The use of substances is a ritual practice that is abundantly attested
in the shamanic world as well as among some yogins, and in the Vedas. We
know that Patanjali himself puts simples (ausadhi), together with
samadhi, among the means of obtaining the siddhis. "Simples" means
ecstasy-inducing herbs, from which the elixir of longevity was extracted
in Ayerveda. In any case, simples produce ecstasy and not the yogic
samadhi. According to Mircea Eliade in /"Yoga: Immortality and
Freedom"/, these "mystical means", properly belong to the phenomenology
of ecstasy and they were only reluctantly admitted into the sphere of
classic Yoga.
/"Psychic and spiritual powers (siddhi) may be inborn, or they may be
gained by the use of simples, or by mantra, or by striving, or by
Meditation."/ - Maharishi Patanjali, Y.S. IV, 1
>
A psychoactive mushroom which contains an alkaloid substance and grows
near pine trees. It has been demonstrated by mycologists soma is the
mushroom Amanita Muscaria and there is an abundance of textual
evidence in the Rig Veda itself to prove this. The Rigveda repeatedly
states that soma grows high in the mountains and nowhere else. For
example, Mandala V 43 states that soma is a plant from the mountain.
Mandala IX 46 says that Soma is seated on the mountain top. Soma is
the nectar of the Gods.
The idea that soma was a fungus, specifically the red capped muscaria
mushroom, was first presented by the ethno-mycologists R. Gordon
Wasson. The muscaria grows in a mycorrhizal relationship with a
number of different trees, specifically the pines, firs, and above
all, the birches, from which the mushroom must feed from. According to
Wasson, /"There is little doubt that the substance called "soma" in
the the Rig Veda has been identified as the fungus //Amanita Muscaria.//"/
Description:
/
//An alkaloid, of the mushroom species. Its common name is "fly
agaric" and it has been described by mycalogists as Pileus Size: (5)
7 - 25 (40) cm broad; Shape: convex , becoming plane to slightly wavy
or depressed in age; Color: blood-red, or various shades of bright,
scarlet, or orange-red; becoming lighter toward margin; Surface:
smooth, covered with white warts or small patches (remains of the
universal veil); sometimes washing off in age; tacky, sticky or viscid
when moist; Margin: striate; at first appendiculate; Flesh: firm when
young and becoming soft in age, white (yellowish beneath cuticle);
thick; Odor: faint; Taste: pleasant./
References:
A Field Guide to Mushrooms and Their Relatives
A Guide to Mushrooms & Toadstools
Collecting and Studying Mushrooms, Toadstools and Fungi
Mushrooms: A Quick Reference Guide to Mushrooms of North America
The encyclopedia of Mushrooms
