Shiva and subcultures of psychedelia

This other day I was out at a social gathering which I usually tend to avoid. I met a couple of new people (not really, they are just different faces). To my rescue I met a person in my acquaintance. We greeted each other with a firm handshake. He couldn't help but notice a mala on my hand. To his keen observation he jolted my arm out by pulling my hand and inspected the beads of mala by touching them. He asked curiously "where did it you get it from?" Before I could finish answering his question, he gave a wry smile and proudly declared his devotion towards lord Shiva. I kept quiet to my dismay.

There are growing subcultures of psychedelic users in India and abroad that have widely accepted lord Shiva as their god and in other cases they have come up with their own cults. They use similar parlance and terminology of Yoga in Sanskrit to attract the use of psychedelics in the journey of communion. The conception of psychedelics revolves around lord Shiva, from his association to the cannabis plant in the Puranic text of ancient India. This is where the ignorance steps in to commence the job of debacle. The psuedo-followers of lord Shiva who don't regard the knowledge of the herb but rather abuse it for it's psychedelic effects.

Puranas are crafted as literal means to gain an insight into different dimensions to draw individuality, flair, stability and a faculty of supreme knowledge that Vedas and the Upanishads defines in states of transcendence. Puranas is kind of open pedestal to the seekers who are uninitiated into the path of yoga.. The Bhakti movement rose for its simpler methods of undertaking the journey of seeking higher truth. Finding the truth deep within, establishing Puranas as one of the method of creating a personal relationship with higher truth. While it introduced the general public to the path of Bhakti yoga, it also made it pregnable to digression and corruption with respect to the changing social orders of the world. This is how open source knowledge is often beaten down and the esoteric knowledge limits to a certain number.

There are many narratives in Puranas where Bhaang (Cannabis) is associated with lord Shiva. During Samudra manthan when Devas and Asuras were churning the ocean to attain the nectar of immorality (Amrita). Their efforts of churning the ocean bestows upon them different kinds of perks and boons of nature. To their surprise, they are presented with Halahala Poision. A poison so strong that a whiff of the poison could kill them in fraction of the second. Both the Devas and Asuras pleaded to Brahma the creator but to no help their suffering continued. This was when lord Shiva came and graced the poison. He drank it and kept it in his throat until its dissolution, which made his throat turn blue and to his glory he was eulogised as Neelkantha {One with a blue throat) It is said that to get rid of the burning effect lord Shiva consumes Bhaang to cure the burning sensations of the poison. Likewise, there are numerous other instances of lord Shiva consuming Bhaang in texts for indefinitely many reasons. Tantra and Ayurveda elaborates the use of Bhaang for it's spiritual and medicinal purposes respectively.

Puranas are highly distorted today under the lens of mythology. The people who study Dharma with western standpoint without distinguishing the intrinsic meanings of the texts can't figure out the sacredness of it. Nevertheless, it is not the threats we are here to discuss or of the countless aspects of it. We take a look at the formation of subcultures that propose the use of hard drugs in semblance of lord Shiva.

Electric Mahadev festival, Kundalini festival, Parvati peaking are three of the innumerable rave festivals using names of yoga not to create spiritual awareness but to degrade the knowledge that is granted to us. This has made Himachal Pradesh and Rishikesh the hot spots of backpackers. It's not the use of cannabis should be avoided at all times but when the culture becomes commerce it is no longer viable to pursue. There's no bigger example than the counterculture of 1960's in America which was despised as hippy culture. The whole message of anti-war movement was lost in the madness of drugs. Hindus celebrate festivals like Shivratri and Holi where they consume Bhaang as a part of the tradition. It has carved out a space to experience the elevated space of inebriation for the particular days but it doesn't seem to counter the problems of people with the modern times.

Cannabis has been an inherent part of the culture in India. Sadhus used marijuana to increase their awareness in meditation and to sustain the forbearance of hostile conditions in which they practice their Sadhna. In many Shaiva clans, hemp has been acclaimed as "Vijaya" (Victorious) for its remarkable effects on well being. Sadhus undergo many years of penance to reach states of realisations. If used in right amounts it can bring the most joyous experiences of life but if it gets misused then it can raise hell. It would be foolish to compare oneself with a Sadhu to smoke weed because Sadhus don't live in conventional lifestyles. They are different in many ways than just appearances.

Consumption of cannabis is said to have effects on the seventh chakra of our body that is Sahasrara chakra also known as crown Chakra that connects our being into the universal consciousness causing high amounts of bliss and feeling of oneness. A person who has not went through a guided direction of Sadhna can feel unsettled with the sudden rush of high receptivity. This is what is being abused by the subcultures of psychedelia as a part of recreation. More awareness could be spread around the herb if it is not dumbed down just as a drug for subcultures that misuse the name of lord Shiva to corroborate their vices. If handled with care it can work wonders . It has been a bread winner for the people and it is rooted in tradition which is why has gained a position of sacredness in light of lord Shiva.

Government authorised shops that sell Bhaang (edible cannabis) in India.

The legal implications of the system has forced a regressive point of view that is common to governments across the worlds. United States of America that held a negative attitude towards the herb legalised it in some parts of the states underlining long running active call for legalisation of the herb for medicinal purposes. India has not shifted gears, it is still structured on colonial laws. It's time to absolve the colonial laws and call for reforms by legalising the herb under government regulation. It can boost the economy invariably well, otherwise it would keep selling illegally on streets with corruption at large. It is non addictive so it a better replacement for tobacco which is cancer causing and highly addicting. Only government can disintegrate the system of menace and corrupt practices of foreign mafia operating in India and to bring down the demand of herb can be countered by legalising and regulating the use of cannabis not just edible parts of it as Bhaang. It's time to #LegalizeIndia.