Shiva and Cannabis

[ratikala]

namaskaram :namaste

as amRta (amrita) is nectar , the nectar of imortality , prehaps it is also a metaphor for truth , as truth is the pure essence of life and the essence of imortality .

it is the gift and the blessing of the gods which liberates .:namaste

 

[ratikala]

I am with vinayaka ji and shiv fan on this one ,

neither have the need for external intoxicants or stimuli ,

just the word of the lord , the sound of nama (maduram nama) is sweet enough to transport me to another realm , what need do I have for a substance with temporary results ? I am drunk with love (not of the worldly kind) , soma is the nectarian essence of the lord

 

[Nyingjé Tso]

Vnakkam

Agree with VinayakaJi, ShivFan and Ratikala
- whatever
- there is no need for it
- no this is not a maintream Saiva practice
- you don't need it to attain God/Moksha/self realisation.

I would add just that it really tiring being a Saiva and a serious sadhak, and have to bear all the "yeah Siva is the drug God" stuff, and I'm sometimes quite disgusted to see many peoplein western countries (mainly not hindus strangely) using ShivJi as an excuse to justify their drug use and behavior. Shiv is much, much more than a "cool baba" seated on a mountain top and smoking pot all day to be "enlightened". Reducing such a deep and loving God of this universe to this and comparing His grace to a tool to cloud the mind, it's kind of insultin for me personally.
Just my personal opinion

Aum Namah Sivaya

 

[ratikala]

namaskaram :namaste

A question that is probably best answered by shiva devotees , ....

allthough it is a common conception in the west that many shivites follow these practices because we are subjected to many colourfull pictures of lone shivite sadhus , I would like to ask those with internal knowledge of the tradition to prehaps give some estimation as to the numbers of sadhus who promote such usage in comparison to the numbers of devout temple going shivites that shy away from such behaviors ?

 

[Vinayaka]

Total Hindus ... a billion
Saivas ... 20% of a billion ... 200 000 000
Total sadhus 3 000 000
Total Saiva Sadhus 50% 1 500 000
Total who use .. one third ... 500 000

equals a ratio of 1 to 400

That would be my estimate.

 

[ratikala]

Total Hindus ... a billion
Saivas ... 20% of a billion ... 200 000 000
Total sadhus 3 000 000
Total Saiva Sadhus 50% 1 500 000
Total who use .. one third ... 500 000

equals a ratio of 1 to 400

That would be my estimate.

jai jai , I think this is a good answer to Biased 's original question , ...

puts things into their true perspective .

quote Biased
What is the connection between the two? I know many sadhus like to smoke the stuff and I was talking to my religions of india professor and he said that the government used to give the sadhus hashish to give out on one of the festival days because Shiva liked the stuff?, also during the bhang festival.
So what's the connection between Shiva and Cannabis? How is it usually consumed? What are the source texts that show evidence of the two or is it just oral tradition?

 

[Poeticus]

V,

I would say it's more like 1 to 700 - 'cause the number of Sadhus seems to be decreasing, and obviously the phony ones don't count; and, in that case: it might as well even be 1 to 1000. The consumption of Cannabis by Shaivites isn't representative of Shaivism at all.

The concept of Shiva consuming it is a much later addition and is not to be found in the older texts at all. Zilch. Zippo. Nil. Nada. Thus, it's almost impossible to authenticate the story of "Shiva consuming Cannabis". In other words, it seems to be more of a folk tale than an actual scriptural, agamic documentation.

 

[Kalicharan Tuvij]

V,

MV - M ("maya") = V



(MV get an avatar, soon)

regard
-gravedigger KT