The 'Mystic East' and Psychedelics: Soma/Haoma and Complex Plant Formulas in Ancient Asia

Presenter:

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Abstract

In several recent publications I have presented evidence that the ancient ritual drink known as ‘soma’ in South Asia and ‘haoma’ in the Zoroastrian tradition was originally a multi-plant formula that comprised various plants that acted as analogues of ayahuasca, which is a powerful psychedelic concoction used by various groups in South America. If indeed this was the case, then for many centuries the brahmins of South Asia were regularly experiencing non-ordinary states of consciousness. I speculate that these experiences may have led to the development of yogic techniques to attain such states without the use of plants, and that the tropes of ‘enlightenment’ and ‘liberation’, which are core features of South Asian philosophy and spiritual practices, have their roots in psychedelic experience.