Soma

Soma is one of the most misunderstood concepts in the Veda. In the Rg Veda, Indra gets intoxicated with Soma, and in other parts of the Veda there is a description of the soma yajna and there are directions on how to procure the soma plant (a kind of ephedra) found high in the Himalayas. A lot of the recent (especially Western) literature is obsessed with the hallucinogenic aspects of soma.

The import of Indra getting drunk with Soma is that man is drunk with the world because Indra is the King of the gods (who are the senses), so man whose senses are not under control is drunk with the world. Soma means the moon, and the moon is the source of the mind, and the mind is the source of the world (jagat). When the senses are conquered through yoga, man acknowledges God and the intoxication with Soma is pierced. Soma as the mind also appears in yoga and tantra, where once shakti is awakened in the sushumnA, the soma that drips from the lalATa cakra no longer gets burnt in the jaTara agni, but is quaffed by the yogi. Indeed, after kuNDalinI awakening, there are intensely pleasurable feelings when this soma is enjoyed. But as you know, this too has to be set aside with the spirit of vairAgyam, since it is also a product of the mind, and hence impermanent. Only when the mind completely comes to rest is the Eternal and Absolute Truth experienced. This is why all sights and sounds in the inner realm are all mere distractions along the way, although they can be useful markers of progress and an inspiration to move forward.