Possession in Hinduism
Hinduism includes numerous diverse religious traditions from the Indian subcontinent. While Hinduism has many local beliefs and practices, most forms of Hinduism share a common root through a collection of Sanskrit texts known as the Vedas, which date back to 1500 BCE. Originally passed down orallyby the Brahman priests, the Vedas include hymns and sacrifices to deities, magical formulas and rituals, philosophy, and metaphysics. Hindu tradition describes countless gods and spirits who sometimes possess human beings as well as rituals of exorcism to cure illnesses caused by unwanted spirits. However, Hinduism often does not distinguish the ordinary world from spiritual or transcendent reality as starkly as Western religions. People, places, and objects can all be regarded as sacred mediums through which deities and spirits manifest their presence in the physical world. In this sense, “possession” is a core idea in Hinduism that makes interaction possible between the realms of the profane and the realm of the sacred.
Hindu traditions of spirit possession include accounts of possession by the gods, demi-gods (asuras), ancestors, ghosts, and other spirit entities. Beliefs and practices regarding possession are often localized and may be informed by local stories of holy men and woman, local interpretations of Hindu mythology, or nearby places and objects regarded as sacred. As in other parts of the world, spirit possession can be either positive or negative. Unwelcome possession is believed to manifest as physical or mental illness and women and children are thought to be especially susceptible. For example, physical illnesses among children such as smallpox,associated with the goddess Śitalā in North India and Mariamman in South India,may be attributed to possession. Malevolent possessing entitiesin Hindu tradition include bhūtas (ghosts);piśācas, flesh-eating demons that cause illness; the curail, a form for bloodsucking witch found in bamboo groves and banana or bel (wood-apple)trees; thesavat, a spirit of a deceased first wife;daityas, nocturnal spiritssaid to dwell in the pipal tree;or entire groups of spirits that have died an unnatural death called either brahmas (not to be confused with Brahma, the Hindu creator god),bhāvanīs (if female) ormarūs in the case of spirits who died because of the wrath of a goddess. All these malevolent spirits can cause troubles in the family and can dwell in the house as well as nearby areas.
Positive forms of possession include the presence of gods or other benevolent spirits. In ritual contexts a person may invite possession by a deity for purposes of healing, prophecy, blessing, or to allow worshippers a means of interacting with a deity and showing devotion. More often special objects and places are used mediums for gods and spirits. The most commonmedium is a temple icon (mūrti), but natural phenomena such as trees, plants, stones, and rivers can also be mediums for sacred power or homes for spirits. The most important example is the River Ganges, which is understood as the manifestation of the goddess Gangā. Various trees such as the peepal tree or the banyan tree are associated with either the god Brahma or Visṇu, but may also house malevolent spirits. Plants such as the tulsī are related to the goddess Lakshmī, and stones and rocks resembling Śiva’slinga are related to Śiva. Places can also be perceived as imbued with otherworldly powers. Cremation grounds and deserted places are the traditional homes forinauspicious powers, while other places like riverbanks and mountains are thought to bepervaded by auspicious powers and are therefore important destinations for pilgrimages (tīrthas).
Linguistic references to possession are found in the oldest Vedic texts (the Samhitās from around 1500-1000 BCE), where the Sanskrit words āveśa, grahana and praveśana all indicate different models of possession. Āveśagenerallyrefersto the idea of “pervasion” or “immersion.” This is a voluntary form of possession in which someone becomes “filled”with a deity, causing a significant shift in personality. Graha(na) meaning “grasping or seizing” and praveśa(na) meaning “to enter into” refer to involuntarypossession in which person’s personality is suppressed by the spirit entity. These types of possession can be either positive or negative and are caused by deities as well as ghosts or ancestor spirits (bhūta, preta). Beginning with the Samhitas, Vedic medicine regarded mental illness as a form of possession, requiring treatment by exorcism. The AyurVeda containsadvice on treating a possessed person as well aspreventing possession through magical spells.
In addition to the Vedas, Hindu sacred texts include the epics (Itihāsa), such as the Rāmāyana and the Mahābhārata writtenbetween 400 BCE and 400 CE, and the Puranas, stories of the gods composed between 400 CE and 1600 CE. This literature describes a cosmic battle between good and evil and also contains numerousstories of possession. Human characters including kings, warriors, wives, and yogis become possessed by gods and spirits, drawing them into the cosmic battle.
Positive and negative forms of possession are also prominent in medieval texts associated with Tantra, an esoteric tradition within Hinduism. Tantric texts such as the Netra-tantra describe a variety of malevolent spirit beings thatmust be propitiated in particular ways to prevent them from afflicting people. These beings are classified into a hierarchical structure, with most orders of spirits organized according to the “great mothers,”spirits from whose wombs they originated. Each order of spirits has particular desires and appeasing one of these great mothers with the appropriate offering such as rice, flowers, or meat means that their subordinate spirits will be appeased as well. The Netra-tantrais a North Indian text, but similar traditions can be found in Southern India. By diagnosing the possessing spirits and making the appropriate ritual offering, the Tantric practitioner can persuade them to leave. Other techniques described in Tantric manuals of exorcism include ritual cleansing with water or burning herbs, chanting mantras, or special prayers and offerings. Tantric texts also feature techniques for specific forms of possession related to caste, place, and to the most vulnerable groups, including women, people living on the edge of society, or those suffering from emotional distress.
In addition to sacred texts, notions of spirit possession also inform Hindu religious practice. Anthropologist Rich Freeman has suggested that the Hindu temple can be understood as the institutionalization of possession. The temple is often built in the shape of a reclining god and can be perceived as not only representing but also actually being a god. The images within the temple, especially the statues of Hindu gods (mūrtis) are likewise understood to house the spirits of deities. Through correct conduct during pūjā(temple worship), they become living representatives of a deity, which is signaled by the ongoing ringing of bells. In a sense, thestatue becomes the god or is possessed by the god’s power. In this way, the mūrtimakes the god accessible to the devotees and gives the worshippers the chance of a direct darśana (“sight”) of the god.
Hindu practices that regard mūrtis as embodied deities are closely associated with a devotional style of worship known as bhakti. Bhaktimeans “worship in affection” and emphasizes the mutual relationship that is established between the devotees and the god. Through pūjāworshippers are able to show their devotion to the deity using the statue as a medium. The mūrtiis woken in the morning, given a morning bath, dressed, served with food during the day, and also put to bed at night. A crucial ceremony for making the statue amūrti or the vehicle for the divine is the eye-opening ceremony, which is conducted when the mūrti is placed in the temple. This ceremony makes eye contact between the god and the devotee possible. Through the gazing of the god the devotee will be purified and become closer to freedom from the cycle of rebirths. This mutual dependence is crucial to bhakti and cannot be established without the actual presence of the god in the statue.
It is generally believed that women and children are more vulnerable and therefore more susceptible to possession than men. Some Hindu traditions hold that female deities, characterized by active dynamic energy (śakti), manifest themselves in the profane world more often than male deities. Many goddess temples throughout India have a “living icon,” sometimes called a śākta, who is permanently present, embodying the goddess during daily worship before the devotees. The śākta is understood as a direct bearer of śakti, serving as an oracle and mouthpiece of the goddess. Devotees can approach them for healing and advice.
Well-known śāktas can be the center of local as well as global movements, as well as being a goal for pilgrims. One world famous śākta is MātāAmritānandamayī from Kerala, India. She is known as “hugging Amma” and she travels around the world with a message of love, equality, and mutual understanding among all people, irrespective of their social status or religion. She is especially known for her healing hugs, and her āśram in Kerala has become a goal for retreats or pilgrimages among Westerners.
Marianne Qvortrup Fibiger
See also: Possessed objects; Tantra;Theyyam
References:
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Caldwell, Sarah. Oh, Terrifying Mother: Sexuality, Violence and Worship of the Goddess Kāli. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
Flood, Gavin.The Tantric Body.The Secret Tradition of Hindu Religion. London: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd., 2006.
Freeman, Rich. “The Teyyam Tradition of Kerala” In Flood (ed.) The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism. Oxford: Blackwell (2003), 307-326.
Samuel, Geoffrey. The Origins of Yoga and Tantra: Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Smith, Frederick. The self possessed: Deity and spirit possession in South Asian literature and civilization. Columbia University Press, New York, 2006.