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ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF VEDIC STUDIES (EJVS)
Vol. 8 (2002) issue 3 (March 27)
(©) ISSN 1084-7561
=====================================================
CONTENTS:
EDITOR'S NOTE
ARTICLE:
Philip T. Nicholson
<nicholson@us.inter.net>
The Soma Code, Parts I-III
I. Luminous Visions in the Rig Veda
II. Soma's Birth, Purification, and Transmutation into Indra
III. Visions, Myths, and Drugs
======================================================
EDITOR'S NOTE
The evidence for actual visions of Vedic poets and priests has been downplayed in recent
writings. This in spite of hymns such as the famous laba suukta (RV 10.119) and that of
the long-haired muni of RV 10.136, who has drunk 'poison' and clearly represents a shaman
-like figure on a quest, flying through the sky with the wind and the gods. One must also
take into account the singular hymn that speaks not of vision but of aural experiences, RV
6.9.6 "apart fly my ears, apart my eyes, apart the light that has been put into the heart; my
mind moves away into the distance..."
North Asian and, indeed Laurasian, shamanism (see M. Witzel in: Mother Tongue VI, see:
http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/MT-VI.jpg) is also visible in rituals such as the
Vùjapeya, where one has to climb up a pole to reach 'heaven,' and to stay there for a while.
This is what Kham shamans in the Nepalese Himalayas still do today.
These and other Central and North Asian connections (see now J.F. Staal, How a
psychoactive substance becomes a ritual: the case of Soma. Social Research 68, 2001, 745-
778) urge us to take a closer look at shamanistic behavior and the kind of vision quests that
shamans undertake, and to compare this with ègvedic practices. The matter will also be taken
up later in this volume in a paper of G. Thompson.
I therefore invite readers to take a close look at the descriptions and interpretations of
meditations and visions discussed here by Ph. Nicholson. They overlap with some of the
images described in the Rgveda that result from sleep depravation and the concurrent
consumption of Soma.
We certainly can argue about the details of Vedic myth, religion or the preparation of the
Soma drink as used and discussed in the following three papers. However, I feel that a new
look at the Soma hymns and their background should be undertaken in connection with
overnight ritual, the effects of sleeplessness and of sleep depravation-induced visions.
Finally, as the following three papers can be read without actual use of diacritics they have
been dispensed with here.
MW.
Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies (EJVS) 8-3 (2002) pp. 31-92
The Soma Code, Part I: Luminous Visions in the Rig Veda
Philip T. Nicholson
ABSTRACT
The meanings of many metaphors used to describe luminous visions in the Rig
Veda (RV) remain elusive or ambiguous despite years of expert hermeneutical exegesis.
In this series of papers, we classify the metaphors used to describe luminous visions
into sets based on certain abstract characteristics (shapes, colors, movements, order of
appearance), then show how these metaphor-sets can be matched with remarkable
precision, image by image, to a sequence of internally-generated light sensations
('phosphenes') induced by meditation. These meditation-induced phosphenes can also
evolve in longer and more elaborate sequences if the subjects practice meditation while
in a sleep-deprived condition. A sleep deficit increases the risk of subclinical seizures
emerging at sleep onset - and the paroxysmal activity generates further evolution of the
phosphene imagery. In the first paper of this three-part series, we document the
parallels between the meditation-induced phosphenes and two types of luminous
visions described in the RV - the Asvins' radiant, three-wheeled chariot and the flame-
arrows of Agni. In the second paper, we analyze metaphors used to describe the
visions of Soma and Indra and show that there is a close match between these luminous
visions and paroxysmal phosphenes. Based on the extensive parallels revealed by our
comparison, we conclude that the metaphors for luminous visions in the RV were
meant to refer to the same visual content as appears in the meditation-induced visions
described by the author, and that, despite years of poetic embellishment, the eulogists'
choice of metaphors suggests a much more empirically-oriented attempt to describe
visionary experience than has hitherto been suspected. This hypothesis about the
meaning of luminous visions in the RV has important implications for several issues
debated by Vedic scholars, including: (1) the identity of the original soma plant; (2) the
influence of shamanic practices in the creation of the Vedic myths, and (3) the extent of
the continuities between the visionary experiences described in the RV and those
described in the Upanishads and in the many yoga meditation texts in the Hindu,
Tantric, and Tibetan-Buddhist traditions.
Luminous Visions in the RV: Gonda's Legacy
The importance of luminous visions in the Rig Veda (RV) has been well-
documented by Gonda [1963] in his monograph, Vision and the Vedic Poets. He points
out that Agni, the Vedic god of fire, can manifest in inner visions that inspire the poet-
seers to compose hymns to the gods [pp. 17-18], that these luminous visions of Agni
(dhitayah) are like "lightnings and flame-arrows" that "begin to glow spontaneously in a
secret place," and that the visions arrive "in front of (or ahead of; on the surface of) the
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vipah, i.e. the inspired words of the seer-eulogists [Ibid., pp. 172-3]." The eulogists
compare the visions of Agni "to a hole in the ground abounding in water from which
one may draw the desirable liquid," and also to "a stream or 'fountain' of transcendental
truth (dhara rtasya) [Ibid., p. 172]." The source from which these luminous visions flow is
"beyond human reach, knowledge and understanding, and those who receive them
may be said to glow or shine themselves," as in verse 8.6.8, which states that "When the
visions which are concealed glow spontaneously, the Kanvas (begin to glow) by the
stream of rta [Ibid., p. 172]." The basic idea is that there can be a "breaking through of a
stream of the great and fundamental power called rta-, of a sudden influx of sacredness,
of an extraordinary insight into the reality beyond the phenomena of this world [Ibid.,
p.172]." But, even though the streams of rta can break into consciousness, "the man to
whom dhitayah come is not idle" since it is "expressly stated that he must fashion them,
give them a definite form. This activity is compared to the carpenter or cartwright
[Ibid., p. 184]."
Gonda also notes that the eulogists of the RV sometimes describe Soma as a type
of dhiyah, or "vision-producing-insight," in addition to its manifestations as a plant, a
drink, and a god. As a vision, Soma displays a "bright or pure shape or form (sukram
varnum)" which can be described as "light (jyotih)" or "radiance (socih)" or simply as
"eye" (caksuh), a single word that refers to an inner faculty of vision, a faculty distinct
from the observable, physical eye, which can directly perceive the inspirational visions
of rta [Gonda, op. cit., p. 167]. Another sign that the eulogists regarded Soma as a type
of luminous vision is that they often use the word, manisa, which Gonda translates as an
intuition of truth received in a flash of light. See, for example, verses 9.72.6 ("the
inspired sages, who are skillful in their art and possessed of manisa"), 9.79.4 ("the
manisa-ones ignite thee"), and 10.114.6 ("the sages, having produced, by means of
higher wisdom [manisa]") [Ibid., p. 53]. Also, the eulogists often claim that their songs
"make[s] the dhih swell like a milk-giving mare (1.34.6)," and, similarly, in 8.6.43, that ".
. . it is not the gods but rather men - the rishis, the Kanvas - who appear to be able to
make the dhih swell and increase; they achieve that by their liturgical words [Ibid., p.
124]." The 'swelling' metaphor will be particularly important in our discussion of the
Soma visions in Part II.
The Need For a New Approach
While Gonda's exegesis documents the types of metaphors the eulogists use to
describe luminous visions, these metaphors are so ambiguous and so opaque to modern
sensibilities that it is difficult to interpret what the composers meant to communicate
when they chose those words and phrases. The obstacles faced by scholars are
particularly formidable in the ninth book of the RV which contains most of the hymns
written to Soma. Keith [1925] complains about the "chaos of the ideas [Ibid., p. 171]"
and the "obscurity in detail [Ibid., p. 167];" MacDonell [1971] writes that the descriptions
of Soma are "overlaid with the most varied and chaotic imagery and with mystical
fantasies often incapable of certain interpretation [Ibid., p. 104]." In her introduction to
a translation of selected hymns from the RV, O'Flaherty [1981] points out that problems
of interpretation are complicated by language that is "intrinsically difficult (dense,
Ph. T. Nicholson
33
complex, and esoteric even for the people of its own time), or difficult to people of
another time (because of archaisms, hapax legomena, discontinued usages), or difficult
because we have lost the thread of the underlying idiom [Ibid., p.14]." Even if experts
agree on the literal meaning of the Sanskrit words, they still might not might be able to
interpret what those words were intended to mean, not least because the RV "is written
out of a mythology that we can only try to reconstruct from the Rig Vedic jumble of
paradoxes heaped on paradoxes, tropes heaped on tropes [Ibid., p. 18]."
In this paper we show that the range of meanings that can be reasonably
attributed to the metaphors used to describe luminous visions can be bracketed within
relatively narrow parameters if the metaphors are classified into sets based on certain
abstract characteristics, specifically, shape, color, movement, and order of appearance as
described in the RV. To define which abstract characteristics are important for this
classification, we have imported a new, independently-derived, and non-textual source
of information of the sort not usually consulted in the interpretation of Vedic texts.
New research in the neuroscience of vision, sleep, and epilepsy - and the
application of those research findings to the subject of mystical visions - now makes it
possible to propose theories that explain in great detail how the brain mechanisms that
are normally associated with slow wave sleep can also be activated by behaviors that
simulate sleep, such as meditation in which the subject combines deep physical
relaxation with an inwardly-orientation and fixation of visual attention on the center of
an empty visual field. A meditation-induced activation of the brain's sleep rhythm
oscillators can generate epiphenomenal sensations of light devoid of any figurative
content ('phosphenes') that display distinctive, predictable shapes, colors, movements,
and temporal sequences [Nicholson, 1996a,b; 2002a,b].
Research also shows that a transition from waking to slow wave sleep can be
destabilized with surprising ease in a series of smooth, fast, incremental steps, a
destabilization that is most likely to occur if, at the time the transition to slow wave
sleep begins, the subject's cortical neurons are already abnormally excitable - a
condition that can be induced by many different kinds of events, including sleep loss. If
the brain mechanisms that govern the transition to slow wave sleep become
destabilized because cortical neurons are hyperexcitable, some regions of the brain
break out in paroxysmal firing. In effect, this constitutes an epileptiform seizure, but
these kinds of seizures often do not trigger dramatic symptoms that would signal a
problem to an untrained observor. These new research findings about rapid shifts to
paroxysmal activity upon activation of sleep rhythm oscillators can be used to explain
why a meditator who is attempting to induce phosphene visions might experience the
outbreak of a seizure and to explain how this outbreak of paroxysmal activity shapes
the further evolution of the original, sleep-onset phosphene images [Nicholson, 1999;
2002a,b]. In this paper we reproduce a series of drawings from the sources just cited to
illustrate the shapes, colors, movements, and ordinal progressions of the meditation-
induced, sleep-onset phosphenes and their further elaboration after the outbreak of
paroxysmal brain waves. (A more detailed exposition of the underlying
neurophysiology is available in the sources cited [See Note 1].)
Before attempting to compare the meditation-induced phosphene sequences with
luminous visions in the RV, we collect examples of the different types of metaphors
THE SOMA CODE
34
used to describe these visions and classify them into metaphor-sets based on abstract
characteristics like shape, color, movement, or location. For example, one of the more
important sets contains a wide range of metaphors used to describe the vision of
newborn Soma and enrolled in the set based on their having a 'bulbous' shape. The
metaphors in this set are words like "udder," "stalk (amsu)," "navel," "bull's horn,"
"penis," "pot," "stormcloud," "waterskin," "heaven's head," and "filter of sheep's wool."
Using this classification system, it becomes less important which particular word a
translator choses for the Sanskrit or which language is being used for translation: fine-
tuning the choice of the individual word - the essence of good translation - is largely
irrelevant for our purposes, which is to define a metaphor-set, find out where the
members of that set appear in the RV, and how the set functions in relation to the other
metaphors for luminous vision. We can then compare the characteristics of each
metaphor-set (and the sequencing of the metaphor-sets) against a standard template,
namely, the drawings of the meditation-induced phosphenes described by the author.
If we can show that the parallels between these two sets of visual images are sufficiently
detailed and comprehensive, this demonstration supports the inference that the
metaphors used to describe luminous vision in the RV refer to the same kind of visual
contents as a meditation-induced phosphene sequence.
Human neurophysiology has not changed significantly since the Vedic era, so if
we believe (1) that luminous visions in the RV contain essentially the same content as
the meditation-induced phosphene sequence, (2) that the brain mechanisms responsible
for generating these phosphene images operate within predictable parameters, and, (3)
that this underlying neurophysiology imposes significant constraints on the what kinds
of images can appear in a sequence of meditation-induced phosphenes, then we should
be able to apply those same constraints to bracket the range of meanings assigned to
luminous vision metaphors in the RV so that they fall within very narrow parameters.
Before we begin our analysis, it is important to address a methodological problem.
The author is not an expert in Sanskrit or Vedic Studies, nor does he have sufficient
command of German, French, or Russian to read the most recent translations of the RV
which appear in those languages, so this study is based on English translations. There
are a number of recent English translations of selected verses [e.g., see Gonda, 1963;
Bhawe as cited in Wasson, 1971; O'Flaherty, 1981; Dange, 1992], and, whenever
possible, we use them, but we have also found it necessary to make use of older
translations [e.g., Wilson, 1888; Griffith, 1889], even though some contemporary
scholars find them unreliable [e.g., O'Flaherty, 1981]. Given the author's deficiencies,
readers might be concerned that this investigation is seriously compromised at the
outset, and certainly this concern would seem to be warranted if our goal were to make
yet another hermeneutical exegesis of the RV. The formidable difficulties that face
anyone who wants to get "inside the Vedic mind" in order to better translate Vedic texts
have been aptly summarized by Witzel [1996], and the prerequisites he mentions are
not met in this case. Why, then, do we feel justified in pursuing this investigation,
despite these major drawbacks?
Our goal is a systematic classification of metaphors based on certain abstract
characteristics that have not been explored by others scholars, and, to make those
Ph. T. Nicholson
35
classifications, we rely on a standard that is external to the hymns themselves and
derived from our familiarity with current scientific research in the neuroscience of
sleep, vision, and epilepsy. In effect, we propose to use the drawings of meditation-
induced phosphene visions experienced by the author and reproduced here as
predictions of the kinds of abstract characteristics that visions in the RV are likely to
have if they were also induced by meditation (and destabilization of meditation).
Because the metaphor-sets as we have defined them are so general, it seems unlikely
that completely new kinds of words will come to light that cannot be placed within one
set or another, whatever the language of origin.
The parallels between the luminous vision metaphors of the RV and the
meditation-induced visions turn out to be so extensive, so detailed, and so
comprehensive that we believe it is reasonable to conclude that both sequences refer to
the same kind of visual content, and, therefore, to the same kinds of generating
mechanisms. In this view, the meditation-induced phosphene sequence is a template
that decodes the meanings of luminous visions in the RV in much same way that the
Rosetta Stone enabled scholars of an earlier age to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics by
comparing the hieroglyphics text with the same message carved in Greek and Aramaic.
A Sequence of Meditation-Induced Phosphene Visions
The author, a medical writer with no history of drug or alcohol abuse, no family or
personal history of epileptic symptoms, and no sectarian affiliation, practices self-
hypnosis or meditation to relax, to generate new ideas for his writing by free
association, to dissipate muscle tension headaches, and to divert attention during minor
surgical or dental procedures. He learned to meditate by imaging mental images while
in graduate school, then later, after attending a course on Buddhist meditation, learned
how to meditate without mental imagery. During this class, the author began to see
sensations of light generated by internal processes, called 'phosphenes'.
The author’s phosphene-inducing meditation phosphene technique is as follows:
he lies on his back, closes his eyes, takes slow, deep, rhythmic breaths, keeps his eyes
converged and slightly depressed, and keeps his attention fixated on the center of the
visual field. The eye convergence is sustained with enough forcefulness to elicit a
sensation of "fullness" or "pressure" in the eyeball, and the fixation of attention is
forceful enough to evoke a sensation of 'locking in’. The concentration of attention also
produces auditory feedback - a characteristic buzzing that is part sound, part vibration,
that originates inside the lower rim of the skull, and that feels as if it radiates upward
on both sides. To keep his level of arousal low and his mental field free of distraction,
the author maintains a passive, indifferent attitude, allowing stimuli that might be
potentially distracting to drift in and out of consciousness without any attempt at
suppression. During this behavioral state of calm, inward orientation and fixation on
the as-yet undifferentiated visual field, the author begins to see waves of brightly-
colored phosphene annuli that follow a predictable sequence.
The phosphene sequence induced by meditation also appears spontaneously when
the author is lying in bed and waiting to fall asleep, in which case no induction
behaviors are needed; the only prerequisite is keeping the eyes fixed straight forward
and keeping the attention focused on the center of the visual field.
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Figure 1.1. The sequence of phosphene images that can be induced by meditation or
activated spontaneously at sleep onset. A. One 5-second cycle of a 'receding annuli'
sequence. Initially the author sees a dark, barely-perceptible wave - a sensation of
movement - that flows inward from the 360° perimeter of vision, then sees a bright
yellowish-green phosphene annulus illuminate in the visual field at about 80° of
isoeccentricity. The annulus continues to shrink in diameter at a constant rate,
preserving its symmetry throughout, and disappears into the center of vision after 4
seconds (as estimated by the author's count of "1001 . . . 1002."). The shrinking
Ph. T. Nicholson
37
generates an illusion that the annulus is 'receding' in 3D space. A new annulus
appears every 5 seconds (0.2 Hz) until the sequence terminates automatically after a
total of 4 to 5 cycles. About halfway through the trajectory, the annulus fills in with
a phosphene disk. During the early years of phosphene induction, the color of the
fill-disk was a brighter, more opaque green than the annulus itself, but after several
years of phosphene induction, the color of the fill-disk changed to dark blue. B.
Typical amorphous waves of expanding and contracting phosphene with a 'mist-
like' texture. The first row shows an amorphous wave of yellowish-green
phosphene - dark blue after the change noted above - which sometimes has a
vaguely-defined crescent shape, as shown here. The amorphous wave illuminates
upon reaching 80° of isoeccentricity, like the annuli. The waves enter from either the
right or the left perimeter and sweep across the visual field with an expanding and
enveloping motion. Meanwhile, behind the leading edge, the phosphene begins to
dissipate, so that the rear of the wave is shrinking inward at the same time that the
forward edge continues to expand into as yet untouched regions. Within a few
seconds, all of the remaining phosphene shrinks into the center of vision, like the
receding annuli. After a prolonged session of phosphene induction, the amorphous
expanding clouds often last longer and develop a brighter, more finely-grained,
opaque, and irridescent phosphene at the core. This bright central core keeps ebbing
back from the fixation point and then filling back in, producing an image resembles
a disembodied 'eye' with a bright 'iris' and a dark inner 'pupil'. On the morning of
the seizure, the central, 'eye-like' phosphene gradually condensed into a tiny, 'star-
like' cluster of thin, flashing filaments of white and blue phosphene, in effect, a dot
or 'bindu'. [From Nicholson, 2002a]
The meditation-induced, sleep-onset phosphenes are illustrated by the author's
computer-generated drawings in Figure 1.1, with a detailed description in the adjacent
legend for easy reference. There are four different kinds of phosphene images in this
sequence: (1) RINGS that flow in from the periphery of the visual field and shrink
steadily in diameter, creating an illusion that they are 'receding' in 3-D space; (2)
SWIRLING MISTS, amorphous in shape, that sweep across the visual field and then
contract, disappearing into the centerpoint; (3) the amorphous phosphene mist
eventually acquires a brighter node of phosphene that hovers at the center of the visual
field and that has a dark space within it, creating the illusion of an EYE-LIKE IMAGE
with a bright phosphene 'iris' that pulls back to reveal a dark, empty, 'pupil' space, then
fills in, then pulls back again, and so on; (4) a STAR-LIKE IMAGE of tiny, twinkling,
phosphene filaments seems to 'condense' at the center of the visual field.
THE SOMA CODE
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Ph. T. Nicholson
39
Figure 1.2. Transition to paroxysmal phosphene images. A. The familiar, 'star' or
'bindu' image of thin, flashing filaments of white and blue phosphene, the
culmination of amorphous wave activity seen in Figure 1. B. A stream of dark,
barely-perceptible 'receding annuli' that entered the visual field at a rate of more
than one per second (≥ 2 Hz), never illuminating as colored phosphene. The influx
of dark waves generated an illusion of movement through a dark, 'tunnel-like,' 3D
space. After a few seconds, the flood of dark annuli stopped abruptly, eclipsed by
onset of the next visual image. C. A radiating spray of phosphene 'mist'
interspersed with many beige-colored 'flecks' replaced the 'tunnel' of dark annuli.
The spray seemed to radiate toward the viewer along a conical trajectory through
3D space and to 'strike' the forehead, so that the subject felt compelled to pull his
head back against the pillow and arch his back. There were also muscle tremors in
the face and extremities. D. A gradual brightening and bluing of the visual field.
This effect slowly but steadily obscured more and more of the radiating spray until
it was the only visual sensation present. The approximate hue of blue, based on the
author's comparison of color swatches from a CMYK Process Color Chart, is 40%
Cyan without any Magenta, Yellow, or Black - a color similar to the blue of the sky
on a clear, dry day in the summer or autumn. E. The appearance of a bulbous,
hollow, translucent white phosphene that seemed to 'protrude' through the bright
blue visual field, as if there were 3D 'depth' in the visual field. At first the bulbous
image appeared as a faint glow, but when the author focused his attention on it, the
glow became brighter, revealing a bulbous nose. As the phosphene glowed even
more brightly, it revealed more caudal extension. This change created an illusion
that the figure had just 'moved' forward in 3D space, and, conversely, as attention
waned, the phosphene dimmed so that its caudal extension shortened, making it
seem to 'recede'. Beneath the anterior pole of the bulbous image was a thin line or
shadow, shaped like an inverted crescent. After many successive 'protrusions' and
'recessions,' the bulbous image suddenly glowed brightly - so much so that it looked
as if it the bulb had 'lurched' toward the vertical meridian - and, in the same
moment, it disappeared and its former site was occupied by a cluster of three thin,
white, phosphene rays (Figure 3B). These rapid movements created an illusion that
the bulb had somehow 'ruptured' and that this 'released' the phosphene rays. [From
Nicholson, 2002a
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Ph. T. Nicholson
41
Figure 1.3. The final transition to photoparoxysmal phosphenes. A. The white
phosphene bulbous image. B. When the bulbous image disappeared, it was
replaced instantly by three thin white phosphene rays, and, at the same time, the
bright blue background disappeared, leaving the rays silhouetted against the
normal, charcoal-colored visual field (eigengrau). In the first presentation, the three
white rays extended less than halfway to the perimeter of vision, and the tallest ray
had a distinctive 90° bend to the left at the tip. One second later, the rays
reappeared, now in a new, realigned version in which the rays had doubled in
number (from 3 to 6), had lengthened so as to extend all the way to the peripheral
rim of vision, and had fanned farther apart at the tops. In the next second, the
author observed a third transformation: he saw the rays fan much farther apart, a
movement that resembled the petals on a flower wilting in the heat. In this third
display, the bases of the rays had tiny, shard-like triangles of bright, opaque white
phosphene superimposed. The third display of the rays was the final one, and it
persisted in the visual field for about 10 to 12 seconds. There were no auditory or
sensorimotor symptoms accompanying any of the transformations of the rays. C.
Serial flashes ('explosions') of dull white phosphene, appearing in either the right or
left hemifield. Single flashes never occupied more than about a third of the visual
field and seemed to alternate between the right and left side in a non-rhythmical
pattern. The experience felt like being inside a dark stormcloud when it was
illuminated from within by flashes of sheet lightning. The photoparoxysm was
accompanied by loud, crackling sounds, sensorimotor sensations of bilateral
polymyoclonus that seemed to involve an 'ascending current of energy,' an orgasmic
sensation diffused throughout the body, and psychic symptoms of euphoria and
awe mixed with fear. D. Postictal visual symptoms. For several weeks after the
initial photoparoxysm, whenever the subject went to bed and closed his eyes, a
white glow appeared in the same place where the bulb and rays appeared earlier.
When he focused attention on this glow, it began to expand as if billowing out
toward the viewer in 3D space. The surface of the expanding phosphene presented
a fractal-like pattern resembling the surface of a cauliflower, a billowing cumulus
cloud, or a froth of soap bubbles. After a few days, the glow still appeared, but now
it expanded with a surface that presented an undifferentiated, fog-like whiteness.
Once the wave expanded, the entire visual field appeared white, as if the viewer
were enveloped by fog or a snow 'whiteout'. If the author kept his attention
focused, the field remained white for a relatively long amount of time, sometimes
for more than several seconds. While this whiteness was present, the author
experienced a weaker version of the seizure-related sensorimotor and psychic
symptoms. [From Nicholson, 2002a]
These meditation-induced, sleep-onset phosphene images can evolve into a more
elaborate sequence if the sleep rhythm oscillators are destabilized, triggering
paroxysmal activity in the brain. This happened to the author on one occasion in which
he tried to relax himself to sleep using his familiar technique of meditation in
THE SOMA CODE
42
circumstances that were highly unusual: having slept only four of the preceding thirty-
six hours because of 'jet-lag' insomnia, he went to bed at 4 o'clock in the morning and
began to meditate. The familiar meditation-induced phosphenes began to appear
almost immediately and manifested with unusual intensity and speed, then, instead of
concluding with the familiar image of a star-like phosphene dot, the phosphene
sequence evolved the new images illustrated in Figures 1.2 and 1.3: (5) THIN BLACK
RINGS suddenly began to flow inward, shrinking in diameter like the sleep-onset
phosphene rings but at an abnormally fast rate of two or more per second, creating the
illusion of a dark, moving tunnel; (6) a SPRAY of beige-colored phosphene 'flecks' that
seem to radiate out toward the viewer, suddenly replaced the inward-moving black
rings; (7) a UNIFORM BLUE BACKGROUND began to gradually become brighter,
causing the image of radiating spray to fade out; (8) a BULBOUS GLOW appeared in
the upper right quadrant of the visual field and waxed and waned in brightness,
creating the illusion of its moving forward or receding, depending on the intensity of
the attention focused on it; (9) A FAN OF THREE WHITE RAYS suddenly replaced the
bulb image, with the rays in this first display extending less than halfway to the
perimeter of vision; (10) A FAN OF SIX WHITE RAYS suddenly replaced the three rays
after a delay of one second, with the rays now extended to the perimeter of vision; (11)
A FANNING APART OF THE SIX RAYS occurred after another delay of one second,
creating the impression the rays were 'drooping' or 'wilting'; (11) SERIAL FLASHES of
dull white phosphene that filled large expanses of the visual field began after a twelve
seconds delay, an image that looked exactly like sheet lightning illumining a dark
stormcloud from within. This final image in the paroxysmal sequence was
accompanied by loud, sizzling, 'electric' crackling sounds, spasms of many different
muscle groups, an illusion of a 'current' flowing upward through the body, quasi-
orgasmic sensations, and an emotional mix of fear, awe, and euphoria. At this point the
author stopped the flashes by diverting his attention and getting up to walk around.
After the episode of paroxysmal activity, the author found that, whenever he laid
down to go to sleep and closed his eyes, he saw (12) a POST-PAROXYSMAL WHITE
GLOW at the same location in the visual field where the bulbous image and the rays
had once appeared (see Figure 1.3D). If he looked at the glow and did not try to distract
himself, this staring would cause the small white glow to expand as a cloud of white
phosphene that seemed to be radiating out toward the viewer as it expanded. For
several days after the paroxysmal episode, the surface of this expanding whiteness
presented a distinctive cauliflower-like pattern, like the billowing surface of a cumulus
cloud buffeted by explosive pressures within, or like a foam of soap bubbles rising in
the sink in response to water streaming down from the faucet. After that, the
phenomenon of the expanding glow continued, but there was no longer a multi-faceted
surface but rather an undifferentiated whiteness - like being surrounded by dense fog.
Ph. T. Nicholson
43
Sequences of Meditation-Induced Phosphenes Reported By Other Observors
Are the experiences described by the author ideosyncratic or are similar
phenomena reported by other observors as well? This is not as easy a question to
answer as it may appear at first glance. Many mystics who write autobiographical
narratives describe visions using language that is abstract, 'experience-distant,' and
metaphysical; often these writers simply repeat phrases they learned from reading the
authoritiative texts of their tradition, suggesting that the primary intent in these cases is
to portray the experience as authentic by showing that it fits squarely within the
conventions of the tradition and thus that it is worthy of validation by one's peers.
There are, however, a few exceptions.
Table 1.1. Autobiographical Descriptions of Light Vision Sequences by Hindu Mystics
Gopi Krishna Muktananda Lahiri Mahasay
---------------- ---------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------
CIRCLES
OR RINGS
MISTS OR
CLOUDS
CLOUDS
WITH
BRIGHT
CENTRAL
NODES
I sat breathing slowly and rhythm-
ically, my attention drawn towards
the crown of my head, contemp-
lating an imaginary lotus in full
bloom, radiating light. [p. 11]
I never practiced yoga by Tantric
methods. . . . If I had done so with
a firm belief in the existence of the
lotuses, I might well have mis-
taken the luminous formations and
the glowing discs of light at the
various nerve junctions along the
spinal cord for lotuses, and . . .
might even have been led to per-
ceive the letters and the presiding
deities . . . suggested by the pic-
tures already present in my mind.
[p. 174]
Next, the pupils of both my eyes
became centered together. I began
to see one thing with two eyes. . . .
After this happened, a blue light
arose in my eyes [p. 125].
[A] light came in meditation, like a
candle flame without a wick . . . the
two-petaled lotus between the
eyebrows [p. 128].
The blue akasha, an expansion of
blue color, began to appear, and
with it, the neela bindu, the Pearl of
infinite power. As I watched it, I
felt as if my eyes were going to
burst. . . . I was completely
entranced . . . . [p. 135]
To practice pranayam at 4 o'clock
in the morning is good [p. 93]
[Hand-drawn outline of a thick
ring with wavy lines filling the
central disk (p. 103) & of rings-
within-rings, p. 104)]
When the air of breath is held
tranquil, the six centers are seen in
bright Light but it does not stop at
the centers. [p. 108]
OM is radiant Light. When this
Light is spread throughout the
body, all is seen . . . [p. 208]
I saw a blue color in the light; in the
blue, I saw a white spot; and in the
white spot, I saw a man . . . [p.211]
----------------
STAR-LIKE
POINT
----------------
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
It was not the Blue Light or the
Blue Pearl, but a blue star. Though
it looked small, it was large enough
to contain me . . . [p. 149]
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
Beyond the five senses there is
mind . . . ; beyond the mind there
is buddhi, that is bindu, or spot;
beyond the bindu, Brahma . . . the
Pure Void [p.212]
---------------------------------------------
SPRAY OF
SPARKS
RADIATES
----------------
[I]t seemed as if a jet of molten
copper . . . dashed against my
crown and fell in a scintillating
shower of vast dimensions all
around me. . . . a fireworks dis-
play of great magnitude . . . a
brilliant shower or a glowing
pool of light [p. 50]."
----------------------------------------------
[T]he blue star passed within me
into my sahasrara and exploded.
Its fragments spread throughout
the vast spaces of the sahasrara.
There was no star in front of me
now, but just an ambrosial white
light. [p. 150]
----------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
THE SOMA CODE
44
BRIGHT &
BLUE LIKE
THE SKY
----------------
[A] glowing pool of light [p. 50]
----------------------------------------------
There was no star in front of me
now, but just an ambrosial white
light. [p. 150]
----------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
BULBOUS
IMAGE
APPEARS
Sometimes I would have a new
movement in the heart, in which an
egg-shaped ball of radiance would
come into view. This is the vision
of the radiant thumb-sized Being,
who is described . . . in the
Shvetashvatara Upanishad: . . .
"The inner soul always dwells in
the heart of all men as a thumb-
sized being." [p. 136]."
It seems there is another uvula
above the uvula. [p. 99]
First the dazzling sign or penis
(Jyotir Lingam) is seen, then it
disappears into Voidness or
Silence. . . . [Includes a hand-
drawn outline of a thumb-like
shape (p. 108)].
---------------- ---------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------
RAYS RISE
& FAN
----------------
BRIGHT
WHITE
LIGHT
----------------
----------------------------------------------
I kept my attention centered
around the lotus. Suddenly, with
a roar like a waterfall, I felt a
stream of liquid light entering my
brain. . . /. . . I felt the point of
consciousness that was myself
growing wider, surrounded by
waves of light . . . . immersed in a
sea of light. [p. 12-13]
----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
"One day it opened up and its light
was released, and the brilliance of
not one or two thousand but
millions of suns blazed all around.
The light was so fierce that I could
not stand it . . . That brilliance had
drawn me toward itself, and as I
gazed at it, I lost consciousness. . .
[p. 175-6]
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
The sun is the form of OM. [p.111]
The sun is Kali, I myself am Kali.
Thinking about Kali I become
Kali.[p. 210]
I am Mahapursusa. In the sun I
saw that I myself am Brahma, the
ultimate Self. [p. 210]
----------------------------------------------
Ph. T. Nicholson
45
Table 1.2. Autobiographical Descriptions of Lights Seen By Non-Hindu Mystics
Ignatius Loyola John of the Cross Najmoddin Kobra
---------------- ---------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------
CIRCLES
OR RINGS
MISTS OR
CLOUDS
CLOUDS
WITH
BRIGHT
CENTRAL
NODES
While living in this hospital it
many times happened that in full
daylight he saw a form in the air
near him and this form gave him
much consolation because it was
exceedingly beautiful. He did not
understand what it really was, but
it somehow seemed to have the
shape of a serpent and had many
things that shone like eyes, but
were not eyes. 3.19 [p. 29]
But often when he went to bed,
great spiritual lights came to him,
as did wonderful consolations, so
that they took up most of the time
that he had set aside for sleep,
which was not much. 3.26 [p. 34]
The soul puts on the white robe of
faith on its going forth on this dark
night . . . . Over the white robe of
faith the soul puts on forthwith that
[disguise] of the second color, a
green almilda [a shoulder mantle
with a neck hole], emblem of the
virtue of hope . . . [DNS, p. 180]
S. Paul calls hope the helmet of
salvation. Now a helmet is armor
which protects and covers the
whole head, and has no opening
except in one place, where the eyes
may look through. Hope is such a
helmet . . . It has one loophole
through which the eyes may look
upwards only . . . [DNS, p. 180]
Over the white and green robes . . .
the soul puts on a third [disguise],
the splendid robe of purple. [DNS,
p.181]
Ours is a method of alchemy. It
involves extracting the subtle
organism of light from beneath the
mountains under which it lies
imprisoned. VS #12 [p. 77]
It may happen that you visualize
yourself as lying at the bottom of a
well and the well seemingly in
lively downward movement. In
reality, it is you who are moving
upward. VS #12 [p. 76]
[W]hen you see above you a great
wide space . . . and you perceive on
the far horizon the colors green,
red, yellow, and blue, know that
you are about to pass, borne aloft
through the air, to the field of these
colors. The colors are those of the
spiritual states experienced in-
wardly. VS #13 [p. 77]
----------------
STAR OR
DOT
----------------
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------
SPRAY OF
SPARKS
RADIATES
---------------- ---------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
[I]t effuses lights as a spring pours
forth its water, so that the mystic
has a sensory perception . . . that
these lights are gushing forth to
irradiate his face. This outpouring
takes place between the two eyes
and . . . it spreads to cover the
whole face. VS #66 [p. 85]
---------------------------------------------
BRIGHT &
BLUE LIKE
THE SKY
---------------- ---------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
[I]t spreads to cover the whole
face. At that moment, before you,
before your face, there is another
Face, also of light, irradiating
lights, . . . [resembling a] diaphan-
ous veil . . . VS #66 [p. 85]
--------------------------------------------
BULBOUS
IMAGE
APPEARS
During prayer he often, and for an
extended time, saw with inward
eyes . . . a white body, neither very
large nor very small; nor did he
see any differentiation of mem-
bers. 3.29 [p.38]
[B]ehind its diaphanous veil, a sun
becomes visible, seemingly ani-
mated by a movement to and fro.
In reality . . . this sun is the sun of
the spirit that goes to and fro in
your body. VS #66 [p. 85]
---------------- ---------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
RAYS RISE
AND FAN
THE SOMA CODE
46
----------------
BRIGHT
WHITE
LIGHT
----------------
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
And it is at times as though a door
were opened before it into a great
brightness, through which the soul
sees a light, after the manner of a
lightning flash, which, on a dark
night, reveals things suddenly, and
causes them to be clearly and
distinctly seen, and then leaves
them in darkness . . . [AMC, p. 220]
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
Its fire does not cease to blaze, its
lights no longer disappear. With-
out interruption you see lights
rising and lights descending. The
flames of the fire are all around
you - very pure, very ardent, and
very strong. VS #51 [p. 76]
----------------------------------------------
In Table 1.1, we list excerpts from the autobiographical writings of three Hindu
mystics: (1) Shyama Charan Lahiri Mahasay (c. 1828 - 1895), a clerk in the Bengali
Military Engineering Service who practiced meditating before dawn for many years and
experienced Self-Realization in 1861 under the tutelage of a Swami Babaji
[Satyeswarananda Giri, 1991]; (2) Gopi Krishna (1903 - 1984), a Kashmiri clerk working
for the Directory of Education who, like Lahiri Mahasay, also practiced meditating
before dawn, and who experienced a sudden, unexpected 'rising of kundalini' during a
meditation session in 1937, an experience which led him to write extensively on the
subject [Krishna, 1971, 1988]; and (3) Muktananda (1908 - 1982), son of a wealthy family
in Mangalore who began the life of a wandering seeker at age 15, was initiated into the
Siddha tradition by a Swami Nityananda at age 39, and who achieved Self-Realization
after nine years of rigorous meditation [Muktananda, 1978].
In Table 1.2, we list excerpts from the autobiographical writings of three non-
Hindu mystics: (1) Ignatius of Loyola (1492 - 1556), a Basque knight who, after
recovering from severe leg wounds, committed himself to a program of rigorous self-
mortification and sustained prayer vigils, thereby inducing a series of visions that
inspired him to begin the work that eventually led to his founding the Jesuit Order
[Tylenda, 1985; Messner, 1992]; (2) John of the Cross (1542 - 1591), a Spanish Carmelite
monk who, while imprisoned in solitary confinement and tortured for six months by
monks in a hostile monastery, experienced the mystical raptures described in his
religious poems and in his commentaries on the poems (written with great caution to
avoid the Inquisition) [Zimmerman, 1973; Kavanaugh, 1987]; and, finally, (3)
Najmoddin Kobra (1145 - 1220), a Muslim Sufi mystic from northern Iran, the first Sufi
to describe his experiences of the inner lights, or "colored photisms," in great detail and
to interpret the significance of these lights as signs of spiritual progress [Corbin, 1971].
Although none of these accounts replicates all of the phosphenes described by the
author, but there are many striking resemblances. Particularly interesting are the
explicit references to a small white glow with a bulbous shape, the hallmark of newborn
Soma as described in the RV and discussed in the next paper (Part II). There are other
sources to which we might refer to corroborate the author's descriptions of light images
- especially interesting in this regard are the Upanishads and yoga meditation texts
composed long after the RV - but it would be anachronistic to import material from
these sources for the purpose of interpreting passages from the RV. Therefore, we will
Ph. T. Nicholson
47
postpone presenting this material until the final paper (Part III) where we will use it to
demonstrate the essential continuity between Vedic and Post-Vedic visionary
experiences.
* * *
Harbingers of Soma: 'Receding Rings' and the Asvins' Three-Wheeled Chariot
In the meditation-induced sequence of phosphenes, the first image is a stereotyped
progression in which, one after another at 5 second intervals, yellowish-green rings
(annuli) sweep in from the perimeter of the vision field and shrink steadily in diameter,
creating the illusion that the ring is 'receding' in a 3-D space until it disappears into the
centerpoint (See Figure 1.1). Are there metaphors in the RV that refer to visions of ring-
like light that seems to move away from the viewer? If so, this would be an important
clue that the eulogists of the RV were referring to visions that were seen by someone
during meditation.
The hymns refer to a group of deities called the Rbhus who are described as using
"mental mediation" to build a special chariot for the use of other deities, the Asvins
[Gonda, op. cit., p. 168]. The Asvins' chariot is said to have three wheels, which signals
that this is not a reference to the two-wheeled war chariots that were used in Vedic
times. In these verses, Gonda interprets the Asvins' chariot as a "bright" vision (dhih)
that moves away from the seer [italics added for emphasis]:
[T]ogether with this eulogy, O Asvins, with the bright dhih, you drive, O you travellers
in a radiant chariot 8.26.19 [GON, p. 168]
[T]he pure or bright [sukra], divine materialized inspiration [manisa] must depart
(appear, start) from me, like a well-fashioned chariot which is to win vajah. 7.34.1
[GON, p. 165]
Gonda also points out that, in 8.97.12, the wise men are said to use their minds to
"bend" the vision of a "felly," i.e., the rim of a wheel: "[T]he poets are said to make the
god favourably disposed merely by means of their faculty of sight: the image used is
that of the felly which is bent; they 'see' this felly with their inner 'eye' and thereby they
bend it, i.e. they exert their influence upon the god (nemim namanti caksasa) [Gonda,
Ibid., p. 33]."
Other verses emphasize that the chariot has no horses and no reins, that it is
"radiant with (glowing) wheels," and that it "follows the track of the waters:"
[T]hat chariot which is clothed in radiance, and which, when harnessed, traverses its
appointed road. 7.69.5 [WIL]
The glorious three-wheeled car (of the Aswins, made, Rbhus, by you), traverses the
firmament without horses, without reins: . . . We invoke you respectfully, Vajas and
Rbhus . . . for you are the wise sages who, by mental mediation, made the well-
constructed undeviating car (of the Asvins). 4.36.1-2 [WIL]
May your golden chariot . . . come to us, following the track of the waters, radiant with
(glowing) wheels, . . . 7.69.1 [WIL]
THE SOMA CODE
48
The brilliant chariot, diffusing splendor, rolling lightly on its three wheels . . . Vala 10.3
[WIL]
Some verses identify the third wheel of the chariot as being the most efficacious,
noting that it is "concealed" to all but the "sages who know it:"
One of your chariot wheels is moving swiftly round, one speeds for you its onward
course . . . . 8.22.4 [GRF]
For wonder you have fixed the (additional) one wheel for the chariot, as it was moving (with
the other wheels) - a miracle! You fly . . . . 5.73.3 [DNG, p. 135]
The single wheel that is concealed, the sages know it also . . . . 10.85.16 [GRF]
The Asvins' radiant chariot is identified as a harbinger of Soma and also of the
dawn that precedes the arrival of Soma:
Come hither, Asvins, on your car of triple form and triple seat, to drink the savory
Soma juice . . . 8.75.8 [GRF]
May this desireable and gratifying Soma expressed by the stones be, Indra, for thee:
ascend the verdant chariot, and with thy tawny (steeds) come to us; Desiring (the
Soma), thou honorest the dawn . . . 3.44.1-2 [WIL]
Another important detail about the vision of the radiant chariot is that the Asvins
are described as hearing a tell-tale buzzing sound - like the sound of a fly or bee
(maksika) - and that this buzzing serves to reassure them that their chariot is following
the path that leads to Soma: "To you, O Asvins, that maksika betrayed the Soma 1.119.9
[WIL]." This recalls the author's report of hearing a characteristic sound whenever he
begins to meditate for the purpose of inducing phosphenes.
The Amorphous Phosphene Waves and 'Flame-Arrows' of Agni and Apam Napat
The amorphous expanding phosphene mists described by the author can be
compared to the "flame-arrows" of Agni (dhitayah) which are described in the RV, based
on Gonda's translations, as "many-colored" (10.91.5) and "smoke-like" (1.27.11; 5.11.3;
7.2.1; 1.3.3), as flowing like a stream or a fountain (1.67.7; 3.10.5), and as "assembl[ing]
like the streams of water into holes (10.25.4) [Gonda, op.cit., p. 173]." This last metaphor
of water-draining-into-holes is a particularly apt description of the amorphous
phosphene waves with their swirling expansion across the visual field and then their
subsequent contraction into the center (Figure 1.1).
Agni's flame-arrows are described in the hymns as originating in "The Waters," a
metaphor that is usually interpreted as referring to natural events in which fire is
combined with water, as, for example, when lightning illumines a raincloud, or Agni's
flame-arrows that shine forth in the dark depths of consciousness that wise men enter
when they meditate. In this incarnation as a light shining amid dark waters, Agni is
called "Child of the Waters" (Apam Napat), and the task assigned him while he plumbs
these depths is to animate the streams of cosmic order (rta) so that they flow more
quickly toward the ultimate confluence that will bring into being the visions of Soma
and Indra [Dange, 1992, pp. 43-59]. Pursuing this task, Agni is not only Apam Napat
Ph. T. Nicholson
49
but also undergoes many transformations, which accounts for why he is evoked in
eulogies dedicated to other Vedic deities who manifest themselves at later stages in the
evolution of the rta:
Kindled in many a spot, One is Agni; Surya is One, though high o'er all he shineth.
Illumining this All, still One is Ushas. That which is One hath into All developed
Vala 10.2 [GRF]
He is first engendered in the habitations (of the sacrificers); then upon his station,
(the altar), the base of the vast firmament; without feet, without head, concealing his
extremities, combining with smoke in the nest of the raincloud. / Radiance has first
proceeded to thee, (Agni), . . . in the womb of the water, in the nest of the raincloud . . . .
4.1.11-12 [WIL]
Agni is head and height of heaven . . . he quickeneth the waters seed. / Upward, O Agni,
rise thy flames, pure and resplendent, blazing high, thy lustres, fair effulgences
8.40.11-12 [GRF]
I have sought the waters today; we have joined with their sap. O Agni full of moisture, come
and flood me with splendor. 10.9.9 [OFL].
This analysis of Agni as the god who helps the wise men see visions of light that
evolve through many stages until they eventually manifest as Soma and Indra helps
clarify the meaning of a verse like the one cited below. Here Agni is the "cowherd who
never tires," the one who disguises himself in visions of light like the receding rings and
the amorphous waves "that move towards the same center but spread apart," and with
Agni's help the "wise see in their heart . . . the bird annointed with the magic of the
Asura," and the flight of this bird brings with the vision of Indra, "the revelation that
shines like the sun:"
The wise see in their heart, in their spirit, the bird annointed with the magic of the Asura.
The poets see him inside the ocean; the sages seek the footprints of his rays. / The bird
carries in his heart Speech that the divine youth spoke of inside the womb. The
poets guard this revelation that shines like the sun in the footprint of Order [rta]. / I have
seen the cowherd who never tires, moving to and fro along the paths. Clothing himself in
those that move towards the same center but spread apart, he rolls on and on inside the
worlds. 10.177.1-3 [OFL]
Conclusion, Part I
In this paper we have shown that the visions of a radiant, three-wheeled chariot
and the flame-arrows of Agni closely match the phosphene images that appear during
the early stages of meditation, that is, the threshold image of a succession of three to
five 'receding rings,' followed by the waves of amorphous, swirling phosphene mist.
The eulogists of the RV describe these visions as propitious signs that one has entered
on the path that leads to Soma and Indra. This is the subject we address in our next
paper (Part II).
THE SOMA CODE
50
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author would like to acknowledge Dr. Michael Witzel's many important
contributions during the research and writing of this article - his generous commitment
of time spent in discussions of background information about proto-Indo-Iranian
migrations and Sanskrit etymologies, his recommendation of source materials that had
been overlooked by the author, and, finally, his insight that the hypothesis proposed
here would be relevant to the debate about the identity of the original Soma plant.
NOTES
Copies of the author's articles on the neuroscience of meditation-induced visions can be
ordered from the publisher: The International Society for the Study of Subtle Energies
and Energy Medicine, 11005 Ralston Road, Suite 100D, Arvada, CO 80004 USA;
telephone (303-425-4625); email <issseem@compuserve.com>; website:
www.issseem.org. Also, the author is preparing an anthology of articles on these topics
for publication in book format, which should be available by October, 2002. Interested
readers can contact (1) the author directly (tele: 617-566-7429; fax: 627-738-7634; email:
nicholson@us.inter.net (2) the publisher (tele: 1-888-795-4274; fax: 215-923-4685;
email: <info@xlibris.com>; or via the web at www.xlibris.com); or, (3) local or web
book retailers, searching under the author's name or under the subject headings of
"kundalini," "visions," "neurophysiology of kundalini," or "meditation.
ABBREVIATIONS FOR ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS
BH/W Bhawe, S. S.. 1957, 1960, 1962. The Soma Hymns of the Rig Veda,
Parts I - III, , as quoted in Wasson, R. G., Soma: Divine Mushroom
of Immortality (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich: New York, 1971).
DNG Dange, S. A.. 1992. Divine Hymns and Ancient Thought, Vol. I:
RgVeda Hymns and Ancient Thought (N. Singal, NAVRANG:
New Delhi,.).
GRF Griffith, R. T. H.. 1971 [1889]. The Hymns of the RgVeda, Vol. I - II
(Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series: Varanasi,).
OFL O'Flaherty, W. D.. 1971. The Rig Veda: An Anthology (Penguin
Books: London).
WIL Wilson, H. H.. 1888. Rig-Veda Sanhita: A Collection of Ancient
Hindu Hymns, Vol. I - VI (Trubner & Company: London,).
Ph. T. Nicholson
51
GON Gonda, J. 1963. The Vision of the Vedic Poets (Mouton & Co.: The
Hague, Netherlands).
REFERENCES
Bhawe, S. S.. 1957, 1960, 1962. The Soma Hymns of the Rig Veda, Parts I - III, as quoted
in Wasson, R. G.. 1971. Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality (Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich: New York).
Dange, S. A. Divine Hymns and Ancient Thought, Vol. I: RgVeda Hymns and Ancient
Thought (N. Singal, NAVRANG: New Delhi, 1992.).
Corbin, H. 1971. The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism (Omega Publications: New
Lebanon, NY).
Gonda, J. 1963. The Vision of the Vedic Poets (Mouton & Co.: The Hague,
Netherlands).
Gopi Krishna. 1971 [1967]. Kundalini: The Evolutionary Energy in Man, 2nd edition
(Shambhala Publications: Boulder, CO).
Griffith, R. T. H.. 1971 [1889]. The Hymns of the RgVeda, Vol. I - II (Chowkhamba
Sanskrit Series: Varanasi).
John of the Cross. 1973 Reprint of 3rd Edition (1903). The Dark Night of the Soul
(Attic Press: Greenwood, SC)
John of the Cross. 1958 Edition. Ascent of Mount Carmel (Doubleday Image Books,
NY)
Kavanaugh, K., Ed.. 1987. John of the Cross: Selected Writings (Paulist Press, NY)
Kieffer, G.. 1988. Kundalini for the New Age: Selected Writings by Gopi Krishna
(Bantam Books: NY).
Meissner, W.W.. 1992. Ignatius of Loyola: The Psychology of a Saint (Yale University
Press, New Haven).
Muktananda. 1988 [1978]. Play of Consciousness, 4th edition (SYDA Foundation:
South Fallsburg, NY).
Nicholson, P. T. 1996a. Phosphene images of thalamic sleep rhythms induced by
self-hypnosis, Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine 7(2): 111 - 148.
Nicholson, P. T. 1996b. Dialogue: Phosphene images of thalamic sleep rhythms
induced by self-hypnosis, Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine 7(3): 273 - 283.
Nicholson, P. T. 1999. "Phosphene Epiphenomena of Hypersynchronous Activity
Emerging in Thalamocortical Circuits and Triggering a Hippocampal Seizure,"
Epilepsia 40 [Supplement 2]: 27, 203
Nicholson, P. T. 2002a (In press) "Meditation, Slow Wave Sleep, and Ecstatic
Seizures: The Etiology of Kundalini Visions," Journal of Subtle Energies and Energy
Medicine, Vol. 12, No. 3.
Nicholson, P. T. 2002b (In press) "Empirical Studies of Meditation: Does a Sleep
Rhythm Hypothesis Explain the Data?" Journal of Subtle Energies and Energy
Medicine, Vol. 12, No.3.
THE SOMA CODE
52
O'Flaherty, W. D. 1971. The Rig Veda: An Anthology (Penguin Books: London).
Satyewarananda Giri. 1991 [1983] Babaji, Vol. 2: Lahiri Mahasay, 3rd edition (The
Sanskrit Classics: P.O. Box 5368, San Diego, California).
Tylenda, J. N., Ed.. 1985. A Pilgrim's Journey: The Autobiography of Ignatius of Loyola
(Michael Glazer: Wilmington, DL).
Wasson, R. G. 1971 Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality (Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich: New York).
Wilson, H. H.. 1888. Rig-Veda Sanhita: A Collection of Ancient Hindu Hymns, Vol. I -
VI (Trubner & Company: London).
Witzel, M. 1996. "How to Enter the Vedic Mind? Strategies in Translating a
Brahmana Text," Translating, Translations, and Translators: From India to the West
ed. by E. Garzilli. Harvard Oriental Series, Opera Minora I. Cambridge:
Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University.
Ph. T. Nicholson
53
The Soma Code, Part II:
Soma's Birth, Purification, and Transmutation into Indra
Philip T. Nicholson
ABSTRACT
In this paper, the second in a three-part series on interpretation of metaphors for
luminous visions in the Rig Veda (RV), we sort the metaphors used to describe the
visions of Soma and Indra into sets based on certain abstract features (shape,
movement, color, and temporal order), then show that these metaphor-sets closely
match the characteristics of the meditation-induced phosphenes described in Part I.
Our analysis of suggests (1) that a vision which looks like a terrestial dawn appears
before the vision of Soma, analogous to the gradual brightening and bluing of the visual
field that occurs in the paroxysmal phosphene sequence; (2) that the vision of newborn
Soma - the 'woolen filter' in which the Soma juice is purified - has a distinctive bulbous
shape and moves by itself, characteristics analogous to those of the translucent white
bulbous image in the paroxysmal phosphene sequence; (3) that the vision of three
'purified' Soma streams rising and spreading is analogous to the phosphene rays which
evolve in three discrete stages; and, finally, (4) that the visions of Indra, which are
variously described in the RV as lightning-like flashes, as a continous flood of light
waves, as 'milk with curds' or as 'light with a thousand studs,' can all be matched with
the phosphene effects that appear when paroxysmal activity reaches its maximal stages
or with residual sequelae that appear after the paroxysm. In this analysis, the precision
of the match between the transformations of Soma and the analogous phosphenes is
particularly noteworthy. A table at the end of this paper summarizes the full extent of
the parallels linking metaphors for luminous visions in the RV and paroxysmal,
meditation-induced phosphenes.
The Birth of Soma
The metaphors used to describe the initial vision of Soma all refer to a bulbous
shape, for example, to an "udder," "stalk (amsu)," "navel," "bull's horn," "phallus," "pot,"
"stormcloud," "waterskin," "heaven's head," or "woolen filter." More than one of these
bulbous metaphors may appear in the same verse [italics added for emphasis]:
Udder:
[F]ill the dhih up, make it swollen like an udder filled with milk . . . 10.64.12 [GON,
1963, p. 124]
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When the swollen amsu ['stalks'] were milked like cows with udders . . . 8.9.19
[BH/W, pp. 43-44]
The Soma amsu, filled full, moves itself everyway . . . 9.74.1-2 [GRF]
The udder of the cow is swollen; the wise juice is imbued with its streams . . . the cows
milk their milk with Soma, heaven's head. 9.93.3 [BH/W, p. 46]
Navel:
[T]he navel of the earth, which is also the mainstay of the sky 9.72.7 [BH/W, p. 47]
Your highest navel is attached in heaven . . . 9.79.4 [BH/W, p. 50]
Thy descendants, O Immortal One . . . receive them on thy navel, O Soma, thou who
are the head [of heaven]. 1.43.9 [BH/W, p. 51]
Soma, Navel of the Way (Rta) 9.74.4 [BH/W, pp. 29-30, 50]
Bull's Horn:
He bellows, terrifying bull, with might, sharpening his shining horns, gazing afar. The
Soma rests in his well-appointed birthplace. The hide is of bull, the dress of sheep.
9.70.7 [BH/W, pp. 41-42]
Whilst alighting, this quick-flowing Soma hastens to the filter . . . (he moves) like a
buffalo sharpening his pointed horns, like a warrior on a foray for cattle. 9.87.7 WIL
Soma with sharpened horns attains his [full] reach. 9.97.9 [BH/W, pp. 41-42]
Penis (of a Bull, a Stallion, or a Man):
O Soma . . . thou, Bull, seated in the filter above the calf's wool, clarifying thyself, thou
Soma, that Indra may have his pleasure! 9.86.3 [WIL]
The penis, men, take the penis and move it and stick it in to win the prize. Inspire Indra . . .
10.101.12 [OFL]
They milk the amsu ['stalk''], this bull at home on the mountain. 9.95.4 [BH/W, pp.
23, 45]
Clarify thyself, O Soma . . . . Thou who art a bull . . . 9.70.9 [BH/W, p. 55]
Soma, stormcloud imbued with life, is milked of ghee, milk. . . The swollen men piss the
flowing [Soma]. 9.74.4 [BH/W, pp. 29-30, 50]
Heaven's Head:
On Soma's head the cows with a full udder mix their best milk in streams. 9.71.4
[BH/W, pp. 22, 46]
This bull, heaven's head, Soma, . . . 9.27.3 [BH/W, p. 45]
Pot, Waterskin, Stormcloud:
(Soma), send (us) him who is like a pot; . . . 9.52.3 [WIL]
The fingers press the Soma, they squeeze it glittering like a water-skin; its juice
becomes three-fold, enemy-averting. 9.1.8 [WIL]
Ph. T. Nicholson
55
Soma, stormcloud [atmanvan nabho] imbued with life, is milked of ghee, milk. Navel of
the Way, Immortal Principle, he sprang into life in the far distance. 9.74.4
[BH/W, pp. 29-30, 50]
Woolen Filter:
The sharp seer, in heaven's navel, is magnified in the woolen filtre, Soma the wise,
possessed of good intelligence. 9.12.4 [BH/W, p. 51]
O Soma, . . . thou, Bull, seated in the filter above the calf's wool, clarifying thyself, thou
Soma, that Indra may have his pleasure! 9.86.3 [BH/W, p. 57]
The vision of newborn Soma is described as a "celestial structure" located "in the
far distance," as if "seated on the mountain top," and it is clear from the context that,
unlike those verses that describe Soma as a plant that priests gather from the
mountains, these specific references to 'mountains' are metaphorical and designed to
put Soma in his "accustomed place," which is "in the firmament of heaven:"
In the firmament of heaven the Seers milk . . . the bull-Soma seated on the mountain top.
9.85.10 [BH/W, p. 22]
Clarify thyself, O Soma, in the celestial structures of thine essence . . . " 9.86.22
[BH/W, p. 39, 57]
[N]avel of the Earth, which is also the mainstay of the sky 9.72.7 [BH/W, p. 47]
Your highest navel is attached in heaven . . . 9.79.4 [BH/W, p. 50]
This Soma, which today circulates in the distance, which is a cleanser, may it cleanse us
in the filtre! 9.67.22-24 [BH/W, p. 34]
Soma, stormcloud . . . Navel of the Way . . . he sprang into life in the far distance. 9.74.4
[BH/W, pp. 29-30, 50]
Milking the dear sweetness from the divine udder, he has sat in his accustomed place.
9.107.5 [BH/W, p. 43]
This is consistent with Gonda's explanation that the Vedic deity, Vivasvant, who
was first to celebrate a Soma ritual, performed a ritual milking in his heavenly "seat"
(1.53.1) at the "navel of the world" (1.164.35; 2.3.7) (nabha yajñasya) [Gonda, 1963, pp.
187]. We can also infer from the many references to a filter of sheep's wool that the
surface of the Soma bulb is a dull white color. Alternatively, one might conclude that
the Soma "envelop" is simply some kind of brightness - "a radiance associated with
Asuras (9.71.2)," rather than white or any other color [Wasson, 1971, p. 40].
Besides giving information about the location and color of the newborn Soma, the
hymns often refer to the distinctive movements of the Soma-bulb: for example, 9.74.1
describes the Soma as moving on its own - "The soma stalk [amsu], filled full, moves itself
everyway [GRF]" - and 9.68.4 describes Soma as "protecting his head" from the priests'
fingers, suggesting a pulling-back movement. When a bull is "sharpening his horns
(9.70.7; 9.87.7)," the animal moves its head back and forth, rubbing one horn against a
hard surface; this is a metaphor that succinctly describes the kind of back-and-forth
movement of the bulbous phosphene image in response to different intensities of
attention (Part I, Figure 3). Another metaphor used in the same verse as the horn-
sharpening metaphor is that the movement is "like a warrior on a foray for cattle
THE SOMA CODE
56
(9.97.9)," suggesting that the moves are furtive, tenative, exploratory - and, again, this
would also be an apt metaphor for describing the attention-driven movements of the
bulb in the phosphene sequence. There are also allusions that suggest these movements
resemble those that occur during sexual congress, an important subject that we address
below in a separate section.
The Purification of Soma
When Soma emerges from the 'filter' as purified juice, it suddenly presents a very
different image:
Aggressive as a killer of peoples he advances, billowing with power. He sloughs off
the Asurian color that is his. He abandons his envelop, goes to rendevous with the Father
[Sky]. 9.71.2 [BH/W, pp. 40-41]
Like a serpent he creeps out of his old skin . . . 9.86.44 [BH/W, p. 41]
The first vision of purified Soma displays three thin white "streams" (or "jets" or
"rays") of light spreading apart from a common base in a trident-like image. The white
color is translucent like fresh milk squirted out of a cow's udder. The three Soma jets
move "as rapid as thought," rising up like birds flying and at the same time "spreading"
at "oblique angles," so that the "rays spread a filter on the back of heaven," creating a
"dazzling mesh . . . spread afar." The speed of the jets makes it seem that the Soma had
been "pressed" through a sieve by application of some invisible force:
The filtre of the burning [Soma] has been spread in heaven's home. Its dazzling mesh
was spread afar . . . They climb the back of the heaven in thought. 9.83.2 [BH/W, p. 54]
Thy shining rays spread a filtre on the back of heaven, O Soma, with Forms. 9.66.5
[BH/W, p. 26, 52]
The heavenly Somas spread the strainer of the sun's rays. 9.10.5 [BH/W, p. 52]
Thy clear rays spread over the back of heaven, the filtre, O Soma 9.66.5 [BH/W, p. 26,
52]
Thy filtre has been spread, O Brahmanaspati [Soma]. . . 9.83.1 [BH/W, p. 53]
Thou runnest through the three filters stretched out; thou flowest the length, clarified.
9.97.55 [WIL]
[I]n jets, the pressed Soma is clarified according to its nature, suitable for thee, O Indra!
9.72.5 [BH/W, p. 56]
Passing obliquely through the sheep's hairs . . . 9.42.8 [WIL]
Thy inebriating drinks, swift, are released ahead, like teams running in divers
directions, like the milch cow with her milk towards her calf, so the Soma juices,
waves rich in honey, go to Indra . . . 9.86.2 [BH/W, p. 57]
High in the seat of heaven is spread the Scorcher's sieve: its threads are standing separate,
glittering with light. . . . with consciousness they stand upon the height of heaven.
9.83.2 [GRF]
From tawny Pavamana, the Destroyer, radiant streams have sprung, quick streams from
him whose gleams are swift . . . 9.66.25 [GRF]
The royal (Soma) plunges into the firmament, . . . the streams, he associates with the
wave of the waters; being filtered, he stands upon the uplifted woolen filter on the navel
of the earth, the upholder of the vast heaven. 9.86.8 [WIL]
Ph. T. Nicholson
57
This (Soma) . . . filtered, and sent forth, . . . as a bird goes with a stream (of juice) through
the fleece; . . . . / Wearing a coat of mail (i.e. clothed in light) reaching to heaven, the
adorable Soma, who fills the firmament . . . 9.86.13-14 [WIL]
Soma . . . widely spreading . . . / . . . When Soma seeks to gain (heaven) he assumes a
white color; . . . he bursts asunder the raincloud from heaven. 9.74.7-9 [WIL]
Let loose thy stream which is as rapid as thought. . . 9.100.3 [WIL]
These descriptions of rays rising from the same place where the filter had just
disappeared and spreading apart at oblique angles match the author's report of seeing
the bulbous phosphene replaced by a cluster of three thin white filaments stretched
halfway to the perimeter of vision and spreading apart from a common base to form a
trident-like image (Part I, Figure 3).
The Number 'Three'
Many verses specify that the purified Soma is pressed out in three streams:
The fingers press the Soma, they squeeze it glittering like a water-skin; its juice
becomes three-fold . . . 9.1.8 [WIL]
The ancient sage (Soma) is purified by the wise . . . he roars into the receptacles;
generating the water of the three-fold (Indra), . . . 9.86.20-21 [WIL]
He invests himself with the rays of the sun stretching out the triple thread in the way he
knows. . . . 9.86.32 [WIL]
The supporter of heaven the prepared exhilarating (Soma) is let loose, the triple
(liquor) rushes to the waters; . . . 9.86.46 [WIL]
Raise the three voices that are preceded by light and that milk the udder, which is
milked of sweetness . . . 7.101.1 [BH/W, p. 15]
The Guardian of the Rta [Soma] cannot be deceived, he of the good inspiring force;
he carries three filters inside his heart. 9.73.8 [BH/W, p. 54]
Thou comest unto three extended filters, and hastenest through each one as they cleanse
thee. 9.97.55 [GRF]
He took the Soma for himself and drank the extract from the three bowls . . . 1.32.2
[OFL]
The ancient sage (Soma) is purified by the wise . . . he roars into the receptacles;
generating the water of the three-fold (Indra) . . . 9.86.20 [WIL]
At the Trikadrukas the Gods span sacrifice that stirred the mind . . . 8.13.18 [WIL]
The meanings of these references to the number, 'three,' which have hitherto been
considered obscure [Dange, 1992, p. 229], would be clarified, if, as we propose, the
reference to 'three' represents an empirically-oriented description of an image in the
visual field, i.e., the phosphene image of three rising rays. Since this trident-like vision
of Soma being pressed through the filter appears shortly before the advent of the Indra
vision, seeing these three rays would likely be considered as a propitious omen by
someone who fervently hoped to see Indra. This suggests the possibility that the vision
of three phosphene jets arrayed in a trident-like pattern might be the original source of
the Trident symbol so important in modern Hinduism.
Another interesting aspect of the number, 'three,' as it appears in the RV is that the
descriptions of the purified Soma streams of refer to 'three' in conjunction with the
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number, 'seven,' a conjunction which is usually translated into English by phrases like
"thrice seven," "three times seven," or "seven . . . three-parted:"
He unto whom they sang the seven-headed hymn, three-parted, in the loftiest place, he
sent his thunder down . . . 8.22.4 [GRF]
He to whom they sang the seven-headed hymn with its three parts in the highest region
- he has made all these worlds tremble . . . Vala 3.4 [WIL]
O Lords of splendor, aid us through the Three-Times-Seven. . . Vala 11. 5 [GRF]
(Soma) is purified by the wise . . . he roars into the receptacles; generating the water of
the three-fold . . . /. . . this Soma, having milked the thrice seven (cows) of their curds
and milk, exhilarating, flows pleasantly . . . 9.86.20-21 [WIL]
The linking together of 'three' and 'seven' suggests an interesting parallel with the
meditation-induced phosphenes described by the author (Part I, Figure 3). The
phosphene image of the rising rays evolves in three stages: at first there are only three
rays rising halfway to the perimeter of vision, but one second later the three rays are
replaced by six, all of which extend to the perimeter of vision. In the third and final
stage of this evolution, the six rays fan farther apart, a movement that looks like the
petals of a flower opening (or wilting) in the heat of the sun. While 'three-to-six' is not
identical to the three-seven conjunction used in the RV, it seems reasonable to infer that
witnesses might differ slightly in their recollections of the number of rays, especially
since this would be a strange and fleeting event that only occurred once in a lifetime. It
is also possible that, if the number 'seven' were considered auspicious by the Indo-
Aryan religious tradition, this might influence reports about the number of rays
observed. But, whatever the source of the disparity, our analysis suggests that the usual
English translations of the conjoined use of the numbers three and seven as "thrice-
seven" or "three-times-seven" are incorrect, and that it would be more accurate to
translate the conjunction as "three-then-seven," i.e., as a reference to the evolution of the
rising rays of Soma.
The Final 'Nesting' of the Soma-Rays
Several verses in the RV describe the final stage in the unfolding of the Soma rays
using bird metaphors, i.e., the rays rise like a bird flying up to the rim of its nest and
then "alighting" as it comes to rest:
[F]alling like a bird alighting on the trees the Soma when purified alights upon the
pitchers 9.96.23 [WIL]
[I]n the (Vasativari) waters: he alights like a falcon on his own place 9.42.4 [WIL]
The shining (Soma) approaches the golden seat . . . as a falcon (approaches) his nest
9.71.6 [WIL]
The Soma . . . purified, he pases through the sheep's fleece, to alight on the water-
moistened seat like a hawk (on its nest)." 9.82.1 [WIL]
This 'alighting' motion recalls the distinctive "drooping" or "wilting" movement
that occurred in the third and final stage of the evolution of the meditation-induced
phosphene rays. The metaphor of a bird alighting recalls other verses that refer to the
purified Soma as a "sun-bird," e.g. 10.177.1-3 (discussed in Part I) in which the wise men
Ph. T. Nicholson
59
are described as having seen in their hearts "the bird annointed with the magic of the
Asura [sky gods]" or "the footprints of his rays" as a "revelation that shines like the sun
in the footprint of Order [OFL]."
The Vision of Soma Penetrating Indra
The streams of purified Soma are described as "penetrating" into Indra's belly but
also as Indra "drinking up" the Soma streams like a calf drinking milk from an udder,
with both metaphors sometimes present in the same stanza:
Soma, being purified, alights on the vessels; putting his seed (in the vessels) as in a heifer
. . . 9.99.6 [WIL]
[G]oing to his station like a bridegroom to his bride, he combines in the pitcher with the
curds and milk 9.93.3 [WIL]
[T]he omniscient (Soma) hastens invoking (the gods) towards (the cups) like (a
libertine) to the wife of a friend. / O Pavamana . . . thou goest like a gallant to his
mistress 9.96.23 [WIL]
Clarify thyself, O Soma, for the invitation to the gods. Thou who art a bull enter into the
heart of Indra, receptacle for Soma! . . . 9.70.9 [BH/W, p. 50]
Enter into the heart of Intra, Soma's receptacle, like the rivers into the ocean, thou [O Soma]
. . . . supreme mainstay of the sky! 9.108.15 [BH/W, p. 58]
Pressed by the pressing stones, thou clarifiest thyself in the filter, O Soma-juice, when
penetrating into the entrails of Indra! 9.86.23 [BH/W, p. 58]
Cleansed like a winning race horse, thou hast spilled thyself in the belly of Indra, O
Soma! 9.85.5 [BH/W, p. 57]
Cleanse the Soma . . . put the Soma juice into Indra. 9.11.5-6 [BH/W, p. 28]
[I]n jets, the pressed Soma is clarified according to its nature, suitable for thee, O Indra!
9.72.5 [BH/W, p. 56]
Like a race horse launched in movement for the victory prize, flow, O Soma, . . . thou,
Bull, seated in the filter above the calf's wool, clarifying thyself, thou Soma, that Indra may
have his pleasure! 9.86.3 [BH/W, p. 18]
Clarify thyself, O Soma, in the celestial structures of thine essence, thou who hast been
released roaring into the vessel, in the filter. / Lodged in the belly of Indra, roaring with
vigour, held in hand by the Officiants, thou hast made the sun to mount the sky.
9.86.22 [BH/W, p. 57]
The penis, men, take the penis and move it and stick it in . . . Inspire Indra 10.101.12
[OFL]
While both Soma and Indra participate in this single vision, they are described as
still retaining their separate existences since each continues to inhabit his own celestial
'seat': "Indra is farther than this seat [i.e. Soma's seat] when the milked amsu, the Soma,
fills him . . . 3.36.6 [BH/W, p. 44]."
Describing the purified Soma as streams that "penetrate" into Indra's belly implies
sexual congress, an implication made explicit in the verses listed below that refer to
Soma as going to Indra like a bull "putting his seed . . . in a heifer," "like a gallant to a
mistress," "like a bridegroom to his bride," or like "a libertine to the wife of his friend."
Alternatively, verses may use the metaphor of a bull or stallion being milked. Gonda,
in a critique of translations of verse 10.31.2, suggests that the sexual metaphors in the
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RV may express the thought that the poet-seers 'conceive' their visions and inspired
hymns in the same way a baby is conceived:
Geldner's translation of adhayi dhitih "die Erkenntnis is erfolgt" is perhaps not
completely incorrect; it is however a tempting surmise to connect this phrase with
the combinations of dha- and retah, garbham and to compare the double sense of the
English conceive. Cf. also 8.12.11 where the dhitih is called garbho yajnasya.
[Gonda, 1963, p. 184]
Before leaving this subject, we also point out that the penis metaphor is used in a
different way in a verse that describes the jets of purified Soma using a 'pissing'
metaphor:
Soma, stormcloud imbued with life, is milked of ghee, milk. . . Acting in concert,
those charged with the Office, richly gifted, do full honor to Soma. The swollen men
piss the flowing [Soma]. 9.74.4 [BH/W, pp. 29-30, 50]
Most translators interpret the pissing metaphor as an embellishment of the image
of a stormcloud spitting rain with which the verse begins, but, in view of the fact that
many other verses incorporate allusions to the ejaculation of male semen, we suggest
that the more literal interpretation is the most accurate, that is, that the eulogists meant
to say that jets of Soma shoot out like urine from men who are finally able to release
their swollen bladders.
What Force Expels the Soma Jets from the Soma Bulb?
Many verses describe the Soma juice as having been forced out of the woolen filter
by "priests" ("officiants," "masterly men," "wise men," "preparers of the Soma") who use
their "fingers" to wield "pressing stones" to accomplish this task:
The ten fingers, the two arms, harness the pressing stone; they are the preparers of the
Soma, with active hands. The one with good hands has milked the mountain-
grown sap . . . the amsu has yielded the dazzling. 5.43.4 [BH/W, pp. 22, 44]
The priests, the ten fingers, milk thee forth for the gods . . . ten fingers of the skillful (ones)
milk thee forth with the stones . . . 9.80.4-5 [WIL]
This bull, heaven's head, Soma, when pressed, is escorted by masterly men [nrbhir] into
the vessels, he the all-knowing. 9.27.3 (BH/W, p. 45)
Many wise men utter praise together, when they have milked the Soma into Indra's
belly, when fair-armed men cleanse the delightful exhilarating juice with their ten united
fingers [lit., "ten having one nest"] 9.72.2 [WIL]
The best juice (dwells) in the navel of heaven, . . . the stones devour thee upon the
cowhide; the wise (priests) milk thee into the water with their hands 9.79.4 [WIL]
There are many reasons why the metaphor of priests wielding stones should not
be interpreted literally. One objection is that a literal interpretation would reverse the
timing of events: in these verses, the vision of Soma is already present in the visual
field, so it cannot be the case that the priests are still engaged in crushing the stalks to
prepare the Soma drink to be used in the ritual. A second objection is that the pressing
of Soma is described here as a "celestial" event and thus one that takes place at "heaven's
Ph. T. Nicholson
61
seat" or at the "seat" of a god. For example, 9.102.2 describes Soma as appearing "at a
place near the two pressing stones of Trita [WIL]." This reference to Trita, a sky god, is
particularly interesting since the name, Trita, which connotes the number 'three,'
anticipates the number of Soma streams that will later shoot out of the filter. Also,
8.12.32 describes the first Soma sacrifice by the god, Vivasvant, as a "navel-milking"
(nabha yajnasya) performed in the god's celestial seat [Gonda, 1963, p. 187]. Hints of
divine agency in the pressing of Soma are also apparent in 9.47.1, which states that "The
shining soma [is] being purified by the golden hand that urges it forth . . . [WIL]."
Consistent with the interpretation that divine hands wield the pressing stones are
the verses that describe Soma as moving itself, as, for example, in 9.74.1, which reads,
"The soma stalk [amsu], filled full, moves itself everyway [GRF]," or 9.68.4, which
describes Soma as "protecting his head" from the priests' fingers, perhaps a reference to
a pulling-back movement. The description of Soma moving itself is consistent with a
mythological explanation that the golden hands of the gods are applying pressure on
the Soma bulb from a celestial region invisible to humans.
These metaphors suggesting that the fingers that press the Soma bulb are divine,
not human, can be reconciled with an alternative interpretation in which the priests'
'fingers' do play an important role - but these are not the 'fingers' one might suppose. A
number of verses suggest that the references to "priests' fingers" are actually
euphemisms for the priests' singing hymns. Their chants attract the attention of the
gods and motivate the gods to act on behalf of humans; therefore, it might be said that
the priests' hymn-fingers play an important causal role since they recruit the gods and
get them to apply the pressure that 'massages' the celestial Soma-bulb. Thus it is a
divine-human partnership that produces the perturbations wise men see when the
Soma-bulb appears to "move itself." Consistent with this interpretation are the
following verses:
[T]he worshippers send forth praises; the filtered (juices) hasten to the fair praise , the
exhilarating Soma juices enter Indra 9.85.7 [WIL]
They send forth with their fingers [alt. translation, 'with their praises'] the powerful Soma
. . . passing through the fleece 9.106.11 [WIL]
[O]ur holy hymns are pressing nigh to Soma. To him they come . . . and, longing, enter
him who longs to meet them. / They drain the stalk [amsu], the Steer who dwells on
mountains . . . 9.95.3-4 [GRF]
(The priests) milk forth the Soma cleansed (dwelling) on a high place like a buffalo, the
sprinkler, placed between the grinding-stones; praises attend upon the longing Soma . . .
9.95.4 [WIL]
Having enumerated the reasons why references to priests wielding pressing-
stones should not be taken literally in those passages that refer to visionary experiences,
we acknowledge that there might also be a sense in which it would be reasonable to say
that priests actually do grab stones, crush stalks, and prepare a drink that produces
visions. If the original Soma plant were some kind of Ephedra, as many scholars
suggest (see our discussion in Part III), then we might envision the following scenario:
the priests gather Ephedra plants and crush the stalks to prepare a drink containing
ephedrine, a stimulant. They use this ephedrine drink to keep awake throughout the
night as part of a Soma ritual. As a result, they would lose enough sleep to predispose
them to an outbreak of paroxysmal brain discharges when they tried to meditate - and
THE SOMA CODE
62
the photoparoxysmal phosphene images that were generated by the seizure would
bestow the visions of Soma and Indra. In this were the actual scenario of events, it is
easy to imagine that the preparation of the Soma drink and the visions of Soma would
be associated in the minds of the observers as a causal link, even if the link were
indirect or perhaps non-existent. In this view, references to the priests' fingers may
celebrate two different acts - the physical preparation of the Soma drink, but also the
singing of hymns that recruit divine help to press the purified Soma jets out of the
celestial vision of the Soma filter.
The Vision of Indra
Indra appears in an overwhelming blast of brilliant white light described as
"lightning," as "an ocean" of "dazzling" white that flows "continuously," as "a vesture of
grand occasion," as "a spread-cloth like to a cloud," as the "dappled one, enveloped in a
membrane of light," or as an opening of the divine "eye (caksus)," which leaves the seer
"sun-eyed (svarcaksa)." Indra's brilliance is blissful and god-like but also like a
"burning:"
Soma, exhilarating Indra (and) the celestial people, thou rushest forth, when filtered,
like the wave of a river 9.80.5 [WIL]
[T]he lucid water-shedding rivers do not fill the ocean with water 5.85.6 [WIL]
The inspired seers guard this inspired thought which is bright-like-lightning, a dhih of the
nature of the light of heaven at the abode or seat of rta. 10.177.2 [GON, 1963, pp. 178-
9]
Soma, who art purified, . . . enter Indra's belly in a mighty stream; milk heaven and
earth for us as lightning (milks) the clouds; . . . 9.76.3 [WIL]
With unfading vesture, brilliant, newly clothed, the immortal hari wraps himself all
around. By authority he has taken the back of heaven to cloth himself in a spread-cloth
like to a cloud. 9.69.5 [BH/W, p. 40]
He sloughs off the Asurian color that is his. He abandons his envelop . . . With what
floats he makes continually his vesture-of-grand-occasion 9.71.2 [BH/W, p. 40]
We have drunk the Soma; we have become immortal; we have gone to the light; we have
found the gods. 8.48.3 [OFL]
Inflame me like fire started by friction. 8.48.6 [WIL]
The filtre of the burning [Soma] has been spread in heaven's home. 9.83.2 [BH/W,
p. 54]
[Soma] who has for eye the sun [svarcaksa] 9.97.46 [BH/W, p. 47]
[H]e has clothed himself with the fire-bursts of the sun 9.71.9b
I have drunk the navel into the navel for our sake. Indeed, the eye is altogether with the
sun [caksus cit surye]. 9.10.8ab [BH/W, p. 46, 50]
Quickened by the seven minds, he [Soma] has encouraged the rivers free of grief, which
have strengthened his single eye 9.9.4 [WIL]
The wise behold with their mind (seated) in their heart the Sun made manifest by the illusion
of the Asura; the sages look into the solar orb . . . sages cherish it in the place of
sacrifice, brilliant, heavenly, ruling the mind. / I beheld the protector (the Sun), never
descending, going by his paths to the east and to the west; clothing (with light) the
(four) quarters of heaven . . . 10.177.1-3 [WIL]
Ph. T. Nicholson
63
The sovereign (Soma) has put on the vestment of the waters 9.84.2 [WIL]
[T]he asura-colored showerer (of benefits) illumines as soon as born, the whole luminous
region . . . /. . . Indra has uncovered the desirable white-colored, fast-flowing Soma,
effused by the expressing stones, and overlaid with the shining (milk and other liquids), in
like manner as when, borne by his tawny steeds, he rescued the cattle. 3.44-45
[WIL]
The colors and textures of the Indra vision are described by three different but
related metaphors: as an opaque whiteness like milk in a bucket, a mottled whiteness
like milk "mixed with curds," or an even more variegated surface faceted by "a
thousand studs [bhrstir]:"
Now he has gone to the white pot coated by cows; the racehorse has reached the
winning line . . . 9.74.8 [OFL]
Pressed for Indra . . . the Soma plants requiring a mixture of curds. 5.51.4-7
[BH/W, p. 27]
[M]ix the libation with curds, offer the Soma to Indra. 9.11.5-6 [WIL]
King [Soma], having the filtre for chariot, he has attained the victory prize; a thousand
studs, he conquers puissant renown. 9.86.40 [BH/W, pp. 52, 59]
If we refer to the paroxysmal phosphene sequence described by the author, we can
identify counterparts for each of these descriptions at different stages in the evolution of
the Indra vision. In the paroxysmal phosphene sequence, the rising rays are followed
by a continuing series of dull white flashes that look exactly like sheet lightning
illuminating dark stormclouds from within (see Figure 3, Part I). This is probably the
empirical referent of the lightning metaphor. These lightning-like flashes were replaced
by a different kind of phosphene vision once the author stopped the initial flashing by
diverting attention to other things and then getting up and walking around the house.
Then, when he returned to bed, he saw a faint glow hovering in the same place where
the bulb and the rays had once been, and, when he looked at this glow, it suddenly
began to expand very rapidly, as if it were radiating out in all directions toward the
viewer (see Figure 4, Part I). The surface of this expanding white phosphene cloud had
a distinctive, variegated, cauliflower-like appearance: in effect, it looked very much like
a foam of soap bubbles surging upward in response to a downward jet of water or like
the surface of a cumulus cloud billowing outward in response to explosive pressures
contained within. This variegated whiteness is aptly described as "milk mixed with
curds" or as white light with "a thousand studs." A few nights after the initial
photoparoxysm, the glow still remained but, when it expanded, the surface had lost its
former variegation and presented an undifferentiated, fog-like cloud of white mist.
While we are addressing the subject of Indra, it is important to make a brief
excursion to examine one particular verse that assumes a critical role in the current
debate about the identity of the original Soma plant that we will review in Part III. In an
influential article arguing that Ephedra is the most likely candidate for the original
Soma, Falk [1989] claims that it is a mistake to interpret the hymns of the RV as
referring to visual "hallucinations." While it is true that Falk has in mind the kind of
dream-like figurative hallucinations induced by harmaline alkaloids (the competing
candidate for the original Soma), he states his case in such a way as to exclude all kinds
of luminous visions, including those we have documented in this series of papers. The
THE SOMA CODE
64
most recent review of the debate about the Soma plant concurs with Falk's position
[Nyberg, 1995]. Since our analysis of the evidence supports a conclusion diametrically
opposed to Falk, it is worthwhile to spend a moment studying the verse that Falk cites
as an example of misinterpretation:
The only half-serious reason to expect hallucination as an effect of Soma-drinking in
an Indian context is the well-known Labasukta, RV 10.119. There it is said that some
winged creature, after consumption of Soma, touches sky and earth with its wings
and extends bodily even beyond these borders . . . . Usually it is Indra who grows
until he extends beyond heaven and earth (e.g. RV 1.81.5; 8.88.5). . . . But Indra has no
wings! And nowhere is it said that human Soma-drinkers feel that they are growing.
. . . The act of growing in the Labasukta simply classifies the bird amongst the gods
and gives no indication that it was due to the effects of any drug. . . . Because all the
proponents of Soma as a hallucinogenic drug make their claim on the basis of a
wrong interpretation of the Labasukta, their candidates must be regarded as
unsuitable [Falk, Ibid., p. 78].
We believe Falk's reading of this verse is seriously mistaken - that, contrary to his
claim, this verse is a perfect example of the celebration of luminous visions in the RV,
particularly the culminating visions of Soma and Indra. We have already noted the
many times that metaphors of birds flying are used to describe the rising streams of
purified Soma, and, in addition, that the streams penetrate as far as the seat of Indra, so
that, at the moment when Soma is rising and Indra is drinking, it might well be said
that Indra is lifted on wings. Moreover, bird metaphors are also used to describe the
sun-like flood of bright light that appears when Indra explodes into view, as, for
example, in 10.177.1-3, discussed in the first paper (Part I), where wise men are
described as having seen in their hearts "the bird annointed with the magic of the Asura
[sky gods]" or "the footprints of his rays" as a "revelation that shines like the sun in the
footprint of Order [OFL]." Based on these considerations, we conclude that Falk and
Nyberg cannot possibly be right in their conclusion that the RV does not refer to
luminous visions, even though we concur in many other aspects of their argument in
favor of Ephedra as the original Soma plant (see Part III).
Indra and the Vision of Dawn
So far we have examined the birth of Soma and its transmutation into Indra and
have identified images with similar characteristics in the paroxysmal phosphene
sequence described by the author. We know, based on the meditation-induced
phosphene sequence, that a gradual brightening and bluing of the visual field occurred
soon after the onset of paroxysmal brain discharges, that this took place before the
bulbous image appeared, and that this uniform brightening and bluing disappeared
abruptly at the same instant that the Soma-like bulbous image disappeared. Therefore,
it is reasonable to expect that some hymns in the RV have metaphors that describe a
similar phenomenon occurring at a similar place in the progression of luminous visions.
Is there any evidence to support this inference?
Several verses in the RV mention that Indra's lightning bolt kills Usas, the goddess
of dawn, but, paradoxically, Usas is said to be "enriched" by Indra's triumph:
Ph. T. Nicholson
65
Indra . . . thou hast slain the woman, the daughter of the sky [i.e. the dawn], when
meditating mischief. / Thou, Indra, who art mighty, has enriched the glorious dawn,
the daughter of heaven. 4.30.7-11 [WIL]
If Indra's brilliance, which is a vision, kills Usas and thereby "extinguishes the
dawn (9.82.3)[WIL]," this suggests that, in this context, Usas also refers to a vision, one
that was present in the visual field at the time Indra appeared. Usas is enriched, even
though she dies, because Usas, like all the other deities, is part of 'The One,' and thus,
like the others, she has an assigned role in the evolution of luminous visions that
culminates in the appearance of Indra. The vision of Indra is a "Union of The Waters
and the Sun," a realization of, or restoration of, the primordial cosmic order of Brahman,
Purusha, and Rta. Usas, and all creation, benefits when cosmic Unity is restored.
In the verses listed below, there are more hints that the eulogists are sometimes
referring, not to a terrestial dawn, but rather to an inner vision of dawn where "paths to
the gods are beheld" by the seer, and the path is illuminated by "days that have dawned
before the rising of the sun," where the dawn-like light is not as as transient as a
terrestial dawn but rather "beheld like a wife repairing to an inconstant husband:"
The paths that lead to the gods are beheld by me, innocuous and glorious with light: the
banner of Ushas is displayed in the east, she comes to the west, rising above the
high places. / Many are the days that have dawned before the rising of the sun, on which
thou, Ushas, has been beheld like a wife repairing to an inconstant husband, and not like
one deserting him. / Those ancient sages, our ancestors . . . discovered the hidden
light, and, reciters of sincere prayers, they generated the Dawn. 7.76.2-3 [WIL]
The next stanza of the same verse adds an important detail:
Auspicious Ushas . . . who art the conductress of the cattle (to pasture), the bestower of
food, dawn upon us . . . 7.76.4 [WIL]
Come, (Ushas), with the desirable (radiance); let the cows who are of full udders
accompany thy chariot 172.1-4 [WIL]
These references to Usas as a "conductress of cattle" are important because they
reverberate with another metaphor that is frequently used in verses dedicated to Soma
and Indra, i.e., references to a herd of hidden cows that the eulogists use to explain the
source of the 'milk' that gets mixed in with the Soma juice. Because of the hidden cows'
milk, the Soma juice is white when it shoots out of the filter:
[T]he asura-colored showerer (of benefits) illumines as soon as born, the whole luminous
region . . . /. . . Indra has uncovered the desirable white-colored, fast-flowing Soma,
effused by the expressing stones, and overlaid with the shining (milk and other liquids), in
like manner as when, borne by his tawny steeds, he rescued the cattle. 3.44-45
[WIL]
The rishi, the sage, the foremost of men, the far shining intelligent Usanas - he verily
by his poetic gift discovered the secret milk of those cows which was hidden and concealed
9.87.3 [WIL]
For Usas to be the "conductress" of the herd of hidden cows that supplies the milk
for the Soma vision, Usas must also be a vision, one recognized by the eulogists as
appearing at a set place in the unfolding of the sequence of luminous visions. This
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66
linking of the eulogists' hymns, propitious visions of a divine dawn, and the celestial
cows is emphasized several times in the following verses:
[O]ur mortal forefathers departed after instituting the sacred rite, when, calling upon
the dawn, they extricated the milk-yielding kine, concealed among the rocks of the darkness
(of the cave) . . . / . . . unprovided with the means of (extricating) the cattle, they
glorified the author of success, when they found the light, and were thus enabled (to
worship him) with holy ceremonies / Devoted (to Agni), those leaders . . . with
minds intent upon (recovering) the cattle, forced open, by (the power) of divine prayer, the
obstructing, compact, solid mountain confining the cows, a cowpen full of kine. / They
first have comprehended the name of the kine, knowing the thrice seven excellent (forms) of
the maternal (rhythm); . . . / . . . then they glorified the conscious dawns, and the
purple dawn appeared with the radiance of the sun. / The scattered darkness was
destroyed; the firmament glowed with radiance; the lustre of the divine dawn arose . .
4.1.11-17 WIL
Note the reference here to the conjunction, "thrice-seven," which we discussed
earlier in relation to the three streams of purified Soma that increase in number to
seven, which led us to suggest the translation, "three-then-seven." In the context of this
verse, the reciting of this conjunction suggests that the eulogists meant to say that, once
the ancestors understood what kinds of visions were possible - "hav[ing]
comprehended the name of the kine, [and] knowing the thrice seven excellent (forms),"
they then realized the importance of inducing a vision of the "conscious dawn" in which
the purple shines with the "the radiance of the sun."
Just as a vision of "divine dawn" can be said to herald the vision of Soma, the
Dawn vision has its own harbingers - the Asvins' chariot and Agni's flame-arrows:
May this desireable and gratifying Soma expressed by the stones be, Indra, for thee:
ascend the verdant chariot, and with thy tawny (steeds) come to us; Desiring (the
Soma), thou honorest the dawn . . . 3.44.1-2 [WIL]
The brilliant chariot, diffusing splendor, rolling lightly on its three wheels, offering an easy
seat . . . . at whose yoking the Dawn was born, rich in marvelous treasures - I invoke
that your chariot (O Asvins) Vala 10.3 [WIL]
Where is that ancient one of those (Dawns), through whom the works of the Ribhus were
accomplished? For as the bright Dawns happily proceed, they are alike and
undecaying. / Verily those auspicious Dawns have been of old, rich with desired
blessings . . . / . . . the divine Dawns, arousing the assembly of the sacrifice, are glorified
like the (rays) creative of the waters. / Those Dawns proceed verily alike, of similar
form, of infinite hues, pure, bright, illumining, concealing by their radiant persons
the very great gloom. 4.51.6-10 [WIL]
It is worth noting here that the "divine Dawns" are described in 4.51.8 as "arousing
the assembly of the sacrifice," i.e., an invigorating the assembled priests. This point will
be relevant in our discussion of the ancient Soma ritual in Part III. One of the leading
candidates for the original Soma is Ephedra which contains an adrenaline-like stimulant
that has an invigorating effect on users, as this verse suggests.
The hypothesis that Dawn sometimes refers to a type of luminous vision is
consistent with Gonda's analysis of the term, rtasya (meaning the "seat" or "place" of rta)
Ph. T. Nicholson
67
in 4.51.8. Discussing the phrase, rtasya devih sadaso budhana, Gonda points out that "rta
is ubiquitous and not confined to a special locality," and that, therefore, this phrase
could be interpreted as referring a light generated inside the seer and not just to a
terrestial dawn:
There is, as far as I am able to see, nothing to have us believe either that this sadah
is identical with that in 10, 111, 2 or that all rtasya sadamasi are situated in the
East. What the text means, is, in my opinion, this: the Dawns have their origin in,
or rather are based on or conditioned by, rta; what it says is that at the 'place'
where the Dawns awake rta makes its presence known. [Gonda, 1963., p. 182]
Gonda makes a similar point in a monograph analyzing the use of the Sanskrit
medium tense in the RV: referring to 7.92.2, Gonda suggests that this phrase which is
often translated as "(the dawns) color themselves" could also be interpreted, given the
use of the medium tense, as applying to an event that the poet-seer causes to happen
within himself, so that "the person who is subject is characterized as performing the
process in his own sphere and in his own interest . . . . [Gonda, 1979, p. 23]." Two other
verses translated by Gonda describe the seer as beholding an inner vision of dawn that
is regarded as an auspicious omen of what comes next:
[T]he man who in the early morning kindles his sacrificial fire mentally should acquire, by
way of a 'vision,' a flash of intuition, the knowledge of the deeper sense of what he is
doing: 'I have kindled the fire with the rays of the matutinal light.' 7.104.14 [GON,
1963, p. 77]
[B]orn still before daylight, attentive, recited, in parts, when the sacral functions are
performed, dressed in beautiful-and-auspicious white clothes is this our ancestral dhih
which was born long ago. 3.39.2 [GON, 1963, p. 77]
Table 2.1. Synopsis of parallels between phosphene sequence and luminous visions.
Meditation-Induced Phosphenes Luminous Vision Metaphors
Rings (3 - 5) that shrink in diameter.
Waves of amorphous phosphene mist
Bright central node & pupil-like space
Visions of wheel rims moving away.
Visions of flame-arrows assembling
like water pouring into holes.
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68
Many-colored, smoke-like visions.
A star-like cluster of thin filaments.
An influx of thin, dark, fast-paced rings.
A radiating spray of beige-colored flecks.
A gradual brightening and bluing of
the entire visual field that obscures &
then eclipses the spray.
Visions of a day before the day that
lasts longer than a terrestial dawn.
A hidden light of Divine dawn.
Small white bulbous glow, upper right
quadrant. Attention makes it move.
Bulbous image & the blue disappear
A vision with a bulbous shape, like
an udder, navel, head, bull's horn,
pot, penis, waterskin, woolen ball.
Indra kills Dawn but also enriches her.
3 thin white rays fan out from a base.
6 rays replace the 3 & extend further.
Same 6 rays move apart ('wilt')
3 jets of pure Soma rise from the filter.
The 3 become 7.
The rays fly like a bird as it 'alights' on its nest.
A sudden outbreak of lightning-like flashes
That continues until attention is diverted. Indra manifests as a bolt of lightning,
as a continuous flood of bright, sun-
like light, or an 'eye' (caksus) that is
altogether one with the sun.
The aftermath = a white glow that expands
with a surface texture like the cauliflower. Indra as 'milk with curds' or a whiteness that
is variegated by a 1,000 studs or petals.
Conclusion, Part II: The Soma Code
Our analysis of the metaphor-sets used to describe luminous visions in the RV has
uncovered many parallels with the meditation-induced phosphene sequence described
by the author. These parallels, which are present image-by-image and also in the
temporal sequencing of images, are summarized in Table 2.1. Our theory about the
origins of luminous visions described in the RV provides a detailed, comprehensive,
and economic explanation accounting for the choices of particular metaphors and what
the composers meant to communicate by choosing these and not others. Our theory
also explains some other puzzles that have so far eluded explanation. In the final paper
of this three-part series, we use this new theory to investigate the relationship between
Ph. T. Nicholson
69
visionary experiences in the RV and those described in later works, such as the
Upanishads and the many yoga meditation texts in the Hindu, Tantric, and Tibetan-
Buddhist traditions. We also propose that the homologies between natural events, the
actions of Vedic deities, and the visions of human seers which are postulated by Vedic
myths can be best explained as projections onto nature and mythic elaborations that
originated in the visionary experiences of tribal shamans. Finally, we show that this
theory about the nature of the luminous visions in the RV now makes it possible to
choose between the two leading candidates that have been proposed most recently as
the original Soma plant.
ABBREVIATIONS USED
BH/W Bhawe, S. S.. 1957, 1960, 1962. The Soma Hymns of the Rig Veda,
Parts I - III, , as quoted in Wasson, R. G., Soma: Divine Mushroom
of Immortality (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich: New York, 1971).
DNG Dange, S. A.. 1992. Divine Hymns and Ancient Thought, Vol. I:
RgVeda Hymns and Ancient Thought (N. Singal, NAVRANG:
New Delhi,.).
GRF Griffith, R. T. H.. 1971 [1889]. The Hymns of the RgVeda, Vol. I - II
(Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series: Varanasi,).
OFL O'Flaherty, W. D.. 1971. The Rig Veda: An Anthology (Penguin
Books: London).
WIL Wilson, H. H.. 1888. Rig-Veda Sanhita: A Collection of Ancient
Hindu Hymns, Vol. I - VI (Trubner & Company: London,).
GON Gonda, J. 1963. The Vision of the Vedic Poets (Mouton & Co.: The
Hague, Netherlands).
ADDITIONAL REFERENCES
Falk, H. 1989. "Soma I and II." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
(University of London).
Gonda, J. 1979. The Medium in the RgVeda (E. J. Brill: Leiden).
Nyberg. H.. 1995. "The Problem of the Aryans and the Soma: The Botanical
Evidence." In: Erdosy, G., Editor, The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Language,
Material Culture, and Ethnicity (Walter de Gruyter: Berlin, pp. 383 - 406).
Wasson, R. G.. 1971. Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality (Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich: New York)
THE SOMA CODE
70
The Soma Code, Part III: Visions, Myths, and Drugs
Philip T. Nicholson
ABSTRACT
In this final paper of a three-part series on the interpretation of luminous vision
metaphors in the Rig Veda (RV), we consider several implications raised by the
hypothesis that vision metaphors in the RV refer to the meditation-induced (and
meditation-destabilized) phosphene sequence described by the author in Part I. First,
we show that there is a remarkable continuity in the description of luminous visions in
the RV, the Upanishads, and yoga meditation texts in the Hindu, Tantric, and Tibetan-
Buddhist traditions. Second, we show that similar types of meditation-induced
phosphene visions are also reported in studies of contemporary shamans and
prehistoric rock art attributed to shamans. Since it is likely that shamanistic practices
were widespread at the time the RV was composed, we examine evidence that the
Vedic priests practiced shaman-like trance induction rituals and that the visions they
induced were used as the basic organizing structure for Indo-Aryan myths that describe
the attributes of gods and define the gods' roles in the trajectory of cosmic events.
Third, we show that the hypothesis that luminous visions in the RV represent
phosphene images is relevant to the current debate about the identity of the original
Soma plant. If luminous visions refer to phosphene images and not to memory-based
hallucinations with dream-like content, this would exclude Syrian rue, which contains
hallucinogenic harmaline alkaloids, as a likely candidate. The leading alternative,
Ephedra, contains an extract (ephedrine) that is an adrenaline-like stimulant that does
not induce visions. But if the original Soma ritual required an all-night vigil, as some
scholars suggest, then the attendant sleep loss would likely create a strong sleep-
rebound effect and increase the incidence of sleep-onset seizures when the priests
reactivated sleep rhythms by trying to meditate just before dawn when the sleep
rebound effect would reach maximal levels. If the priests also drank ephedrine to keep
themselves awake, this would potentiate the sleep deficit and also add the risk of over-
stimulating the sympathetic nervous system, which, in extreme cases, can trigger a
temporary collapse and install a state of parasympathetic dominance, the final common
outcome of many different trance induction rituals.
Ph. T. Nicholson
71
The Continuity of Visions in Vedic and Post-Vedic Meditation Traditions
Table 3.1. A comparison of descriptions of luminous visions in Vedic and Hindu texts.
THE RG VEGA SELECTED UPANISHADS THE YOGASUTRAS
---------------- ---------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------
RECEDING
RINGS
MISTS OR
CLOUDS
[T]he single wheel that is concealed
10.85.16
With the bright dhih, you drive, O you
travelers in a radiant chariot 8.26.19
When the visions that are concealed
begin to glow spontaneously, the
Seers begin to glow . . . 8.6.8
The flame-arrows of Agni...assemble
like streams of water into holes 10.25.4
Fog, smoke, sun,... these are the
preliminary forms which produce
the manifestation of Brahman in
yoga (SvetasUp, II: 11)
In the city of Brahman is an abode, a
small lotus flower; within it, a small
space. What is within, that should be
sought (ChandogUp, VIII: 1: 1)
In the light, everything is
encompassed, the seer as
well as the seen (4.23)
----------------
STAR
----------------
----------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------
-----------------------------------
RADIAL
SPRAYS
OF
SPARKS
---------------- ----------------------------------------------------
Fireflies...these are [also] preliminary
forms . . . (SvetasUp, II: 11)
----------------------------------------------------
Also one sees countless
bright speckles striking
consciousness. Keep on
watching: when the
whirling [vinivrttih] ends,
the abode of the atman
will appear (4.24 - 4.25)
-----------------------------------
BRIGHT
BLUENESS
----------------
[T]he days that have dawned before the
rising of the sun . . . 7.76.2
---------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------
BULBOUS
IMAGE [F]ill the dhih up, make it swollen like
an udder filled with milk 10.64.12
[R]eceive them on thy navel, O Soma,
thou who are the head . . . 1.43.9
Soma, stormcloud imbued with life...
Navel of the Way . . . 9.74.4
The sharp seer, in heaven's navel, is
magnified in the woolen filter 9.12.4
They milk the amsu, this bull at home
on the mountain . . . 9.95.4
That which hangs down between
the palates like a nipple, that is the
birthplace of Intra (TaittrUp, I: 6: 1)
The person [purusa] the size of a thumb...
like a flame without smoke. (KathaUp, II:
1: 12, 13)
He is of the measure of a thumb, of
appearance like the sun,...the self he
seems to be of the size of the point of
a goad (SvestasUp, V: 13)
That bending-down
image [viveka-nimnam] - it
bears Aloneness [Kaivalpa]
behind it
(4: 26)
---------------- [G]littering like a waterskin 9.1.8
---------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------
THE SOMA CODE
72
RAYS He sloughs off the divine radiance,
abandons his envelope, and goes to
rendevous with the Sky 9.71.2
The filter of the burning has been spread
...Its dazzling mesh spread afar 9.83.2
The bird of golden hue resides in the
heart and in the sun, a diver-bird, a
swan [hamsa], of surpassing radiance
(MaitrUp, VI: 34)
That tearing apart
[chidrescu] - it releases
more changes (4: 27)
----------------
BRIGHT
WHITE
FLASHES
In jets, the pressed Soma is clarified
9.72.5
----------------------------------------------------
I have drunk the navel . . . the eye is
altogether with the sun 9.10.8
[T]his inspired thought which is bright-
like-lightning . . . the light of heaven at
the abode or seat of rta 10.177.2
[H]e has clothed himself with the fire-
bursts of the sun 9.71.9
----------------------------------------------------
Brahman sparkles like a wheel of fire, of
the color of the sun (MaitrUp, VI: 24)
Brahman. the ocean of light. In it, wor-
shippers become dissolved like salt
(MaitrUp, VI: 36)
They rise forth...like lightnings from the
light within the clouds (MaitrUp, VI: 36)
-----------------------------------
To one elevated in aware-
ness, who continues to
relinquish desire, the
vision of ultimate discern-
ment bursts forth like a
stormcloud of cosmic
dimension [dharma-megha-
samadhi] (4: 29)
Table 3.2. A comparison of luminous visions in Tantric and Tibetan-Buddhist texts.
TANTRIC TEXTS TIBETAN-BUDDHIST TEXTS
---------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
ANNULI
MISTS OR
CLOUDS
In the middle of the vault of the palate, like the
tapering flame of a candle, the...fiery effulgences
shine continuously (GA, p. 10 - 11)
'Meditate on the four wheels, each like an umbrella or
like the wheel of a chariot' (YSD, I: ii: 62)
From this practice come smoke-like or ethereal shapes
The forming of thoughts ceases, and phenomena,
appearing like smoke, mirage... (YSD, I: ii: 98)
----------------
DOTS OR
STARS
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Above this energy [the ajna cakra midway between
the eyes] dwells the dot, bindu (GA, p. 10 - 11)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Phenomena, appearing...like fireflies (YSD, I: ii: 98)
----------------
RADIAL
SPRAYS
SPARKS
-------------------------------------------------------------------
When the bindu explodes and shatters, it expands
immediately... (GA, p. 10 - 11)
...a continuous whirling movement [ghurni] until there
appear dazzling sparks just as the kundalini rises
(AT, 5: 101, 107, 111; KS, II: 3)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The Flaring will appear as a yellow radiance
(YSD, I: ii: 125)
----------------
BRIGHT
BLUENESS
----------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Phenomenon, appearing...[like] something
resembling the light of dawn, and something
resembling a cloudless sky (YSD, I: ii: 98)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ph. T. Nicholson
73
BULBOUS
IMAGE
----------------
RAYS
When the bindu explodes and shatters, it expands
immediately and forms the mastaka [the 'Egg of
Brahman'], similar to the angular fruit of the water
chestnut (GA, p. 10 - 11)
Concentrate on the image that resembles the
stomach of a fish . . . [showing] unfoldment and
contraction (TA, 5: 57-61)
...the supreme linga [phallus] of the skull. From
above the uvula, this linga showers nectar. In
the inner space, the womb in th e middle of
the forehead, is found that nectar. Having raised
it to the surface of the brahmadanda, similar to
an ivory tusk, the kundalini releases its flow.
Inside the tusk there is but one orifice, the mouth
of the kundalini (GA, p. 10)
------------------------------------------------------------------
The supreme energy blossoming into bliss is
adorned like a five hooded cobra as she rises
(AT: 248-251)
One should have a vision of the form of the Buddha
outlined against a cloudless sky, like the moon's
reflected form seen in water. Or one sees, as a form
reflected in a mirror, the unobscured, radiant Nirmana-
Kaya [Pure Illusory Body] (YSD, II: ii: 19-20)
The Pure Illusory Body... springs forth from the State
of the Clear Light like a fish leaping forth from water ,
or like the form of [the Celestial Buddha], which rises
as one does upon waking from sleep (YGS, IV: iii: 34)
And thus is produced the invisible psychic protuber-
ance on the crown of the head. When the protuber-
ance becomes filled with the vital force of the trans-
muted seminal fluid, one..realizes the State of the
Great Vajra-Dhara [Wielder of the Thunderbolt]
(YSD, I: ii: 144-145)
------------------------------------------------------------------
Simultaneously with this realization, the white
fluid...flows upward to the crown of the head
(YSD, I:ii:144-145)
The rising energy forms a five-fold wheel... like
a swan of dazzling white drinking in the cosmos
---------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------
BRIGHT
WHITE
FLASHES
When the energy with five modal ities draws
herself up . . . and enters Brahman's seat, she
flashes forth like lightning.... such is the so-called
serpent piercing. (AT: 248-251)
One gains...mastery of the Very Bright
(YGS, IV:iii:35)
A cross-text comparison of descriptions of luminous visions in the RV and in
religious texts written much later in time reveal that there is a remarkable continuity
that extends throughout history and into the present day. Table 3.1 compares excerpts
from the RV hymns with excerpts from several Upanishads (translated by
Ramakrishnan [1992]) and from Patañjali's Yogasutras (translated by the present author
[see Note 1]). Table 3.2 compares excerpts from yoga meditation texts in the Tantric
tradition - Abhinavagupta's Tantraloka, Goraksanatha's Amaraughasasana, and
Ksemaraja's Shivasutravimarshini (all translated by Silburn [1988]) - and excerpts from a
Tibetan-Buddhist text, The Epitome of the Six Abridged Doctrines (translated by Evans-
Wentz [1958] or Mullin [1996]). [Tables adapted from Nicholson, 2002a]
While cultural diffusion is clearly a factor that contributes to the recurring
presence of similar phosphene images, the fact that these replications are so detailed
supports the hypothesis that the primary reason for these similarities is not cultural
diffusion but rather the nature of the causal mechanisms involved: as we explained in
Part I, meditation-induced phosphene images are epiphenomena of the brain rhythms
that govern the transition from waking to slow wave sleep, and this neurophysiology
imposes narrow constraints on what kinds phosphenes can appear in the visual field of
meditators. Extrapolating from this hypothesis that meditation induces a predictable
progression of light visions, we can anticipate that the same kinds of visions will appear
in other religious traditions.
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74
Did the Rig Veda Originate in Shaman-Like Visionary Experiences?
Visions of internally-generated lights devoid of content drawn from life
experience (i.e., 'phosphenes') have played major roles in the founding and continuing
revitalization of the world's major religious traditions [Bucke, 1969 (1901); Laski, 1961;
Underhill, 1990 (1930); Arbman, 1963, 1968, 1970]. Based on analysis of the
autobiographies of mystical visionaries in various traditions, we can infer that two
types of phosphene images predominate during the early states of meditation or
contemplative prayer - images of phosphene rings (annuli) and images of amorphous
phosphene clouds or mists. Examples of mystics' descriptions of these two kinds of
visions appear in Table 3.3 [Nicholson, 1996a].
Table 3.3. Autobiographical descriptions of visions of phosphene rings and
clouds
HEBREW MYSTICS
[T]he appearance of the wheels...was like the gleaming of beryl; and the four had the same form,
their construction being something like a wheel within a wheel" Ezekiel
[T]ike a dome, shining like crystal, spread out about their heads....And above the dome, something
like a throne, in appearance like sapphire..." Ezekiel
[A] round ladder....like a full sphere, rolling back and forth before him...bright blue." R. Abulafia
A glowing light...clear brilliance...A purple light that absorbs all lights...." Moses de Leon
HINDU AND BUDDHIST MYSTICS
[A] perfectly round, beautiful deep-blue shape, of a size appropriate to the center of a mandala, as
if exquisitely painted, of extreme clarity..." Tsong Khapa
[A] luminous revolving disc, studded with lights...a lotus flower in full bloom..." Gopi Krishna
[B]oth my eyes became centered...When this happened, a blue light arose in my eyes....like a
candle flame without a wick, and stood motionless in the ajna chakra." Muktananda
MUSLIM MYSTICS
[Like] chandeliers....sublime lights, [like] stars, moon, or the sun..." Sharafuddin al-Maneri
[I]ts color is deep blue; it seems to be an upsurge, like...water from a spring." Najmoddin Kobra
[V]isualize yourself as lying at the bottom of a well [looking up] and the well...in lively
downward movement." Najmoddin Kobra
[T]he color green is the...suprasensory uniting all the suprasensories." Alaoddawleh Semnani
[T]he light rises in the Sky of the heart taking the form of...light-giving moons..." Najm Razi
CHRISTIAN MYSTICS
[H]is own state at...prayer resembles...a sapphire ; it is as clear and bright as the sky." Evagrius
[D]escending like a bright cloud of mist...like a sun, round as a circle." Simeon Neotheologos
[S]aw something in the air near him. He did not understand the type of thing, but in some ways
it appeared to have the form of a serpent, with many things that shone like eyes, although they were
not eyes." Ignatius of Loyola
[T]he soul puts on...a green almilla [cape worn over shoulders, beneath armor]..." John of the
Cross
[The almilla is like a helmet which] covers all the senses of the head of the soul...It has one hole
through which the eyes may look upwards..." John of the Cross
Ph. T. Nicholson
75
[A] round thing, about the size of a rixdaler, all bright and clear with light like a crystal." H.
Hayen
[I] saw a bright light, and in this light the figure of a man the color of sapphire...blazing with a
gentle glowing fire...the three were in one light...." Hildegard von Bingen
[S]aw a blazing fire, incomprehensible, inextinguishable...with a flame in it the color of the sky..."
Hildegard von Bingen
[S]aw placed beneath her feet the whole machine of the world as if it were a wheel. She saw
herself placed above it, her eyes of contemplation magnetized towards the incomprehensible..."
Beatrice of Nazareth
[I] saw the eyes...I do not know if I was asleep or awake..." Angela of Foligno
[A] kind of sunlit, winged being....like a child's head beneath two little wings." Abbess Thaisia
[R]ound patterns: small circles would expand and eventually dissipate, only to be followed by other small
circles of light." Philip St. Romain
[A]n extraordinarycircle of gold light...pulsating against a deep violet background....There were
always four or five....As soon as one would fade, another would appear..." Philip St. Romain
These same two kinds of visions are also prominent in ethnographic studies of
contemporary tribes that rely on shamanistic practices. Since we know that the oral
traditions of the Indo-Aryans developed during a time when shamanistic practices were
widespread, it is possible that shaman-like visionary experiences were influential in the
composition of the RV hymns. Our analysis in an earlier article (Part I) of the luminous
visions in the RV shows that ring-like image and amorphous mist-like images are
important early harbingers of being on the path that leads to Soma and Indra: the
Asvins' radiant, three-wheeled chariot manifests as bright wheel-like rings moving
away from the viewer (similar to the phosphene image of receding rings) and the
visions of Agni's flame-arrows that "assemble like water pouring into holes" (similar to
amorphous phosphene mists). To put ourselves in a position to address the question of
shamanic influences on the RV, we need first to examine how the phosphene images of
rings and amorphous mists are embedded in the ritual practices, artistic creations, and
mythological theories of shamanistic cultures.
Shaman are individuals who specialize in making contact with an otherwise
invisible world of spirits and in communicating with the spirits on behalf of other
members of the tribe [Jakobsen, 1999]. Where shamanistic practices still exist, learning
how to induce a trance and to see visions, then to go further and extend and elaborate
those visions, is often a prerequisite for being accepted as an authentic shaman by
others in the tribe [Noll, 1985]. For example, informants in the Alaskan Iglulik Eskimo
tribe told Rasmussen [1930] that a shaman must be able to summon up an interior
"illumination," called the angákoq or quamaneq, "a mysterious light which the shaman
suddenly feels in his body, inside his head, within the brain, an inexplicable searchlight,
a luminous fire, which enables him to see in the dark, both literally and metaphorically
speaking, for he can now, even with closed eyes, see through darkness and perceive
things and coming events that are hidden from others . . . . [p. 111]." To this Holtved
[1967] adds that a shaman often "gets his visions sitting or lying in deep concentration
at the back of the sleeping platform, behind a curtain or covered with a skin. The drum
is not used in this connection [p. 47].”
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76
Figure 3.1. Images of internally-generated sensations of light with abstract
geometric shapes (‘phosphene images’) in ethnographic reports and prehistoric
rock art studies. A. Concentric Annular Images: l. Four concentric annuli: South
Ph. T. Nicholson
77
Africa (Lewis-Williams and Dowson, 1988, Fig. 1); California (Patterson, 1998, p.
43; Benson and Sehgal, Fig. 9 - 10). 2. Four concentric annuli with central dot:
Australia (Halifax, 1982, pp. 39, 70; Taylor, 1988, pp. 286-7; Lawlor, 1991, pp. 46,
48-49, 108); Ireland (Herity, 1974, Fig. 37). 3. Single annulus with central dot:
Columbia (Reichel-Dolmatoff, 1978, Plate 38); Alaska (Nelson, 1899, as cited in
Benson and Sehgal, Fig. 5); Siberia (Vastokas, 1977, as cited in Benson and Sehgal,
Fig. 2, p. 6). 4. More than 4 densely-packed concentric annuli, a ‘tunnel-like’
image which may represent a stream of dark, fast-paced receding annuli
observed during the emergence of hypersynchronous CTC seizure (see text):
Mexico (Siegel and Jarvik, 1975, pp. 125, 139); Ireland (Herity, 1974, Fig. 81);
California (Benson and Sehgal, Fig. 6, p. 8). 5. Double spiral (included here
because it, along with the single spiral, may represent an illusory sensation of
movement associated with the ‘tunnel’ sequence of dark, fast-paced annuli rather
than an independently-generate image): Ireland (Herity, 1974, Fig. 70; Dronfield,
1996, Fig. 9); Mexico (Halifax, 1987, p. 71; Schaefer, 1996, Fig. 31, p. 156). B.
Amorphous Waves and Small-Particle Mists: 1. ‘Navicular’ image of horizontal
‘nested’ arcs: Ireland (Herity, 1974, Fig. 78); South Africa (Lewis-Williams and
Dowson, 1988, Figures 1 – 4; Lewis-Williams, 1995, p. 7). 2. Juxtaposition of 2
sets of nested arcs: Columbia (Reichel-Dolmatoff, 1975, Plates 36, 39, 1978, Plate
23); South Africa (Lewis-Williams and Dowson, 1988, Fig. 2). 3. Parallel wavy
lines: South Africa (Lewis-Williams and Dowson, 1988, Figures 1-2); California
(Whitley, 1994, Fig. 1). 4. Clusters of tiny dots or circles: Columbia (Reichel-
Dolmatoff, 1975, Plate 36); South Africa (Lewis-Williams and Dowson, 1988,
Figures 1-2; Ouzman, 1998, Figure 3.6., p. 38). C. Eye-Like (Iris and Pupil) Images:
Set 1. Ireland (Herity, 1974, Fig. 28, 36); California (Patterson, 1998, Fig. 3). Set 2.
Columbia (Reichel-Dolmatoff, 1987, Plates 10 - 11). E. Compound Images: 1.
Annuli-to-waves: South Africa (Lewis-Williams and Dowson, 1988, Fig. 1). 2.
Annuli-plus-waves: Ireland (Herity, 1974, Fig. 37; Dronfield, 1996, Fig. 9). 3.
Waves-to-eye: Ireland (Herity, 1974, Fig. 37). 3. Annuli-to-eyes: California
(Whitley, 1998, Fig. 1). [From Nicholson, 2001]
In shamanistic cultures, the ritual art (and secular decoration) often incorporates
patterns that are said to be representions of visions of light that the native informants
see during meditation or other states of advanced relaxation. Some of these patterns are
illustrated in Figure 3.1. The image of concentric circles, for example, covers the full
face of a mask carved by an Eskimo shaman in Siberia to commemorate his journey to
the spirit world and to depict the spirits (tanghak) he saw during his trance (e.g., see
Nelson [1899, Plate 99], or Ray [1967, pp. 6 - 9, 17], both cited in Benson and Sehgal
[1987]).
The motif of concentric rings also appears in the decorative and ritual art of
aboriginal tribes in Australia [see Halifax, 1982, pp. 39, 70; Taylor, 1988, p. 287; Lawlor
R, 1999, pp. 46, 48-9, 107-108]. Of particular interest is a report by Elkin [1974 (1945)]
that "men of high degree" assemble in groups to create ceremonial ground-paintings
(ilbantera) with 4 to 5 concentric rings that symbolize a sacred waterhole. This
waterhole is seen as the portal all living beings have to use to move between the visible
world and the world of spirits. The spirit world is envisioned as a paradise of perpetual
light inside caves located deep within the earth [Eliade, 1964, p. 46]. To enter
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78
Dreamtime and find the light of spirits, an elder withdraws from social interaction and
begins to meditate: "He is sitting down by himself with his thoughts in order 'to see'.
He is gathering his thoughts so that he can feel and hear. Perhaps he then lies down,
getting into a special posture, so that he may 'see' when sleeping. . . . [Elkin, p. 56]."
Ring-like phosphenes are also observed during the early stages of hallucinogen
intoxication, that is, before the blood levels of the drug are elevated enough to trigger
dream-like fantasies. For example, in a study of the peyote-induced visions of the
Huichol Indians of the high Sierra Madre range in Mexico, Schaefer [1996] reports that
"phosphenes induced by psychotic chemicals appear in two stages," and first to appear
are the colored, abstract images, called nieríka, that "serve as portals to other worlds.
Many take the form of pulsating mandalas [Schaefer, 1996, p.156 and Fig. 31; Benson
and Sehgal, 1987, Fig. 3]." In a study analyzing the frequency of particular kinds of
geometric figures in Huichol peyote visions, Siegel and Jarvik [1975] found that 71% of
items referred to “simple forms, colors, and movement patterns [Ibid., p. 125]."
While studying the Tukano Indians of the Amazonian rain forest, Reichel-
Dolmatoff [1972, 1975, 1978, 1987, 1996] was told by Tukano informants that, after
drinking one or two cups of yajé (ayahuasca), they see several different kinds of
"luminous patterns" before the figurative hallucinations begin. These preliminary
phosphenes include (1) circular shapes, which they draw as a single annulus with a dot
in the center or as a set of 3 to 4 concentric annuli; (2) "wavy threads called dáriri with
colors ranging from green to blue to violet," which they draw as wavy lines in parallel
or as clusters of curvilinear arcs nested one inside the other; and (3) eye-like images
[Ibid., 1996, p. 33). All of these phosphene motifs are often used to decorate the walls of
their houses [Ibid., 1978, e.g., pp. 12-13, 23, & 36; ibid., 1996, pp. 157 - 203, Plates 36 – 39;
ibid., 1987, Plates 10 - 11]. When the ethnologist experimented with yajé, he observed
the circular images himself: "A circle appears, it doubles, it triples, it multiplies itself
(1972, pp. 91-92)." While these abstract phosphenes are often associated with
ayahuasca, the Tukanos also report that the same kinds of visions also appear "during
fleeting states of dissocation, daydreaming, hypnagogic states, isolation, sensory
deprivation, or other situations of stress [Ibid., 1996, p.33]." The myths of the Tukanos
attribute these light visions to energies (bogári) emitted by an invisible twin of the
visible sun. These bogári energies are usually also invisible until they manifest as some
natural light display - as flashes of lightning, for instance, or as airborne dust particles
illuminated by a beam of sunlight - or manifest as an inner vision of light.
Many of the same images depicted in the artwork of shamanistic cultures - the
concentric annuli, wavy lines, and eye-like forms illustrated in Figure 3.1 - are also
found at prehistoric rock art sites. To explain why similar patterns appear at so many
different rock art sites from the megalithic and paleolithic eras, sites which are widely
dispersed geographically (ranging from Australia to South Africa to continental Europe,
Ireland, and the far western regions of the United States), Lewis-Williams and Dowson
[1988, 1993] have proposed a "neuropsychological model" of prehistoric rock art
production and consumption. This theory, which has been elaborated in many
subsequent studies [Whitley, 1994, 1998; Lewis-Williams, 1991, 1995a, b; Dronfeld,
1996a,b; Clottes and Lewis-Williams, 1998; Patterson,1998], states that the “best-fit
explanation” for why certain kinds of abstract, geometric images were carved at
Ph. T. Nicholson
79
prehistoric rock art sites is that these images depict phosphene phenomena observed by
shamans (or others) during altered states of consciousness.
If the same kinds of phosphene visions were induced by shamans in many
megalithic and paleolithic cultures, by shamans in many contemporary tribes, and by
visionaries in all of the mystical traditions of the world's major religions, the kinds of
behaviors that induce these visions must arise independently, or, put another way, the
behaviors necessary to induce phosphene displays must be relatively easy to discover
on one's own. A person prone to fantasize or to dissociate from his or her surroundings
will not find it difficult to drift into a self-hypnotic trance, and then, once in that state, to
notice that glimmers of phosphene light appear. The use of hallucinogenic drugs also
acquaints people with phosphene images that appear before dream-like hallucinations
supercede. Our hypothesis identifying sleep rhythms as the underlying cause suggests
that the only skill required to induce a predictable sequence of phosphene images is the
ability to simulate the kind of mental and physical relaxation a person achieves just
before falling asleep, since this state of low arousal 'fools' the body into premature
activation of the brain mechanisms that govern a normal transition to sleep.
In his cross-cultural comparisons of shamanic practices, Winkleman [1986, 1990,
1992] found that the final common outcome of most trance induction rituals is
installation of a physiological state of "parasympathetic dominance." A state of
parasympathetic dominance is characterized by (1) onset of synchronous brain
rhythms; (2) relaxation of the large skeletal muscles; and (3) onset of high-amplitude
activity in the neurons of the hippocampal-septal circuits [Mandell, 1980; Winkleman,
1986]. The classic example of this state is slow wave sleep. If meditation activates slow
wave sleep mechanisms, as we propose, then it institutes a state of parasympathetic
dominance. But simulation of the transition to sleep is not the only way to reach this
state; it is also possible to induce it by over-stimulating the complementary nervous
system, i.e., the sympathetic nervous system, to the point of saturation and temporary
collapse. Techniques to induce this kind of collapse are described by Sargant [1974] and
by Winkleman [1986; 1990, 1992]. Some techniques of over-stimulation of the
sympathetic nervous system used by shamans are sustained sleep deprivation, self-
mortification to inflict pain, dancing to the point of physical collapse, or surrendering
oneself to chants or drumbeats that drive the brain toward synchronous rhythms.
Where does this survey of shamanistic trance induction rituals, past and present,
take us in our present inquiry about the effect of shamanistic influences on the
composition of the RV? The key point is this: if the priests or wise men of the Indo-
Aryan tribes induced the same kinds of visions as contemporary shamans, and they
induced them using the same techniques - by retreating from social interaction and
meditating - then, while engaged in this task, the priests were functioning like shamans,
'specialists' with special skills that enabled them to communicate with the spirit world
on behalf of the tribe.
There is some evidence that these shaman-like visionary experiences may have
provided the Indo-Aryans with the basic conceptual structure that informs the Vedic
myths. The attributes of the gods, their actions, and the sequence of cosmic events they
set in motion are arranged in sequences that closely parallel the sequence of meditation-
induced phosphene images. Given that there is this close alignment, can we infer that
the myths originated from the visions and not vice versa? The approach we employed
to decode the metaphors for luminous visions in the RV was to use the sequence of
THE SOMA CODE
80
meditation-induced phosphenes as a template for making 'predictions' about the kinds
of visual characteristics that were likely to be important and about the order in which
different kinds of visions would be likely to appear; as we now refocus attention from
decoding vision metaphors to understanding the origins of the Vedic myths, it makes
sense to experiment with a similar approach. We might ask, then, is it possible to
predict the sequence of cosmic events described in the Vedic myths based on our
knowledge of the mediation-induced phosphene sequence, and, conversely, is it also
possible to predict the content of visions using the sequence of cosmic events as a
standard?
Figure 3.2 describes the general trajectory of cosmic events posited by Vedic
mythmakers, juxtaposing events that take place in three dimensions - the world of
natural phenomena, the divine realm where gods act unseen, and the dark void of
meditative consciousness which only the wise men can enter and where they see visions
of other-worldly light. In Vedic myths, the creation of worlds splits the primordial
Unity of Brahman and also splits the rta, the energy that instills Truth and Order, so
that separate streams flow in all different regions of the created world. Although the
streams of rta are split by creation, each stream retains an inertial momentum that tends
to bend it back towards an eventual confluence with the other streams, a convergence
that would restore the primal Unity - the "Union of the Waters and the Sun." Because
the streams of rta are a part of everything that exists, there are sometimes harmonious
convergences of events that take place in all three dimensions - 'homologies' that link
natural phenomena, the acts of the gods, and the inspired visions of light that come to
wise men. Homologous events are important because these convergences afford
glimpses into the flow of the rta and the ultimate nature of the cosmos. Some important
homologies linking natural events, divine actions, and human visions are listed in
Figure 3.2. Referring to this chart, we can ask if it is possible to predict the sequence of
events that appears in one of the columns once we know the sequence of events in
another column. Several permutations are possible:
Figure 3.2. Flow chart illustrating some homologies of nature, divine acts, and
human vision postulated by the Vedic myths.
Ph. T. Nicholson
81
THE SOMA CODE
82
If we know the diurnal rhythm of sunset alternating with sunrise (in the left
column), we can predict the overall trajectory of cosmic events in the Vedic myths (in
the right column), namely, that the myths will center on the loss of the sun and attempts
to bring the sun back into the sky. But knowing this does not enable us to predict the
details of the Vedic myths that explain how this goal is accomplished.
If we know the sequence of the meditation-induced phosphenes (in the center
column), we see, first, that it mirrors the diurnal rhythm of the sun - meditation, like
sunset, casts human consciousness into a dark space, but eventually that darkness
yields a vision of the rising sun - but, second, we see that the meditation-induced
phosphene sequence also describes many different transformations that occur in the
visions before the culminating vision of the sunrise. It is this detail in the phosphene
sequence that provides a basis for making predictions about the events that take place
at the cosmic level, or, put another way, to predict what kinds of gods will have to
appear in the Vedic myths and what kinds of acts the gods will initiate to recover the
hidden sun if, as we propose, the myths are based on the sequence of meditation-
induced phosphene images.
The Vedic mythmakers are most likely to be posit divine responsibility for events
when they detect similarities ('homologies') betwen natural phenomena, which are
beyond all human control, and the visionary experiences that wise men can induce by
meditating. Wherever such an homology occurs, we find a god assigned responsibility
for coordinating these events that take place in different dimensions of reality. We can
predict, for instance, that the Vedic myths will feature a god whose nature it is to
release light in the midst of dark, since this homology is omnipresent, and, indeed, this
is the nature of Agni: he sends fire to the forest, fire to the altar, and, in his incarnation
as "Child of the Waters" (Apam Napat), Agni lights the fire of lightning inside the
raincloud and send flame-arrows into the dark consciousness of "The Waters" of
meditation. Following this same line of thought, we can also predict, based on
homologies between a terrestial dawn and a phosphene effect in which there is a
gradual brightening of a pale blue color, that there will be a god assigned responsibility
for sending both of these lights - hence the god, Usas. This brings us to the god, Soma.
We have described two phosphene visions in the meditation-induced sequence
that the eulogists call Soma - the vision of newborn Soma as a bulb of wool and the
vision of purified Soma shooting out of the woolen filter in three rays - but if all of the
Vedic gods were created to explain homologies between visionary experiences and
natural events, where is the natural phenomenon that is the homology for the vision of
Soma? The answer is evident once we look beyond the Soma vision to see what comes
next in the phosphene sequence: the streams of purified Soma "penetrate" to the abode
of another god, Indra, who drinks them. Invigorated by this drink, Indra attacks and
kills the demons of the night, releasing the sun. A brilliant, sun-like flash then appears.
Given this culmination, we can now see, looking back at the Soma visions, that the
homology for the Soma vision in the natural world must be the Soma drink that was
prepared from the Soma plant. This analysis implies that the Soma drink must be
invigorating and even exhilarating, and, indeed, as we shall see in the next section of
Ph. T. Nicholson
83
this paper, the leading candidate for the original Soma is a strong stimulant. The
homology that led the Vedic mythmakers to postulate the existence of a god named
Soma must have been the common features shared by the preparation of an
invigorating drink and a set of visions that began as a phosphene bulb that moved itself
about, as if it were being pressured from some invisible force, and which then
transformed into a vision of thin streams of white light shooting out like jets of fresh
milk expressed from a cow's udder.
We are considering whether or not it is possible to predict the trajectory of cosmic
events using the sequence of meditation-induced phosphenes as a standard. From our
analysis of the Soma/Indra transformations, we can now see that the phosphene visions
of Soma would have been the only source of information the Vedic priests had
available, prior to Indra's manifestation as a sun-like vision, to track events taking place
in the otherwise invisible realm of the gods. The myths portray Indra as struggling
with the demons of the night to free the sun, but the particulars of the struggle - for
example, the manner in which Indra obtained the power he needed to defeat the
demons of the night - could only have come from the meditation-induced phosphene
sequence. The importance of the Soma visions also highlights the importance of the
Soma drink prepared for the human rituals; the existence of an homology linking a
human drink that invigorates with visions of a celestial drink being prepared and then
squirted out into the heavens is a sign that the streams of rta have informed both events
- and a sign that a god is at work. The priests, knowing that it was possible to
reproduce within themselves the awesome spectacle of a lightning storm, and confident
that the vision of lightning and sun-like brilliance was the culminating vision beyond
which there was nothing more to be seen, chose Indra, god of the thunderstorm, to be
first among the gods, and saw the advent of Indra as a restoration of "The Union of the
Waters and the Sun."
So far we have shown that a great many details about cosmic events in Vedic
mythology can be predicted based on a knowledge of the diurnal rhythm of the sun and
the sequence of meditation-induced phosphene images. Is it is possible to make
predictions in the reverse direction - to use the actions of the gods (the right column in
Figure 3.2) as the standard to predict the content of visions (shapes, movements, colors,
and temporal sequence)? Clearly not. And that's why the interpretation of the
metaphors describing luminous visions in the RV has resisted interpretation for so long;
experts in Sanskrit and Vedic studies have known for years about the Asvins' radiant
chariot, Agni's flame-arrows, Soma's woolen filter, and Indra's lightning bolt, but have
been unable to understand how these mythic events relate to the visionary experiences
extolled by the eulogists.
If we can only make predictions in only one direction - from the visions to the
myths - this suggests that Vedic myths were constructed around the armature provided
by the sequence of light images that they could induce within themselves by
meditating. These visions would have been the best evidence available about the
nature of the hidden world of the gods.
THE SOMA CODE
84
The Search for the Original Soma
Scholars agree that a Soma ritual was practiced by the ancient Indo-Aryan tribes (and
also that the Indo-Iranians who emigrated from the same original homeland had a
'Sauma' ritual), but exegesis of the RV and the Iranian Avesta has revealed very little
information about the nature of the original Soma [Flattery and Schwartz, 1989, p. 6].
When Wasson [1971], an ethnobiologist, became interested in learning more about the
original Soma plant, he was surprised to find out how little anyone knew about the
subject:
But what manner of plant was this Soma? No one knows. For twenty-five centuries
and more its identity has been lost. The Hindus . . . allowed this authentic Soma to
fall into disuse and early on began to resort to sundry substitutes, substitutes that
were frankly recognized as such and that to this day are met with in India in their
peculiar religious roles [Ibid., p. 5].
Some Hindu sects still perform Soma rituals in which the priests prepare a drink
by crushing the stalks of a plant called 'Soma' and filtering water through the mash [see
Keith, 1925, Vol. 32, pp. 326 - 332; Gonda, 1982; Falk, 1989], but there are significant
disparities between the effects produced by these drinks and the effects attributed to the
original Soma in the hymns of the RV [Wasson, op. cit., p. 7].
In his review of existing theories about the identity of the Soma plant, Nyberg
[1995], a botanist, concludes that scholarly debate has now narrowed the field of likely
candidates to two plant species - Syrian rue and Ephedra. Syrian rue contains
harmaline alkaloids, hallucinogenic substances which are also present in mescaline and
ayahuasca and which clearly have the capacity to induce visions. In support of the
theory that the original Soma/Haoma produced an hallucinogenic extract, Flattery
[Flattery and Schwartz, 1989] analyzes ancient Zoroastrian texts and religious rituals
and concludes that the priests who drank "sauma" during Zoroastrian rituals did so
with the intent and expectation of inducing visions:
[T]he three Pahlavi accounts are consistent in showing that sauma brought about a
condition outwardly resembling sleep (i.e., stard) ['stunned,' 'dazed,' 'sprawled'] in
which targeted visions of what is believed to be a spirit existence were seen. [Ibid., p.
23]
From the apparent role of sauma in initiation rites . . . , experience of the effects of
sauma, which is to say, vision of menog existence, must have at one time been
required of all priests (or the shaman antecedents of them) [Ibid., p. 20].
The other leading candidate for the original Soma plant, Ephedra, contains the
extract, ephedrine, a sympathetic nervous system stimulant analogous to adrenaline.
Ephedrine excites the physiological systems of the fight/flight response but does not
induce visions [Falk, 1989; Nyberg, op. cit.]. This is obviously an inconvenient fact for
the advocates of Ephedra, a point Flattery underscores:
Despite being commonly designated haoma (and the like), Ephedra is without
suitable psychoactive potential in fact (and is not regarded in traditional ethnobotany
as having any psychoactive properties at all) and, therefore, it cannot have been
Ph. T. Nicholson
85
believed to be the means to an experience from which priests could claim religious
authority or wisely believed to be the essential ingredient in an intoxicating extract
[Flattery and Schartz, op. cit., p. 73].
The choice between these two candidate plants turns on a single issue - the nature
of the luminous vision metaphors that describe the effects of drinking Soma in the
hymns of the RV:
A primary consideration in the identification process is whether or not soma/haoma
can be regarded as a hallucinogen. . . . In my opinion, as well [as Falk's], it is possible
to choose a hallucinogenic candidate only if you have already decided to interpret
the texts in this way [Nyberg, op. cit., p. 385].
Falk rejects any interpretation of the RV hymns that would link Soma with
"hallucinations." He clearly means to target the kind of visions that would be induced
by the harmaline alkaloids in Syrian rue, that is, dream-like hallucinations that contain
figures and objects drawn from life-experience, but Falk states his case in such a
preemptory manner as to imply that he would also reject interpretations that linked
Soma with phosphene images. His interpretation of a sample hymn illustrates his
viewpoint:
The only half-serious reason to expect hallucination as an effect of Soma-drinking in
an Indian context is the well-known Labasukta, RV 10.119. There it is said that some
winged creature, after consumption of Soma, touches sky and earth with its wings
and extends bodily even beyond these borders . . . . Usually it is Indra who grows
until he extends beyond heaven and earth (e.g. RV 1.81.5; 8.88.5). . . . But Indra has no
wings! And nowhere is it said that human Soma-drinkers feel that they are growing.
. . . The act of growing in the Labasukta simply classifies the bird amongst the gods
and gives no indication that it was due to the effects of any drug. . . . Because all the
proponents of Soma as a hallucinogenic drug make their claim on the basis of a
wrong interpretation of the Labasukta, their candidates must be regarded as
unsuitable [Falk, Ibid., p. 78].
Falk's reading of this specific verse is, in our opinion, seriously mistaken. Bird
metaphors are often used in the RV to describe luminous visions, especially the streams
of purified Soma, a subject we addressed at some length in Part II. Since the streams of
Soma are said to penetrate as far as the seat of Indra, and since Indra drinks those
streams just before appearing as a flash of lightning, it is not difficult to understand
why a poet might say that Indra is lifted on wings. Also, bird metaphors are also used
to describe Indra as a sun-like flood of continous light, as, for example, in 10.177.1-3,
discussed in Part I, where wise men are described as having seen in their hearts "the
bird annointed with the magic of the Asura" appearing as a "revelation that shines like
the sun in the footprint of Order [OFL]." Falk's interpretation of this particular verse -
and his general rejection of any links between Soma and visions - is diametrically
opposed to everything we have written in this series of articles on the interpretation of
luminous vision metaphors.
It is understandable why the proponents of Ephedra as the original Soma plant
would be moved to adopt this approach, since they have to account for the fact that
ephedrine does not cause visions. There is, however, an alternative approach, one
THE SOMA CODE
86
which has not yet been considered by any of the contenders, that supports the Ephedra
hypothesis without requiring a denial of the links between the Soma metaphors in the
RV and luminous visions. The key word, as noted earlier, is 'hallucination,' but now we
need to be more precise in our definition of the term. In technical psychiatric jargon,
internally-generated phosphene images are called 'formed' or 'unformed hallucinations'
to distinguish them from dream-like 'experiential hallucinations' which contain
memory-based content. If the Falk-Nyberg thesis were limited to the claim that the RV
does not contain references to experiential hallucinations, the type induced by the
hallucinogenic harmaline alkaloids in Syrian rue, and that, if there are no references to
experiential hallucinations, then Syrian rue cannot be the original Soma, there would be
no contradiction between the Falk-Nyberg position and our own. The problem left
unsolved, then, is to find a way to explain how a stimulant like ephedrine could be
associated in the minds of the Indo-Aryans with induction of inspirational visions.
Vigils and Visions: Falk on Soma and Sleeplessness
Falk was the first to point out that the hymns of the RV often state that Soma
"prevents sleep," an observation he illustrates by citing many verses: 10.34.1, which
refers to the "alerting drink of Soma;" 8.92.12, where "Indra is awake because he drank
Soma" (a point repeated in 9.36.2, 9.44.3, 9.103, and 9.106.4); and 8.44.29, where "Agni is
awake [jagrvi] like an inspired poet [Falk, op. cit., p. 80]." Also, verse 9.96.18 calls "Soma
a maker of seers, rsikrt;" 5.44.14 promises that "to someone staying awake the rces will
come and the samans, and Soma will declare him his friend;" 1.53.1 disparages poets
who are not blessed with "the gift of quasi-sleeping;" in 8.44.29 Agni is described as
"awake like a poet" (a theme repeated in 1.31.9, 3.24.3, and 6.15.8); in 3.26.3, Agni, "a
finder of the sun," is described as "staying awake waiting for the gods;" and, in 9.107.7,
"Soma is called vipra and jagrvi and one who makes the sun rise [Falk, op. cit., p. 80]."
Also relevant to Soma's identity as a stimulant is 8.79.7-8 where the eulogist "begs Soma
to be peaceful to the heart" and "to ward off excessive agitation," an acknowledgment
that over-stimulation of the nervous system can result from drinking Soma [Falk, op.
cit., p. 87].
After drinking Soma, the priests may have mounted all-night vigils in which they
avoided social interaction and chanted in solitude:
It is in this light that RV 8.48.14 is to be read, where the poet expresses the wish that
neither sleep nor idle talk should govern him after he has drunk Soma . . . . So it
seems that at least some of the poetry of the RV was created at night. That jagrvi
does not just mean 'alert', but refers to the night, when ordinary people are asleep, is
obvious from all these stanzas, which connect someone awake with the hope of
seeing the sun rise [Falk, Ibid., p. 80].
Falk reinforces this point by examining a Soma rite described in the Brahmanas -
the Atiratra rite of the srauta Soma ritual - in which the priests are described as staying
awake all night:
The priests have to stay awake, because 'wakefulness means light' . . . . The priests
have to keep the fire ablaze and must never be silent. Fire, Soma, and the
wakefulness and speech of the priests guarantee the destruction of the demons of the
Ph. T. Nicholson
87
night, i.e. they help Indra in his mythic struggle, and on the mundane level, the
priests overcome misery . . . . [Falk, 1989, p. 81].
The source text states that the priests did not drink the Soma themselves until after
they had spent the night offering it to Indra, which means they would not have drunk
any of it until sometime the next morning; however, it is also possible that the priests
consumed some of the drink during the night to help them stay awake [Falk, op.cit., p.
82]. In either event, Falk suggests that this srauta ritual is probably closer to ancient
Indo-Aryan custom than the Agnistoma ritual which lasts only a day. If he is correct,
there is a way to explain how a stimulant like ephedrine came to be associated with
inspirational visions based on the neurophysiology of slow wave sleep that generates
the meditation-induced, meditation-destabilized sequence of phosphene images. This
explanation can account for the outbreak of paroxysmal visions whether or not the
priests drank ephedrine on the night of the vigil.
Losing a night's sleep increases the excitability of cortical neurons, creating a
potential for synchronized sleep rhythms to rebound in force at the first opportunity. If
the priests tried to meditate in the early hours just before dawn - a time when the sleep
rebound effect would be particularly strong - there would be an increased risk that
sleep rhythm oscillators, once activated by meditation, would destabilize. Indeed, this
is precisely what happened to the author at the time he inadvertently triggered the
outbreak of a subclinical seizure, although his sleep deficit was slightly more
pronounced (only four hours of sleep in the preceding thirty-six hours). During this
paroxysm, the author saw the phosphene sequence (see Part I) which includes images
resembling the Vedic visions of the Dawn-before-dawn, the Soma filter, the streams of
purified Soma, and Indra's lightning bolt.
If, in addition to the sleep deficit, the priests also drank the ephedrine the night
before to help them keep awake, this stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system
would not only aggravate the sleep rhythm rebound effect but also enhance the
hyperexcitability of cortical neurons by over-stimulating the sympathetic nervous
system. We have noted earlier in this article that the final common pathway of many
different kinds of shamanic trance induction rituals is over-stimulation of the
sympathetic nervous system to the point of triggering a temporary collapse, and that
this collapse evokes a physiological state of parasympathetic dominance similar to slow
wave sleep. Therefore, if the priests began to practice meditation after a sleepless night
fueled by drug-induced exhilaration, and in this process activated the sleep rhythm
oscillators, the risks of triggering a destabilization of sleep rhythm oscillators would be
even greater than if they had not consumed the ephedrine.
In both of the scenarios, the proximate cause of the paroxysmal phosphene visions
is meditating while in a sleep-deprived condition, not the use of ephedrine per se, but
even if ephedrine is only a predisposing factor, it would not be surprising, given the
proximity of events - the vigil, the prolonged sleeplessness, the drinking of a strong,
exhilarating stimulant, and the advent of paroxysmal visions of light - if the participants
were to conclude that there was a causal connection between these events.
Or perhaps the priests knew all along that there was no direct connection between
the Soma drink and the Soma visions; perhaps what was most important to them was
the homology between the exhilaration they felt when they drank the terrestial Soma
and the vision of a sun-like Indra bursting into view just after the vision of Soma jets
THE SOMA CODE
88
shooting out like milk from a cow's udder. Consistent with this interpretation is the
famous verse which reads: "One thinks he has drunk Soma when they press the plant.
But the Soma that the Brahmans know - no one ever eats that. / Hidden by those
charged with veiling you, protected by those who live on high, O Soma, you stand
listening to the pressing-stones. No earthling eats you. / When they drink you who
are a god, then you are filled up again. . . . 10.85.3-5 [OFL, p. 267]."
NOTES
1. The translations for Patañjali's Yogasutras, verses 4.23 through 4.29, are my own.
I was able to make translation, despite my rudimentary skills in Sanskrit, because this
text can be read in conjunction with a source that provides word-by-word translations
of the root Sanskrit terms [Feuerstein, 1989], because I had the template of meditation-
induced phosphenes available for comparison, and because I could consult with Dr.
Michael Witzel, Harvard, on words that seemed problematical (e.g., nimnam). Every
published translation that I have read - and I've read many of them - uses 'experience-
distant' metaphysical interpretations in the fourth chapter about Kaivalya, completely
missing the possibility that these verses might actually be describing lights that would
appear in the visual field. The template of meditation-induced phosphenes helped
unlock the meaning of this text in much the same way it worked in the present study of
vision metaphors in the RV.
ABBREVIATIONS USED
BH/W Bhawe, S. S., The Soma Hymns of the Rig Veda, Parts I - III, 1957, 1960,
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Immortality (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich: New York, 1971).
DNG Dange, S. A. Divine Hymns and Ancient Thought, Vol. I: RgVeda
Hymns and Ancient Thought (NAVRANG: New Delhi, 1992.).
GRF Griffith, R. T. H., The Hymns of the RgVeda, Vol. I - II (Chowkhamba
Sanskrit Series: Varanasi, 1971 [1889]).
OFL O'Flaherty, W. D., The Rig Veda: An Anthology (Penguin Books:
London, 1971.).
WIL Wilson, H. H., Rig-Veda Sanhita: A Collection of Ancient Hindu
Hymns, Vol. I - VI (Trubner & Company: London, 1888.).
Ph. T. Nicholson
89
GON Gonda, J. 1963. The Vision of the Vedic Poets (Mouton & Co.: The
Hague, Netherlands).
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