' No exploration into yoga and meditation would be complete without a look at the ancient lineage of sacred plants and herbs that many assert areĪt the origins of religious experience and spirituality. Here is a short excerpt from an article by Ganga White titled, ' Soma : Nectar of the Gods'.

A major connection is their use of a sacred plant, known in India as Soma, and in Persia as Haoma. This common ancestry accounts for the many similarities in the Hindu and Mazdean religions and language, as can be seen in surviving religious texts such as the Hindu Rig Veda and the Persian Avesta. The origins of Soma can be traced back to the common Aryan ancestors of both the Vedic civilization of India and the Persian people who followed Mazdaism. When Soma was pressed and made into a drink, the ancient worshipper who imbibed it gained the powerful attributes of this deity. According to Russian archeologist Victor Sariandidi, 'for the first time in the world archeological practice, monumental temples were found in which intoxicating beverages of the Soma-Haoma type were prepared for cult ceremonies? The excavations proved that poppy, cannabis and ephedra were used for making the Soma-Haoma drinks, and thickets of these plants were found in excess in the vicinity of the excavated temples of Margiana.'Ĭommon in the religious lore of both ancient India and Persia, the sacred Soma plant was considered a God. Recent archeological evidence has emerged from Russian excavations in the Kara Kum desert of Turkmenistan that gives further confirmation to the claim that Soma was originally cannabis, bringing it out of the realm of theory and into accepted historical fact. There have been many ideas and suggestions as to what plants/herbs might have been used to make this powerful elixir, of which Cannabis, Ephedra, Amanita Muscaria, Syrian Rue and in some cases the poppy plant, are the most likely candidates to be ingredients for making this magical drink 'Soma', sometimes termed, Nectar of the Gods. Not to be taken literally, being immortal might be indicative of the drinks entheogenic qualities.

' Soma', is an ancient Elixir believed to be used during the Vedic era to heal, attain wisdom and possibly become immortal drinking this Ambrosia of the Himalayas.

Elixir of immortality pathfinder