On Thursday, Jan 9, 2003, at 20:32 Europe/London, Tyler Durden wrote:
Huxley got the name from the Rig Veda (I believe also the name was a trademark of some prescription drug)."Steve" wrote...I would imagine so since ironically the Aryans came from what is now Northern India"Soma"? Despite the fact that I've read large chunks of the Rig Vedas, I don't remember anything called "Soma" (unless this is a Brave New World Reference). Of course, the Bhagavad Gita is a subsection of the Mahabarata....but I don't imagine this is what you are referring to...
and Iran up to about 1000BC.
The word is even derived from Sanskrit.
Read the Rig Veda and break out the soma (if you know what it was).
There are numerous references to soma in the Rig Veda, eg.
http://www.people.virginia.edu/~jng2d/enlt255/texts/intro/rig.htm
and from The Britannica 2003
Soma
"in ancient Indian cult worship, an unidentified plant, the juice of which was a fundamental offering of the Vedic sacrifices. The stalks of the plant were pressed between stones, and the juice was filtered through sheep's wool and then mixed with water and milk. After first being offered as a libation to the gods, the remainder of the soma was consumed by the priests and the sacrificer. It was highly valued for its exhilarating, probably hallucinogenic, effect. The personified deity Soma was the “master of plants,” the healer of disease, and the bestower of riches.
The soma cult exhibits a number of similarities to the corresponding haoma cult of the ancient Iranians and is suggestive of shared beliefs among the ancient Indo-Europeans in a kind of elixir of the gods. Like haoma, the soma plant grows in the mountains, but its true origin is believed to be heaven, whence it was brought to earth by an eagle. The pressing of soma was associated with the fertilizing rain, which makes possible all life and growth. In the post-Vedic classical period, soma is identified with the moon, which wanes when soma is drunk by the gods but which is periodically reborn."
Claims have been made that soma was ephedra (like modern haoma), blue lily, mushrooms,
cannabis or even alcohol.
An Indian friend says the name "soma" now refers to alcohol in modern India.
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Steve Mynott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
