What of this Soma?

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté

Here is the conundrum regarding the veda-s. They are not intended for those steeped in ignorance. When they read the most profound śāstra-s with a blemished view, what can they think? They can only relate to their world. Soma becomes alcohol, agni becomes fire, indra becomes the wielder of the thunderbolt. All interesting ideas but off the mark.


richo akshare parame vyoman yasmin deva adhi vishve nisheduh,
yastanna veda kim richa karishyatiya it tad vidus ta ime samasate ||
(rig veda, 1.164.39)
this says,
The veda or rks, reside in the transcendental field or akshara, of the highest (parame) etheral Being (vyoman) in which reside all the adhi vishve deva's (or impulses of creative intelligence, the laws of Nature), responsible for the whole manifest universe. He whose awareness is not open (na veda) to this field, what can the verses accomplish for him? Those who know this level of reality are established in evenness (samasate or rest contented) , in That ( tat or bhuma, fullness-wholeness of life).


What does this say in short? Of what use is the ved, for he whom is not becoming established in the Absolute? Where will be the value of this great knowledge other then words... it says, become established in atman, the avyayam (undecaying), the even-ness to reap the full value of the knowledge.

praṇām

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté

I wrote,

Here is the conundrum regarding the veda-s. They are not intended for those steeped in ignorance. When they read the most profound śāstra-s with a blemished view, what can they think? They can only relate to their world.

Let me give an example... bṛhadaraṇyaka upaniṣad ( some write bṛhadaraṇyakopaniṣad ) is composed of bṛhad+araṇyaka upaniṣad.

• bṛhad = bṛhat = lofty , high , tall , great , large , wide , vast , abundant; this is also another name for brahman
• araṇyaka = a forest

Some think then that the naming of the bṛhad+araṇyaka is that upaniṣad that was written in the forest. This may be mildly interesting but lacks an appreciation of the subtler values of the name. If it was a upaniṣad that was written in the forest why not just call it araṇyaka upaniṣad and leave it at that ?

What is being offered is a few things in this name. That the knowledge is being offered is bṛhat - vast , lofty , great , large. It is a vast forest of knowledge. It also infers that, like a forest, it takes some navigation to get around, to find one's way. Hence another definition of bṛhat is 'brightly' and is considered the light to find one's way as it is brightly lit.

Yet too this bṛhat is also of wholeness , of bhuman, because it is another name for brahman - fullness, wholeness itself. Hence from a forest perspective it is composed of all sorts of trees, shrubs, flowers, animals, but together there is the wholeness of the forest, bṛhat.

There is also more implied to this name i.e. the forest dweller as the beneficiary of this wisdom, but will leave this for another time.

praṇām

[Kumar_Das]

Namaskar,

I saw parts of a documentary (of course prepared by a person of the British origin) a few months ago in which the person in the documentary actually went to Afganistan and found a 'soma' plant. Apparently, there they still prepare a drink called soma from a plant that exists in the mountains of Afganistan. This plant is called soma. The idea was to show (incorrectly) that the 'Aryans' came to India via Afganistan and brought their habbit of driniking soma to India with them!

That's when I turned the channel...and chose to watch something else less rubbish...

Yup, I watched that documentary too, and out of my foolishness believed that. Untill I got educated and learnt its bonafide meaning.

[Kumar_Das]

RV Book 1. HYMN XCI Soma.

1. Thou, Soma, art preeminent for wisdom; along the straightest path thou art our leader. Our wise forefathers by thy guidance, Indu, dealt out among the Gods their share of treasure.
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5 Thou, Soma, art the Lord of heroes, King, yea, Vrtra-slayer thou: Thou art auspicious energy.
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22 These herbs, these milch-kine, and these running waters, all these, O Soma, thou hast generated. The spacious firmament bast thou expanded, and with the light thou hast dispelled the darkness.

Thank you for this post!



Om namah Shivaya

[Kumar_Das]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namast�

Here is the conundrum regarding the veda-s. They are not intended for those steeped in ignorance. When they read the most profound śāstra-s with a blemished view, what can they think? They can only relate to their world. Soma becomes alcohol, agni becomes fire, indra becomes the wielder of the thunderbolt. All interesting ideas but off the mark.


richo akshare parame vyoman yasmin deva adhi vishve nisheduh,
yastanna veda kim richa karishyatiya it tad vidus ta ime samasate ||
(rig veda, 1.164.39)
this says,
The veda or rks, reside in the transcendental field or akshara, of the highest (parame) etheral Being (vyoman) in which reside all the adhi vishve deva's (or impulses of creative intelligence, the laws of Nature), responsible for the whole manifest universe. He whose awareness is not open (na veda) to this field, what can the verses accomplish for him? Those who know this level of reality are established in evenness (samasate or rest contented) , in That ( tat or bhuma, fullness-wholeness of life).


What does this say in short? Of what use is the ved, for he whom is not becoming established in the Absolute? Where will be the value of this great knowledge other then words... it says, become established in atman, the avyayam (undecaying), the even-ness to reap the full value of the knowledge.

praṇām

Indeed, I am grateful to the Lord, the Rishis for these Most Holy and Noble knowledge for passing us down this text. The Vedas protects itself by appearing as unintelligeble and perverse to those who are not qualified to its true meaning.



Om namah Shivayah