Shiva and Weed; a logical interpretation

The sacred use of cannabis in Hindu religion is associated with the devotion of Lord Shiva, though it is illegal and prohibited as per the law and order, but the government allows this around the Shiva temples by the authority of praising Lord Shiva, especially on Shivratri festival. This practice can be witnessed at the popular Shiva temples, such as; Biswanath temple, Mahakal temple, Baidynath temple, Tarakeswar temple etc. Now the question is why this notorious practice of intoxication is associated with the reverence of the God of the Gods (Devadidev, Mahadev)?

Cannabis is considered 'prasad' of Lord Shiva, by the Shaivities (Inset image: Google)

The simplest answer will be, Shiva comprises of all the good and all the bad, simply everything is incorporated in him that consists of the entire pragmatic matter and includes all living and non-living being, as well as reveals the mystery behind creation and maintains peace among all. As per his legend; he in one hand conceals the mystery of universe and on the other, balance it with deep meditation, the practical inactivity.

As per the ancient scriptures, unlike Lord Shiva, all the other important Gods mentioned to reside at some other imaginary sphere, such as; Lord Vishnu resides at ‘Vishnulok’, Lord Brahma resides at ‘Brahmlok', Indra, the king of all ‘devtas’ (deities) resides at ‘Indralok’ and many other spheres are mentioned there in the puranas. But as per myth Shiva lives among us in this planet, specifically in an unknown location called ‘Mount Kailash’ in the Himalayas. It is told that, there is a ‘samsan’ (Burning ghat) occupies the entrance of Mount Kailash, if someone tries to  reach there, he have to cross through the ‘samsan’ , which implies one have to get rid of his mortal body and purify his soul with fire and only a purified soul can reach to Shiva.

Shiva always poses a state of meditation in the Mount Kailas and he resides with his family (which includes his wife Parvati, Son Kartick and Ganesha and daughters Lakshmi and Saraswati, but none of them are connected with the use of cannabis), and some of his follower (bhakta); ‘Nandi’ (a bull), ‘Bhringi’ along with ‘Bhut’ and ‘Pishachs’ (Ghost and demons). Who are always high on cannabis, they drinks ‘bhang’ and smokes ‘ganja’, those are formulated from cannabis, which are the ‘prasad’ (gift) of Lord Shiva.

Shiva drinking Halahal; Image: Google

According to puranas during the ‘Samudramanthan' (a joint-venture of devas and asuras to gain amrita), Shiva consumed all the poison (Halahal), to protect the creation from its noxious effect, which caused immense heat and Shiva started getting restless, there marijuana undertook the task of cooling Shiva, along with some other elements, such as; ‘bilwapatra’ (Bell leaf), Ganges water. So it is believed that, Shiva created cannabis from his own body to purify the elixir. So marijuana is considered holy (amrita) by the Hindus, especially by the Shaivites (sect of Shiva).

Now as per the legends of Lord Shiva, he poses the most versatile nature among all other Gods. He is a passionate dancer (Natraj), a dedicated lover (Umapati), a fierce fighter (Birvadra), a lord of terror (Bhairav), who dwells with poisonous snakes around his neck and holds the flow of river Ganga upon his tress (jata). He is addressed as Rudra due to his anger and devastation, due to his anger he beheaded his little child ‘Ganesha’. Also from the Mahabharata, we learn that Shiva and Parvati jointly invented the game of gambling with dice (chausar), which implies he inspired gambling as well. So Shiva can be considered as rock star among Gods, may be for these attributes it is imagined that he would use cannabis himself.

There are different types of cannabis used in different forms and all are accepted as the ‘prasad’ of Lord Shiva by the Shaivities. Which are, 1. ‘Bhang’ usually consumed as an infusion in beverage form, and most commonly used form of cannabis in different religious festivals, consists of the leaves and plant tops of the marijuana plant. 2. ‘Ganja’ is smoked with the help of ‘chillum’ (a typical clay pipe), consisting of the top leaves of the marijuana plant. 3. ‘Charas’ also smoked, consists of the resinous buds and/or extracted resin from the leaves of the marijuana plant.

The earliest mention of cannabis has been found in The Atharva Veda (1000-600BC), as one of five sacred plants, having numerous medical benefits and Shiva lives in it, also described cannabis as a source of happiness, joy-giver, liberator and that is a gift of Lord Shiva to mankind to aid in ‘sadhana’ (Devotion), to help them attain delight and lose fear, as it releases one from anxiety also provides the visions of the gods. According to some scriptures, dirking of ‘bhang’ cleanse the sins and unite one with Shiva, but in contrast foolish drinking of bhang without rites is considered as a sin.

Marijuana leaf

Marijuana is an herb and a flower generally grows well in cold weather and available substantially in the Himalayan range. Upon eating hemp (the fiber of the cannabis plant) the euphoric, ecstatic and hallucinatory aspects, leads someone to an other-worldly plane, so the plant became accepted as a special gift of Shiva, and a sacred medium for communion with the spiritual world, which helps to meditate with utmost concentration.

As per scriptures,  Shiva with activity of persistent concentration, with half-closed eyes he is immersed in meditation in divine bliss. So from Shiva, we get the knowledge of meditation since the rise of civilization, also the ‘Shiva Linga’ symbolizes a state of meditation (Shivoham).  Now if we follow the direction given by our ancient religious scriptures, it can be derived that, one can purify his soul by meditation. In ‘Shivapuran’ different types and levels of ‘tapasya’ (meditation) has been analyzed, such as ‘Agni (fire) tapasya’, ‘Jal (water) tapasya’ along with their significance, which are also quite elaborate.

Shaivities smoking chillum (Image: Google)

Meditating with the help of marijuana is an alternative way or the plain sailing technique for concentration, also can be described as a pleasurable act of worship. While meditation is the process to train the mind for persuading a state of consciousness and directs awareness inward until pure awareness is achieved. Now if it is done with the help of cannabis, which is also addictive, it may be effected as total or partial dependency on it and may be without the supply of cannabis the whole process remains sketchy, because it eventually becomes a crutch, which can become a permanent disability as well as there is a risk of spiritual growth being blocked at higher levels. While meditation is subjected to raise the inner-power and attain a state of independence with a refreshed mind, that cannot be with intoxication. By culturing meditation one maintains the peace, energy and expanded awareness throughout the day, alternatively which can be obtained easily by the help of cannabis.

Lord Shiva

 Also if as per scripture Shiva is associated with the use of cannabis, then also it cannot be harmful for him, as he is the most powerful, immortal, source of all energies. He consumed the most powerful poison, i.e. Halahal, absent hesitation, also destroyed many ferocious dark powers; he holds the moon upon his head, so all his acts are supposed to considered as Godly act, which cannot be identified with humankind.

Now, in order to unite with Shiva, purification of soul is required and meditation is the single way to purify one-self, which can be done from the inner peace or by the artificial hallucination generated by marijuana and the doubt is, does is remains pure if one tends to hallucinate himself to pursue the great cause of meditation (dhyana)? Also any kind of addiction is forbidden by the guideline to 'the Gita’ (The holy text of Hindu religion)!

Thanks and regards,

Milan Chatterjee

PS: The Jogis uses the marijuana for the higher purpose of meditation, not for any kind of temporary pleasure.

In many other religions believes, marijuana is considered holy and included in different religious practices. There are several references in Greek mythology to a powerful drug that eliminated anguish and sorrow.

Source: Wikipedia, Google, Tumblr
© Milan Chatterjee