A drink of gods

The lake in Nainital town, there are several more in the surrounding Nainital District. Jai Naini Mata ki

   
Scroll down to towards the end of the post for the recipe of drink

An ancient highly revered Sanskrit book, the Rig Veda describes the powerful Soma drink obtained from the god amongst plants called Soma. This plant appears to have become extinct from the Himalayas some three thousand years ago perhaps due to over harvesting, grazing and ancient climate change around the time the ancient Saraswati River began to disappear from the Indus valley. Ever since then many attempts have been made to search for it and many proposals of alternative substances made, several narcotic, intoxicating or psychedelic. But the heavenly Soma was none of these. It was neither intoxicating nor psychedelic but made warriors alert and strong for battle and others full of happiness, wisdom and poetry. The best thing is that compounds in the drink appear to retard or stop aging of cells and has therefore also been known as drink of immortals or the gods. Rubbed on the skin about half an hour before a bath, the drink is also an excellent beauty lotion. While the drink was uplifting for those already healthy, it was also a  medicine for those suffering from several diseases.

Recently the search for the plant has become much easier with the help of  internet for plants the world over. An interested researcher can scan and search for thousands of online reports on almost all documented varieties of plants. Although Soma became extinct from the Himalayas and Asia there is no reason why it should have disappeared from other parts of the world such as North America where people did not know its full value. Recently the author made this search and narrowed down TO TWO PLANTS AN ANCIENT VARIETY OF SUGAR CANE NOW EXTINCT OR ANOTHER OF CORNUS SERICEA. This note focuses on cornus sericea but more recent note in a companion blog cover the sugar cane variety.

The Cornus Sericea plant is found widely in North America.The climate around Nainital is suitable for its growth in case it was desired to bring this plant to the region. It is also known as red twig dogwood and comes close to ancient descriptions in many ways with Soma although not in all ways. It does not have abundant sweet frothy juice as Soma had and also sugar cane does. However, it has found medicinal use earlier but not to the extent of Soma, perhaps in part because it was not processed properly.  This effort is now being made and results are awaited. The interested reader may read a general blog article on it at

http://someitemshave.blogspot.in/2015/05/the-magic-of-soma-closing-three.html

For the scholar a more detailed online publication is at:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/266317668/On-the-Identification-of-Soma-of-Rig-Veda-with-Cornus-Sericea

Although other varieties of Cornus grow in the Himalayas this particular variety is no longer commonly found. A few persons may be growing it as an imported garden shrub because it has found much use as that in modern times. Most other varieties of Cornus are not useful for the Soma drink and some are positively harmful. The best place to grow Cornus Sericea is cool moist areas such as those that are found on the banks of lakes and streams of cool mountain areas and there is none better than Nainital district for that. It is hoped that such plantations would be started here in future. It is an attractive plant in both summer and winter and would be a wonderful addition to the flora and fauna of Nainital.

How to Grow

It can be propagated from seeds, but propagation by rooting year-old greenwood or live stakes yields faster results. Collect seeds in late fall for seed propagation. If seeds cannot be found locally, they would have to be imported from Europe or America to begin life as a nursery plant. If seed are being imported, a mix of different varieties should be sought. Take greenwood cuttings in late spring or early summer, or plant live stakes during the dormant season, which is late autumn through early spring. This multi-stemmed shrub grows to 7-10 feet and spreads slowly by underground stems, making thickets. Hybrid varieties may grow much taller. Flat clusters of chalky white flowers blooms in late spring, often followed by white berries. Varieties are available with bright red, yellow, olive-yellow or green stems for winter, colors as described for Soma in the Rig Veda.  These plants should be pruned to the ground every year to induce a good growth of new, brightly colored branches and the stems can then be used to prepare the medicinal drink. At other times of the year selective pruning may be done to harvest stems. It will grow in sun or shade, but in nature they are seldom found growing in full sun. The natural environments are in partly shady places and the edge of woodlands near streams and lakes where the ground is wet. it survives submergence. The best time to plant it is during the dormant season, late fall through spring, when the ground is not frozen or so wet as to hamper digging. This plant survives very cold freezing climates once established.

Not just uplifting, medicinal too

If found useful, many future studies would have to be carried out to study the medicinal effect of different varieties of Cornus Sericea and its local hybrids that would emerge with time. The plant is a potential cure for several diseases for example Lyme Disease and may have been used for it in the past by Native Indians without diagnosis. It will work in concentrated form as a rub at site of a rash and as drink as an anti-bacterial drink and also for residual psychosomatic effect if any. However all this is work in progress and the response of others would be appreciated and would contribute to the knowledge of this plant. This entire effort has been kept in the public domain and free of patents so as to keep the benefits free. The author is in principle against the patenting of life including plants, seeds and medicines.

This is what is said based on the existing limited modern information on this plant by http://www.naturalmedicinalherbs.net/herbs/c/cornus-sericea=red-osier-dogwood.php

Red osier dogwood (cornus sericea) was widely employed by several native North American Indian tribes who valued it especially for its astringent and tonic bark, using it both internally and externally to treat diarrhoea, fevers, skin problems etc. It is little used in modern herbalism. The bark and the root bark are analgesic, astringent, febrifuge, purgative, slightly stimulant and tonic. Drying the bark removes its tendency to purge. A decoction has been used in the treatment of headaches, diarrhoea, coughs, colds and fevers. Externally, the decoction has been used as a wash for sore eyes, styes and other infections and also to treat skin complaints such as poison ivy rash and ulcers. The bark shavings have been applied as a dressing on wounds to stop the bleeding. A poultice of the soaked inner bark, combined with ashes, has been used to alleviate pain. The plant is said to have cured hydrophobia.

The bark has also been used in the past for Malaria and Pneumonia. The natives did not know the names of many modern diseases such as Lyme disease, they just cured it. However unlike the natives but like the ancient Soma drinkers, this blogger suggests the use of full stems with bark rather than just the bark and roots, and a cold press rather than decoction to begin with.

I can imagine some readers thinking, "I have been suffering and this thing was growing in the yard and I did not even know," but do not be surprised nature often places a natural cure in close proximity of an ailment. That has been my experience several times in life.

Simplified Process for Preparing the Golden Drink

While the modern user may like to disassociate the spiritual connotations in the recipe, they have been included nevertheless to honor the sentiment of the original source from which this recipe was derived. Who knows, they might play a role? This blogger thinks they strengthen the effect.

Drink of gods

Five simple steps (same method for tonic as for medicine)

Ingredients::

-A potful of twigs from the Cornus Sericea ( red twig godwood)
-Full cream drinking milk (as per requirement)
-Some natural sweetener to taste such as honey, cane juice or maple syrup
-Ice cubes

1. If you have access to a Cornus Sericea shrub in garden or wilderness near you, then you may use the following simplified process to prepare a quick drink for yourself and friends. In order to avoid any potential risk, prepare this drink under guidance of an experienced herbal medicine practitioner the first few times until assured of good results to do it on your own, but please do not call the plant dogwood any longer. Call it godwood henceforth.

2. Collect a vessel full of twigs of the plant of green, golden, yellow or red color as the case may be. Break or cut the twigs (the rose stem cutter is the best for this purpose) off the plant gently such as you might while giving a child with wildly overgrown hair a hair cut and not violently, so as not to hurt the plant after requesting its permission for it to release the best of hormones. 

3.  Bring to your kitchen and wash them thoroughly with water, break and crush on a cooking board with a rolling pin or kitchen hammer and pack tightly in the original vessel. Now that the stems are crushed they shall occupy much less space in the same vessel. Fill up the vessel to the brim with good quality drinking water and leave covered for ten hours to infuse. 

4. Strain through a clean cloth placed in a kitchen strainer. Squeeze the remaining solids into the strainer with clean hands for the strongest part of the juice and fill up in clean sterilized bottles. Do not discard the spent solids in garbage but in a hole in the garden or wilderness for compost or a river stream to flow away in order to honor the sacred remains and not defile them.. Store strained drink in clear glass bottles in fridge, for no more than three days. In case a fungus or color change develops in the drink, discard. The drink is best fresh with twigs crushed and soaked early in the morning and drink consumed in the evening. You may collect the twigs a few days earlier or in the weekend but then store them in fridge after washing thoroughly, ready for the crushing.

5. Before drinking, mix water extract from step 4 above with milk (or beaten home made curd from full cream milk) in the ratio of one is to six, one part extract, six parts milk or beaten curd. After seeing how the drink agrees with your system you may if you wish gradually increase the percentage of extract in the mix in future. Add a natural sweetener such as honey, maple syrup, stevia extract or fresh filtered sugar cane juice if available just before drinking along with some ice cubes. If the Cornus Sericea happens to be in bloom set one on top side of the drink of each galass for an attractive garnish. The same can be done with a couple of leaves each of the plant too unless it is deep winter and plant has none. In winter place a bright red twig in each glass both as a stirrer and as an attractive garnish.


Before drinking thank the plant, mother earth and the Universe for providing the wonderful drink. Then enjoy by sipping slowly. You may vary the proportions of the mix later to see what works best for you. 

An even simpler and quicker version of recipe for a drink for one or two

Just fill up a glass with some godwood (Cornus Sericea) twigs from the garden, wash, crush and replace in glass and fill up with water. After about ten hours, run the liquid into a new glass through a tea strainer lined with a piece of clean cloth. Now add six times as much full cream milk (or curd), a natural sweetener to taste, divide in wine glasses, top with crushed ice and serve. 

Scope for further work

Much more work is required to ascertain the concentrations, dosage and frequency of consumption of the Soma/Cornus Sericea drink over a day for medicinal purposes in differing ailments perhaps beginning with Lyme disease that is under much attention in USA where this plant is most widely found. This requires inputs from various quarters and experiences of others. It would be welcome if readers provide any as a comment to this post. The earlier North American experience with this plant appears to be more with the bark (some with alcohol extracts that are not recommended here in preference to an infusion in plain water)  rather than the entire stem that contains additional useful compounds, sugars and oils that would seem to contribute towards a more holistic effect 

PS: The same drink also works as a powerful yet natural beauty lotion to beautify the skin. Rub it on face and any other part of the body and leave to soak for half an hour before a bath.

***** NEW******

See alternative recipe here: http://someitemshave.blogspot.in/2015/06/two-of-most-magical-and-medicinal-herbs.html

 

Cornus Sericea, Red twigs for a drink of the gods

Jai Soma

Jai Ma Nanda, Jai Ma Sunanda