From Ganja to God to Social Revolution: Connecting dots between Hindu mythology, spirituality, Rastafarianism to answer why cannabis symbolises freedom.

What is bhang?

Wikipedia says: Bhang is an edible preparation of cannabis used in food and drink in India. Using mortar and pestle, the buds and leaves of cannabis are ground into a paste. To this mixture, milk, ghee, alcohol and Indian spices are added.

History and Mythology

Bhang was first used as an intoxicant in India around 1000 BC and soon became an integral part of Hindu culture. In the ancient text Artharvaveda, Bhang has been described as a beneficial herb that "releases anxiety". Bhang preparations were sacred to Gods, particularly Lord Shiva. One of Shiva's epithets was "Lord of Bhang" as he is said to have discovered the transcendental properties of the mixture.

According to the Vedas, when the ocean was churned by the Gods and the demons for acquiring the nectar, a drop of the nectar fell on Mount Madra. A plant sprouted out from the drop and the drink made from the leaves of the plant became a favourite of all Gods, including  Lord Shiva. After that Lord Shiva brought the cannabis down from the Himalayas for the pleasure of mankind.

Freedom from Mental Conditioning

There are two school of thoughts on why bhang was so commonly used by the Shiva worshippers. One says:

“In India the bhang was made part of the religious rituals, it was given in a certain quantity, with a goal to create a transcendental experience in the man, and then when he will come out of it will tell him that, ‘This was only an illusion. It was simply because of the drug, because of the chemistry your mind experienced.’

‘Would you like to experience it in its reality? If the illusion is so beautiful, you can think how much more the reality would be. And the experience created by the drug lasts for a few hours, and again you are back to the same old rotten world. But if the experience is real, it is yours forever.You can have it by meditation.’

It even goes on to say ‘We should have in every hospital, in every university, a certain department which teaches people how to move from drug to meditation.’"

While other school of thought simply says the bhang and ganja helped the ascetics achieve the concentration to meditate and achieve a blissful state.

Freedom from social conditioning

After abolishment of slavery the British needed cheap labour. So they started sending away contracted labourers to the colonies to work on fields. A lot of indentured labourers were brought into British West Indies. It was common on the weekends for the Indians to celebrate with a community religious celebration, including formal prayers, rituals, dinners, music and dancing. Although these celebrations were initially limited to Indians, but the Indian’s barracks on the plantation were close to those of   ex-slaves. As relationships began to form between the two cultures, Afro-Jamaicans began to participate in these celebrations.

Ganja,bhang had been the preferred drink and method of ingesting marijuana at these celebrations, however smoking was also popular. Thus Ganja became the part of the Jamaican culture. The labourers smoked it to feel less tired from the hard work at the fields. Although there were no reports of ill effects related to the use of ganja it was nonetheless deemed unacceptable by the Europeans in charge of the plantations, blaming ganja to cause a decline in production. In 1913 the plantation owners in the Jamaican Parish of St. Mary called for a ban on ganja and in 1915 the government of Jamaica outlawed its planting.

Thus smoking ganja, just like wearing dreadlocks became an act of defiance of the forced social status imposed by the colonisers. This is where the seeds of Rastafarianism were sown, a proof of which can be clearly seen in the Hindu influence on the Rastafarian philosophy.

Freedom from Political Conditioning? Is it happening?

In the modern times we’ve been forced on to us lifestyles that are of more benefit to a few selected others than to us. We’re republicans and democrats, left and right, ideology x and ideology y, even before we’re human. We’re forced to live apart from each other so that  tensions between us can fuel the ambitions of our political masters, who in turn are monkeys of their corporate masters. 

But there was always an ever growing group of people that was able to see through it and lived a more natural and free life. And one thing you will find common with this group over the years is the acceptance of cannabis, not just for recreation but also as a medicine. The community has now gone from being just hippie to mainstream. 

Now we’ve become more aware of systems around us and how they are trying to rule our live. Anarchism is no more a repulsive term, it rather points towards anything that is decentralised, controlled by the masses. 

Marijuana legalisation has become a reality. As more and more places legalise marijuana, do you think  our collective consciousness is going to rise and we are going to witness a age of peace and brotherhood? Or cannabis is just going to stay a recreational or a medicinal drug?