Hundreds of holy men have gathered to celebrate the Hindu festival of Maha Shivaratri.

The men, traditionally called Sadhus, will perform holy rituals at Pashupatinath temple in Nepal today.

Nepal temporarily lifts the ban on marijuana for the holy festival so holy men can smoke it to imitate the Hindu God Shiva.

However, they are not permitted to sell or allow pilgrims to smoke the drug and must only consume it in the temple. They can also press the ash to the heads of pilgrims using their thumbs.

Pilgrims instead are only allowed to pour milk over a stone phallus, offer up fruit and sandalwood paste and burn incense.

Cannabis extracts were used for therapeutic and ritual purposes since prehistoric ages. What's next with THC, CBD and terpenes oil, wax and dabs?

Cannabis as a medicine has an ancient history with anecdotes dating back to the Vedic period (c.1500 BCE) in India and Nepal. It wasn’t until 1839 that William Brooke O’Shaughnessy introduced the therapeutic potential of cannabis to the western hemisphere, and another 75 years after that until Sir William Osler, the father of modern medicine, proposed its use for the treatment of migraines and headaches. The criminalization of cannabis has since hindered our ability to research its potential; to-date, much of what we understand is largely anecdotal or based on animal or tissue culture experiments.

A Hindu holy man in Kathmandu smokes a chillum, a traditional clay pipe, on March 6, the eve of a festival honoring the god Shiva.

Shiva is one chill deity.

He's one of the three major gods in the Hindu religion. And he has a penchant for pot.

"Shiva loves marijuana. So we come to share Shiva's prasad [offerings] with everyone else," explains a 60-year-old holy man who gives his name as Radhe Baba.

It's the eve of the festival of Shiva Ratri, or "The Night of Shiva" — March 7 this year. The celebration marks the day Shiva saved the universe from darkness and married the goddess Parvati.

Imagine taking a trip to a beautiful, secluded yoga retreat in the mountains of Colorado. Picture walking through the lovely setting, heading to your comfortably rustic cabin room, meditating...and then lighting up a joint. Twisted Sister invites you to do just that at Align With Your Heart, a cannabis-friendly mountain yoga retreat in Evergreen September 16 through September 20. This high-end, women-only retreat organized by Twisted Sister Yoga and sponsored by DANK dispensary will be full of deep personal exploration both on and off the mat.

The second article in our series of religion and marijuana - Today we are looking at the relationship between Hinduism and marijuana usage. 

Hinduism is the religion of the majority of people in India and Nepal. It also exists among significant populations outside of the sub continent and has over 900 million adherents worldwide.

Unlike most other religions, Hinduism has no single founder, no single scripture, and no commonly agreed set of teachings.

Like other religions, Hindus generally disapprove of the non-medicinal drug use.

Being a seasoned traveler and photographer, a journey to the Kingdom of Bhutan placed high on my bucket list.

Several years ago I visited there in a trip which also included China, Tibet and Nepal. The breathtaking flight from Nepal to Bhutan gave us spectacular views of Mt. Everest and the snow-covered Himalayan mountain range.

I thought I must have died and gone to Heaven.

As it turned out, the King of this tiny mountain democratic monarchy in the Himalayas was getting married the same week as my visit. The towns were exquisitely decorated and people donned their best regalia. Excitement was at a near frenzy in this normally sleepy and pastoral country. Every television was tuned in to the festivities, all eyes glued to the screen.