Weird Beliefs

SR No.: 007690
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Barry Wilson
Publisher: Barry Wilson
Publication Year: 2012
Total Pages: 81
Language: English
Classification: Interfaith & Hinduism
File Size: 2 MB

Page 28

of Mexico and Central America. These people were forced to convert to Christianity after they were conquered by the Spanish, but in many villages they didn't completely abandon their old beliefs.
According to a report from one Mexican village, the sacred mushrooms are collected from the surrounding forest by a young virgin. They are then taken to the village church and placed on the altar to be blessed by the Holy Spirit. They are eaten in front of the altar in the evening, and the visions usually continue throughout the night. The villagers believe that the visions take them into an invisible world where all the spirits live, and where they can obtain divine knowledge and understanding.
But the effects can sometimes be frightening. Outsiders who consumed the mushrooms have had visions in which they seemed to fly through the air or were transformed into weird beasts. Many species of mushrooms are poisonous, and eating them can lead to an excruciating death. Although sacred mushrooms may be safer, they can still cause very unpleasant effects, including vomiting, shivering, blackouts, and nightmares.
Various other plants besides mushrooms can also produce trances and visions. For example, a species of cactus called peyote, which grows wild in the southwestern United States, is used in the religious ceremonies of some native Amerindian tribes that live in that area. Also, the sacraments of some South American peoples include the drinking of a psycho-active brew called Ayahuasca, which is prepared from certain jungle plants. During the Middle Ages, a small Islamic sect known as the Assassins reportedly smoked a concentrated form of marijuana called hashish. The modern Rastafarian sect in Jamaica also uses marijuana in its religious observances. And the medieval tales of witches flying on broomsticks may derive from visions of flying induced by a European plant named mandrake.
Hallucinations and other strange psychological effects can also be produced by chemical compounds found in the opium poppy, the deadly nightshade, jimsonweed, morning glory seeds, salvia, cocaine, khat, absinthe, kava kava, and even some forms of tobacco. Also, some scholars think that the mysterious Soma mentioned in the ancient Vedic scriptures of India may have contained a psycho-active substance.