The non-human being (inhuman beings such as ghosts, spirits, demons, etc.) enters their hand into the body of a human being and squeezes or scratches roughly to inflict bodily pain. They can cause headaches by squeezing the head of the human being tightly or by getting inside the body and creating disturbances riots, such as knocking things to the ground. Only non-humans who are capable of making their bodies gross or who possess supernatural powers can do this. Such non-humans can move objects by touching them or even without touching them. If non-humans don’t have the ability to interact with the human plane, that ability can be given to them by a wizard using a mantra. When the wizard is performing the mantra with a form of a woman or a man created from wood or a similar material (such as a voodoo doll), a non-human being is drawn to the body of the particular human being indicated by the form created by the wizard. This information is 100% accurate, as it was stated by a non-human being himself when he possessed a human being. I post this here for the public awareness.
In the texts, I have found two words for “spiritual possession.”
The word with the closest meaning to this thread is amanussikābādho: affliction/ torment/ suffering/ disease caused by a non-human being. It occurs in the Vinaya, in the Chapter on Medicines:
On one occasion a monk was possessed by a spirit. His teacher and preceptor who were nursing him were not able to cure him. He then went to a pigs’ slaughterhouse to eat raw meat and drink blood. As a result, he became well. They told the Buddha.
“For one who is possessed, I allow raw meat and raw blood.”
That’s the only case I have found about this kind of possession.
The most common word I have found is anvāvisati: enters, occupies, possesses (said especially of Māra). It is used in the sense of an indirect influence rather than a takeover of bodily functions. Even devas and brāhmas may be affected by this kind of possession. In MN49 Brahmanimantanikasutta, Māra took possession of a member of the retinue of Bāka Brāhma (therefore, another brāhma).
About the kammic repercussions of actions done by possessed people, the first kind of possession (as in amanussikābādho, affliction by non-human beings) is usually equated with states of madness (ummattaka). People in such a state typically don’t have full control over their actions, so the kamma generated is minor.
In the second kind of possession (described with the verb anvāvisati, “to enter, occupy, possess”), the possessed beings do not lose self-control, and the actions remain almost fully their own responsibility.
For instance, in MN50 Māratajjanīyasutta Māra Dūsi, a former life of Mahāmoggallāna, troubled the disciples of the Buddha Kakusandha in many ways, “possessing” people to either insult the monks or to praise them (to induce negligence). In the first case, those people received bad results; in the second case (even if their actions were influenced by Māra), they received good results.
We should not forget, however, that psychological and psychiatric conditions may emulate possession. Attempting to treat such conditions solely with spiritual practices may in fact worsen them. Proper medical and psychological support should always be considered alongside spiritual approaches.
About cases of spiritual possession in ancient Indian Texts:
There are two types of possessions as direct possession and indirect possession. In direct possession, non-human beings enter the body of a human being and control that body. (Then human’s mind does not work) In indirect possession, the non-human being does not enter the body of the human but manipulates the thoughts of the human by staying outside the body. For example, they can cause bodily pain for the human, or by using the non-human being’s supernatural powers, the non-human being can show various things to the human to manipulate their thoughts. In Dusee Mara’s case, indirect possession took place, which is why those who insulted the monks did sins, while those who praised the monks earned merit. This is because humans acted according to their own minds.