Word

Soma

Sanskrit

सोम

IAST

soma

In General

Soma is the divine delight that drips out when we work with full awareness. In external Yajna soma represent a juice from a plant. Rishis drink soma means they got delighted by the spiritual experiences they had. There are several Mantras in Veda that says Rishis return the soma they receive from god back to gods. This only says they return the glory back to gods and consider themselves as Mantradrishta’s. the spiritual truth were there in Paramevyoman always and the rishies only observed some of them and put them into words.

The findings of some ideologists as Soma is an alcoholic juice is discovery of some perverted minds who like to see Vedic verses as tribal songs. This is far from truth; the Vedic verses are philosophic poetry composed by educated and civilized society and intellectual minds. Nobody had ever identified any soma juice with alcoholic effect; this also shows the idea is fully wrong.

Veda

Soma is a figure for the devine Ananda, the principle of Bliss, from which, the existence of Man, this mental being , is drawn. A secret delight is the base of existence, its sustaining atmosphere and almost its substance. This Ananda is spoken in Taittiriya Upanishad as the eternal atmosphere of bliss without which nothing could remain in being.

The mystic soma plant symbolizes the element behind all sense activities and their enjoyment which yield divine essence.