Poona

The term "Soma" originates from Sanskrit, likely derived from a root meaning "to press" or "to distill," referring to the method of preparing the sacred beverage. It is prominently featured in the Rigveda, one of the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism, appearing as early as the second millennium BCE.

We were positively informed that the majority of the .sacrificial priests of the Dekkan have lost the secret of the true Soma. It can b.- found neither in the ritual books nor through oral information. The true followers of the primitive Vedic reliprion are very few ; these are the alleged descendants of the Ri.shis, the real Agnihotris, the initiates of the great Mysteries. The Soma-drink is also commemorated in th-- Hindu Pantheon, for it is called King-Soma. He who drinks thereof is made to participate in the heavenly king; he becomes filled with his essence, as the Christian apostles and tlieir converts were tilled with the Holy Ghost, and purified ef their sins. The Soma makes a new man of the initiate; he is reborn and transformed, and his spiritual nature overcomes the physical ; it bestows the divine power of inspiration, and develops the clairvoyant faculty to the utmost. According to the exoteric explanation the soma is a plant, but at the .same time it is an angel. It forcibly connects the inner, hiprhcst "spirit" of man. which spirit is an angel like the my.stical Soma, with his "irrational soul". OT astral body, and thus united by the power of the magic drink, they soar togetlier above physical nature and participate during life in the beatitude and ineffable glories of Heaven. Thus the Hindu Soma is mystically and in all respects the same that the Eucharist .supper is to the Christian. The idea is similar. By means of tlie sacrificial prayer.s — the mantras — this liquor is supposed to be immediately transformed into the real Soma, or the angel, and even into Brahma liimself. Some missionaries liave expressed tliemselves with much indignation about this ceremony, tiie more so, seeing that the Brahmans generally use a Jiind of spirituous liquor as a substitute. But do the Christians believe less fervently in the transubstantiation of the communion wine into tlie blood of Christ, because this wine happens to be more or less spirituous? Is not the idea of the symbol attached to it the same ? But the missionaries say that this hour of soma-drinking is the golden hour of Satan, who lurks at the bottom of the Hindu sacrificial cup. (Isis Unveiled.)

Blavatsky's description of Soma, or Poona as it appears in her text, evokes a potent image of a sacred elixir, a potent metaphor for spiritual awakening that resonates across millennia. It speaks to the ancient human yearning to transcend the limitations of the physical form and touch the divine. The Soma-drink, in its exoteric guise as a plant, becomes an extraordinary catalyst, a bridge between the mundane and the sublime.

Mircea Eliade, in his explorations of shamanism and archaic religions, often discusses the ecstatic states achieved through potent substances or rigorous ascetic practices. Soma fits within this paradigm, representing a psychoactive sacrament that facilitates a temporary dissolution of ego boundaries, allowing for a direct apprehension of spiritual realities. It is not merely a stimulant but a sacrament, a means of participating in the divine life force.

The idea of being "filled with his essence," akin to the Christian concept of the Holy Ghost, highlights a universal mystical motif: the infusion of divine grace or spiritual energy into the human vessel. This infusion leads to transformation, a "new man" reborn, where the spiritual nature asserts its primacy over the carnal. This echoes the alchemical processes described by Carl Jung, where the transformation of base metals into gold mirrors the purification and elevation of the human psyche.

The dual nature of Soma, both plant and angel, suggests a profound understanding of the interconnectedness of all things. The mystical Soma, an angelic entity, is depicted as forcibly connecting the "inner, highest spirit" of man with his "irrational soul," or astral body. This union, facilitated by the "magic drink," implies a holistic approach to spiritual development, where the subtle and gross bodies are brought into harmony, guided by an inner divine principle. It is an invitation to perceive the divine not as an external force, but as an intrinsic aspect of one's own being, waiting to be awakened. The pursuit of such an awakening is a journey into the very heart of existence, where the ordinary becomes sacred and the self is recognized as a reflection of the eternal.

RELATED_TERMS: Ambrosia, Elixir Vitae, Holy Grail, Psychedelics, Sacrament, Divine Inspiration, Spiritual Transformation