Interesting Facts About Lord Shiva and his Affiliation with Marijuana.
The God of "Destruction and Transformation" - Lord Shiva is someone who is extremely popular among today's generation and why he shouldn't be!
Here's a God who wears Dreadlocks, has some cool fashionable style, carries an impressive weapon "Trishul". Lord Shiva's love for music and some of his popular names add more to his rugged persona.
But what makes Lord Shiva so prominent among today's generation is his Affiliation with Marijuana
From Where Lord Shiva's Marijuana Story Start?
From the famous ancient mythology - Samudra Manthan in which Lord Shiva with his cohort gods churned the cosmic ocean in order to obtain Amrita - the heavenly nectar of immortality.
It is said that Marijuana grew at the very spot where nectar touched the surface of the earth, this myth tells us the story of Marijuana's introduction to us earthlings.
There is also this other story related to Samudra Manthan, wherein Lord Shiva consumes the whole sea of poison and the heat of poison was so high that he used Marijuana as a coolant.
Must Read
Does Lord Shiva Really use to Smoke Weed?
It's quite debatable, as some mythological experts state that there is no written evidence of Lord Shiva smoking cannabis and the truth that Lord Shiva is the greatest Vaishnava, his affiliation with Marijuana contradicts Vaishnava principles.
But there are also some stories which are contrary to the above-mentioned point. In which Lord Shiva reinvigorated himself in the heat of sunlight by consuming leaves of Marijuana Plants, he is also said to have adopted the plant as a part of his favourite diet and is therefore named as Lord Of Bhang.
What do Lord Shiva' Worshippers think Of Cannabis?
Do Shiva Worshippers Also Consumes Cannabis?
We have asked this question all over the web in many different forums, communities, and with many another groups and we have received interesting but very contrasting views from Lord Shiva' Devotees. They believe that Lord Shiva sits atop of Mountain Kailash (the holiest place on earth) with his ever burning chillium and that's the reason cannabis and datura are considered to be his favourite offerings.
Here are some top comments from forums -
"Cannabis gives you a glimpse of the bliss/Ananda of the Great Lord Shiva.
He is perpetually intoxicated with Supreme Samadhi. Therefore , one who can have absolute control over ganja becomes like Shiva.
Cannabis if used properly can give vairagya, natural introverted meditative quality, curiosity of a child with the sophistication of a scientist.
The first phase of a cannabis high is sattvic...then it becomes rajasic and finally tamasic.
If you can avoid the conversion into rajas and tamas using certain methods, then you can reap the benefits of Ganja and become like Shiva. But this , unfortunately not that easy."
"If he does or not, why is this question important? The only reason we see cannabis as a bad thing is because of the 20th century moral panic that surrounded it. Before then it was used regularly by many people.
It's a good plant. It doesn't make good men be at their wives, it doesn't cause cancer if consumed responsibly i.e edibles, beverages and vaporization. It doesn't cause hangovers. It doesn't put women in a position to be taken advantage of like alcohol often does. So why the big hullabaloo?
American fear of foreigners (specifically Mexicans) manifested in the early 20th century as reefer madness. It's not heroin, it's not meth or speed or crack. It's impossible to overdose on cannabis through traditional methods of consumption. If you tried to OD on cannabis by smoking it the smoke would kill you first.
As for spirituality, perhaps Shiva is showing us something that can help a not insignificant portion of society get outside of their heads long enough to actually meditate? I know that it helps me to focus on meditation and it even helps me creatively as it forces a lot of blockages open.
If you don't personally like it, don't consume it but I get you're not screaming at all the folks who drink alcohol and smoke tobacco."
Well, the discussion is vast and the question remains unanswered.
But, some wise words from ISKCON volunteer Sankarshan Das Adhikari cleared up some things for us.
"Just as the sun is so powerful it can extract water from urine without being polluted, Lord Shiva is so powerful that he can swallow an ocean of poison without being harmed. Similarly, he can smoke marijuana without losing his stature as the greatest of Vaishnavas. Those who want to smoke marijuana, justifying this by Shiva's smoking it, will first have to prove their prowess by drinking an ocean of poison without being harmed." He further added that "To know why he smokes it is not very important. The important thing to know is that he can smoke it, while we cannot."
We will be adding more articles related to this topic, so stay tuned and Share your valuable point of view in the comment section below.
Till Then "JAI BHOLENATH".