Consuming Weed, Marijuana in Sawan. Does It Really Make You Shiva devotee?

Ohh, it’s the favourite part of the year for people who always looking for reasons to justify their weed love, what’s the best excuse for consuming marijuana? Well, we are a Shiva bhakt, and pure Shiva devotee is the one who consume weed, marijuana etc. Is it though, is it really the case?

Take this video for example, where this rap artist (really?) blatantly glorifies the use of marijuana, just look at the lyrics – ‘Charsi me chora mere haath me chillam, uspe you gori tera roop jhulam, re mat mat dar, aaja thoda idhar, bhole ka bhakt me chora Ghana gadar’. Acc. to the song, the guy is a drug addict and he’s also a Shiva bhakt? Why rap artists add Shiva factor for songs that related to drug consumption, Did Shiva really is a charsi (drug addict)?
The answer is Lord Shiva is not a Gaanja or a charas smoker. He is yogi. He is a cosmic energy. Shiva is yogi and mostly as per tantric and vedic scriptures remains absorbed in state of meditation or Maha-samadhi. He is yogeshwar. He remains in samadhi state to keep the balance of this universe. So please get this thing clear he is not a charsi or a Ganjaa smoker, Rap Guy!

So the next question comes in mind is if Shiva is really not a charsi or drug addict, why we offer him dhatura(marijuana leaf) on Shivratri and on Sawan Somwar, The priest of Someshwar Mahadev mandir from Nashik said – It’s true we offer dhatoora to him on shivratri and dhatoora as you know is an intoxicant. Here offering dhatoora doesn’t mean “Knock Knock bholenaath have some weed, have some fun”. No here it means this plant of yours is not fit for us and hence we are giving it back to you. Just like Dev did with ‘Vish Pyala’ during ‘Amrit Manthan’.
So why do some people take the excuse of Maha Shivaratri and Shiva Bhakti for bhang consumption?
It is due to misunderstanding of Shiva tattva. The earliest form of a visualized Shiva portrays him as a Mahayogi, sitting in a ‘padmasana’ position, ‘vrishaba mudra’ and with eyes closed 3/4th. This has been misrepresented by many people who do not understand the essence of yoga and meditation. They assumed that Shiva is a deity who smoked pot and therefore his eyes are drooping or half closed. Later paintings also had a ‘chillum’ lying at one side near him.
But the original painting is the most significant and it is important. The correct way to meditate on the ‘Ajna Chakra’ in Kundalini Yoga or ‘Bruhmadhya’ in Patanjali Yoga is by staying ‘in between’ the state of sleep and wakefulness. This meditation is performed to awaken our spiritual ‘third eye’. If the eyes are totally closed, there is a chance of the person falling asleep. If the eyes are open, there is a chance of getting distracted. Therefore, the eyes are very slightly opened and it stares at the exact spot between the eyebrows. This is a method for long hours of meditation on the 3rd eye. The early Shiva paintings are simply portraying this part of meditation. Later on, artists also started drawing a third vertical eye in between his eyebrows. This has inspired more than a dozen stories in Shiva mythology.
So now it’s hopefully clear that smoking weed because you are a devotee of Shiva is not a right choice.
India is facing a huge drug problem right now, In Punjab the numbers are ridiculous nearly 75% of its youth are severely addicted to drugs,that’s 3 out of every 4 children. Mumbai, Hyderabad and other cities around the country are quickly gaining a reputation for their drug usage; and the population in each of these cities continues to grow. Delhi is filled with rehab centres trying to keep up with the flow of addicts. Over 500 centres across our country work together to nurse addicts back into healthy productive lifestyles but addiction is becoming too much for India. The menace of drugs and alcohol has woven itself deep into the fabric of our society. As its effects reach towards our youth, India’s future generation will have to compete with drugs like cannabis, alcohol and tobacco. So please stop glorifying a product!