Cannabis and Sikhism - Revision history

WilheminaJanzen: corrected details additionally and improved wording for consistency

2026-03-04T23:12:05Z

corrected details additionally and improved wording for consistency

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:42, 5 March 2026
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	{{Short description\|none}}		{{Short description\|none}}
	[[File:Process of making bhang in Punjab, India.jpg\|thumb\|Process of making Shaheedi ~~degha~~ in a Sikh village in [[Punjab, India]]. On the [[Sikhs\|Sikh]] army training day called [[Hola Mohalla\|Hola Moholla]] it is a customary tradition.<ref>{{cite journal \| last=Ayyagari \| first=Shalini \| name-list-style = vanc \| title="Hori Hai": A Festival of Colours!! (review) \| journal=Asian Music \| publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press \| volume=38 \| issue=2 \| year=2007 \| pages=151–153 \| doi=10.1353/amu.2007.0029 \| s2cid=192201145 }}</ref>]]		[[File:Process of making bhang in Punjab, India.jpg\|thumb\|Process of making Shaheedi degh in a Sikh village in [[Punjab, India]]. On the [[Sikhs\|Sikh]] army training day called [[Hola Mohalla\|Hola Moholla]] it is a customary tradition.<ref>{{cite journal \| last=Ayyagari \| first=Shalini \| name-list-style = vanc \| title="Hori Hai": A Festival of Colours!! (review) \| journal=Asian Music \| publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press \| volume=38 \| issue=2 \| year=2007 \| pages=151–153 \| doi=10.1353/amu.2007.0029 \| s2cid=192201145 }}</ref>]]
	In [[Sikhism]], some Sikhs particularly of the [[Nihang]] community use [[Cannabis edible\|edible]] [[cannabis]] in a religious context. They make use of [[cannabis]] by ingestion. It is used to make a drink called "[[Shaheedi ~~Degha~~]]" which is meant to help Nihang Singhs become highly present in the moment. [[Nihang]] Singhs used marijuana in the early times of Sikh history during times of battle, it is believed to ~~help~~ them become more fierce warriors.		In [[Sikhism]], some Sikhs particularly of the [[Nihang]] community use [[Cannabis edible\|edible]] [[cannabis]] in a religious context. They make use of [[cannabis]] by ingestion. It is used to make a drink called ''[[Shaheedi Degh]]'' which is meant to help Nihang Singhs become highly present in the moment. [citation needed] [[Nihang]] Singhs used marijuana in the early times of Sikh history during times of battle, when it is believed to have helped them become more fierce warriors. [citation needed]

	==Prohibition==		==Prohibition==
	~~[[File:Mural of two Nihang Sikhs making Bhang or Sukh Nidhan.jpg\|thumb\|Mural of two Nihang Sikhs making Bhang or Sukh Nidhan.]]~~
	The first Sikh guru, [[Guru Nanak]], stated that using any mind altering substance (without medical purposes) is a distraction from God. Guru Nanak was offered ''[[bhang]]'' by the Mughal emperor [[Babur]]; Nanak however declined, and recited this [[shabda\|shabad]]:		The first Sikh guru, [[Guru Nanak]], stated that using any mind altering substance (without medical purposes) is a distraction from God. Guru Nanak was offered ''[[bhang]]'' by the Mughal emperor [[Babur]]; Nanak however declined, and recited this [[shabda\|shabad]]:

	{{blockquote\|''Fear of Thee, o Lord, is my bhang, and my mind the pouch in which I carry it. Intoxicated with this bhang I have abandoned all interest in worldly concerns''.<ref name="McLeod, 2004">{{cite book\|author=McLeod\|title=Sikhs and Sikhism: Comprising Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion, Early Sikh Tradition, The Evolution of the Sikh Community, Who is a Sikh?\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QhV5AAAAMAAJ\|date=4 March 2004\|publisher=OUP India\|isbn=978-0-19-566892-6\|pages=74–75}}</ref>}}The [[Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee\|SGPC]] has also added a section in their [[Sikh Rehat Maryada\|rehait maryada]] (Sikh codes of conduct) that bans the Cannabis, opium and liquor for all Sikhs that follow its rehit maryada. The following is a translated quote from the [[Sikh Rehat Maryada\|rehait maryada]]. ''"A Sikh must not take hemp (cannabis), opium, liquor, tobacco, in short, any intoxicant. His only routine intake should be food."''<ref>{{Cite web \|title=SikhiToTheMax \|url=https://www.sikhitothemax.org/rehat-maryadha \|access-date=2022-11-05 \|website=www.sikhitothemax.org \|language=en}}</ref>		{{blockquote\|''Fear of Thee, o Lord, is my bhang, and my mind the pouch in which I carry it. Intoxicated with this bhang I have abandoned all interest in worldly concerns''.<ref name="McLeod, 2004">{{cite book\|author=McLeod\|title=Sikhs and Sikhism: Comprising Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion, Early Sikh Tradition, The Evolution of the Sikh Community, Who is a Sikh?\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QhV5AAAAMAAJ\|date=4 March 2004\|publisher=OUP India\|isbn=978-0-19-566892-6\|pages=74–75}}</ref>}}The [[Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee\|SGPC]] has also added a section in their [[Sikh Rehat Maryada\|rehait maryada]] (Sikh codes of conduct) that bans the Cannabis, opium and liquor for all Sikhs that follow its rehit maryada. The following is a translated quote from the [[Sikh Rehat Maryada\|rehait maryada]]. ''"A Sikh must not take hemp (cannabis), opium, liquor, tobacco, in short, any intoxicant. His only routine intake should be food."''<ref>{{Cite web \|title=SikhiToTheMax \|url=https://www.sikhitothemax.org/rehat-maryadha \|access-date=2022-11-05 \|website=www.sikhitothemax.org \|language=en \|archive-date=2022-11-05 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221105104150/https://www.sikhitothemax.org/rehat-maryadha \|url-status=live }}</ref>

	==Usage==		==Usage==
	[[File:Gouache by an Amritsar artist depicting the preparation and consumption of Indian hemp (bhang).jpg\|thumb\|Gouache by an Amritsar artist depicting the preparation and consumption of Indian hemp (bhang), circa 1870.]]		''[[Bhang]]'' (hemp) was a wild-growth plant found in the jungles of Punjab and along river-banks.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book \|last=Gupta \|first=Hari Ram \|title=History of the Sikhs \|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal \|year=1978 \|volume=IV: The Sikh Commonwealth or Rise and Fall of Sikh Misls \|pages=205}}</ref> An intoxicating drink can be produced by pounding the plant in a mortar and sifting it.<ref name=":0" />[[File:Gouache by an Amritsar artist depicting the preparation and consumption of Indian hemp (bhang).jpg\|thumb\|Gouache by an Amritsar artist depicting the preparation and consumption of Indian hemp (bhang), circa 1870.]]
	The Sikhs inherited the tradition of drinking originates from the sixth Sikh ~~Guru~~, ~~Sri~~ [[Guru Hargobind\|Guru Hargobind Sahib]] ji who started it to give sikhs Bir Ras (warrior spirit) and to get them energized, as ~~sikhs~~ used to get up ~~at around 12 am~~ for [[Amrit Velā\|~~armit~~ vela]] and not go back to sleep till after the evening prayers of Sohila Sahib.		The Sikhs inherited the tradition of drinking originates from the sixth Sikh guru, [[Guru Hargobind\|Guru Hargobind Sahib]] who started it to give sikhs Bir Ras (warrior spirit) and to get them energized, as Sikhs used to get up early for [[Amrit Velā\|''amrit vela'']] and not go back to sleep till after the evening prayers of Sohila Sahib.

			ਬਿਦਿਹ ਸਾਕੀਯਾ ਸਾਗ਼ਰੇ ਸਬਜ਼ ਗੂੰ ॥

			‘Oh! Saki Give me the cup full of green (liquid)

			ਕਿ ਮਾਰਾ ਬਕਾਰਸਤ ਜੰਗ ਅੰਦਰੂੰ ॥੨੦॥

			‘Which I need at the time of struggle(20)

			ਲਬਾਲਬ ਬਕੁਨ ਦਮ ਬਦਮ ਨੋਸ਼ ਕੁਨ ॥

			‘Fill it up to the brim so that I can drink it with every breath

			ਗ਼ਮੇ ਹਰ ਦੁ ਆਲਮ ਫ਼ਰਾਮੋਸ਼ ਕੁਨ ॥੨੧॥੧੨॥

			‘And forget the afflictions of both the worlds(21)(12)

			(Dasam Guru Granth Sahib, Ang 1428)

			The [[Bhangi Misl]] of the [[Sikh Confederacy]] in the 18th century derived its name from ''[[bhang]]''. The ''misl'' received its name "Bhangi" because Chhajja Singh and his soldiers frequently used the herbal intoxicant [[bhang]] (drink made from [[cannabis sativa]]).<ref>Singh, Bhagata (1993). ''A History of The Sikh Misals'', p. 89. Publication Bureau, Punjabi University, Patiala, 1993.</ref><ref>Seetal, Sohan Singh (1981). ''The Sikh Misals and the Punjab States'', p.11. India: Lahore Book Shop, Ludhiana, 1981.</ref>

	===Nihang Sikhs===		===Nihang Sikhs===
	In the modern day, cannabis consumption (but not smoking) is commonly associated with the [[Nihang]] Singhs, a sect who continue the orthodox Sikh warrior tradition, who consume drinks as ''sukha'' or ''sukhnidhaan, or more commonly ~~known~~ shaheedi degha''.<ref name="SinghFenech2014">{{cite book\|author1=Pashaura Singh\|author2=Louis E. Fenech\|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA378\|publisher=OUP Oxford\|isbn=978-0-19-969930-8\|pages=378–}}</ref><ref name="SinghHawley2012">{{cite book\|author1=Pashaura Singh\|author2=Michael Hawley\|title=Re-imagining South Asian Religions: Essays in Honour of Professors Harold G. Coward and Ronald W. Neufeldt\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4SLhLakpsNsC&pg=PA34\|publisher=BRILL\|isbn=978-90-04-24236-4\|pages=34–}}</ref> ''~~shaheedi~~ degh'' is mostly used in Panjab on the Sikh holidays of [[Holla Mohalla]] and [[Vaisakhi]]. At many Sikh temples, including Takht Sachkhand Sri [[Hazur Sahib]] Ji, the ''shaheedi degh'' is offered as a holy food.<ref name="amritworld.com">{{cite web\|url=http://www.amritworld.com/main/?p=82#sthash.agD98t5F.dpbs\|title=The 'Sukhnidhaan' or 'Bhang' (cannabis)\|work=Amrit World\|access-date=19 November 2015}}</ref>		[[File:Mural of two Nihang Sikhs making Bhang or Sukh Nidhan.jpg\|thumb\|Mural of two Nihang Sikhs making Bhang or Sukh Nidhan.]]
			In the modern day, cannabis consumption (but not smoking) is commonly associated with the [[Nihang]] Singhs, a sect who continue the orthodox Sikh warrior tradition, who consume drinks as ''sukha'' or ''sukhnidhaan,'' or more commonly ''shaheedi degha''.<ref name="SinghFenech2014">{{cite book\|author1=Pashaura Singh\|author2=Louis E. Fenech\|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA378\|date=March 2014\|publisher=OUP Oxford\|isbn=978-0-19-969930-8\|pages=378–}}</ref><ref name="SinghHawley2012">{{cite book\|author1=Pashaura Singh\|author2=Michael Hawley\|title=Re-imagining South Asian Religions: Essays in Honour of Professors Harold G. Coward and Ronald W. Neufeldt\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4SLhLakpsNsC&pg=PA34\|date=7 December 2012\|publisher=BRILL\|isbn=978-90-04-24236-4\|pages=34–}}</ref> S''haheedi degh'' is mostly used in Panjab on the Sikh holidays of [[Holla Mohalla]] and [[Vaisakhi]]. At many Sikh temples, including Takht Sachkhand Sri [[Hazur Sahib]] Ji, the ''shaheedi degh'' is offered as a holy food.<ref name="amritworld.com">{{cite web\|url=http://www.amritworld.com/main/?p=82#sthash.agD98t5F.dpbs\|title=The 'Sukhnidhaan' or 'Bhang' (cannabis)\|work=Amrit World\|date=28 February 2008\|access-date=19 November 2015\|archive-date=20 November 2015\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120075451/http://www.amritworld.com/main/?p=82#sthash.agD98t5F.dpbs\|url-status=live}}</ref>

	In 2001, [[Jathedar Santa Singh\|Baba Santa Singh]], the jathedar of [[Budha Dal]], along with 20 Nihang [[Jathedar\|jathadars]] (leaders), refused to accept the ban on the consumption of bhang by the [[Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee\|SGPC]].<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010326/punjab1.htm#3 Nihangs ‘not to accept’ ban on bhang]. [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)\|The Tribune]]. March 26, 2001.</ref> Baba Santa Singh was excommunicated for a different issue, and replaced with Balbir Singh ~~(who isn't accepted to be a nihang leader by most nihang singhs)~~, who agreed to shun the consumption of bhang.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010310/main7.htm#2 No ‘bhang’ at Hola Mohalla]. [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)\|The Tribune]]. March 10, 2001.</ref>		In 2001, [[Jathedar Santa Singh\|Baba Santa Singh]], the jathedar of [[Budha Dal]], along with 20 Nihang [[Jathedar\|jathadars]] (leaders), refused to accept the ban on the consumption of bhang by the [[Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee\|SGPC]].<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010326/punjab1.htm#3 Nihangs ‘not to accept’ ban on bhang] {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303215114/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010326/punjab1.htm#3 \|date=2016-03-03 }}. [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)\|The Tribune]]. March 26, 2001.</ref> Baba Santa Singh was excommunicated for a different issue, and replaced with Balbir Singh, who agreed to shun the consumption of bhang.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010310/main7.htm#2 No ‘bhang’ at Hola Mohalla] {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208130304/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010310/main7.htm#2 \|date=2015-12-08 }}. [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)\|The Tribune]]. March 10, 2001.</ref>

	Some Nihang groups consume cannabis or shaheedi degh (ਭੰਗ), purportedly to help in meditation. Sukhaa-parsaad (ਸੁੱਖਾਪ੍ਰਰਸਾਦ), "dry-sweet", is the term Nihang use to refer to it. It was traditionally crushed and taken as a liquid, especially during festivals like Hola Mohalla.		Some Nihang groups consume cannabis or shaheedi degh (ਭੰਗ), purportedly to help in meditation. Sukhaa-parsaad (ਸੁੱਖਾਪ੍ਰਰਸਾਦ), "dry-sweet", is the term Nihang use to refer to it. It was traditionally crushed and taken as a liquid, especially during festivals like Hola Mohalla.
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	== See also ==		== See also ==

	* [[Rehat]]		* {{annotated link\|Rehat}}
	* [[Diet in Sikhism]]		* {{annotated link\|Diet in Sikhism}}
	* [[Jhatka]]		* {{annotated link\|Jhatka}}
	* [[Meat consumption among Sikhs]]		* {{annotated link\|Meat consumption among Sikhs}}
	* [[Prohibitions in Sikhism]]		* {{annotated link\|Prohibitions in Sikhism}}
	* [[Bhangi Misl]]		* {{annotated link\|Bhangi Misl}}

	==References==		==References==
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	{{Cannabis and religion}}		{{Cannabis and religion}}
			{{Sikhism}}

	[[Category:Cannabis and Sikhism]]		[[Category:Cannabis and Sikhism]]
	[[Category:Cannabis culture]]		[[Category:Cannabis culture]]
	[[Category:Cannabis in India]]		[[Category:Cannabis in India]]

>Bri: Published a captivating publication.

2023-01-07T09:13:54Z

Published a captivating publication.

New page

{{Short description|none}}
[[File:Process of making bhang in Punjab, India.jpg|thumb|Process of making Shaheedi degha in a Sikh village in [[Punjab, India]]. On the [[Sikhs|Sikh]] army training day called [[Hola Mohalla|Hola Moholla]] it is a customary tradition.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Ayyagari | first=Shalini | name-list-style = vanc | title="Hori Hai": A Festival of Colours!! (review) | journal=Asian Music | publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press | volume=38 | issue=2 | year=2007 | pages=151–153 | doi=10.1353/amu.2007.0029 | s2cid=192201145 }}</ref>]]
In [[Sikhism]], some Sikhs particularly of the [[Nihang]] community use [[Cannabis edible|edible]] [[cannabis]] in a religious context. They make use of [[cannabis]] by ingestion. It is used to make a drink called "[[Shaheedi Degha]]" which is meant to help Nihang Singhs become highly present in the moment. [[Nihang]] Singhs used marijuana in the early times of Sikh history during times of battle, it is believed to help them become more fierce warriors.

==Prohibition==
[[File:Mural of two Nihang Sikhs making Bhang or Sukh Nidhan.jpg|thumb|Mural of two Nihang Sikhs making Bhang or Sukh Nidhan.]]
The first Sikh guru, [[Guru Nanak]], stated that using any mind altering substance (without medical purposes) is a distraction from God. Guru Nanak was offered ''[[bhang]]'' by the Mughal emperor [[Babur]]; Nanak however declined, and recited this [[shabda|shabad]]:

{{blockquote|''Fear of Thee, o Lord, is my bhang, and my mind the pouch in which I carry it. Intoxicated with this bhang I have abandoned all interest in worldly concerns''.<ref name="McLeod, 2004">{{cite book|author=McLeod|title=Sikhs and Sikhism: Comprising Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion, Early Sikh Tradition, The Evolution of the Sikh Community, Who is a Sikh?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QhV5AAAAMAAJ|date=4 March 2004|publisher=OUP India|isbn=978-0-19-566892-6|pages=74–75}}</ref>}}The [[Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee|SGPC]] has also added a section in their [[Sikh Rehat Maryada|rehait maryada]] (Sikh codes of conduct) that bans the Cannabis, opium and liquor for all Sikhs that follow its rehit maryada. The following is a translated quote from the [[Sikh Rehat Maryada|rehait maryada]]. ''"A Sikh must not take hemp (cannabis), opium, liquor, tobacco, in short, any intoxicant. His only routine intake should be food."''<ref>{{Cite web |title=SikhiToTheMax |url=https://www.sikhitothemax.org/rehat-maryadha |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=www.sikhitothemax.org |language=en}}</ref>

==Usage==
[[File:Gouache by an Amritsar artist depicting the preparation and consumption of Indian hemp (bhang).jpg|thumb|Gouache by an Amritsar artist depicting the preparation and consumption of Indian hemp (bhang), circa 1870.]]
The Sikhs inherited the tradition of drinking originates from the sixth Sikh Guru, Sri [[Guru Hargobind|Guru Hargobind Sahib]] ji who started it to give sikhs Bir Ras (warrior spirit) and to get them energized, as sikhs used to get up at around 12 am for [[Amrit Velā|armit vela]] and not go back to sleep till after the evening prayers of Sohila Sahib.

===Nihang Sikhs===
In the modern day, cannabis consumption (but not smoking) is commonly associated with the [[Nihang]] Singhs, a sect who continue the orthodox Sikh warrior tradition, who consume drinks as ''sukha'' or ''sukhnidhaan, or more commonly known shaheedi degha''.<ref name="SinghFenech2014">{{cite book|author1=Pashaura Singh|author2=Louis E. Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA378|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-969930-8|pages=378–}}</ref><ref name="SinghHawley2012">{{cite book|author1=Pashaura Singh|author2=Michael Hawley|title=Re-imagining South Asian Religions: Essays in Honour of Professors Harold G. Coward and Ronald W. Neufeldt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4SLhLakpsNsC&pg=PA34|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-24236-4|pages=34–}}</ref> ''shaheedi degh'' is mostly used in Panjab on the Sikh holidays of [[Holla Mohalla]] and [[Vaisakhi]]. At many Sikh temples, including Takht Sachkhand Sri [[Hazur Sahib]] Ji, the ''shaheedi degh'' is offered as a holy food.<ref name="amritworld.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.amritworld.com/main/?p=82#sthash.agD98t5F.dpbs|title=The 'Sukhnidhaan' or 'Bhang' (cannabis)|work=Amrit World|access-date=19 November 2015}}</ref>

In 2001, [[Jathedar Santa Singh|Baba Santa Singh]], the jathedar of [[Budha Dal]], along with 20 Nihang [[Jathedar|jathadars]] (leaders), refused to accept the ban on the consumption of bhang by the [[Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee|SGPC]].<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010326/punjab1.htm#3 Nihangs ‘not to accept’ ban on bhang]. [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]. March 26, 2001.</ref> Baba Santa Singh was excommunicated for a different issue, and replaced with Balbir Singh (who isn't accepted to be a nihang leader by most nihang singhs), who agreed to shun the consumption of bhang.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010310/main7.htm#2 No ‘bhang’ at Hola Mohalla]. [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]. March 10, 2001.</ref>

Some Nihang groups consume cannabis or shaheedi degh (ਭੰਗ), purportedly to help in meditation. Sukhaa-parsaad (ਸੁੱਖਾਪ੍ਰਰਸਾਦ), "dry-sweet", is the term Nihang use to refer to it. It was traditionally crushed and taken as a liquid, especially during festivals like Hola Mohalla.

== See also ==

* [[Rehat]]
* [[Diet in Sikhism]]
* [[Jhatka]]
* [[Meat consumption among Sikhs]]
* [[Prohibitions in Sikhism]]
* [[Bhangi Misl]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Cannabis and religion}}

[[Category:Cannabis and Sikhism]]
[[Category:Cannabis culture]]
[[Category:Cannabis in India]]