Today, I would like to give my thoughts on the Rig Veda and the Book of Mormon. First off, some general thoughts. The Rig Veda was an EXTREMELY repetitive tome that continuously entreated 33 different devas (or gods) to defeat enemies, bring prosperity, and deliver wisdom.

I read a primer on the Book of Mormon for this project. Honestly, the most valuable thing I gleaned from it was not from the Book of Mormon itself but from a quote that was used in the commentary, “The chains of habit are too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.” Otherwise, it felt like a less poetic version of the Bible.

The most prominent aspect of the Rig Veda is the Soma, which can confusingly refer to a plant, a ritual drink, or a deity. Below are a selection of passages highlighting the essence of the Soma.

Sit on the sacred grass to drink the Soma juice.

Drink boldly of the Soma juice.

O Soma flowing on thy way, win thou and conquer high renown; And make us better than we are. Win thou the light, win heavenly light, and, Soma, all felicities; And make us better than we are. Win skilful strength and mental power. O Soma, drive away our foes; And make us better than we are.

Flow onward, Soma, flow to bring prosperity: cleansed by the men, invest thee with the milky draught. What gladdening drinks thou hast, foaming, exceeding strong, even with these incite Indra to give us wealth.

Flow on, Sage Soma, with thy stream to give us mental power and strength, Effused for Indra, for his drink, for Mitra and for Varuna.

Drink of this meath, O Indra, thou, and Visnu; drink ye your fill of Soma, Wonder-Workers. The sweet exhilarating juice hath reached you. Hear ye my prayers, give ear unto my calling.

The draught made swift with rapturous joy, effectual with its mighty strength, All-conquering, distilling transport, let him drink: for he in ecstasy gives us gifts.

In Soma‘s ecstasy Indra spread the firmament and realms of light, When he cleft Vala limb from limb.

Now, verily, will I declare the exploits, mighty and true, of him the True and Mighty. In the Trikadrukas he drank the Soma then in its rapture Indra slew the Dragon. High heaven unsupported in space he stablished: he filled the two worlds and the air’s mid-region. Earth he upheld, and gave it wide expansion. These things did Indra in the Soma‘s rapture.

The Soma referenced inthe Rig Veda was most likely a mushroom, specifically the Amanita muscaria. This is one of the most iconic toadstools in existence, used to great effect in the Mario franchise. Below is a picture of this psychedelic fungi perhaps used by the Hindu authors.

I would not be suprised to find that most religious origin stories have a psychedelic component to them. This seems to definitely be the case here. Some might think this denigrates the religion. However, I choose to take the opposite conclusion: that it venerates the appropriate usage of mind-altering substances, many of which can be found organically in nature.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀~ ~ ~

For the selected verses from the Book of Mormon that I read, there is only one I want to quote here. It sounds strikingly similar to Galatians 3:28.

There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of      -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.

I love hearing expressions of unity that cut across socio-political lines. Unfortunately, in the context of a religious book, it probably is NOT meant to cut across religious lines. However, I will still take it. The more religions sound like this, the better they become in my opinion.

Other than the opportunity to take a glance into the thoughts behind these two religions, I didn’t find either of them particularly insightful. I’m looking forward next week to commenting on the two Taoist works I read. More to come.

Namaste.