Cannabis is an illegal substance in most countries of the world presently. However for centuries humans have used cannabis for its medicinal,
spiritual and recreational benefits, up until around a hundred years ago when
it began to become illegal and maligned. Now as modern research begins to
unfold medical benefits of Marijuana for various ailments, many for which no
reasonable modern treatment exists such as epilepsy in children and PTSD in
adults to name just a few, efforts have begun in many parts of the world to
re-legalize it. It is something that was legal for thousands of years of human history
and created no problems except in the aforesaid period of less than hundred
years when it was made illegal.
Aside from its medicinal and spiritual use, modern studies
appear to have established that it is much safer than alcohol as a relaxant and for
recreational use also. Alcohol used similarly can kill and prompt crimes.
Marijuana does not kill and suppresses tendency for crimes. Further while
alcohol may produce harmful side effects on mind and body cannabis may have
beneficial side effects on both. While all this has become known on the
subject, a couple of things still remain unknown to most, even in parts of the
world where it has become legal and these are:
1. What is the best time of day to consume marijuana for
maximum benefit?
2. What is the best form of consuming this magical herb?
Let us try and answer these questions
Time, Sunset
If the purpose of consumption of Marijuana is a medical one,
it must be as per the instructions of the medical practitioner at times
specified by him; if it is for a spiritual purpose then it has to under the
guidance of a spiritual hermit familiar with that. In a book by the author –
The Babaji Affair – a Himalayan hermit introduces a western disciple to this
drug in the afternoon somewhat shyly because he is aware of the adverse
publicity surrounding it in the west and then leads this person into a most
unusual spiritual yogic experience across beautiful Himalayan hills. The Book
can be found at:
However, if the purpose is recreational or relaxation or as
a general health tonic, then it is best not to consume this herb in daylight
hours, unless it is a holiday or festival when it may be consumed in the
morning too. In the Himalayan region, it is traditional to consume this in
morning in the leading spring festival of the year called Holi, as an aid in
celebrations. For the rest of the year,
the time for this herb is after sunset. It shall then promote good health,
wealth and sleep. The reason why it must not be consumed during day hours is
that not only will it make a person incompetent to indulge in work and
activities required to make a living but it may also disturb regular sleep and
diet routines that will produce their own harm. However, the time after sunset,
unless one is on night duty, is the time to unwind and prepare for a good sleep
before proceeding to conquer the world the next day and that is the time for
this herb. Many world level athletes and sports person consume this on the
night before an event and go on to win a medal the next day after a good nights
sleep.
It may also be mentioned that persons consuming it must
schedule days in a week, perhaps Tuesday and Sunday, days in a month such as
the last week of a month, and months in a year such as the first two months of
the year (until the festival of spring – Holi) not to consume it in order to
prevent addiction and minimize over consumption. It goes without saying that
too much of anything good is very harmful when it comes to food, drink and
medicine. The most beneficial day of the week to consume it is on Monday
evenings in sub -Himalayan regions, the day and time when people visit Shiva
temples. Hermits of the order are avid consumers of this herb because it is
believed that their Lord – Shiv Shankar was the one to introduce it to mankind.
Form
While smoking releases some of the beneficial chemicals of
Marijuana, its full benefits are released in a drink made in milk (or yoghurt
for those with lactose intolerance). It is an easy drink to prepare and many
recipes may be found for it by searching on google or from ancient temple
recipes of Himalayas where it is used in the
same way as wine in Christian monasteries. However, Himalayan hermits continue to
smoke Marijuana often because they do not have ready access to milk.
While milk extraction produces a beneficial form of
marijuana it may be mentioned that there are forms with harmful side effects too
and these are the extracts such as THC or CBD in isolation. The use of these
extracts without the other balancing compounds such as CBDs may produce bad
side effects. Perhaps the use of the extract is only justifiable for treating
severe physical ailments for which a cannabis extract has been proven effective.
It must be noted that an extract, even when derived from a
plant, is a chemical and not a natural thing that is part of the spectrum of
life. It is much more likely to produce harmful side effects as compared to a
natural product. The only rare exceptions to this are the few rare non-organic
and non-living sources of human diet such as the common table salt.
The Magical Sunrise Herb, Soma
With the description here, Cannabis becomes an herb for
sunset or after. The question arises - Is there an equally magical herb for
morning hours too?
The answer is there was one in ancient times. Its name was
Soma. This plant too was consumed with milk by mixing its juice with milk or
yoghurt and it seems that was essential to derive benefits from it. It helped
ancient Aryans to work hard to earn prosperity and wealth and warriors to win
battles while also producing huge benefits for mind and body. The plant has now
become extinct and it may have been an ancient variety of sugar cane that
contained compounds of the phenyl ethylamine class to which amphetamine
belongs. While chemical amphetamine has side effects, Soma had none and it had
beneficial effects that went far beyond amphetamine. The ancient Rig Veda of
Aryans has thousands of hymns in praise of this plant. With modern methods it
is still possible to rediscover or revive this plant. A recent study by this
author on this plant as well as references to older ones can be found at:
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