Soma - An Interview With Dr. Vasant Lad, MASc

An interview with Dr. Vasant Lad, author, Ayurvedic physician, professor and director of the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Interview was filmed on April 4th, 2014, by Joey Bujold.
Dr. Lad provides insight on the essence of Soma, described in the Vedas of India, as a form of energy developed through mystical practices and Ayurveda.
© 2014, Used with permission of Vasant Lad, BAM&S, MASc, The Ayurvedic Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
www.ayurveda.com
© 2014, Joey Bujold, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Joint copyright with the Ayurvedic Institute.
Music Credits: Vinod Prasanna × Okey Szoke × Pompey, "Raag" (KZbin)
© 2013 Brother Sister Records
Available: freemusicarchive.org/
Used under "Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Australia" license

[@patnathan7963]

The world has to come back to India for all wisdom, for all knowledge. Rightly it is said that India is the elder brother to all nations of the world.

[@isaacmendez5]

For... s u r e

[@archii4455]

Thank you for such wonderful thought. Love, light and Namaste from Bharat (India). 🙏

[@hopelight8939]

Let's make people aware of Ayurveda, It isn't only for India and its people, It is a science and All can get benefitted from it.

[@chandraravikumar]

Thank you so so much, for this informative, clarifying and elevating explanation. “ Vedic people drank Soma and Sura. The Vedic people drank alchoholic liquors. “ This is what our text books taught us and are teaching our children. We must explain all this to our children and get the text books to make corrections, which considering the ignorance, dishonesty and agenda-bases of our text books, is not going to be an easy task.

[@omnamahshivayaitaly8429]

Fantastic and clear explanation, Dr. Lad is a Master you can feel it from the sound of his voice and the look in his eyes, a Rishi of the 21st century thank you very much for this interview, namaskaram

[@blessedsoul4235]

Dr. Lad is a ocean of knowledge. Every time I watch his video,I feel like a child in kindergarten learning new things.

[@adwaitian]

How old are you

[@amitamohan9885]

Truly, what a beautiful man, and mind, and spirit. Every word was soaked in Soma, b coz he exuded the essence of what he was sharing. Where can one meet such living wise and learned men who speak simply, but know so much. Thanks many times over for a brilliant talk on Soma. I will hear it over and over again for assimilation.

[@susanfay2213]

Agreed, Amita Mohan! I also plan to take this sacred interview in many, many times. ❤️🙏❤️

[@KanikaArora11]

There is so much wisdom in ancient Indian knowledge , but what we Indians are unfortunately taught till now is that nonsense Mccauley system of education having least intelligence of all the times. Thank you for uploading this video. #SaveIndianKnowledge

[@JoeyBujoldAstro]

+Kanika Arora Agreed. There is a thirst for this timeless type of higher wisdom, even in the West.

[@arunchakks]

and he was called 'Lord' Macaulay :))

[@guipranav]

True that! Macaulay was a young man of 24 who himself hadn't visioned his tricks would work. It is really saddening that Indian society under British rule opted to just throw the ancient knowledge and get anglicise. I am trying to get back some of it though! #goodluck :)

[@vinamrasinghai7319]

Not true. His education was not implemented at mass level. That was done after the independence. That was also replaced via non - secular and muslim appeasement education. Karma bites back for not following Dharma. Same education produce lots of Nobel Prize winner from India. Without Macaulay education, where India would be? He died in 1859 and never forced his education but opened to all. His ideas made India to respect Common Criminal laws and he fought for it in 1857 war and removed Muslims right to kill non-Muslims.

[@johnnyaingel5753]

TRUTH just as in America people are taught to be ignorant of GODs wisdom and TRUTH by the rich cabal illuminati bankers

[@sumanrao1739]

Here we witness the real spirit of Hinduism which goes deep into the metaphysics of being. This is where the Universal religion is witnessed. Hearty congratulations to the speaker and to every single reader.

[@yashuha4856]

I wish I had Doctor like this !

[@simagandur4047]

Amazing explanation.. Dr.Lad is really a Master...

[@Sludgee9]

A master of what? Fairy tales and unsubstantiated bullshit?

[@marinagratao9998]

Wow, what a lecture on soma! It's meaning is surely much bigger than I thought. Very gratiful for this video!

[@MarkHolman]

Thank you for this compassionate and valuable gift of Soma consciousness! Jai Ram!

[@hargobindsingh2012]

Dr Lad is my favorite. I have had the privilege of taking two of his courses so far. It is awesome to be in his presence. So much love and care comes from this divine being. He has so many great and funny stories.

[@JoeyBujoldAstro]

Thanks - it's been several months since this interview and still I go back and am amazed by some of the descriptions he shared. Dr. Lad is truly the real deal.

[@scorpionmithun]

No doubt he is a true Master....but also because he is blessed by Swami Vimalananda.....I think u must know about him.....a realized person

[@jamesschuur2801]

Thank you for this interesting video. In the Vedas there are three uses for the term 'Soma.' If these are confused then it blurs the meaning of the texts. Soma as the Moon One use is for the Moon, which is considered to have an important role in the growth of plants. (v. Rig Veda I 65:5, VI 44:24, Sama Veda 1 7;1:3 & Atharva Veda XI,6) Soma as a Plant The second use refers specifically to a plant. There are several clues in the texts of the Vedas as to the identity of the soma plant. This was ground by stones, pressed with wood, filtered over a wool fleece and poured into a vat of milk and sometimes mixed with honey, curds or barley. This had a ritual use offered to various Devas. Appearance The soma grows in the mountains (Rig Veda I 10:2), particularly during the rainy season (RV I 13:1). It is described repeatedly as a stalk (RV I 125:3; Atharva Veda V, 29 & VI, 49) that is brown (RV VIII 29:1) and yellow (RV VIII 9:19 & AV XX,141). Effects Consistently, one effect is attributed to the soma plant: exhilaration. There is no evidence it was a psychedelic. (v. RV I 14:4, I 80:1, III 36:4, VII 22:1,2, VIII 17:8, IX 18:7, IX 63:29 & Sama Veda I 5;1:1) When Lord Indra quaffs the soma he overthrows 100 cities. This effect led to a secular use as well as being an offering to the Devas: warfare. There is clear evidence soma was drunk by the Aryan warriors and used much like the Northern European Berserkers (RV VIII 76:8, IX 24:6, IX 65:8, IX 97:27, X 25:7 & SV 1 5;1:5, 2 3;1:3). There is an explicit reference to 6 princes exhilarated on soma who made a large donation (VIII 68:14). This may have led to a side-effect: addiction. There is a ritual in the Yajur Veda (X) called Sautramani for excessive soma drinking. This would not have come about if there were not a need. Ephedra The appearance, effect and addictive nature (which is why it was banned as a diet pill in the USA) strongly supports the claim that ephedra is the soma plant. Obviously it is not a mushroom and it cannot be hemp either since this plant is identified separately from the soma plant (YV Adhyaya XI). Soma as Yogic Elixer The final use for the term is the soma of the Brahmans, which is a phenomenon of the energy body. Its effects are not the same as the plant. In fact, we are clearly told the soma of the priests is not the plant (RV X 85:3 & AV XIV,1). This soma is 'drunk in the heart,' i.e. is an internal activity (RV I 179:5, VIII 48:12, X 25:2 & SV 2 4; 3:3). This ambrosia (RV VI 75:18) gains one both Heaven (RV IX 4:2) and immortality (RV 48:3). Interestingly, it also 'generates the Devas' (RV IX 42:4). I hope this information will contribute to the discussion. There is certainly much to say.

[@JoeyBujoldAstro]

James Schuur Thanks for your research, an interesting read, for sure. Yes, Soma has many connotations, and there is even evidence of something similar within other cultures. I hope that we can have more meaningful dialogue on this within the Ayurvedic and Yogic community to unravel the even deeper mysteries of Soma.

[@sashawhitehead7378]

What a beautiful man with such wonderful integrity- it is comforting to listen and watch his lovely face and well as the timeless wisdom imparted! Thank you. I have been trying to understand how all these systems flow together and although don't understand the Vedic terms- what I can grasp is of vital importance..

[@MrChahal80]

The supreme understanding of soma i heard till date.

[@JoeyBujoldAstro]

For me as well, sir.

[@wellnessgirl2806]

Such a knowledgeable and gentle teacher.

[@community1854]

I am truly smitten by the beauty and the life value of this talk. Thank you Dr. Lad. .

[@anncousins3181]

Wow...Dr.Vasant Lad is so inspiring....a wonderful lecture on soma....very interesting...Namaste

[@JoeyBujoldAstro]

Thank you! Namaste!

[@TheTeacher]

This is the second video of yours that I just watched Dr. Vasant and I love you sir for the information you provided. Really, how briefly and deeply you know about that particular information. You was just not speaking but was also feeling each word that you were speaking. Hats off to your, Sir!

[@nehemiahimmanuel4689]

a tip: you can watch series at kaldroStream. I've been using them for watching lots of of movies lately.

[@khalidflynn5548]

@Nehemiah Immanuel Definitely, I've been watching on Kaldrostream for years myself =)

[@vedasupdated5434]

Well... Dr Lad Is The Knower of The Vedic Truth ! Deserve Greatest Honor.! OM.

[@noellajioneness3399]

Great teacher, so down to earth...Thanks for sharing

[@Rosa-hw5vt]

Thank you Joey for interviwing him!

[@francescocarpini]

Excellent! memorable interview.

[@HariPrasad9999]

Thank you so much for uploading an amazing video

[@danyaljaffer8905]

Wow this video is a spiritual experience in and of itself ...... thank you to the film maker and Dr Lad for giving us access to Ishwar to absolute truth

[@JoeyBujoldAstro]

Thank you for the kind comment.

[@premjyoti4108]

Amazing! Thank you so much for making this interview and sharing it! _()_

[@goindabongo1721]

You are simply marvelous. You articulate so well.

[@successmedicalmnemonics2342]

THANK YOU SIR.. m heartly grateful to u soaked in that blissful soma ..u explanied so many secret and profound facts in simplest way ..being a doc nd meditation,kundlini yoga practicenor i cud corelate evrything u mentioned and its soo beautiful knowladge..its like a blessing and my gurus grace that i happend to listen u..thnaq for sharing this secret knowladge

[@imway3653]

Got my answer after years! Thankyou

[@venaramphal]

Just brilliant. He is a rare gem of a knowledge-giver.

[@myflesh10]

Vasant Lad is awesome!!!!!! He looks great too. Thanks for posting

[@MrChahal80]

Ultimate understanding of soma I got today from this doctor. Very very valuable indeed

[@Electronics61]

Very useful info. Many thanks Dr Vasant Lad

[@JesuJoy9]

Wonderful interview. What a saintly doctor.

[@virendra99au]

Great wisdom...thx for uploading.

[@zabeenloynmoon]

So grateful to revisit this video here today🙏🏽

[@ramonanegbiker6650]

Great respect to Dr.Lad...such a great knowledge is explained slowly and easily.Thank you sir.

[@Luna-mv6zu]

Thank you for sharing such wisdom 🌹❤️

[@premmymichael29]

THANK YOU Ji. Awesome wisdom shared in the simplified understanding. God bless you JI and I bow with pranam at your feet. Shivayanama

[@Fernanda-lagos]

Thank you so much for sharing this video!

[@Karthikdyuthi]

#fernanda will u xplain

[@tamiljothidakalanjiyam3310]

Thanks a ton Guruji...

[@aneetaagarwal]

Sir u r so kind and a giving soul .Thank You

[@nimaihedemarktraditionalve1243]

Joey - thank you very much. From my own experiance I know there is a lot in here that is incredibly on point and very legit. Good on Dr Lad for sharing so fully.

[@LizLondonWWA]

Thank you! ❤❤❤

[@chansingh6403]

Thank you . Beautiful information. 💗🙌🙏

[@huaren6229]

Thank you. Truly grateful for the kindness in your benevolence.

[@UMERATH]

Thank u !! Very enlightening ..

[@jaidharma9660]

Thank you so much....

[@rajisanjay6452]

Simply Superb! What an explanation! Wow!!!👌👌👌🙏🙏🙏

[@NiraliMPatel-rd8qp]

An absolutely beautiful talk.

[@rajendramohta9480]

There is none who can explain Soma Vidya better than Dr Lad. Sirr please share your knowledge to Hunger help civilization. Pranam 🙏 Pranam

[@carnaticmylife]

Pure joy listening to him

[@fernandocarneiro7797]

Amazing explanation! Thank you for posting! Thank you, Master!

[@JoeyBujoldAstro]

Yes - he is the master!

[@mvsaraiya]

this is amazing.

[@nabyunushaikh6881]

Wow, beautifully explained

[@Anuradha-ef6ob]

Thanks a lot sir for giving us useful information ..it's incredible..

[@ChronoLegionarius]

Thanks, there is a lot of wisdom in this video.

[@JoeyBujoldAstro]

You're welcome. Thanks for watching. I felt blessed to have the opportunity to meet Dr. Lad, and share his satsanga with interested viewers like you. He's a one of kind individual, for sure.

[@nidhiagarwal7446]

THANK U DR LAD .YOUR LECTURES R AWSOME .FULL OF KNOWLEDGE. FEELING BLISSFUL. LOVE UR EXPLAINATIONS.THANK U SIR. DR NIDHI AGARWAL ,INDIA

[@MirakuliAt]

Perfect talk! Love to subscribe to your channel.

[@shwetakohli4899]

Amazing. Beautiful.

[@NaliniBhat]

Great!

[@facebookuser2169]

Thank you guru.....

[@johnnyaingel5753]

Beautiful information thank you

[@user-wg8kk4ky9u]

Great sir

[@tahiramm9925]

Excellent! Thanks for sharing.

[@JoeyBujoldAstro]

:-) Thanks for watching.

[@sundheep9]

Thanks sir.

[@thedarkmoonman]

this is amazing, thank you. The hair of light, i called the golden thread?

[@rollandav1020]

guru vasant lad....you are living saint and sufi for me.

[@soniyamystical]

Very informative :)

[@pablozeking3509]

My GOD his voice was beyond soothing

[@JoeyBujoldAstro]

Truth. I recorded this interview 4 years ago, and I still get shivers down my spine when I recall the feeling of the moment, the peace and tranquility, and listening to him speak.

[@deepthajathan9788]

Nice. Thanks

[@ThirdEye453]

what knowledge!

[@dr.r.rakeshdoctorofpharmac8733]

🙏 Thank you sir 🥭💐

[@np7987]

Amazing

[@alokpatel6514]

Master in Dr. Profession.....🤩😍

[@alokpatel6514]

Nath...

[@mgehlot414]

Very good

[@shubhanganaraj3382]

amazing

[@isaacmendez5]

Wow I made it and felt like an big tube of cosmic energy as a spiral connected with me

[@rajendramohta9480]

Pranam Sir, Wonderful explanations. Please advise to Culture Thymus Gland.Rudra Gland to fight against Covid 19. Sir you are Great Pranam

[@elhamansariinspire]

Thank you very much, awesome work! Thanks for sharing. Dr. Lad, "Speaker" is full on here! You showed up at a really good time and captured really, really good gems in this video. I was missing him, and this gave me the juice i needed : ) Consider cutting the intro up to about 1:27, you could lose some people in the time preceding this. Thanks.

[@JoeyBujoldAstro]

Thanks Elham. Rather that redo the vid completely, I added a link to bypass the intro. Thanks again for your kind feedback...Namaste.

[@elhamansariinspire]

Agni Soma Ayurveda Awesome, great work! I am really stoked on this video and am sharing it with everyone and using it in my teachings as well. I really appreciate you honing into Soma and Agni, we often focus on Agni and Ama, so it is good to highlight Soma (the positive manifestations of Yin as apposed to Ama being the negative manifestation of Yin) Thanks again… Namaste.

[@vedasupdated5434]

Shall This Knowledge be known to all human and make all human human. OM

[@Consciousplanetorg]

Subscribed! gr8 job guys Namaste _/\_

[@caseG80]

Does anyone have any help or relief from vertigo for the elderly. I am trying to help my Nana she is 92 and has been active mowing her own lawn doing lite yard work it’s what she loves and has always done but now she has vertigo really bad and can’t do what she loves so it’s been downhill ever since. Doctors are no help and only seem to make it worse. I’m grateful to begin my journey. 🙏

[@Christa-Das-music]

This of course is fascinating, thank you ! Is there any information on the rings he wears, like where did he got them. It is said by Dr Svoboda that here are very very few people who could make real Jyotisha rings these days.

[@yehjohai7226]

Awesome !! Dear Dr Lad , humble request !! ---- Kindly teach us your yogic experiences more.. I have not come across these explanations... Pl teach us please.....

[@huaren6229]

I thought that the pineal gland the crystal in the flower was the crown and the pituitary gland consisting of a middles, left and right parts was the third eye?

[@MrChahal80]

Sir kindly clear the confusion Pineal gland is responsible for temperature control or the hypothalamus? I think you said pineal controls the heat and also said that hypothalamus controls the heat.

[@thedarkmoonman]

i experienced a 2 week trip without drugs, can anybody relate.

[@ryanforbes9767]

I had a few moments of an amazing experience this summer and have been trying to understand it, I’d love to hear about your experience

[@user-ro3kh5hj6n]

pure gold !

[@shibaanie]

Can you kindly tell me what is Dr Vasant chanting before and after the Gayatri Mantra. thanks

[@florenciaperlaluna]

what is the music you have at the beginning of the video?

[@whoisbhauji]

Thx so much - there is a lot here - the connections of Vedic symbols to modern neurotransmitters/glands etc is something i've been searching for! is this explained systematically elsewhere?

[@JoeyBujoldAstro]

+Ravi Srinivasan Thank you. To the best of my knowledge, Dr. Lad is the only resource who has openly discussed this and he encouraged me to disseminate this publicly. He gave a weekend lecture on Dravyaguna for the endocrine system, and the whole weekend we spent studying endocrinological effects of Ayurvedic herbs and pranayama. It was very much up this alley in terms of learning. Fascinating stuff!

[@akshayblizz]

I feel that the location of rudra , vishnu and brahma granthis are little different . it includes mooladhara

[@EthosAnanda]

Aye, he's a good Lad he is. Jaya

[@bmn8104]

🙏

[@biplabmishra5996]

Dear 'Agni Soma,' thank u for your endeavour,it is indeed packed with knowledge...can u just clarify regarding Dr.Lad mentioning about Soma chakra(12.48) behind incisors at base of nose Vs soma chakra at the root of nose(between eyebrows)(15.08 and 15.38)(?ajna chakra)?...regards.

[@ahmadmosawy6111]

و . ج ابحـث

[@knowthyselfaum6574]

Buddha discovered this and he said JUST ADD AWARENESS TO YOUR BREATH, sit in cross legged posture with your palms facing the sky like a empty bowl and tip of the tongue touching the palate behind the front teeth (behind the incisor, at the base of nose) there is one chakra known as SOMACHAKRA. Just add awareness to your breath, when lungs inhale, air goes in and when exhale air goes out, depending upon your prakriti and vikriti air is touching somewhere inside the nostril, just pay attention to the touch of air inside the nose, when air is touching the angle of the nostril it WATER ELEMENT, when air is touching septum it is EARTH ELEMENT, when air is touching tip of the nose it is FIRE ELEMENT, when air is touching side of the nose it is AIR ELEMENT, WHEN INGOING AIR TOUCHES THE ROOT OF THE NOSE, THAT IS SOMA. Follow breath from nose to root of the nose, turn down just below the olfactory bulb, there is SOMACHAKRA; then air enters throat, trachea, heart, diaphragm, goes down behind the belly button, there is a natural STOP, stay in the stop and when lungs exhale, follow the breath from belly button to diaphragm, to the heart, to the throat, back to third eye(soma) come out, during exhalation air goes about nine inches and there is a STOP, this is the second stop outside the body in the outer sphere. In this stop you exist without breath, there is NO BREATH, there is NO MIND (mind is the movement of breath), in this stop there is NO TIME (time is the movement of breath), there is NO THOUGHT, just EMPTY SPACE, in the beginning that stop is for fraction of a second, if you practice this, sitting quite watching breath and staying in the stop morning, mid-day, in the evening and at bedtime, slowly with in one month your stop will increase up to 20 seconds, perhaps with in six months your STOP WILL ENHANCE UPTO 90 SECONDS, then SOMA STARTS DRIPPING...it covers the eyes, drip become flow and flow become flood and flood become rush. Soma from third eye goes to heart, you experience profound peace and along with peace there is love. Since heart is the seat of love and peace, it is the abode of SOMA and SOMA GOVERNS CARDIAC ACTIVITY. As soma moves in to the heart, a window within the right chamber is opened and you will see spiral light moving from root of spine through all chakra and it is coming to shasrara, from muladhar to sahasrara this light is moving, you jump into that river of light, passing through the Marvel of light and the river become fountain of light, it is like hairline beam of light(Rishikesh- beam of light like hair), it is moving to the cortical area of brain, look at the crown, you see neurons shinning like galaxies. So your brain is map of universe and you have nebula, it is full of COSMIC SOMA, hence it is called BRAHMA RAS.

[@shubhamgodage2190]

did anyone see those higher beings mentioned by dr with help of that sama

[@ESuccessMasters]

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻❤️❤️❤️💕💕💕

[@rc9885]

🙏🙏🙏

[@rakshitdave1174]

🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

[@clifb.3521]

👍 x100