 mix of charas and rare ganja
which she tightly packed into the wide end of the chillum.
"Om Shiva Shankara Hari Hari Ganga!"
Ditto. I mimicked her mantra and we began. "I got this pipe from a
baba who resides in the Shiva Temple at Hampi."
My first goal was to find the Baba who taught Eleanor the art of
chillum smoking. Before we slept she gave me the full story of the
Baba, how he dosed her whole body with blue ash, dabbled salt on her
eye lids, blew incense on meridian points of her body and quivered
with joy when she told him that she was to pack a chillum of only
cannabis as opposed to partitioning it with tobacco. "It will please
Shiva most!" she said.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-e/ille-e/library-e/Spicer-e.htm#a.%20%20Sumerians
the Sumerians of the Ancient Near East each developed their own
`personal deity' whom they would worship each day by burning cannabis.
The Sumerians believed that the daily worship of their personal deity
assisted them in earning a living and being courageous in battle.
Creighton asserts that over the years the Hebrew words `yagarah
hadebash' have been translated incorrectly into `honey comb.' He says
that, "The earlier [translations], however obscure, show that the
`honey' was of a peculiar kind"([31]) and that the Syrian version of
the text is actually a better account. The Syrian account says that
Jonathan dipped his rod in a field of flower-stalks with resinous
exudation, which would be produced in times of heat – similar to the
behaviour of cannabis resin.
The word `kaneh bosm' appears several times in the Old Testament([32])
"both as incense, which was an integral part of religious
celebration, and as an intoxicant,"([33]) but a specific example sees
Moses using it in Exodus 30:23 when God commanded him to make "holy
anointing oil of myrrh, sweet cinnamon, kaneh bosm, and kassia."
Benet explains that in this passage the Hebrew definition of kaneh
bosm is `aromatic reed,' kan meaning `reed' or `hemp,' while bosm
means `aromatic.'([34]) The linguistic resemblance of the word `kaneh
bosm' to the Scythian word cannabis, and the Hebrew definition of
kaneh bosm provide Benet and Bentowa with enough evidence to assert
that the intoxicating properties of cannabis were probably first used
by the peoples of the Near East and then spread through contact with
the Scythians.([35])
Today, there are groups such as The Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church who
fully believe in the teachings of the Bible and that "marijuana is a
godly creation from the beginning of the world… Its purpose in
creation is as a fiery sacrifice to be offered to our Redeemer during
obligations… Ganja (cannabis) is the sacramental rights of every man
worldwide."([36]) As further confirmation of this belief, they point
to the Encyclopedia Brittanica's section on Pharmacological Cults,
which states: "the ceremonial use of incense in contemporary ritual
is most likely a relic of the time when the psychoactive properties of
incense brought the ancient worshipper into touch with supernatural
forces."([37])
An Indian god named Siva is described as The Lord of `Bhang,' the
drink made of cannabis leaves, milk, sugar and spices. Historically
and continuing today, "bhang is to India what alcohol is to the
West."([44]) Orthodox Hindu rules have traditionally prohibited the
use of alcohol except for the warrior Rajput caste who, despite the
rules, indulge in alcohol. For Members of the Brahmin caste, cannabis
was unequivocally sanctioned for social use in order to help achieve
the contemplative spiritual life they strive to lead. According to
one historian of cannabis, even in the 1940's bhang was integral to
social activities including special festivities and in the home.([45])
In special festivities such as weddings, it was said that a father
must bring bhang to the ceremonies to prevent evil spirits from
hanging over the bride and groom. Bhang was also a symbol of
hospitality. "A host would offer a cup of bhang to a guest as
casually as we would offer someone in our home a glass of beer. A
host who failed to make such a gesture was despised as being miserly
and misanthropic."([46])
Cannabis is also renowned in India for its use in the Tantric
religious yoga sex acts. About an hour before carrying out the yoga
ritual, the devotee would put a bowl of bhang before him and after
reciting a mantra to the goddess Kali, the devotee would drink the
bhang potion. "The goal of the Tantra initiate was to achieve unity
of mind, body, and spirit through yoga and marathon sexual episodes.
This was fuelled by bhang, which heightens the experience."([47])
The most potent Indian preparation of cannabis called `charas' has the
same religious importance to many Hindus that wine has to Christians
celebrating the Eucharist. The Hindu mystics who smoked charas in the
prayer ceremony called Puja especially favoured charas.([48]) As
well, the holy men called `fakirs' who were famous for walking on hot
coals and sleeping on beds of nails, believed that charas put them in
closer communion with their gods.([49])
http://www.beastbay.com/beastbay/979964962/index_html
Among the main deitiesworshiped in India is Shiva, god of destruction.
He is said to have been a shaman who lived before 1000 b.c.e. and
brought cannabis down from a mountain.A popular form of worshipping
Shiva is to smoke charas in a chillum, a straight pipe smoked through
the hands (to prevent contagion). The chillum is firsttouched to the
forehead with the mantra, "Boom Shiva". Within a few hundred years,
the Hindu reformer, Buddha, is alleged to have lived for six years
onnothing but cannabis before attaining illumination. Many Buddhists
venerate the plant and have ceremonial uses for it. Cannabis use
spread to Japan as welland was used as a blessing in Shinto marriage
ceremonies and to drive away evil spirits.
Before this time, cannabis use spread to the Middle East. At around
550 b.c.e., the Zend-Avesta -- the holy book of the Zoroastrian faiths
-- listed hempfirst among its 10,000 medicinal plants. There is also
evidence of earlier use by the Hebrew priestcraft. In 1936, an
etymologist named Sula Bennet found thatthe Hebrew word "kaneh-bosm"
really means cannabis and had been mistranslated in the past.
According to his theory, the word appears throughout the Bible, for
example,in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. According to him, there are
references to cannabis as both an incense used in religious ceremonies
as well as anintoxicant.
By 800 e.v., when Mohammed established his religion, cannabis use was
still allowed, though other intoxicants were forbidden. The lack of
religious and socialrestraints led to cannabis being produced for a
number of products (like paper, medicine and rope). As well, hashish
(called Khaneh) was being widely produced andused by Sufis and other
Islamic holy men and women for religious experiences and communion
with God. Hashish production is still high in manyIslamic countries.
We know from the Roman historian Herodotus writing at about 450 b.c.e.
that the Sythians used cannabis in their sacred rituals (such as
thefuneral rites). He stated that they placed the seeds (probably not
separated from the buds) on hot coals under small tents and breathed
in the smoke. They then"transported by the vapour, shout aloud". There
is also evidence from several gravesites that the Sythians smoked
cannabis for pleasure. The Sythians werenomadic tribes from central
Asia that spread across Europe starting near 1000 b.c.e., which is
about the earliest reference we can find for the drug cultivation of
cannabis.The Greek Thracians were closely tied to the Sythians and are
alleged to have used cannabis as well, mostly in connection with the
ecstatic worship ofDionysus. The noted historian M. Eliade claimed
that they maintained a shamanic ritual of divination involving placing
dried herbs, including cannabis, on hotcoals and breathing in the
smoke. Their shamen or "those who walk in smoke" were called "Kapnobatai".
Horseback riding first appeared on the Ukrainian Steppes of Central
Asia at around 4000 b.c.e. and led to numerous nomadic groups
spreading out into the world. Many ofthese brought cannabis with them.
Around 1500 b.c.e., nomadic Aryan tribes moved into India and
integrated with the existing culture. Cannabis quicklybecame popular
there. It's common to find three main preparations of cannabis in
India: bhang, ganja, and charas. Bhang is a beverage made from the
dried leaves and isoften very mild. Ganja is the flowering tops of
female plants (buds) and charas is a form of hashish made by rubbing
off the resin.
There are numerous "Dagga" (cannabis) religions in Africa, and some
tribes claim that it was brought by the sacred star Sirius. When
Africans were enslaved in Jamaica they brought their sacramental use
ofcannabis with them and, combining it with Indian use and mythology,
created the religion of Rastafari. Many Rastafarians smoke cannabis
religiously and use it tohelp them communicate with "Jah" (god). In
Egypt and Ethiopia, a Christian group arose, the Copts, that
considered cannabis to be a sacred herb, incense, andoil. The Coptic
Christians used references in the Old Testament to back up their claims.
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