65. Soma – The Universal “delighter”

Are you feeling that calm peaceful euphoric state for no reason? Smallest of small things entertain you and make you feel like you are at the top of the world, like a child? Thank Soma circulating in your body!

You walk into a room and everyone is giving you a second look for no particular reason? That’s because of the Tejas aspect of Sōma. Are you pain-free for most part, unless you physically bang into something? You are healthy and recover fast from routine ailments? That’s because of the Ojas aspect of Sōma. Then you are accessing the powers of Sōma within you very well! You should actually teach others on how you are doing this… really!

Soma is the delight in everything… That go-rasa, or the essence of unconditioned happiness, that state-of-mind. Since the sensation of Soma generation is sweet, it is also called madhu, and in a famous upanishadic story, Aswins learn this doctrine from Cyavana, an ascetic with a horse-head. It’s the flow of Soma that we all seek, whether we are yogis or bhogis (epicureans).

Your mind accesses this power of Sōma on a continuous basis.

For Kundalini practitioners, the soma-generating center, the Soma chakra, is an important part of the seventh chakra, which we will cover a little later. The featured image is a symbolic representation of this chakra.

So… Why are we talking about this in the context of yogic thoughts? Because our quest is to be happy and healthy all the time, right? Continuous flow of Sōma is what we are seeking then!

Who is sōma?

Just like all other God-forces, Soma pervades the entire Universe… Every living-being seeks that drop of Soma (Indu). As this abstract drop descends into the physical realm, it can turn into several things, like a stem-cell. One of the obvious forms is its association with the reproductive cause (second chakra). This limited form of pleasure is what we call orgasmic pleasure or peak experience. That euphoric state that living beings experience during coitus is also referred to as the unit of measure for the higher euphoric states, which the ānandavalli section of the Taittariya Upanishad talks about. This upanishad states that the pleasure (actually euphoria) experienced by a person in the brahman-ic state is millions of times stronger than the pleasure experienced by a young healthy youth! But we living-creatures are very good at correlating things, and confusing it for causation – we think coitus is the only way, and pursue only that path. Again, coitus is only one of the ways to briefly experience that soma-induced delight or that ecstatic state, albeit an inefficient and expensive way… And there are esoteric tantric practices that use this method to reach those higher states, but in a more efficient way.

Soma and procreation

The connection between the reproductory seed (sperm; retas) and this Soma is extensive and very clear from vedas (e.g. Rig Veda 10.94.5). Below is an example (RV 10.94.7). RV 10.94.9 talks about how Indra not only drinks this, but drinking this makes him grow stronger and more vigorous. Before we leave this intriguing Rig Veda Sukta 10.94, this sukta characterizes and praises the pressing stones called grāvāṇaḥ. Additional notes on this suktam at the bottom. Expressing, milking and offering the celestial seed into the womb on earth to reap sons and grandsons (masculine, not males) is the objective (e.g. Rig Veda 4.58.5 below). There’s also a reference to groups of tens mentioned in this connection, and some interpreted that to include ten fingers in those groupings; indirectly referred to as the work-horses or the ten fingers of the soma-pressing priest in expressing the juice out. It is not clear if they are necessarily taking about the ten fingers of the body, in the external space, or their counterparts in the mind-space.

OPTIONAL READING : Additional Notes on RV 10.94

10.94.5 suparṇā vācam akratopa dyavy ākhare kṛṣṇā iṣirā anartiṣuḥ | nyaṅ ni yanty uparasya niṣkṛtam purū reto dadhire sūryaśvitaḥ ||

“The eagle Suparnā made a statement towards the heaven, danced or moved rapidly in the lair; they exude down from the upper stone the expressed sperm; bright as the sun”. Note that eagle here is not the bird, but it has the body of meters/mantras. Recall that the firepits (vedis) that mimic human bodies in yajnas have various shapes and eagle is one such shape. Vishnu’s vehicle is that bird. Reta is sperm, sky’s seed; mixes with dadhi, the milk.

[Word-for-word: ten earths ten girdles ten yoking straps ten plans ten reins praise ageless ten yokes/burdens ten ten yokes bring – what are these tens about?]

Worship (priests), those imperishable (stones) which have ten workers, ten girths, ten yokes, ten agents, ten encompassers, which are possessed of ten burdens, which bear (the sacrifice or the kriya).

These “tens of …” also appear in the eleventh anuvaka of Namakam chant of Krishna Yajurveda. There they refer to tens of things from the east, south, west, north and above… But ten of what?

namō̍ ru̠dhrēbhyō̠ yē pṛ̍thi̠vyāṃ yē̎-‘ntari̍kṣē̠ yē di̠vi yēṣā̠manna̠ṃ vātō̍ va̠rṣa̠miṣa̍va̠stēbhyō̠ daśa̠ prāchī̠r daśa̍ dakṣi̠ṇā daśa̍ pra̠tīchī̠-r daśō-dī̍chī̠-r daśō̠rdhvāstēbhyō̠ nama̠stē nō̍ mṛḍayantu̠ tē ya-ndvi̠ṣmō yaścha̍ nō̠ dvēṣṭi̠ taṃ vō̠ jambhē̍ dadhāmi ॥ 11 ॥

Soma at a Philosophical level…

There are so many angles to this force Soma: in one line of thinking, there are only two interpenetrating things in the Universe – Agni (the devourer) and Soma (the devoured) – that’s it! Like purusha/prakruti or Shiva/Shakti complementarities. Go back to the famous story of Varuna and Bhr̥gu from Satapata brahmana. In his tour of the creation, what had Bhṙgu seen in this creation, in that story? It is that this creation is made of only these two force-fields – Agni and Soma, two complementarities. One of the two became the devourer and the other became food/devoured. Down here in this universe, there is nothing else than the devourer and the devoured pairs. And this cycle keeps reversing and repeating (saṁsara)… Yoga is to find a suitable position between these two polarities for ourselves, individually. Existence itself is a dynamic tango between these two polarities – vegan, vegetarian, meat-lover, cannibal, atheist, believer, doesn’t matter!

A note of interpretations of Soma…

What confuses a lot of translators of this yogic model is that (all) these forces exist inside (twam) and outside (tat) of us, and in all three realms (heaven, mid-region, and earth or suvah/divi/swarge, bhuvuh/antariksha, bhu/pṛthvi/earth, respectively). Soma is no exception. So, Soma exists within us, outside of us in the macro, and Soma exists in heaven, mid region and at earth level. We will not go there, but it is worthwhile contemplating on how soma-induced happiness is driving unions of the masculine and feminine in the macro… Of course, one of the critical driving forces behind the behaviors in all living creatures is this force of self-replication – the second chakra of Kundalini, and the also second-rung of the later Maslow’s pyramid.

Finally, when did this become just an intoxicant juice pressed from stalk of a plant? Two probable reasons – the vedic language that includes dual micro/macro meanings, which is based on thou art that, and decimation and dilution of the meaning by the later bhakti movement. The early translators ignored the more-difficult thou-centric meanings and interpretations, and focused mostly on the readily-available bhakti/ritualistic interpreters by their time. This started with Sāyaṇā himself, who lived in the 14th century, whose work was a monumental effort to consolidate ritualistic (Karma-kanda) interpretations of the Vedic texts. This helped his royal patrons to consolidate their power, and early European translators started with those interpretations. For example, pavitra is translated as a filter. The meaning based on its roots is something that is purified; those filters are in the neural-space. Now, imagine a desire/intention drops down as a Soma into the mind, what does purifier mean in that context? Particularly, beware of the word “Lord”, translated as “bestowing favors”-centric entities. Yogis stayed away from that because that presumes a key belief. This gap is obvious in even the most modern translations, and going to the original Sanskrit verses hint at how wide these gaps are.

Another example is the word Gorasa (गोरस), which occurs in the context of mantra “milking”. It is typically translated as milk, but that is true only in the physical plane at best. If we take the meaning of “happiness or pleasure” for go, then gorasa would mean the essence of happiness or bliss, which is a much better fit for what the rishis are belaboring here.

With that, let’s embark on a small effort to explore vedic descriptions of Soma, and their connections to yogic practices and philosophy.

Vedic description of soma

As we said on the about page – vedas try to describe this tat (macro)-twam(micro) model along with recipes to experience this model, and access it to take us to where we want to go individually. The entire ninth section (Mandala) of the Rig Veda is dedicated to Soma, and it is only second to the number of hymns dedicated to Agni, which we should expect based on our elaboration so far. We will narrate a couple of definitions pertinent to the micro-macro correspondence (tat twam asi) that will help us the meanings of the vedic hymns we will cover here; not using guideposts caused a lot of confusion among the translators, which still exists. Soma is now mostly known as an plant extract! Where are these plants within us (twam)?

Whatever Soma is, it’s origins are celestial (Svarga loka), and it is pressed three times a day, between two stones, names adri and gravan. All gods gain their strength by drinking this Soma! That includes vak for generating speech, Indra for strength, for healing powers, thoughts, creativity, health… you name it. Again, it is consumed to energize all these aspects. It is pressed three times a day: morning pressing which is offered to the Vasus, afternoon pressing to Rudras (and Indra), and evening pressing to Adityas. All strive to drink this!

Another important storyline is Soma’s role in killing Vr̥ttra, the fluctuations that yogis talk about. Also recall the neural mechanisms driving bliss, of both sacred and profane kinds. In a broader sense, the mind goes relatively silent, fluctuations subside, particularly those that drive the I-ness, body boundaries…

Where is Swarga Loka?

Let’s go back a few blurbs, to a 48 day meditation/ritual/kriya sequence that takes us there. It is a little beyond where the words form in our mind-space, where river (knowledge and awareness stream begins). As long as we do not abandon the dualistic knowledge constructs of our mind, we will not transcend the lower realms to reach the non-dualistic reaches of bliss. To model this, they actually have physical locations in Himalayas… The mind’s journey is against the direction of the river Saraswati flow. The location is the mind-space is where we want to reach, through all these analogies and kriyas. That’s yogis goal.

Soma and Awareness

The soma flow nourishes all our internal powers since we are functioning while happy and confident. Everything looks easy when we are in that state of mind, right?

Rig veda provides an interesting connection between Sōma and the seven key awareness streams in our head (saptarshis – the seven awareness streams: two ears, two eyes, two nostrils and plus mouth/tongue), which together enliven an awake eye amidst these streams of consciousness (Rig Veda 9.9.4). Basically, these seven streams act as a single eye, and integrated consciousness is that Soma.

In addition to the sensory input/cognition, Soma is also tied to Indra (the sense-centric mind, manas) – Indra is requested to drink this Soma in several places in Rig Veda. He actually drinks this, gains strength, to kill a famous and important demon of vedic times (Vrutta, the demon of mental fluctuations).

Soma Chakra – for yogis

It is the epicenter of all the Soma-related activity that mediates the mind-body interactions and manifestations sequence. In typical artistic renditions of Śiva is depicted with half-moon tucked into his matted hair. In that meditative state, the moon-center or the Soma chakra is fully activated, and the meditator is “drinking” that nectar, and recirculating it, as opposed to releasing it to the external.

We will discuss this further while reviewing the Chakra theory, but Soma-chakra is considered a part of the seventh chakra call the Sahasrara chakra. To pierce the seventh, one has to activate, and ascend through this chakra. After all, all the seven sensory awareness streams are energized by Soma. Human tendency is to get stuck there, when one gets there, because it is pleasure-filled state!

You can skip this section if you are not a kundalini kriya yoga practitioner, but this may pull you in. Refer to Harish Johari’s book on Kundalini Yoga¹ for details.

The Soma chakra is located close to the Sahasrara chakra, towards the Ajna chakra, just above the Ajna (sixth) chakra, near the center of the forehead. This is ruled by the deities of the masculine and feminine energies (Kameshvara and Kameshvari). For a governing planet, it is governed by one of the villains of later philosophy, who swallows up the sun (Surya) once in a while, who drinks nectar (amrutha) to become immortal, called Rāhu. In the mystical world, when the Surya (the illuminator of everything) is swallowed up, we become blind to discernment and loose judgement. This chakra is also associated with the wish-granting cow called kamadhenu (not our physical cow; for beginners, it has a peacock plume), but dealing with power is critical to a practitioner. When this chakra is pierced² without getting tangled up with seeking things for the ego (the frontal-I), the practitioner not clouded by pure desire, enjoys the union of Siva and Sakti, and dwells in the unconditioned pure bliss state of awareness, which is that we all seek! Go back to the opening paragraph at the top – we are happy for no reason!

Soma Rituals

These are highly specialized rituals. No, these are the rituals where you sit down to squeeze the hallucinogens from a plant stalk and drink… These rituals are to “yoke Rik (Rig veda mantras) with Saman (Sama veda mantras) to procreate”! See Frits Staal³ reference below. All this begins after a long process of interiorization. As we belabored through a number of these blog articles to point out that the specialized mantra chanting (sometimes called mantra milking, particularly in the context of Soma pavamana context) with specific effect occurs after this internalization process, which starts with external model, to help the mind to focus and move in that direction. Interestingly, this Soma offering takes place on the eastern end of the stage. If you visualize our brain as the stage, the eastern side is to the front-side or the face-side of the head… A lot of executive function happens on the front-side, according to the modern physiology, which plays a critical role in generating the human peak experience. Just a tidbit.

We will not go further into this but the entire ninth book of Rig Veda is all about this, but keep these pointers if you are planning to explore those suktas. They are not to be just translated, and interpreted in our modern English language and move on. This understanding and experiencing is a process where kriya yoga forms the foundation.

what is SOMA, the butter – a little more detail (4.58)

Based on the 10.94 contemplation above, you probably have an idea already. We will use the Rig veda sukta 4.58 to guide us through answering this question. This butter is the oblation to gods that make our bodies happy, healthy and vibrant. Often, the 33 gods are asked to come and drink/accept this oblation of butter. But where are the gods, the divine forces? From before, they are within our bodies. Soma, just like others, have three manifestations in the three worlds – suvah/divi/swarga, bhuvuh/antariksha, bhu/pṛthvi/earth – as hinted in 48.5.4 below. The famous Gayathri mantra The impetus, hidden or held by not-necessarily-friendly forces called panis, starts in the heart-pleasing uppermost reaches of our mind, and beyond – the swarg or divi realm, through the hundred channels that originate there (remember that only one of those channels reach the seventh chakra). The physical release to a external world is the third manifestation.

This ghṛta is that which soma rules is offered to other gods as offering (4.58.1-2 below), since that delight provides the motivation for the god-forces to undertake action. It is now obvious that they are not talking about the physical ghee when they say Ghṛta, and the “sacrifice” is not the bonfire that they typically portray it to be…”. It became that later, as the interiorization process is sidelined. See the blurb on Agni (Fire) – there we learn that something that starts in the divi-realm, eventually is offered into a womb to produce an offspring. It is this oblation – ghṛta – that is offered into the womb. Depending upon the god-force this oblation is offered to, the corresponding output manifests.

Since the sensations of Soma generation are sweet, it is also called madhu. The raw soma flows through a filter of sheep’s wool, and this is called pavamana. Soma is normally associated with this word pavamana. The purified soma is a called śukra, which also means the semen. This sukra is offered exclusively to Indra and Vayu – mind, and signals and movement!

To summarize the terminology, it appears that the sperm cells are referred to as yava (or barley grain), prostate gland fluid as the dugdha, the milky fluid rich in enzymes and others, and the seminal vesicle fluid, which is rich in fructose and other energy source as madhu. All these mixed together is the oblation Ghī/ghṛta, Soma is who drives this, and the male reproductory component is called retas and sukra; the former is a general word for “seed” as opposed to the later refers to male-seed, while the female-seed is called artava. In vedas, they appear to be very particular about calling these things, depending upon what function they are addressing, at that time. A little like like in our medical literature, except that we have a lot of proper nouns, whereas vedas stayed away from proper nouns; actions dictated their names. We are to trying to recreate the most likely meanings based on those principles. For our contemplation purposes here, it suffices to know that when they say Soma, Oblation, Ghee, milk, etc., there are not talking about external entities, but inner-equivalents.

Ojas and Tejas are two related concepts in yogic medicine that derive their essense from Soma. The brahmačarins (yogic celibates) turn this power into these two, resulting is strength and auric glow, that glow which subconsciously make us give them a second look.

The entire sukta is about how the yoga, through kriyas, develops an intensive spiritual vision (cākaśīmi) to gaze upon the golden spark of life (Vetasa) that is fueled by conserved vital energy (śukra), ultimately discovering that this divine creative potential rests deeply within the ocean of the cosmic heart (samudre hṛdy). This analogy between coupling of the cosmic ocean and heart is very common in yogic lore.

OPTIONAL READING – Rig Veda 4.58

Ṛṣi (sage/seer): vāmadevo gautamaḥ
Devatā (deity/subject-matter): agniḥ sūryo or āpo or gāvo or ghṛtaṃ

4.58.1 samudrād ūrmir madhumām̐ ud ārad upāṃśunā sam amṛtatvam ānaṭ|ghṛtasya nāma guhyaṃ yad asti jihvā devānām amṛtasya nābhiḥ
The sweet ocean swells up from the high swarga; by that faint whisper of a meditation, upamsu, (man) merges (sam) with immortality; that which is the secret name of clarified butter (ghṛta) is the tongue of the gods, the navel of ambrosia. [the word upamsu appears hear meaning repetition of a mantra in silence or faint whisper.]

4.58.2 vayaṃ nāma pra bravāmā ghṛtasyāsmin yajñe dhārayāmā namobhiḥ| upa brahmā śṛṇavac chasyamānaṃ catuḥśṛṅgo 'vamīd gaura etat||
We celebrate the name Ghṛta at this sacrifice, we offer it with adoration; may the four-horned Brahmā (as bull; see below)listen to its being glorified; the fair-complexioned-deity perfect this rite. [].

4.58.3 catvāri śṛṅgā trayo asya pādā dve śīrṣe sapta hastāso asya | tridhā baddho vṛṣabho roravīti maho devo martyām̐ ā viveśa ||
Four are this bull’s horns; three are his feet; his heads are two, his hands are seven; the triple-bound showerer (of benefits) roars aloud; the mighty deity has entered among men. [bull typically represents the beast-side within that represents reproductive-aspect and the virility]

4.58.4 tridhā hitam paṇibhir guhyamānaṃ gavi devāso ghṛtam anv avindan| indra ekaṃ sūrya ekaṃ jajāna venād ekaṃ svadhayā niṣ ṭatakṣuḥ ||
The gods discovered the ghṛta concealed by the Paṇis, three-fold in the cow; Indra rated one (portion), Sūrya another, the (other gods) fabricated one from Venā, for the sake of the oblation.

4.58.5 etā arṣanti hṛdyāt samudrāc chatavrajā ripuṇā nāvacakṣe | ghṛtasya dhārā abhi cākaśīmi hiraṇyayo vetaso madhya āsām ||
These hundred-channeled showers fall from the heart-delighting firmament, unobserved by the hostile (cloud); I look upon these showers of Ghī, (and behold) the golden water-born reed (the stalk that carries the seed, grown from apas) in the midst of them.

4.58.6 samyak sravanti sarito na dhenā antar hṛdā manasā pūyamānāḥ| ete arṣanty ūrmayo ghṛtasya mṛgā iva kṣipaṇor īṣamāṇāḥ ||
They flow uninterruptedly (once they start flowing) like rising rivers, purified by the mind that is seated in the heart; these streams of Ghī descend, like deer flying from the hunter.

4.58.7 sindhor iva prādhvane śūghanāso vātapramiyaḥ patayanti yahvāḥ| ghṛtasya dhārā aruṣo na vājī kāṣṭhā bhindann ūrmibhiḥ pinvamānaḥ||
The stream of Ghī fall copious, swift as the vata, and rapid as the waters of a river down a slope, breaking through the confining banks, and hurrying on with their waves, like a high-spirited steed.

4.58.8 abhi pravanta samaneva yoṣāḥ kalyāṇyaḥ smayamānāso agnim| ghṛtasya dhārāḥ samidho nasanta tā juṣāṇo haryati jātavedāḥ||
The streams of Ghī incline to Agni as devoted wives, auspicious and smiling, to a husband; they feed (the flame) like fuel, and Jātavedas, propitiated, accepts them.

4.58.9 kanyā iva vahatum etavā u añjy añjānā abhi cākaśīmi | yatra somaḥ sūyate yatra yajño ghṛtasya dhārā abhi tat pavante ||
I contemplate these streams of Ghī as they flow from where the Soma is effused, where the sacrifice (is solemnized), as maidens decorating themselves with unguents to go to the bridegroom.

4.58.10 abhy arṣata suṣṭutiṃ gavyam ājim asmāsu bhadrā draviṇāni dhatta| imaṃ yajñaṃ nayata devatā no ghṛtasya dhārā madhumat pavante||
(Priests) address the pious praise, (the source) of herds of cattle; bestow upon us auspicious riches; convey this our sacrifice to the gods, (where at) the streams of Ghī with sweetness descend.

4.58.11 dhāman te viśvam bhuvanam adhi śritam antaḥ samudre hṛdy antar āyuṣi| apām anīke samithe ya ābhṛtas tam aśyāma madhumantaṃ ta ūrmim||
The whole world, (Agni), finds an asylum in your effulgence, whether it be in the ocean, in the heart (of man), in the life (of living beings), in the assemblage of the waters, or in warfare; may we attain the sweet-flavoured wave which is established in your (essence).

how is soma made?

We have already talked about the inner implements (10.94), what Soma and ghṛta, or ghi for short, are (4.58), and their relationship to the reproductory fluid, and inner yajna (yoga kriyas). This sukta (9.74) reinforces those messages. As we go through this sukta, we will highlight the words, phrases and concepts, and stop at only the new concepts.

In summary, Soma is born in āpas (water; 9.78.1), aiming to maximize this soma flow to for us to be happy (9.78.2) by contributing to both tejas and ojas, turns white when he descends into the lower realm, to bestow progeny (9.78.7), and is mixed or diluted with water in the lower realm for mind to consume easily, as well as for reabsorption (9.78.9)

Optional Reading: Rig Veda Sukta 9.74 (HH Wilson translation)

Ṛṣi (sage/seer): kakṣīvān;
Devatā (deity/subject-matter): pavamānaḥ somaḥ ;

9.74.1 śiśur na jāto 'va cakradad vane svar yad vājy aruṣaḥ siṣāsati | divo retasā sacate payovṛdhā tam īmahe sumatī śarma saprathaḥ ||

Born in the water (the Soma) cries out like a child, when powerful and brilliant he wishes to enjoy heaven; he comes from the sky tomix with the water that nourish the kine; we ask him by our praises for an opulent dwelling [like everything else, Soma is also born from that primordial waters, āpas (see blurb 64).

9.74.2. divo yaḥ skambho dharuṇaḥ svātata āpūrṇo aṃśuḥ paryeti viśvataḥ | seme mahī rodasī yakṣad āvṛtā samīcīne dādhāra sam iṣaḥ kaviḥ |

The supporter of heaven, the prop (of the earth), the Soma-juice who, widely spreading, filling (the vessels), flows in all directions– may he unite the two great worlds by his own strength; he has upheld them combined; (may he) the sage (bestow) food upon (his worshippers).”

9.74.3. mahi psaraḥ sukṛtaṃ somyam madhūrvī gavyūtir aditer ṛtaṃ yate | īśe yo vṛṣṭer ita usriyo vṛṣāpāṃ netā ya itaūtir ṛgmiyaḥ ||

(There is) abundant food well-prepared made of Soma and sweet for (Indra) who comes to the sacrifice; the way to earth is broad; (for Indra) who is the lord of the rain (that falls) here, the possessor of cattle, the showerer of water (apāṃ), the leader (of the sacrifice), whose road is hither, who is deserving of praise.

9.74.4 ātmanvan nabho duhyate ghṛtam paya ṛtasya nābhir amṛtaṃ vi jāyate | samīcīnāḥ sudānavaḥ prīṇanti taṃ naro hitam ava mehanti peravaḥ ||

Full of sap the butter and milk is milked from heaven, the bond of the sacrifice, the water is genitive rated; the assembled liberal givers delight him; (the Soma-juices) the leaders, the protectors shower down (creative water)

9.74.5. arāvīd aṃśuḥ sacamāna ūrmiṇā devāvyam manuṣe pinvati tvacam | dadhāti garbham aditer upastha ā yena tokaṃ ca tanayaṃ ca dhāmahe ||

[Overflowing] with the [swelling] wave the Soma utters a cry; he sprinkles his god-protecting body for the worshipper; he bestows the germ upon the lap of the earth, whereby we acquire sons and grandsons.”

9.74.6. sahasradhāre 'va tā asaścatas tṛtīye santu rajasi prajāvatīḥ | catasro nābho nihitā avo divo havir bharanty amṛtaṃ ghṛtaścutaḥ ||

“May those (juices) which are in the third world, the world of infinite (sahasra) streams, unconnected, bestowing progeny, descend; the four digits (of the Soma) sent down from heaven bearing water bring the oblation and the nectar.”

9.74.7. śvetaṃ rūpaṃ kṛṇute yat siṣāsati somo mīḍhvām̐ asuro veda bhūmanaḥ | dhiyā śamī sacate sem abhi pravad divas kavandham ava darṣad udriṇam

When the Soma seeks to gain (heaven) he assumes a white colour; showering (benefits), powerful he knows (how to bestow) abundant wealth (upon the worshippers). He by his wisdom is associated with excellent rites; he bursts asunder the rain cloud from heaven

9.74.8. adha śvetaṃ kalaśaṃ gobhir aktaṃ kārṣmann ā vājy akramīt sasavān | ā hinvire manasā devayantaḥ kakṣīvate śatahimāya gonām ||

Thus the Soma successfully reaches the white water besprinkled pitcher like a horse (reaching) the goal; the devout (priests) stimulate him with their praise; (he bestows) cattle upon Kakṣīvat who has seen a hundred winters.

9.74.9. adbhiḥ soma papṛcānasya te raso 'vyo vāraṃ vi pavamāna dhāvati | sa mṛjyamānaḥ kavibhir madintama svadasvendrāya pavamāna pītaye ||

Purified Soma, when you are diluted with the water your juice passes through the woollen fleece; cleansed by the sages, O exhilarating purified (Soma), be sweet-flavoured for Indra to drink.”

how to make soma flow?

Okay, we all want Soma to flow, but preferentially circulate within the body, and not spill it unless we want to procreate, how do we do this? Brahamana sections of Vedas to the rescue. Unfortunately, only a few Brahmana texts still exist in their entirety and Satapata Brahmana is one of them, and has been translated faithfully by Julius Eggeling, which is available freely on the Web.

We will pick one such procedure, which is the subject fall in Book 4 of śatapata Brahmana (Madhyandina recension), which details the Great Soma Sacrifice (Saumya-adhvara or Agnishtoma). Right of the bat, in Book 4, they tell as what the stones, and soma cups are:

SB 4.1.1.1 prāṇo ha vā asyopāṃśuḥ | vyāna upāṃśusavana udāna evāntaryāmaḥ
The Upamshu (graha or the cup) indeed is the prāna of the yajña, the Upamshu-savana (press-stone) the expansive breathing or the vyana sub-vayu, and the Antaryāma (graha or the cup) the upward breath, the udāna sub-vāyu.

SB 4.1.1.2. atha yasmādupāṃśurnāma | aṃśurvai nāma grahaḥ sa prajāpatistasyaiṣa prāṇastadyadasyaiṣa prāṇastasmādupāṃśurnāma
Now as to why it is called Upamshu. There is a graha called Amshu, that is Prajapati (that is the awareness within each of us): his out-breathing is this (graha); and because it is his out-breathing, therefore it is called Upamshu.

How does one establish the stage for this inner yajña? The (upamshu) graha by means of the Yajus; at the first stotra (or praising chant) by means of the Saman; and at the first śastra (weapon; recitation?) by means of the Rik (SB 4.1.1.7). Again, it’s all about controlling prana, meters (chandas), frequencies and vibrations…

SB 4.1.1.8 sa vā aṣṭau kṛtvo'bhiṣuṇoti | aṣṭākṣarā vai gāyatrī ghāyatram prātaḥ savanam prātaḥsavanamevaitatkriyate
He presses (the Soma) eight times; for of eight syllables consists the Gayatri meter (for eight Vasus), and the morning Soma-feast belongs to the Gayatri; thus this (first turn of pressing) is made to be the morning Soma-feast.

SB 4.1.1.10. athaikādaśa kṛtvo'bhiṣuṇoti| ekādaśākṣarā vai triṣṭuptraiṣṭubham mādhyandinaṃ savanam mādhyandinamevaitatsavanaṃ kriyate
He then presses eleven times; for of eleven syllables consists the Trishtubh meter (for eleven Rudras), and the midday Soma-feast belongs to the Trishtubh: thus this (second turn of pressing) is made to be the midday Soma-feast.

SB 4.1.1.12 atha dvādaśa kṛtvo'bhiṣuṇoti| dvādaśākṣarā vai jagatī jāgataṃ tṛtīyasavanaṃ tṛtīyasavanamevaitatkriyate
He then presses twelve times; for of twelve syllables consists the Jagati meter (for twelve Adityas), and the evening Soma-feast belongs to the Jagati: thus this (third turn of pressing) is made to be the evening Soma-feast.

SB 4.1.1.19: They offered it (symbolically) by means of the Svaha!

We already talked about the Svaha (Sva + aha) call, which the inner voice saying “offer it to self” responds to the first question of prajapati…

All this is a a little esoteric, but all these are chants, tunes, and sloka/verses with specific pronunciation… and activating inner gods. Wonder how these translators got drugs and just sacrifices out of these texts! One possibility is that these translators never took even basic sessions in yoga, let alone long kriya yoga sessions.

Before we leave this topic, we will conver one more thing about this Soma practices – It is a three part kriya, which is later incorporated into morning, afternoon and evening prayers. But they are more like initiation, crescendo, and reassimilation parts:

1. Bahish-Pavamāna (Bahish = external): the first service; the first oblation goes to the the eight Vasus within

Brahmana: 4.2.5 – recall that the morning Soma oblation goes to the Adityas. These version detail the Bahish-pavamāna stotra. This is the externalized model, where the practitioner sees the experts give him/her instructions, with external analogies and objects. Standing outside near the catvāla (refuse-pit), they chant nine verses dedicated to the flowing Soma. This outward movement mirrors the raw emergence of life and dawn.The practitioner then takes those instructions, and interneralizes. The internal practice, as discussed before, starts with setting internal fire, through various kriyas followed by breath controlling chants (e.g. Samidheni verses).

2. Mādhyaṃdina-Pavamāna: The middle segment; the inner mid-day oblation goes to the eleven Rudras within (when is it mid-day inside? For an activity, when it hits the crescendo, in antariksha or the mid-space)

Brahmana: 4.3.3 (1-19) – These verses explain the midday activation of Soma paraphernalia and mix that with milk (dadhi) to invoke the structural strength of Indra. as the priests chant the five Prishtha-stotras. The milk blended into the flowing stream signifying pure fertility, strength, and seed energy (shukra)

3. Tritīya-Pavamāna / Ārbhava: The third segment; the final oblation goes to the twelve Adityas within

Brahmana 4.3.5: Details the third and final purification flow of the day, Here the Soma is blended with water, to dilute and return to the unmanifest state. The Soma-milk mixture is distilled by the body until then. The Ārbhava-pavamâna chant is executed here. This closing flow grounds the unspent fiery energy of the day back into the silent, unmanifest cosmic ocean.

REFERENCES

Harish Johari in the book “Chakras: Energy Centers of Transformation” (https://www.amazon.com/Chakras-Centers-Transformation-Harish-Johari/dp/0892817607) ↩︎
when we say pierce, it entails making that chakra inactive in dispersing the energy downward into physical channels, but to continue ascending upwards ↩︎
Frits Staal in the book “discovering the VEDAS” (https://openlibrary.org/books/OL22653857M/Discovering_the_Vedas ↩︎