Posted by Ferre (217.195.226.116) on February 08, 2004 at 07:51:25:
Cannabis And Religious Traditions
Marijuana as history has shown is the catalyst used to achieve the spiritual journey into the heavens. That is why in India it was referred to as the Heavenly-Guide, the Poor Man's Heaven, and the Sky-flier. That is why Professor Mircea Eliade, perhaps the foremost authority on the history of religion, suggested that Zoroaster may have caused hemp to bridge the metaphysical gap between heaven and earth.
One dictionary defines marijuana as the leaves and flowering tops when taken to induce euphoria. Euphoria is defined by the same dictionary as great happiness or bliss. (In India, marijuana has been referred to as the joy-giver and the soother of grief.) Bliss is defined as the ecstasy of salvation, spiritual joy. Some of the synonyms of bliss are beatitude, transport, rapture, ecstasy, paradise, heaven.
Throughout the ancient world there is mention of "magical flight", "ascent to heaven", and "mystical journey". All these mythological and folklore traditions have their point of departure in an ideology and technique of ecstasy that imply "journey in spirit".
The pilgrimage from earth to heaven is not a journey to some other place or some other time, but is a journey within. One must realize that "death" through which we must pass before God can be seen does not lie ahead of us in time. Rather it is now that we have a man of sin within us that must be killed and a new man free from sin that must be born. This is actualized in baptism and the sacramental life in the church. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Galatians 3:27). The effect of baptism is spiritual regeneration or rebirth, whereby one is "enChristened", involving both union with Christ and remission of sins. In Titus 3:5 baptism is the "bath of regeneration" accompanying renewal by the Spirit. Some of the synonyms of regeneration are beatification, conversion, sanctification, salvation, inspiration, bread of life, Body and Blood of Christ.
Sara Benetowa of the Institute of Anthropological Sciences in Warsaw is quoted in the Book of Grass as saying: "By comparing the old Slavic word 'Kepati' and the Russian 'Kupati' with the Scythian 'cannabis' Shrader developed and justified Meringer's supposition that there is a link between the Scythian baths and Russian vapor baths.
"In the entire Orient even today to 'go to the bath' means not only to accomplish an act of purification and enjoy a pleasure, but also to fulfill the divine law. Vambery calls 'bath' any club in which the members play checkers, drink coffee, and smoke hashish or tobacco."
St. Matthew's account of the institution of the Eucharist attaches to the Eucharist cup these words: "Drink of it, all of, for this is the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins (St. Matthew 26:27). Drinking the sacramental cup therefore serves like baptism (Acts 2:38 ) where Peter said unto them, "Repent, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. We of the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church declare a three-part doctrine of the Holy Herb, the Holy Word, and the Holy Man (Woman).
The present and future benefits to the individual communicant have their importance given them by Jesus, who said, "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day." (John 6:54) As such we must see that the divine person who is active in creation, in renewal, and in human rebirth and resurrection, is also active in the Eucharist.
There was a profound change in America when marijuana smoking started on a large scale in the late 1960's. A large number of people resisted the draft, resisted the war ... started letting their hair and beards grow ... became interested in natural foods... the ecology and the environment. What we really saw was the awakening of our generation to the beginning of Christian mentality through marijuana smoking. The earmarks of this mentality are: I don't want to go to war; I really don't want to be part of the political-military-economic fiasco you call society.
Like the Indians Hemp Drug Commission three quarters of a century earlier, the Canadian Le Dain Commission conducted an inquiry into the use of marijuana. On page 156 of the report is the following:
"In the case of cannabis, the positive points which are claimed for it include the following: It is a relaxant; it is disinhibiting; it increases self-confidence and the feeling of creativity (whether justified by creative results or not); it increases sensual awareness and appreciation; it facilitates self acceptance and in this way makes it easier to accept others; it serves a sacramental function in promoting a sense of spiritual community among users; it is a shared pleasure; because it is illicit and the object of strong disapproval from those who are, by and large, opposed to social change, it is a symbol of protest and a means of strengthening the sense of identity among those who are strongly critical of certain aspects of our society and value structure today."
On page 144 of the Report, marijuana is associated with peace.
"In our conversation with (students and young people) they have frequently contrasted marijuana and alcohol effects to describe the former as a drug of peace, a drug that reduces tendencies to aggression while suggesting that the latter drug produces hostile, aggressive behavior. Thus marijuana is seen as particularly appropriate to a generation that emphasizes peace and is, in many ways, anticompetitive."
In a magazine article by G. S. Chopra entitled "Man and Marijuana" on page 235 is a section dealing with Human Experiments. One hundred persons with an established marijuana smoking habit smoked marijuana. They described the symptoms as follows: "I have done things today which I usually dislike but which I rather enjoyed doing today." "Nothing seemed impossible to accomplish." "I assumed a cool and composed attitude and forgot all mental worries." "I behaved in a childish and foolish manner." "It relieves sense of fatigue and gives rise to feelings of happiness." "I feel like laughing." "My head is dizzy." "I feel like taking more food." "The world is gay around me." "I feel inclined to work." "I am a friend to all and have no enemy in the world."
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, in the section on "Roman Catholicism":
"To understand the meaning and use of the Eucharist we must see it as an act of universal worship, of cooperation, of association else it loses the greater part of its significance. Neither in Roman Catholic nor in Protestant Eucharistic practice does the sacrament retain much of the symbolism of Christian unity, which clearly it has. Originally, the symbolism was that of a community meal, an accepted social symbol of community throughout the whole of human culture."
Marijuana has been used as sacrifice, a sacrament, a ritual fumigant (incense), a good-will offering, and as a means of communing with the divine spirit. It has been used to seal treaties, friendships, solemn binding agreements and to legitimize covenants. It has been used as a traditional defense against evil and in purification. It has been used in divinations (1. the art or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge; 2. unusual insight; intuitive perception.) It has been used in remembrance of the dead and praised for its medicinal properties.
Most Christians agree that participation in the Eucharist is supposed to enhance and deepen communion of believers not only with Christ but also with one another. We must therefor ask the question, "What substance did the ancients use as a community meal to facilitate communion with the Lord?" The answer to that question is marijuana. Hemp as originally used in religious ritual, temple activities, and tribal rites, involved groups of worshippers rather than the solitary individual. Thepleasurable psychoactive effects were then, as now, communal experiences.
Practically every major religion and culture of the ancient world utilized marijuana as part of their religious observance. Marijuana was the ambrosia of the ancient world. It was the food, drink, and perfume of the gods. It was used by the Africans, the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Asians, the Europeans, and possibly the Indians of the Americas. Would it be too much to suggest that the ancient Israelites also utilized marijuana?
The following information was taken from the most authoritative books dealing with the history of marijuana. They are mentioned at the end of this work.
Read it here :
http://www.aros.net/~hempower/angels/cannabis/religions01.html