Cannabis in Spirituality

Cannabis has its roots in spirituality and is used as a sacrament in many spiritual traditions like Hindu Shaivism and Tantrism, Rastafari or Sufi mysticism.
The following essay is excerpted from Cannabis in Spiriyual Practice by Will Johnson, published by Inner Traditions.

The great Hindu god Shiva was the original pothead, the first ever personage of record who is said to have enjoyed cannabis. For him, cannabis was a sacred plant, a spiritual sacrament, and legends that have been passed down to the present day recount that Shiva would enjoying drinking bhang, that his body would then start making spontaneous movements, and that out of these movements the body-oriented practices of yoga and dance were brought into being. Whether Shiva was an actual human being or a mythical figure—and most scholars defer to the latter interpretation—his story speaks to a spiritual path that cannabis directly supports and catalyzes. (...)
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