The word soma has several meanings. It is mentioned in one of the earliest sacred texts – Vedas, but also finds its utterance in modern biology. There is an entire chapter in the Rig Veda on the drink of soma, with almost 114 hymns dedicated to it in one chapter itself. It refers to the drink offered to the divine, also consumed by priests and others of similar ranking. In biology, soma refers to the parts of the body other than the reproductive organs, and also the physical body as distinct from the mind, psyche and consciousness.
So, what is this drink that liberates and uplifts? The Rig Veda says, “We have drunk the Soma; we have become immortal; we have gone to the light; we have found the gods… The glorious drops that I have drunk set me free in a wide space.” {The Rig Veda (VIII.48)}
In early times, the human body was never seen as less than the psyche. The elevated status of the mind today is a product of the Industrial Revolution, and even more so of the digital revolution—eras in which people rarely labor under the sun or soil their hands.
In an animistic world, where life other than man’s was celebrated and venerated, the Soma plant held pride of place. The Rig Veda describes the plant as having that brilliant yellow hue, standing on long stalks, and women climbing the mountains to pluck them. The modern brewery has its antecedents in this oldest of practices of extracting juice from the soma plant. The juice was extracted by pressing the stalk between two stones or pounding it in a mortar. It was then passed through the wool of lambs sourced from the creatures who roamed freely in the heights. The juice was then stored in jars or wooden tubs. Over time, it turned brown or tawny in colour, not much like the colour of beer. It would be consumed mixed with milk or yoghurt.
There have been speculations of what Soma was and why it disappeared from our lives. Vedic and Ayurvedic references suggest that the rasa was made from multiple sources mixed together, a practice not uncommon in Ayurveda. Unlike in modern medicine with single ingredient drugs, Ayurveda formulations often contain a cure as well as an antidote to the medicine itself. One source says, “There may have been one Soma plant in the beginning, but over time, even the ancients were using different herbs to prepare this drink. This point is important as we get to the recipe part.”
This is much like the recipes of modern breweries where a burst of flavours are created for both taste and impact. The Rig Veda offers a recipe for the Soma drink that suggests a fermentation time of 15 days. It is salty, milky, bitter and lots more. In Yogic practice, this energy is said to be generated in the pineal gland, located at the crown of the head (where the moon is symbolically placed), during deep meditation. It then travels to the heart, bringing joy and revitalization.
More than a mere stimulant, it enlivens the body to experiences that are both well-earned and deeply memorable. This act of offering—first to the Gods, then to all—cultivates a shared state of light-hearted contentment, a moment of profound unity and connection that stands apart from all other experiences, both preceding and following it.