Soma.

[Guest guest]

Dear Kishore, I am afraid to have to admit, although I also see soma as being a divine energy and entity, that I have had the same impression as KE that soma was also some type of hallucinogenic draught. Certainly some translations of RV hymns give a strong impression that was the case. In the 1970s I knew a Bengali Brahman who argued that soma in the RV was not a drug despite the fact that he saw hashish and bhang as aids in raising self awareness.

 

I think you have got it wrong about all westerners having a diminutive interpretation of Indian culture because of past Indian traditions of consuming substances like hashish and bhang lassie. For many westerners like myself who experienced the 1960s and 1970s when the world was hell bent on destroying itself in a nuclear holocaust such Indian traditions were regarded with great respect and the above drugs, along with LSD, were seen as tools to help snap people out of their mortal, materialistic imaginations. Thankfully in many ways the world has changed for the better after that Mind Revolution of the 1960s/70s and there is no longer such a pressing need for those mind changing tools, but during that period westerners like myself were filled with great respect for Indian culture and traditions, even for those traditions that you as a modern day Indian might judge as being degenerate and destructive.

 

However, I think we have more pressing issues to confront at the moment than what is the nature of soma and for the time being I will accept your understanding about the nature of soma in relation to the RV as correct.

 

Thanks for your encouragement in regards to my attempt to put forward a more satisfactory theory than PIE to explain the origin of the phenomenon we refer to as the IE family of languages. Although I think it wise to take heed KE’s warning about not letting our scholarship get sloppy I believe there is enough evidence to support such a theory.

 

Kishore, keep up the good work, Bruce Duffy

 

 

On 7/6/08 5:39 PM, " kishore patnaik " <kishorepatnaik09 wrote:

 

 

 

 

That's unfair.

 

That is hardly surprising (and perhaps a very mild ) protest.

 

Rsis never sought intoxication and in fact, Rg Veda is full of cautions against such state of mind. It is unfortunate that westerners seek to interpret Indian culture in a very diminutive manner in the name of science.

 

Perhaps, for this very reason of misinterpretations of half knowledge and bias that restrictions on reading Vedas has been imposed.

 

I shudder to think what would have been the fate of the writer had he assumed the same tone on interpreting anyr religion other than Hinduism.

 

 

Kishore patnaik

 

[Guest guest]

Dear

Kishore, I am afraid to have to admit, although I also see soma as

being a divine energy and entity, that I have had the same impression

as KE that soma was also some type of hallucinogenic draught. Certainly

some translations of RV hymns give a strong impression that was the

case. In the 1970s I knew a Bengali Brahman who argued that soma in the

RV was not a drug despite the fact that he saw hashish and bhang as

aids in raising self awareness.Certainly, hashish and bhang are not aids in raising self awareness. These drugs were started being used in medieval times by sadhus and perhaps, Buddhist monks, pretty well knowing that they are no nearer to Moksha after taking than before, being declinative cultures in the respective religions. We also can not rule out these usages as a fall out of tantrik practices.

However, Soma being seen as a hallucinogenic draught is an unfortunate result of the modern translations by , oh again, westerners who tried to prove that Vedas have no philosophical basis . (Btw, I don't believe that ALL westerners are ant Indians or so, in fact, an average European from say, Germany , may be as anti Indian as he is anti Polish. But this trend is mostly seen in the present western scholars. I would not try to dissect the reasons here.) Try reading some of the more philosophical interpretations of Vedas and I am sure, you would accept my views.

Thanks for your encouragement in regards to my attempt to put forward a more satisfactory theory than PIE to explain the origin of the phenomenon we refer to as the IE family of languages. Although I think it wise to take heed KE's warning about not letting our scholarship get sloppy I believe there is enough evidence to support such a theory.

Absolutely my pleasure. I always held that the world is a manifestation of alternative truths, which though emanated from single Ultimate Truth. I am sure together we find these truths. When I said " we', I meant all the schools - the westerners, the traditionalists, the Orientalists and so on, since every school is only open to a partial truth.

Kishore patnaik Kishore patnaik