This is an addendum to:
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/08/absurd-suggestion-of-soma-haoma-as.html Absurd suggestion of Soma, Haoma as narcotics Debunking speculations based on 1. Gonur, Altyn Depe, Mouru archaeology-- KE Eduljee & 2. Indus hypertexts decipherment
Why are absurd suggestions made?
One possibility has been discussed with evidence by Arvind Kumar. See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/01/religious-crusades-of-cia-arvind-kumar.html Here is an excerpt from this investigative report in the context of 'religious crusades of CIA', Gordon Wasson's bizarre claims identifying soma with some mushroom -- claims which were supported by a Sanskritist, Wendy Doniger whose Hindu phobia is well documented:
"Sometime in 1962, Gordon Wasson recruited a young lady named Mrs. Arthur Gudwin to dig out information about the source of soma from Sanskrit texts. Mrs. Gudwin, also known as Wendy Gudwin, was the daughter of Lester Doniger, a wealthy scam artist who deceived ordinary people into parting with money by threatening them that their credit rating would be affected if they did not pay him money. Among the many false representations Lester Doniger made to his victims, he created and used the fictitious name of Mail Order Credit Reporting Association along with a letterhead for this fake organization on which he sent out his threats (see p. 785 ofFederal Trade Commission rulings for April-June 1964)...The “research” of Mrs. Wendy Gudwin nee Doniger who is now a professor at the University of Chicago must be viewed in the light of this background combined with her work with Gordon Wasson. None of her so-called research is original, and as a pliant assistant, she has merely propagated the views of those for whom she has worked. Perhaps this explains the inconsistency in her writings and the shallowness in her scholarship. For example, she has claimed that the authors of the Rigveda were “invading Indo-Aryans” but has also written elsewhere against the Aryan Invasion Theory. She treats the myth of a conversation between Jesus and Thomas as a historical fact and even assigns a date to the purported event. It is in the understanding of Indian religious traditions that she demonstrates a clear lack of depth when she claims that Hindu and Buddhist mendicants abandon their material lives because they are driven by Wanderlust. Even the idea of mixing up sex and religion did not originate with her. Her uncle Simon Doniger had published a book titled Sex and Religion Today. After helping Gordon Wasson buttress his claims on soma, Wendy Doniger continued where Simon Doniger had left off and her work was aligned with the message of Christian missionaries and SIECUS packaged in academic verbiage and style."
If academic scholarship gets coloured with academics expressing jaundiced views, motivated by extra-academic impetus such as those of CIA crusades, and the goal of denigrating ancient Vedic-Avestan traditions, there is a plausible explanation for absurd claims made that soma and haoma were narcotics.
Eduljee has demonstrated that the claims are shallow and facts do not bear out such claims.
Indus Script Corpora demonstrate that over 7000 inscriptions are metalwork catalogues and that it is reasonable to hypothesise that soma was a metal artifact and the Vedic texts were an allegory, providing metaphors in prosodic chandas.
S. Kalyanaraman
Sarasvati Research Center
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/08/absurd-suggestion-of-soma-haoma-as.html Absurd suggestion of Soma, Haoma as narcotics Debunking speculations based on 1. Gonur, Altyn Depe, Mouru archaeology-- KE Eduljee & 2. Indus hypertexts decipherment
Why are absurd suggestions made?
One possibility has been discussed with evidence by Arvind Kumar. See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/01/religious-crusades-of-cia-arvind-kumar.html Here is an excerpt from this investigative report in the context of 'religious crusades of CIA', Gordon Wasson's bizarre claims identifying soma with some mushroom -- claims which were supported by a Sanskritist, Wendy Doniger whose Hindu phobia is well documented:
"Sometime in 1962, Gordon Wasson recruited a young lady named Mrs. Arthur Gudwin to dig out information about the source of soma from Sanskrit texts. Mrs. Gudwin, also known as Wendy Gudwin, was the daughter of Lester Doniger, a wealthy scam artist who deceived ordinary people into parting with money by threatening them that their credit rating would be affected if they did not pay him money. Among the many false representations Lester Doniger made to his victims, he created and used the fictitious name of Mail Order Credit Reporting Association along with a letterhead for this fake organization on which he sent out his threats (see p. 785 ofFederal Trade Commission rulings for April-June 1964)...The “research” of Mrs. Wendy Gudwin nee Doniger who is now a professor at the University of Chicago must be viewed in the light of this background combined with her work with Gordon Wasson. None of her so-called research is original, and as a pliant assistant, she has merely propagated the views of those for whom she has worked. Perhaps this explains the inconsistency in her writings and the shallowness in her scholarship. For example, she has claimed that the authors of the Rigveda were “invading Indo-Aryans” but has also written elsewhere against the Aryan Invasion Theory. She treats the myth of a conversation between Jesus and Thomas as a historical fact and even assigns a date to the purported event. It is in the understanding of Indian religious traditions that she demonstrates a clear lack of depth when she claims that Hindu and Buddhist mendicants abandon their material lives because they are driven by Wanderlust. Even the idea of mixing up sex and religion did not originate with her. Her uncle Simon Doniger had published a book titled Sex and Religion Today. After helping Gordon Wasson buttress his claims on soma, Wendy Doniger continued where Simon Doniger had left off and her work was aligned with the message of Christian missionaries and SIECUS packaged in academic verbiage and style."
If academic scholarship gets coloured with academics expressing jaundiced views, motivated by extra-academic impetus such as those of CIA crusades, and the goal of denigrating ancient Vedic-Avestan traditions, there is a plausible explanation for absurd claims made that soma and haoma were narcotics.
Eduljee has demonstrated that the claims are shallow and facts do not bear out such claims.
Indus Script Corpora demonstrate that over 7000 inscriptions are metalwork catalogues and that it is reasonable to hypothesise that soma was a metal artifact and the Vedic texts were an allegory, providing metaphors in prosodic chandas.
S. Kalyanaraman
Sarasvati Research Center