and drank it themselves at their rituals. The drink
was used in such quantities that the YAJUR VEDA
includes a chant to alleviate the effects of exces-
sive Soma drinking.
Soma was most used by the priests of the SAMA
VEDA. A majority of hymns in the Sama Veda itself
praise the Soma, personified as a god. In fact,
Soma is said to have inspired the composition
of Vedic hymns. The drink is said to be sweet
and milky. Various attempts have been made to
identify the Soma plant. Today it is the name of
a vine that does not appear to have intoxicating
properties.
The Vedic god Soma acts as the husband of the
dawns, supports the Earth and sky, and makes the
Sun light up. In late Vedic times Soma was con-
nected to the Moon. In modern Hindu mythology
Soma is the Moon god and the lord of all plants.
Scholars identify the beverage Soma with the
Haoma, which was also offered to the gods in the
Avesta, the scripture of the ancient Persians.
Further reading: Alfred Hillebrandt, Vedic Mythology.
Translated from the German by Sreeramula Rajeswara
Sarma. Vol. 1 (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1990); J.
Stevenson, trans., Translation of the Samhita of the Sama
Veda (Varanasi: Indological Book House, 1961); David
Stophlet and Martin Schwartz, Haoma and Harmaline:
The Botanical Identity of the Indo-Iranian Sacred Hal-
lucinogen “Soma” and Its Legacy in Religion, Language,
and Middle-Eastern Folklore (Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1989).
Sri See LAKSHMI.
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Mandal (est. 1980)
The Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Mandal is an off-
shoot of the INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA
CONSCIOUSNESS (ISKCON), popularly known in
North America as the Hare Krishna movement.
The Mandal was founded in 1980 by Bhakti
Rakasa Sridhara Deva Goswami (1895–1988) to
carry on the teachings of his god-brother Swami
A. C. Prabhupada BHAKTIVEDANTA (1896–1977),
founder of ISKCON.
Before he died Prabupada is said to have told
his disciples that if dissention occurred in the
movement, it should be resolved by Sridhara; they
were “god-brothers,” as both received their ini-
tiation from Bhaktisiddanthanta Sarawati Takir in
the GAUDIYA MAT H in India. This group had been
the central Krishna Consciousness organization
in Bengal.
Prabhupada’s death was in fact followed by
intense infighting and theological unrest. Dis-
putes were frequent and solutions hard to obtain.
When some members of the upper ranks turned
to Sridhara, as they had been advised to do, the
eventual solution was the founding of a new
order. The Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Mandal was
formed as the branch that would serve the mission
in the United States while remaining affiliated
with the Gaudiya Math.
Since its founding the mandal has flourished
and has engaged in an expansive publishing pro-
gram. Guardian of Devotion Press has published a
variety of Sridhara’s literature in the field of religion
and spirituality. There are affiliated centers in Mex-
ico, Brazil, England, Venezuela, South Africa, Italy,
the Netherlands, Australia, Austria, and Hungary.Further reading: Sridhara Deva Goswami (Bhakti Rak-
saka), Bhakti Parpanna Jivanmarta: Lifenectar of the
Surrended Souls: Nabadwip Dham (West Bengal: Sri
Chaitanya Saraswat Math, 1988); ———, The Search for
Sri Krsna, Reality the Beautiful (San Jose, Calif.: Guard-
ian of Devotion Press, 1983).Sri Krishna Chaitanya See CHAITANYA.
Sri Lalita See SRI VIDYA.
Sri Lanka See RAMAYANA.
K 420 Sri