Self-Possessed, 12.2.5-12.2.6

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12.2.5

Bhuta-Vidya Sections of Samhita-s

487-97

pp. 488-90 Caraka Samhita 6:9:20-1 varieties of ud-mada

6.9.20. (pp. 488-9)

6.9.21. (p. 490)

qualities of possessee

possessing-entities

behaviour of possessee

tithi-s of possession





.20.1 (p. 488) "sweet scent"

deva-s

.21.1 "scriptural study"

1st & 13th

.20.2 (p. 489) abhi-dhyana 'subtle intention'

guru, vr.ddha, siddha, or r.s.i

.21.2 "bathing"

6th & 9th

.20.3 "gaze is unfavorable"

pitr.

.21.3 "service of his mother, father"

10th & new moon

.20.4 "enjoys wind instruments" (mukha-vadya)

gandharva

.21.4 "fond of perfumes"

12 & 14th

.20.5 "is fond of ... song ..., and divulges secrets"

yaks.a

.21.5 "fond of ... massage"

7th & 11th

.20.6 "whose sleep is disturbed"

raks.asa

--

--

.20.7 "laughter and dance, ... and self-flagellation"

brahma-raks.asa

.21.6 "playing games in temple waters"

5th & full moon

.20.8 "walking on ... grass, ... and who is naked"

pis`aca

.21.7 "lusts after women"

2nd, 3rd, & 8th

{There are some apparent inaccuracies in this list :

musical instruments are usually played by Caran.a-s (not by Gandha-rva-s);

singing is usually done by Gandha-rva-s (not by Yaks.a-s).}

pp. 491-2 Su-s`ruta Samhita 6:60:8-18

6.60.8-16 (pp. 491-2)

6.60.17-18 (p. 492)

qualities of possessee

possessing-entities

tithi-s of possession




.8 (p. 491) "has the proper scent"

deva

full moon

.9 "is sweaty"

deva-s`atru

dawn & dusk

.10 "frequents sandy river banks"

gandha-rva

8th

.11 "eyes are coppery"

yaks.a

1st

.12 "desires and eats ... sesame"

pitr.

5th of waning

.13 (p. 492) "desires ... honey, and milk"

bhuj-anga

" " "

.14 "immensely strong"

raks.as

night

.15 "whose hand is raised"

pis`aca

14th

.16 "whose eyes are dull and gait is fast"

graha

--

{That Yaks.a-s are coppery-eyed may suggest them as denizens of the legendary Tamra Dvipa ('Copper Island') of the Ciratana (rN~in-ma).}

{That snake-deities should desire "honey, and milk", is reminiscent of the exodos led by Mo^seh toward the land overflowing "with milk and honey", in the course of which exodos there were encountred (B-Midbar 21:6) s`rapi^m (fiery serpents).}

B-Midbar 21:6 http://biblehub.com/numbers/21-6.htm

pp. 494-7 As.t.a-anga-Hr.daya ['8-Limb Heart'] Samhita [p. 565, n. 12:113 : the Bodish book rGyud bZ`i ('Tantra-s Four') is claimed to be a translation of the As.t.a-Hr.daya As.t.a-anga-guhya-upades`a Tantra] 6:4:6-43

6.4.


.6-8

p. 494 [indications of being obsessed by one of the 18 varieties of Bhuta :]

"residing alone in an empty house, or

spending the nights in burning grounds {crematories} ...,

public nudity".

.9-43

.9-12 (p. 494)

.13-43 (pp. 494-7)


tithi-s

qualities of possessee

entities






.9 1st & 13th

.13-15 (p. 494) "enjoys dwelling ... on high peaks, ... does not sleep" {cf. unsleeping buddha}

sura/ deva


12th waning

.16-17 (p. 495) "goes around saying, "I am Rudra, Skanda, Vis`akha""

danava/ daitya


.10 14th

.18-19b "engages in song and dance"

gandha-rva


12th & 5th

.19c-21b "likes milk, ... and ... sleeps face down ..., being fearful of sunlight"

ura-ga


7th & 11th

.21c-24b "tells secrets and mocks physicians ..., ... and has a swift gait"

yaks.a


.11 5th & 8th

.24c-26b "fond of laughter and dancing, ... beats himself with sticks and knives, ... addresses others with the respectful term bhoh."

brahma-raks.asa


9th & 12th of waning

.26c-29 (p. 496) "laughs at mealtime"

raks.as/ raks.asa


" " " " "

.30-34b "fond of leftovers, ... scratches himself with his nails" [p. 564, n. 12:93 : "mounts on a wooden horse"]

pis`aca


.12 10th

.34c-35b [p. 564, n. 12:94 : "holes in the grass" {for golf?}] [cf. "walking on ... grass", ascribed instead to Pis`aca-s (in Caraka Samhita 6:9:20:8)]

preta


--

.35c-36b "is late wherever he goes"

kus.ma-an.d.a


--

.36c-38 "haunting ... lonely roads, or places with a single tree"

nis.ada


--

.39 "begs for water and food"

aukiran.a


--

.40 "speaks the truth, shakes, and sleeps a lot"

vetala


--

.41-42 (p. 497) "is fond of sesame [cf. Su-s`ruta Samhita 6:60:12] ..., and ... stammers"

pitr.-graha


.12 8th & 9th

.43 "may describe his own speech, diet, and movements in terms of that graha" {This may be true spirit-possession, with the spirit speaking through the mouth of the possessee.}

guru, vr.ddha, r.s.i, & siddha

{Addressing with the respectful term /BHOS/ ('boss') would be characteristic of the world /BHUVAS/ (Bhuvar-loka). As indicated in the name /Brahma-raks.asa/, one of the Bauddha categories of Brahma-deities would be the denizens of the world Bhuvas.}

{The expression "mounts on a wooden horse" could allude to the wooden mechanical horse ("EH") which, when mounted upon, would fly with its riders into the sky. This is somewhat similar to (ANT1001N) the "horse of brass" in the "Squire's Tale" of the Canterbury Tales.}

"EH" = "Ebony Horse" in the 1001 Nights http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/arabian/bl-arabian-ebony.htm

ANT1001N = Robert Irwin : The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights. "Introduction".

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12.2.6

Psychodynamics of Bhuta-s

497-508

pp. 497-8 allegation of ud-mada (unmada)

p. 497

[quoted (for criticism) from Weiss 1977, p. 183 :] "In the deva and guru et al. types, hyperpious ... symptomology are characteristic suggesting ... preoccupation with cultural values".

{In critizing diagnosis of the case as "preoccupation with cultural values" (p. 497), to assert that this "misstates, ignores, or downplays its cultural locus and significance" (p. 498) is itself a misstatement and a downplaying. More to the point would be to note that in stigmatizing "preoccupation with cultural values", those psychiatrists, [whether European or Bharatiya] are permitting only a cultural hypocrisy which despiseth cultural values ideologically, while upholding them (quite meticulously) in actual practice! This unremitting and uncompromising hypocrisy is thoroughly typical of capitalism and of modern, mainline state-sponsored "Christianity". The author [F.H.S.]'s neglect (to notice that the point at issue is actually official, state-sponsored hypocrisy) must be due either to carelessness or to squeamishness in reluctance to criticize brute capitalism's state-authority. [written Apr 3rd 2014]}

p. 498

[comment by the author F.M.S. on Weiss :] "to label this particular set of psychodynamics ... misstates, ignores, or downplays its cultural locus and significance ... .


Similarly, such preemptive classification ignores complementary passages in the ayurvedic texts that describe equivalent personality types not regarded as a product of possession."

[supra p. 478 Abhinavagupta's defiance of state-sponsored praetensefulness of caste and social standing is mentioned. {These high-caste (high social standing) types are the ones who are [in collusion with their government] forcibly imposing hypocrisies on the general populace.}]

p. 497

"These observation [by Weiss] ... fail to consider ..., especially for the deva and guru types ..., possession as devotional practice."

Weiss 1977 = Mitchell Gralnick Weiss : Critical Study of Unmada in the Early Sanskrit Medical Literature. PhD. diss, U of PA.

pp. 498-9 s`uddha ('pure') sattva-s ("personality types"), according to Caraka's S`arira-sthana 4:36-40

p.

#

sattva

qualities

498

1.

brahma

"passionlessness, tolerance"


2.

ars.a

"keeping vows and are hospitable"

499

3.

aindra

"generous, virtuous"


4.

yamya

"economical in action, self-motivated"


5.

varun.a

"fond of water, and proper in exhibition"


6.

kaubera

"philanthropy ..., and recreation"


7.

gandha-rva

"fond of song and dance, poetry and epic narration, scents, garlands"

p. 500 resemblance

"The descriptions of grahas and sattvas, possessing entities and personality types, are noteworthy because of their close resemblance. ... The identification of these sattvas as independently or exogenously materialized grahas, ... is a kind of cultural phenomenology that ... harks back to ... the vedic Brahman.as and Upanis.ads."

p. 503 exorcism?

"With respect to exorcism (bgegs-bzlog-chog), ... the standard Mahayana position ... that these demons do not "really" exist ... is mediated through ... ritual procedures, ... as

{There distinguishing feature of the Bauddha religion is that mortals do not exist, because they can be described as composites of skandha-s. Because no parallel decomposition of an immortal deity would seem ever to be proposed, the implication is that the deities can be regarded as more existent than mere mortals.}

the ritual officiant "has compassion for ghosts and wishes to liberate them"".

{Apparently, it is the admission of non-existence of the self (by living mortals) that is capable of such "compassion" on those dead mortals who have not succeeded in dissociating their own skandha-s.}

p. 503 gDon (according to the rGyud-bZ`i)

Among "The ... bgegs ... malignant spirits (gDon) ... are "rulers of plantary forces" (gza-yi gdon), comparable to the grahas that are the possessing energies of the planets in Indian astrology.

These ... require therapy in the form of mantra, meditation, and ritual (daiva[-]vyapas`raya[-]cikitsa)."

{"Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." (Matthaios 17:21)} {"This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." (Markos 9:27-29)}

"Chapters 77-79 of the [r]Gyu[d]-[b]zhi describe three types of possessing entities.

Chapter 77 contains a list of eighteen "elemental spirits" (>byung-po>i gdon)".

Matthaios 17:18-21 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+17%3A18-21&version=KJV

Markos 9:27-29 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+9%3A27-29&version=KJV

pp. 504-5 Bodish translations of Skt. names of categories of deities

p.

Samskr.ta

Bodish translation

504

deva

lHa


gandha-rva

Dri-za (scent-eaters)

505

raks.asa

sRin-po (cannibals)


pis`aca

S`a-za (flesh-eaters)


aukiran.a

Yen-ched ("mental agitators")


vetala

Ro-lans (zombies)


pitr.

mTshun-lha (ancestor-gods)


siddha

Grub-pa ("magical emanation")

p. 508 emotional results from spirit-possession

"emotions generated through possession ... are identified by theoreticians from Bharata to Abhinavagupta to bhakti philosophers, such as Vallabhacarya and Rupa Gosvami".

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Frederick M. Smith : The Self-Possessed : Deity and Spirit Possession in South Asian Literature and Civilization. Columbia U Pr, NY, 2006.