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 orally by 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, demigods (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 entities in 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; the savat,
a spirit of a deceased first wife; daityas, nocturnal spirits said 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) or marūs 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
common medium 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’s linga are
related to Śiva. Places can also be perceived as imbued with otherworldly powers. Cremation
grounds and deserted places are the traditional homes for inauspicious powers, while other
places like riverbanks and mountains are thought to be pervaded 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. Āveśa generally refers to 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 involuntary possession 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 Ayur Veda contains advice on treating a possessed
person as well as preventing possession through magical spells.
In addition to the Vedas, Hindu sacred texts include the epics (Itihāsa), such as the
Rāmāyana and the Mahābhārata written between 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 numerous stories 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 that must 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-tantra is 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, the statue becomes the god or is possessed by the god’s power. In
this way, the mūrti makes 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. Bhakti means “worship in affection” and
emphasizes the mutual relationship that is established between the devotees and the god.
Through pūjā worshippers are able to show their devotion to the deity using the statue as a
medium. The mūrti is 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 a mūrti
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 Mātā Amritānandamayī 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:
Bose, Mandakranta. Women in the Hindu Tradition. Rules, roles and exceptions. New
York: Routledge, Hindu Studies Series, 2010.
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.