"Ganga is like smoking the pubic hair of the Goddess." I don't know what literary award would cover your creating this phrase, but whatever it is, you have earned it my brother!
--- In [email protected], "llundrub" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > All I can say is I prayed to the Goddess, when I was dry and she sent me an > emmisary with buds o purple and white fire. And Lo, when I saw her beauty I > had to praise her verily with at least a few Bam and of course the emissary > could relate given the glowing beauty of her puissance upon planet Earth. > Om Bhu Devi Namaste. Ganga is like smoking the pubic hair of the Goddess. > Which is why Shivittes smoke it. It's common is all Kali rites, less so in > Shiva. Okay, Purple Urkle Over. Weed is very very good for matrimonial > conjugality. ;) Okay, feel sorry for yas who haven't see ya. > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Robert Gimbel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Tuesday, January 30, 2007 9:41 AM > Subject: [FairfieldLife] 'Spiritual Use of Cannabis' > > > Spiritual use of cannabis > > This article is about cannabis used as a drug in a spiritual or > religious context. > > Cannabis has an ancient history of ritual use and is found in > pharmacological cults around the world. Hemp seeds discovered by > archaeologists at Pazyryk suggest early ceremonial practices by the > Scythians occurred during the 5th to 2nd century BCE, confirming > previous historical reports by Herodotus. In India, it has been used > by wandering spiritual sadhus for centuries, and in modern times the > Rastafari movement has embraced it. Some historians and etymologists > have claimed that cannabis was used as a religious sacrament by > ancient Jews, early Christians and Muslims of the Sufi order. > > > Jewish and Christian use > According to some scholars, cannabis was an ingredient of holy > anointing oil mentioned in various sacred Hebrew texts. The herb of > interest is most commonly known as kanah-bosim (÷ÀðÅä-áÉùÆÒí) (the > singular form of which would be kaneh-bos[1]) which is mentioned > several times in the Old Testament as a bartering material, incense, > and an ingredient in holy anointing oil used by the high priest of > the temple. The Septuagint translates kaneh-bosm as calamus, and this > translation has been propagated unchanged to most later translations > of the old testament. However, Polish anthropologist Sula Benet > published etymological arguments that the Aramaic word for hemp can > be read as kannabos and appears to be a cognate to the modern > word 'cannabis',[2] with the root kan meaning "reed" or hemp and bosm > meaning "fragrant". Both cannabis and calamus are fragrant, reedlike > plants containing psychotropic compounds. While Benet's conclusion > regarding the psychoactive use of cannabis is not universally > accepted among Jewish scholars, there is general agreement that > cannabis is used in talmudic sources to refer to hemp fibers, as hemp > was a vital commodity before linen replaced it. [3] > > > Hindu use > Cannabis is believed to have been used in India as early as 1000 > B.C.E. In mainstream, lay religious usage, it is usually taken in > liquid form as bhang and used during religious ceremonies such as > weddings, as well as the Hindu celebrations of Holi.[4][5] > > Hashish, or charas, is widely smoked by Shaivite devotees, and > cannabis itself is seen as a gift of Shiva to aid in sadhana. > Wandering ascetic sadhus are often seen smoking charas with a chillum. > > The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report[6] describes some traditional > Hindu spiritual uses of cannabis. > > Connection of ganja with the worship of Shiva. > > > "435. It is chiefly in connection with the worship of Shiva, the > Mahadeo or great god of the Hindu trinity, that the hemp plant, and > more especially perhaps ganja, is associated. The hemp plant is > popularly believed to have been a great favourite of Shiva, and there > is a great deal of evidence before the Commission to show that the > drug in some form or other is now extensively used in the exercise of > the religious practices connected with this form of worship. > Reference to the almost universal use of hemp drugs by fakirs, jogis, > sanyasis, and ascetics of all classes, and more particularly of those > devoted to the worship of Shiva, will be found in the paragraphs of > this report dealing with the classes of the people who consume the > drugs. These religious ascetics, who are regarded with great > veneration by the people at large, believe that the hemp plant is a > special attribute of the god Shiva, and this belief is largely shared > by the people. Hence the of many fond epithets ascribing to ganja the > significance of a divine pro-party, and the common practice of > invoking the deity in terms of adoration before placing the chillum > or pipe of ganja to the lips. There is evidence to show that on > almost all occasions of the worship of this god, the hemp drugs in > some form or other are used by certain classes of the people it is > established by the evidence of Mahamabopadhya Mahesa Chandra > Nyayaratna and of other witnesses that siddhi is offered to the image > of Shiva at Benares, Baidynath, Tarakeswar, and elsewhere. At the > Shivratri festival, and on almost all occasions before the on which > this worship is practised, there is abundant evidence Commission > which shows not only that ganja is offered to the god and consumed by > these classes of the worshippers, but that these customs are so > intimately connected with their worship that they may be considered > to form in some sense an integral part of it" > > > Worship of the hemp plant > > > "449. The custom of worshipping the hemp plant, although not so > prevalent as that of offering hemp to Shiva and other deities of the > Hindus, would nevertheless appear from the statements of the > witnesses to exist to some extent in some provinces of India. The > reason why this fact is not generally known may perhaps be gathered > from such statements as that of Pandit Dharma Nand Joshi, who says > that such worship is performed in secret. There may be another cause > of the denial on the part of the large majority of Hindu witnesses of > any knowledge of the existence of a custom of worshipping the hemp > plant in that the educated Hindu will not admit that he worships the > material object of his adoration, but the deity as represented by it. > The custom of worshipping the hemp plant, though not confined to the > Himalayan districts or the northern portions of India alone, where > the use of the products of the hemp plant is more general among the > people, is less known as we go south. Still even far south, in some > of the hilly districts of the Madras Presidency and among the rural > population, the hemp plant is looked upon with some sort of > veneration. Mr. J. H. Merriman (witness No. 28, Madras) says: "I know > of no custom of worshipping the hemp plant, but believe it is held in > a certain sort of veneration by some classes." Mr. J. Sturrock, the > Collector of Coimbatore (witness No. 2, Madras), says: "In some few > localities there is a tradition of sanctity attached to the plant, > but no regular worship. "The Chairman of the Conjeveram Municipal > Board, Mr. E. Subramana Iyer (witness No. 143, Madras) says: "There > is no plant to be worshipped here, but it is generally used as > sacrifices to some of the minor Hindu deities. "There is a passage > quoted from Rudrayanmal Danakand and Karmakaud in the report on the > use of hemp drugs in the Baroda State, which also shows that the > worship of the bhang plant is enjoined in the Shastras. It is thus > stated: "The god Shiva says to Parvati-- 'Oh, goddess Parvati, hear > the benefits derived from bhang. The worship of bhang raises one to > my position. In Bhabishya Puran it is stated that "on the 13th moon > of Chaitra (March and April) one who wishes to see the number of his > sons and grandsons increased must worship Kama (Cupid) in the hemp > plant, etc."" > > > Muslim use > Generally in orthodox Islam, the use of cannabis is deemed to be > khamr, and therefore haraam (forbidden). As with most orthodoxies, > early practices differ in this.[citation needed] Some say that, as > hashish was introduced in post-Koranic times, the prohibition of > khamr (literally, "fermented grape") did not apply to it.[citation > needed] Others point to various hadith, which equate all intoxicants > with khamr, and declare them all haraam, "if much intoxicates, then > even a little is haraam".[citation needed] > > Although cannabis use in Islamic society has been consistently > present, often but not exclusively in the lower classes,[citation > needed] its use explicitly for spiritual purposes is most noted among > the Sufi. An account of the origin of this: > > According to one Arab legend, Haydar, the Persian founder of the > religious order of Sufi, came across the cannabis plant while > wandering in the Persian mountains. Usually a reserved and silent > man, when he returned to his monastery after eating some cannabis > leaves, his disciples were amazed at how talkative and animated (full > of spirit) he seemed. After cajoling Haydar into telling them what he > had done to make him feel so happy, his disciples went out into the > mountains and tried the cannabis for themselves. So it was, according > to the legend, the Sufis came to know the pleasures of hashish. > (Taken from the Introduction to A Comprehensive Guide to Cannabis > Literature by Ernest Abel.) > > This story is most likely a myth or a simplification but an > interesting account nonetheless. > > In addition, the warrior sect of the Hashashin were said to have > eaten hashish before their assassinations and were given the > name "Hashasin" accordingly. This notion, traditional in the West, > can be inferred from Marco Polo's account of his travels, though it > has been widely disputed.[7] > > > Sikh use > The Sikh religion developed in the Punjab in Mughal times. The common > use of bhang in religious festivals by Hindus carried over into Sikh > practice as well. Sikhs were required to observe Dasehra with bhang, > in commemoration of the founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak.[8] > > The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report[6] describes the traditional > use of cannabis in the Sikh religion. > > "Among the Sikhs the use of bhang as a beverage appears to be common, > and to be associated with their religious practices. The witnesses > who refer to this use by the Sikhs appear to regard it as an > essential part of their religious rites having the authority of the > Granth or Sikh scripture. Witness Sodhi Iswar Singh, Extra Assistant > Commissioner, says :"As far as I know, bhang is pounded by the Sikhs > on the Dasehra day, and it is ordinarily binding upon every Sikh to > drink it as a sacred draught by mixing water with it. Legend--Guru > Gobind Singh, the tenth guru, the founder of the Sikh religion, was > on the gaddi of Baba Nanak in the time of Emperor Aurangzeb. When the > guru was at Anandpur, tahsil Una, Hoshiarpur district, engaged in > battle with the Hill Rajas of the Simla, Kangra, and the Hoshiarpur > districts, the Rains sent an elephant, who was trained in attacking > and slaying the forces of the enemy with a sword in his trunk and in > breaking open the gates of forts, to attack and capture the Lohgarh > fort near Anandpur. The guru gave one of his followers, Bachittar > Singh, some bhang and a little of opium to eat, and directed him to > face the said elephant. This brave man obeyed the word of command of > his leader and attacked the elephant, who was intoxicated and had > achieved victories in several battles before, with the result that > the animal was overpowered and the Hill Rajas defeated. The use of > bhang, therefore, on the Dasehra day is necessary as a sacred > draught. It is customary among the Sikhs generally to drink bhang, so > that Guru Gobind Singh has himself said the following poems in praise > of bhang: "Give me, O Saki (butler), a cup of green colour (bhang), > as it is required by me at the time of battle (vide 'Suraj Parkash,' > the Sikh religious book). "Bhang is also used on the Chandas day, > which is a festival of the god Sheoji Mahadeva. The Sikhs consider it > binding to use it on the Dasehra day-The quantity then taken is too > small to prove injurious." As Sikhs are absolutely prohibited by > their religion from smoking, the use of ganja and charas in this form > is not practised by them. of old Sikh times, is annually permitted to > collect without interference a boat load of bhang, which is > afterwards. distributed throughout the year to the sadhus and beggars > who are supported by the dharamsala." > > > Rastafari use > Members of the Rastafari movement use cannabis as a part of their > worship of Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, whom they see as the > returned Messiah, God incarnate. The movement was founded in the > 1930's and while it is not known when Rastafarians first made > cannabis into something sacred it is clear that by the late 1940s > Rastafari was associated with cannabis smoking at the Pinnacle > community of Leonard Howell. Rastafarians see cannabis as a > sacramental and deeply beneficial plant that is the Tree of Life > mentioned in the Bible. Bob Marley, amongst many others, said, "the > herb ganja is the healing of the nations." The use of cannabis, and > particularly of large pipes called chalices, is an integral part of > what Rastafari call "reasoning sessions" where members join together > to discuss life according to the Rasta perspective. They see cannabis > as having the capacity to allow the user to penetrate the truth of > how things are much more clearly, as if the wool had been pulled from > one's eyes. Thus the Rastafari come together to smoke cannabis in > order to discuss the truth with each other, reasoning it all out > little by little through many sessions. They see the use of this > plant as bringing them closer to nature and even rub the ash into > their skin. In these ways Rastafari believe that cannabis brings the > user closer to Jah, ie Selassie I, and pipes of cannabis are always > dedicated to His Majesty before being smoked. While it is not > necessary to use cannabis to be a Rastafarian, some feel that they > must use it regularly as a part of their faith. "The herb is the key > to new understanding of the self, the universe, and God. It is the > vehicle to cosmic consciousness" according to Rastafari philosophy. > [1] > > > Other modern religious movements > Elders of the modern religious movement known as the Ethiopian Zion > Coptic Church consider cannabis to be the eucharist,[9] claiming it > as an oral tradition from Ethiopia dating back to the time of Christ. > [10] > > Like the Rastafari, some modern Gnostic Christian sects have asserted > that cannabis is the Tree of Life.[11] > > Other organized religions founded in the past century that treat > cannabis as a sacrement are the THC Ministry, the Way of Infinite > Harmony, Cantheism, the Cannabis Assembly and the Church of > cognizance. Many individuals also consider their use of cannabis to > be spiritual regardless of organized religion. > > > > > > To subscribe, send a message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Or go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ > and click 'Join This Group!' > Yahoo! Groups Links >
