The Vedic Alchemist: Better Liberation Through Chemistry

By James Kalomiris

This is a book about alchemy, Vedic alchemy. It is an investigation of physical matter, but not an ordinary investigation. With the help of the Vedic scriptures and classical alchemical texts, this book explains how physical matter was created, how it evolved from small atoms, and how it coalesced into the physical objects we see every day. After creating physical matter, the Vedic alchemist takes the reader down a path of personal liberation through the transmutation of base metals to the Philosopher Stone, always with an eye to the Vedas.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jan 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781982256753

James Kalomiris

James Kalomiris is a household and lover of the Vedas. He is a Juris Doctor, having graduating law school, and his profession is in the law. He uses those legal analytical skills to unlock the secrets of the Vedas.

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Copyright © 2021 James Kalomiris.

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

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ISBN: 978-1-9822-5674-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-5675-3 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 01/19/2021

CONTENTS

Dedication

Foreword

Introduction

Creation

The Confluence of Astrological and Alchemical Dharmas

The Vedic Prima Materia

Agni The Philosophic Sulphur

Indra The Philosophic Salt

The Philosophic Mercury

Vedic Alchemical Elements

Prospectors

Transformation

The Chemical Interaction Between The Philosophic Salt (Indra), The Divine Aspect of The Philosophic Mercury (Soma), and The Profane Aspect of The Philosophical Mercury (Vrtra)

Vedic Alchemical Processes, Sacrifice And The Color Chart For The Great Work

Conjunction

Fixation and Purification

The Philosopher Stone

The Amazing Journey

Appendices and Abbreviations

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

Appendix D

Abbreviations

DEDICATION

To the usual suspects, my children, Kelley and Alex,

my inspiration, and my reason for being, and

To Niki, my Flaming Star, my Love, my partner in crime.

"Alchemy is a medieval chemical science and speculative philosophy aiming to achieve the transmutation of the base metals into gold, the discovery of a universal cure for disease, and the discovery of a means of indefinitely prolonging life.

• Merriam Webster.

◊◊◊

Alchemy is the art of liberating parts of the cosmos from temporal existence to achieve Salvation.

• Kalyanaraman, Indian Alchemy Soma in the Veda (2004), p. xviii.

◊◊◊

Alchemy is nothing but the art which makes the impure into the pure through Fire. …

• Paracelsus, The Art of Transformation.

◊◊◊

Alchemy is nothing else but the set purpose, intention, and subtle endeavor to transmute the kinds of the metals from one to another.

• Paracelsus

◊◊◊

Alchemy is the gentle acceleration of growth through the use of the Fire of nature. –

• Paracelsus.

◊◊◊

The stilling of the heart is the true alchemy which turns mercury into silver.

• Inayat Khan, Sufi mystic.

◊◊◊

Alchemy is, so to speak, a kind of lower Heaven, by which the Sun is separated from the Moon, day from night medicine from poison, what is useful from what is refuse.

• De Cotica.

◊◊◊

Alchemy is the study of the composition of Waters, (and the) movement, growth, embodying, and disembodying, drawing the spirits from bodies and bonding the spirits within bodies.

• Zosimos

◊◊◊

Alchemy is simply chemistry.

• Isaac Asimov

FOREWORD

In the Vedic dharma (Rta) nothing is as it seems. Take for example physical matter. It could be anything – animal, vegetable, or material. Looks solid, feels solid. But the deeper you dig into the actual physical structure, the less solid, indeed, the less physical, it appears. Dig down deep enough, in the sub-atomic level, and physical matter is not permeated by physicality at all but consists of atomic particles and energy fields. Those atomic particles are not joined by physical bonds but separated by emptiness. Indeed, physical matter at some point, if you dig deep enough, ceases to be physical at all –- but is pure energy. This is not simply the Vedic dharma (Rta) we are talking about, but the entire whole of creation. This is the realm of the Vedic alchemist.

In this installment of the Secret History of the Vedas, the Vedic alchemist investigates physical matter. The conventional wisdom is that physical existence must be denied to achieve liberation or salvation. This is not how the Vedic alchemist sees it. According to the Vedic alchemist, the spiritual journey of liberation or salvation may be achieved through the intense concentration and meditation (tapas) on physical matter. As a result of this austere concentration (tapas) the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist transform (transmute) physical matter from the energy of their tapas. With the transmutation of base metals into the Philosopher Stone, the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, and Vedic alchemist are themselves transformed and begin to disengage from the material world, step by evolutionary step, returning to the Purusa and beyond and is liberated, receiving salvation therefrom. It is liberation achieved through the affirmation of the material world, and the material world therefore assists the worshiper. It is better liberation through chemistry The process from beginning to end and back again is described in The Vedic Alchemist. This is the purpose of The Vedic Alchemist.

INTRODUCTION

There’s the spirit world and there’s the meat world, and you’ve got to be in constant communication of the two.

Dr. John, the Night Tripper.

In a century full of historical surprises, there was one which stands out. On one side of the world, in the Mississippi Delta in the decade of the 1920s, dispossessed African American musicians developed a distinctive musical style of singing and composition. These musicians were sons of former slaves but still worked on plantations if they worked at all. Their songs were simple and played with simple, minimalistic methods, usually a singer strumming on his (this was an unusually male-dominated area) guitar, perhaps with another on a harmonica. Their songs were about love, love found, love lost, love unrequited, and the general travails of life. It is a style of music which the world knows as the Mississippi Delta Blues. It is a well-known story.

Less well known is another series of historical events occurring on the other side of the globe in Europe. At that time, the turn of events in Modern Greece descended into great social upheavals. Greece at that time had been in a military conflict with Turkey. The Country had obtained the upper hand with its army approaching Ankara. Then, the Turkish armies made a turnaround and drove back the Greek army. Turkish forces had, in fact, driven the Greek forces to the shores of Asia Minor, where significant populations of ethnic Greeks had lived for two thousand years. Turkish fighters – members of the armies and vigilante mobs – drove these ethnic Greeks out of Asia Minor. Massive pogroms ensued and resulted in upwards to 200,000 deaths, while ships from the UK and other Western Powers, sat in the harbor of Smyrna, doing nothing. There were refugees, hundreds of thousands of refugees. These displaced ethnic Greek refugees landed and settled in Athens, Piraeus, Thessaloniki, and other Greek cities. Dispossessed, these refugees lived on the bottom rung of society, were looked down upon by native Greeks, and frequently descended into a life of crime simply to exist. They did, however, bring with them their musical traditions. Their songs were simple and played with simple, minimalistic melodies, usually a singer strumming on his (while this was usually a male-dominated area, there were many female musicians and singers) bouzouki, perhaps with another on a santouri (dulcimer) or other Middle Eastern instruments. Their songs were about love, love found, love lost, love unrequited, the criminal world which surrounded them, and the general travails of life. This is known as Rebetiko Music.

Now you might say at this point, OK, sure, songs about love, love found, love lost, love unrequited, and the general travails of life have been sung since time immemorial, so where is the wonder? The amazing characteristic of Mississippi Delta Blues and Rebetiko Music is that the construction of their songs are exactly the same. Both constructed their songs with what is known as the standard 12-bar blues progression, based on the I, IV, and V chords of a key, with key phrases repeated with great emotion. Listen closely to the old Rebetiko songs, the structure is almost virtually identical with Mississippi Delta blues songs. In a world without the internet, without global communications, with no way to communicate with each other, how could this occur?

The simultaneous presence of these two identical music traditions is an example of Zeitgeist, the essentially uncommunicated, pervasive Spirit of the Times. Every age has its own Zeitgeist. Unlike our present age, the Kali Yuga, which is concerned with materialism and consumerism, early ages were concerned with the investigation of the Vedic dharma which pervades and runs this material world and how life may proceed in harmony with that dharma. This concern was the preoccupation of the early philosophers and seers. Attendant to this Zeitgeist is a common way of viewing physical matter and understanding the world. The Ancient Zeitgeist was concerned with physical matter, the Earth we tread upon, the air we breathe, the fire upon which we grill our steaks, the water we drink – all have a divine origin and inner essence. In the rise of global consumerism and Capitalism that divine quality was lost. It was the duty of the Vedic alchemist to rediscover that divine essence, discover the divine, subtle elements, transmute those elements into a handy, dandy elixir, which may be consumed so that we – the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist and all other sentient beings – may share with that divine essence and share its divinity. The Vedic alchemist was also concerned with finding that divine elixir – what will be called here the Philosophical Gold or Philosopher Stone – proceeding to an inner, spiritual journey backwards to the evolutionary conditions which existed prior to the appearance of solid, physical matter when existence was in a primitive state.

This is the essence of the Vedic alchemical dharma. The wisdom of that dharma was imbedded, in highly symbolic language, into the rcs (mantras) of the Rg Veda and other spiritual texts of the Vedas, the Aranyakas, Brahmanas, and Upanishads. And though there is no historical confirmation that subsequent alchemists knew of these texts, they were aware of the Zeitgeist, because they lived with that Zeitgeist in mind when they attempted to transmute base metals into gold. According to that Zeitgeist, in addition to the many other methods, liberation may be had with the proper understanding of, and freeing from, physical matter. This is the irreducible essence of Alchemy and of the Vedic alchemical dharma. So, much like the poor, dispossessed souls of the Mississippi Delta and the Rembetes in the streets of Piraeus, direct communication was not needed to understand this method of liberation: They lived it.

This is the newest installment in a series, The Secret History of the Vedas. The first volume, The Vedic Dharma, discussed in broad terms, the issues that are presented in the Vedic dharma, in a mantra-by-mantra commentary of the Asyavamasya Sukta, which is found in Sukta 164 of the First Mandala of the Rg Veda. In Vedanta, there are three major themes in the Vedic dharma – Existence, Bliss, and Consciousness. The Vedic Dharma deals with the issue of Existence. The second installment deals with Bliss. This installment, One Thousand Names of Soma, discusses the numerous samans (mantras) chosen for Soma. The third installment is All About Agni, which describes the Aspects and Manifestations of Agni, the premier Vedic force, and his manifestations from the Heavens, mid-world and terrestrial. These Aspects and Manifestations all comprised part of the dynamic nature of Agni. These Aspects and Manifestations all play a role in the make-up of Consciousness. The fourth installment, The Vedic Astrologer, changed focus, and described the part the Nakshatras (lunar mansions) and asterisms play in assisting the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic astrologer during the astrological spiritual journey. The focus was necessarily a macrocosmic one. It posited that liberation is found as a result of the concentrated stargazing to acquire the spiritual endowments possessed by the Nakshatras, with the help from the person of the Vedic astrologer.

And now, as they say, for something completely different. The cousin of the Vedic astrologer is the Vedic alchemist. The Vedic alchemist assists the worshiper, sadhaka or adept during the alchemical spiritual journey. The Vedic alchemist teaches that liberation is found when the mind’s concentration (tapas) is focused in another direction other than gazing upwards. For the Vedic alchemist, the mind’s attention is directed inward and not outward. While the Vedic astrologer would have the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic astrologer direct the mind’s attention outward and upward, high in the sky towards the stars, the Vedic alchemist would have the worshiper and adept concentrate inwards, engaging in the most austere exercise of withdrawal possible, to the very basics of matter, and once there take control of the physical structure, re-constitute it, and arrange it in such a fashion that the worshiper, adept, or Vedic alchemist’s soul breaks free of the physical confines of the material world. It is difficult but not impossible. Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras devote quite a few sutras describing the process. That process is called samyama. Samyama is practice combining the simultaneous practice of Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation), and Samadhi (union). Through samyama, the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist receive deeper knowledge of the qualities of the object of meditation, and, when properly practiced, results in total psychological absorption in the object of meditation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Sam-yama.) When properly applied to the meditation (tapas) of the elements, as a result of this exercise of samyama, the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist becomes master over the elements. Having concentrated on the essence of physical matter, the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist break free from the physical confines of the material world. (YS, 3.45.) This is exactly the process exercised by any legitimate doctor of the alchemical arts practiced in the Middle Ages. Indeed, this remains the standard for today. The alchemical process is intended to be practiced by someone with a purified state of consciousness the alchemist must achieve. (Hauk, The Sorcerer’s Stone (2013), p. 19.)

So, alchemy as a spiritual and meditational practice (tapas) was the standard then and it is the standard now. It was certainly the standard in the Vedic alchemical dharma, where it all began. What the yogi in Patanjali’s day would achieve through tapas, intense meditation, the Medieval alchemist would achieve the same result, not only through meditation and intense mental austerity, but through the chemical and scientific processes which were then available.

This is the prime purpose of this present installment. This book will not be limited to the Yoga Sutras, but examine all relevant passages from the Vedas, Brahmanas, Upanishads and other Vedic and Hindu scriptures, and present a picture how this type of liberation is made. This book describes the Rg Veda, the bedrock of all Vedas, as a virtual how-to manual to accomplish the transmutation of base metals, from beginning to end.

This is the mystery of matter – or as Dr. John so eloquently put it, the meat world. To the naked eye, physical matter appears solid. It is solid to the touch, and when we see a physical object, it has shape, color, texture, and sometimes odor. But the more you scratch the surface and dig deep into its very essence, physical matter appears to have varying degrees of impenetrability. Throw a rock against a wall, it breaks; knock a glass vase off a table and it shatters; pull on a sheet of paper, one end against the other, and it will tear. Physical matter appears to have varying degrees of elasticity. Fling a rubber ball on the ground and it will bounce. Knock a bottle of cookie dough and the glass will shatter but the cookie dough will splatter like a pancake. There are endless variations as to the forms matter will take, but one thing is claimed to be certain: Physical matter is solid and one physical object will not morph into the other. Each physical object seems to be a separate world unto itself, separate and apart from other objects.

In the alchemical world, however, looks can be and are deceiving. If there is any lesson to be learned from modern sub-atomic physics it is that the deeper one digs into the very structure of physical matter, the less and less it appears to be solid at all. The farther below the surface of the physical matter you dig, the less and less dense and solid it becomes. There will be a point where any vestige of physical solidity is completely absent: All that is present is space, or, more properly speaking, non-space, a place of pure energy. At its core solid physical matter consists of tiny atoms surrounded by revolving and spinning electrons and neutrons and in between there is vast, seemingly empty, space. In the Vedic alchemical dharma, vast interlocking threads bind these atoms. These linkages may consist of tubular stands of energy, electromagnetic attraction, or threads of matter itself. This is true of a rock that the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist hold in their hand or of a mountain. Expressed in another context this energy is simply the functional equivalent of Consciousness. To the Vedic alchemist this equivalence was more or less a matter of faith. To the world of Western alchemy, while this schema was a given, the Western and all modern traditions of alchemy sought to replicate this process, one in an effort to replicate its creation and two to unlock its secrets for the benefit of all sentient beings. It is a world of which the Vedic alchemist is remarkably familiar. This is the world which will be explored in this book.

There are many paths to liberation, and the alchemical provides one of these paths. The alchemical dharma seeks to join the material with the spiritual (Hogan, The Alchemical Keys to the Masonic Ritual (2007), p. 16), that point where the two dharmas meet. The path towards this union was first started and explained by the Vedas and later over time evolved to a quasi-chemical, quasi -spiritual search of the Philosopher’s Stone. The alchemical traditions which flourished in Egypt, the Middle East, and China shared a significant characteristic with those which the Vedic alchemist believes was started in India. In the Vedic dharma, as with the later traditions, liberation is achieved by the body breaking free from the chains of material existence. It is a tradition which began, conservatively, with the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. These sutras have been dated approximately to 300 B.C. Most scholars believe that the precepts in these sutras had been handed down to Patanjali, through oral transmission, over the many centuries prior thereto. The yoga of Patanjali provides, among other things, several ways to disengage from the physical attachments of the material world, ranging from exercises in deep, austere meditation (tapas), to the move towards achieving one or many supernatural powers called siddhis, then the inward search in samadhi, with the ultimate unification and absorption with the Absolute Self. This search is accomplished through several yogic practices. One such practice is samyama, which combines the exercise of dharana, concentration, Dhyana, meditation, and samadhi. Another such exercise is the samyama over the five elements. The worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist’s physical attachment to karma and the material world is derived from the elements. (YS, 2.18.) When samyama is practiced over the five elements, complete mastery over them is achieved. (TS, 3.45.) The correct exercise of samyama over the elements breaks this bond with the physical world. (Comm., YS, 3.45, http:// www. swamij. com/yoga-sutras-33949.htm.)

While the explicit guideposts to the Vedic alchemical dharma is found in the Yoga Sutras, the Vedas provide the true origin. The Vedas are a set of scriptures – the Brahmanas, the Upanishads, the Aranyakas, but most of all in the four Vedas, the Rg Veda, the Sama Veda, the Yajur Veda, and the Atharva Veda. The Vedas provide the blueprint for the Vedic alchemical dharma. When properly interpreted the Vedas flesh out the instructions to this spiritual search. These scriptures memorialized the wisdom of the alchemical dharma that had existed since the beginning of time and before Time existed. But primarily the Rg Veda. The Rg Veda can be considered a veritable step-by-step manual for the alchemical dharma. This is what this book attempts to reveal.

What is Alchemy?

There is no such thing as a silly question. Through popular culture, the public conception of alchemy is, to put it lightly, lacking. The exact purpose of alchemy is to break free from the chains of material existence through the energy, power, and illumination of the Philosopher Stone. The path to the Philosopher Stone is charted through selected alchemical processes. At the very beginning of this book there are several quotations giving quick definitions of alchemy. Even these definitions barely scratch the surface. At its heart, the science of Alchemy is an investigation into the structure of physical matter. At the same time in the Vedic dharma (Rta), alchemy is a vehicle for liberation. By the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist’s own austerity and intense meditation (tapas) of physical matter, solidity, and the bonds that hold physical matter together, they seek to understand the basis of matter, to understand its foundational structure – and strictures – which create the cage of the material world, and once understood, the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist unravel and disengage these bonds and reverse the evolutionary process which led to the creation of physical matter, thereby liberating the soul from the travails of material existence. This is all very much akin to a line of dialogue in the cultish film, King of Hearts, with Alan Bates. There is one scene of a conversation between a Catholic priest and a military colonel, both inmates of a mental institution and adjudged to be insane by the outside world, where the priest is heard to say that from the time he was young, he already knew that to love the world you would have to get away from it. It is a paradoxically tall order, but it is essentially the same message spoken of by the Vedic Rishiis in the Vedas. It is the primary function of the Vedic alchemical dharma. The manner to implement this message is provided by the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Vedas, and the various other scriptures and tantras of ancient India. In the Vedic alchemical dharma, to fully embrace the world, one would need to examine it from afar.

What is the Alchemical dharma?

The alchemical dharma has its origin in Rta, the Vedic dharma. Rta is a concept, a way of life, and it refers to physical manifestations. Rta is another name, a password, for the Vedic dharma, the great Natural Order, and this present text describes the alchemical aspect of that dharma. Rta can be considered the Vedic equivalent for the Dao, but it is far more expansive. In Vedic terms, dharma is the totality of the Natural Order (Rta). (VaS, 1.1.1.) The word itself, dharma, however, is infrequently found in the Rg Veda. In its place, the Rg Veda spoke of Rta, the dynamic cosmic Natural Order. References to Rta in the Vedas are legion. Rta is the rough equivalent of the Dao. The Rg Veda can be viewed as a panegyric to Rta. Rta, or derivatives of Rta, occur well over two hundred times in the Rg Veda. In the Vedic Dharma the anchor of the Natural Order is Rta itself. Rta is reflected in the Vedic deities, themselves the dynamic forces of that Natural Order which are incorporated into the lives of worshipers, sadhakas, adepts, or Vedic alchemists. The aim is that we learn from the dharma (Rta) and live according to its highest aspirations.

The common thread running throughout the Vedas is that the Natural Order (Rta) is the primordial essence and fundamental nature of the Universe. In ages past it was the mission of the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist to discover that primordial essence, to live in accordance with that essence, and to be inspired and informed by that essence, thereby molding the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist’s life to that essence accordingly. It was assumed that human beings are not only composed of the same ingredients of the Universe but are also ruled by the same universal principles. This is reflected in the alchemical aphorisms of The Emerald Tablet. You will hear mention of The Emerald Tablet several times in this book. The Emerald Tablet is a defining text for alchemy. Its importance was so great that one of the great alchemists in history, Sir Isaac Newton, is one of the many who translated The Emerald Tablet from the original Greek. The opening stanza of The Emerald Tablet reflects this thought in As Above So Below. The totality of the Vedic alchemical dharma can be reduced to this mantra. The entire purpose of the spiritual journey in the Vedic alchemical dharma is an attempt to enliven this mantra and incorporate it in the life of the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist. The purpose of this search is to discover the relation of the cosmos to the Natural Order (Rta) and relate that Natural Order (Rta) to the material world and to the people of that world and to apply those precepts to the lives of the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, and Vedic alchemist. Dharma is that enlightenment and understanding obtained from the Natural Order (Rta). (VaS, 1.1.2.) An observation made by the American Comic, George Carlin, comes as close as anything else to describing Rta. In a segment from Jammin’ in New York, Carlin concluded, I think we’re part of a Greater Wisdom that we will ever understand. A Higher Order. It doesn’t punish. It doesn’t reward. It just Is. When George Carlin uttered these words, he was expressing an essential truth about the Vedic dharma (Rta). At its very core, the Vedic dharma (Rta) is the condition of What Is. This condition of What Is applies especially so to the Vedic alchemical dharma. How exactly did this condition of What Is come to be?

In the Vedic Dharma the anchor of the Natural Order is Rta itself as reflected in the Vedic deities, themselves the dynamic forces of that Natural Order which are incorporated into the lives of worshipers. The aim is that we learn from the dharma (rta) and live according to its highest aspirations. Pandit Madhusudan Ojha, a sadly unrecognized Vedic scholar and thinker, affirms this purpose in his magnum opus, Bharatavarsha, where he remarked that the essence of dharma is the One, when held, becomes the holder. (B, 2.1, p. 184.) It was assumed that human beings are not only composed of the same ingredients of the universe but is also ruled by the same universal principles. The example Madhusudan Ojha gave is one of Kingship. A king only becomes a King when he or she is initiated into the dharma called Kingship. The most famous example is the one given in the Bhagavad Gita. In the opening stanzas, Arjuna despaired of the prospect of killing his close relatives in battle. Arjuna persuaded Arjuna to go into battle and act like a warrior. Ojha’s formulation makes sense of what constitutes dharma. Even if it is repugnant to most, Arjuna should be going out to battle and kill the enemy because this is what warriors do. This is the warrior’s dharma. Put in Vedic terms, the greater purpose of the search in Rta is to discover the relation of the cosmos to the Natural Order (rta) and relate that Natural Order to the material world and to the people who inhabit it, who incorporate those precepts into their lives. Dharma the enlightenment and understanding obtained from the Natural Order (rta). (VaS, 1.1.2.) In the alchemical dharma, the dharma of the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist is to investigate and learn the structure of physical matter, incorporate what they learn into their lives, towards personal liberation and salvation.

Rta, the Natural Order, is the bedrock of the Vedic dharma. This present text describes the alchemical aspect of that bedrock found in the Vedic dharma. But how is this aspect of the Vedic dharma actuated? In Sacrifice, the yajna. Indeed, one aspect of Rta pertains to yajna, which consists as an essential component to the Vedic dharma. In a phrase which will also be repeated several times here, the sacrificial ritual is intended to demonstrate a fundamental truth of the Universe: that there is a give-and-take between the Microcosm (humankind) and the Macrocosm (the Universe), of every object therein, from creation to dissolution. (Sannyasi Gyanshruti, Sunnyasi Srividyananda, Yajna, A Comprehensive Survey (2006), pp. 84 – 85.) This give-and-take process is the essence of the natural order (Rta). In the Vedic alchemical dharma, the Sacrifice is translated as the alchemical operations, the experimental stages moving towards the Philosopher Stone. Just as the Sacrifice is the epitome of the give-and-take of the Vedic dharma (Rta), the alchemical processes are the essence of the alchemical aspect of the Vedic dharma (Rta). Both are there for the ultimate liberation and salvation of the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist.

It is a concept that will be revisited frequently in this book. A rc (mantra) from the Veda will be repeated in this treatment due to its importance to Rta. That rc (mantra) indicates that by virtue of acts of worship, the chanting and recitation of the rcs (mantras of the Rg Veda), samans (mantras of the Sama Veda), and chhandas (mantras of the Yajur Veda) during the sacrifice (yajna) cause a constant vibration which literally and physically bends the fabric of the universe by weaving it back and forth across its surface. (RV 10.130.1.) You will see this rc (mantra) several times in this book. This passage in many ways summarizes how the world was created in the Vedic alchemical dharma, what the Vedas mean to the world and underscore the spiritual basis for the material world.

The alchemical dharma is one part of the Vedic dharma (Rta). There are other dharmas in the Vedic dharma (Rta), such as the astrological dharma and Ajurvedic dharma. The alchemical dharma is that part of the Natural Order, Rta, which seeks to understand the basic structure of physical matter and transmute that structure into the Philosopher Stone. The transmutation is not so much accomplished with gadgetry or implements, but through the austere practices of tapas, concentration, and meditation. With the transmuted base metal, both matter and the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, and Vedic alchemist are transformed, liberated, and saved in the process.

In the Vedic dharma (Rta) there are different levels of introspection in achieving liberation and/or salvation. The worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist may cast the attention upwards to the skies to receive spiritual instruction from the Nakshatras. The process for this introspection was described in a companion volume in The Secret History of the Vedas, in The Vedic Astrologer. The Alchemical Vedic dharma serves a higher purpose. There, it seeks to understand the nature and structure of physical matter. The scope of the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist’s introspection is not outward but inward. The worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist undeniably consist of physical matter. In the introspection of physical matter, the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist will discover that far from consisting of solid, firm, mass, the foundation becomes more rarefied the deeper the introspection proceeds. Meditating deep enough, the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist break free from the confines of physical matter and acquire the supranatural powers of the siddhis. It was this process specifically handed down by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras as a method of liberation. (YS, 3.21.) With concentrated practice the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist are released from the restraints of prakrti, physical matter. (YS, 3.49.) Basically, this is the purpose of any spiritual journey. In the Vedic alchemical dharma, the stated goal is the personal liberation of the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist through the achievement of the Philosopher Stone.

Who is the Vedic Alchemist?

This is not the facetious question it appears. More so than other dharmas in the Vedic dharma (Rta), it matters who is the individual who supervises the transmutation of base metals to the Philosophic Gold; it matters who assists the Vedic alchemist; it matters who are the teachers or students of the Vedic alchemical dharma; and it matters who want to embark on the spiritual journey to liberation and salvation in the Vedic alchemical dharma.

It matters who is chosen to be the Vedic alchemist. The Agni Purana provides a good summary of the qualifications to be a disciple in the Vedic dharma (Rta). A disciple is one who is humble, devoted, endowed with all his or her physical capabilities, and, curiously enough, not very rich. (AP, 27.60.) These qualifications match those for the disciple of the alchemical arts. One ancient alchemical text, the Rasadhyaya, give a few introductory qualifications for those who wish to participate in the Great Work of the Vedic alchemical dharma (R, 1 – 11):

• The spiritual journey in the Vedic alchemical dharma cannot begin nor be achieved without the learning, guidance, and devotion of two or three gurus (teachers). (R, 3, 6.)

• Any other method of learning, through hearsay or otherwise, even through direct observation, is ineffectual. (R, 4.)

• The worshiper is ready to begin the spiritual journey in the Vedic alchemical dharma only when the gurus (teachers) are convinced the worshiper is serious about that journey and has the necessary qualifications. (R, 5.)

• Before conducting the experimentations, the Vedic alchemist must observe celibacy and engage in austere meditation (tapas). Without these two actions, the experiments will fail. (R, 11.)

These introductory remarks are revealing. These remarks stress purity in mind, body, and spirit, both for the student and for the Vedic alchemist. Most significantly, it indicates the role of mental and spiritual austerity, concentration, and meditation (tapas) found in the practice of alchemical experimentation. That practice not only involves the use of implements, tools, and materials, but the concerted concentration of the Vedic alchemist. This is a point which will be made throughout this book. Alchemy is a science, but it is also a mental and spiritual exercise of devotion, focus, and concentration. It is intended that there be an intimate, sincere, and serious relationship between the Vedic alchemist and those connected with the Vedic alchemist and the material worked on to create the Philosopher Stone. It is this devotion which fuels the spiritual journey according to the Vedic alchemical dharma towards final liberation and/or salvation. Indeed, it is tapas – that devotion and austere concentration and meditation of the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, and Vedic alchemist – which transmutes the base metals to create the Philosopher Stone.

This is a point not lost in present-day alchemy. Spagyric work is slow and careful, giving time to allow feelings and intuitions time to catch up with thoughts that are guiding the process. Remember that the alchemist is an integral part of any alchemical experiment. His or her purity, attention, and concentration affect the quality of the product. (Hauk, The Sorcerer’s Handbook (2013), p. 78.) Modernly, a contemporary textbook on Ayurvedic alchemy gives the following requirements for a qualifying Vedic alchemist (Vaidya Bhagawan Dash, Alchemy and the Metallic Medicines in Ayurveda (1986) p. 46.):

• He should be of noble character and high morality and be compassionate, kind, and truthful.

• He should have attained perfection in the practice of mantras.

• He should be a devotee of Lord Siva.

• He should have patience, courage, and be in harmony with the laws of nature. Note, these laws of nature are none other than the tenants of the Vedic dharma (Rta).

• He should be well versed in various aspects of Rasa Shastra both in theory and practice.

A few observations. First, most of these qualifications relate to character rather than knowledge of the science of alchemy. Second, you have noticed the pronoun He. In the Vedic alchemical dharma, gender is irrelevant, and, in the end, an anachronism. A person either has the understanding or does not. The same holds true for the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or even the Vedic alchemist. The only requirement to be a worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist is an ardent desire to engage in the spiritual journey of a life-time. The contemporary textbook, Alchemy and the Metallic Medicines in Ayurveda, is more specific as to the requirements of a worshiper, sadhaka, or adept:

• He should be of noble character, high morality, expert in his traditional profession, respectful to his teacher, brave, truthful, determined to acquire knowledge, obedient and free from laziness.

• He should belong to a noble family, be clever, should be well versed in the theory and practice of Ayurveda.

• He should be completely devoted to the teacher and his studies.

These characteristics are contrasted to students who are not suitable to the study of Ayurveda (Vaidya Bhagawan Dash, p. 47.):

• Persons of bad character and conduct.

• Persons born of a low family.

• Persons who are egotistic, thieves, deceptive, and desirous of acquiring knowledge by any means.

• Persons of unknown family lineage and conduct.

• Persons who do not believe in the existence of God, sacred scriptures, and life after death.

• People who speak ill of the teacher.

These requirements are designed to be consistent with the purposes and goals of the Vedic alchemical dharma. The disciple must be able to contemplate the entire Vedic dharma (Rta). (AP, 27.61.) The Philosopher Stone is the immediate goal but arriving there is the purpose of the spiritual journey engaged by the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist. It is a two-way street. The path to the Philosopher Stone is the result of the relationship by and between the body and mind of the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist and the base metals they attempt to transmute. By investing the body, mind and spirit to the Stone and the process involved at acquiring the Stone, the Stone gives back the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or even the Vedic alchemist the spiritual secrets and endowments locked inside. Paradoxically, while spiritual, that journey is made firmly in the material world. Knowing the contours of that world is like possessing a roadmap; it shows you where you need to go. It also shows you where the exit is located. In the Vedic alchemical dharma these are the skills the disciple learns to travel the spiritual journey. (AP, 27.62.) This is what we will learn in this book.

Cosmology In the Vedic Dharma

It has been said that in India nothing is ever studied except within its cosmological context. (Swami Veda Saraswati, Death, Your Servant (2019), p. 20.) To truly appreciate the Vedic alchemical dharma, the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, and Vedic alchemist must first understand the structure of the greater dharma of Rta. It stands to reason. If the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist seek to be released from prison, the boundaries of that prison cell must first be understood. Further, the guiding principle in the Vedic alchemical dharma is crystalized in The Emerald Tablet, As Above, So Below. To truly appreciate the meaning of this precept, the worshiper, sadhaka, adept – not so much the Vedic alchemist, as it is already known to him or her – must first understand what is Above and what is Below. This is why in any endeavor in The Secret History of the Vedas, and especially in the alchemical aspect of the dharma, the structure of the Vedic dharma (Rta) must be understood.

In the Vedas, Dharma is the totality of the natural order. (VaS, 1.1.1.) What is the Vedic dharma? What does this actually mean? What does it consist of? Tilak, in his monumental commentary to the Bhavagad Gita, describes dharma as the nature of things, and the the order that holds society together, and that which bind[s the] force of society. (Arun Tiwari, A Modern Interpretation of Lokmanya Tilak’s Gita Rahasya (2017), pp. 113, 115.)

The beginnings of the Vedic dharma (Rta) must first be understood. Creation. The Vedic dharma (Rta) has always existed, will always exist as it exists in the here and now. There is no beginning to the Vedic dharma (Rta), as such, nor is there the end of things. Instead, what exists, has always existed, and will always exist, are cycles of evolution, which rotate in their revolutions through the eons, over and over. The Vedic scriptures indicate that at first there was a great mass of indiscriminate, undifferentiated, matter. These scriptures then posit a triggering event to this period of indiscriminate darkness. The Veda reveals that when Indra felled Vrtra with Vajra, he divided the world into two parts: one part, adya/ (What is) and the other anyad (What is not). (RV 6.24.5) At that point, the forces of Indra, which we will later learn is the Philosophic Salt, and Soma, which we will know as the Divine Aspect of the Philosophical Mercury, cast asat – termed non-existence – below the triple structure of the world. (RV 7.104.11.) From there, in the beginning stages of all creation, described in RV 10.190, Satyam and Rta are found at the highest level of Being. (RV 10.190.1.) Satyam is usually thought of as existence, especially material existence, and Rta is much grander in scope, signifying the Natural Order. Of the two, Rta prevailed over and pervades still over Satyam. As Curtis R. Hickman notes in his Toward a Comprehensive Understanding of Rta in the Rg Veda, Satya is being manifested by the establishment of the Universe, but Rta is the mode of that being which promotes and supports the freedom and mobility of Satyam. The former, Rta, furnishes the framework for the latter, sat, and allows it, as well as all other subjects in the cosmic order, to function. Rta is the internal mechanism of the proverbial watch which regulates the ticking of the Universe.

And so it is for the Vedic dharma (Rta). The Vedic alchemical dharma is based on Triads, groups of three, and this characteristic is reflected in the constitution of the Vedic dharma (Rta). The Seven-Dimensional Universe, transcendental existence, is a combination of the three upper and three lower levels of existence, conjoined together by the Svar. Satyam and Rta together create the second highest level of being, tapas. (RV 10.190.1.) After tapas, Madhuunaam, or Bliss, is on the bottom tier of the higher world. In the Atharveda, those highest stations are Rta, Satyam and Brhat (Infinity). (AV 12.1.1.) On the bottom level exists the three levels of sensible appearance: the Earth, mid-world, and Heaven. (RV 1.34.7; 1.154.4.) This schema is referred to differently. In some passages, these lower three regions have been referred to as "Tridhatu prthhvim, (RV 1.34.7; 1.154.4) which can be roughly rendered as the three levels of the material plane."

Sometimes these two general existential planes are expressed in oceanic terms. There is the Higher Ocean, and there is a Lower Ocean. During other times, these two existential planes, one higher and one lower, are what are more commonly set forth as simply Heaven and Earth. Calling these existential planes Oceans is the perfect metaphor. Unlike modern times, when at least the entire upper surface of the Seven Seas have been charted, grafted, and reduced to maps, in ancient Vedic times the Ocean was an unknown factor. Literally all that was known about the Ocean was its seemingly infinite expanse. To the local observer, all that was known about the Ocean was its vast panorama of Water and the distant horizon. It is this vastness that the Rishiis equated to existence itself.

Whatever their denomination, each level contains three subdivisions. There are three Heavens. (RV 7.104.3.) There are three levels of the Higher Ocean, Heaven, dyaus. (RV 1.35.6; AV 8.9.16.) The three divisions of this existential level are:

• Uttama(m) (RV 1.24.15; 1.25.21; 1.50.10; 1.91.8; 1.108.9; 1.156.4; 1.163.7; 2.1.2; 2.23.10; 3.5.6, 8; 4.315; 436.8; 4.54.2; 5.25.5; 5.28.3; 5.59.3; 9..22.6; 9.51.2; 9.63.29; 9.67.3, 28; 9.85.3; 9.107.1; 9.108.16; 10.75.1; 10.97.18; 10.159.3; 10.166.5; 10.78.3) or uttame (RV 1.31.7; 2.41.5; 5.60.4; 6.60.3, 8; 8.51.4; 9.61.29.)

• Madhyama (RV 1.24.15; 1.25.21; 1.108.9, 10; 2.29.4; 4.25.8; 6.21.5; 6.62.11; 7.32.16; 8.61.15;9.70.4; 9.108.9; 10.15.1; 10.81.5; 10.97.12) or madhyame (RV 1.27.5; 2.23.13; 5.60.6; 6.25.1); and

• Avama or avame. (RV 1.105.4; 1.108.9, 10; 1.163.5; 2.35.2; 3.54.5; 6.251; 6.62.11; 7.71.3; 1.185.11.)

Even here there are other expressions for Heaven. In the Atharva Veda there are three levels of Heaven. The highest level is that level where the Ptrs (fathers) and the Angirasas reside. (AV 18.1.6; 8.2.48.) The second level is the starry Heaven (AV 18.2.12, 48), and the third, lowest, level is the Watery Heaven. (AV 18.2.12, 48.) In both the Rg Veda and Atharva Veda there are three levels to the atmosphere, the mid-world, the firmament. (RV 1.34.8; AV 8.9.16.) There is more uniformity when describing the Lower Ocean, or Earth. We find in the Lower Ocean Triads, the underlying structure found in the Vedic alchemical dharma. There is in both the Rg Veda and Atharvaveda three levels to the lowest level of the material world. (RV 1.34.8; AV 8.9.16.) The Vedic force binding the Lower Ocean is the main representative for the Vedic alchemical dharma – Agni, who possesses among other properties the fundamental essence of the Vedic alchemical dharma, Fire. The Fire of Agni, in its three aspects of Agne, Jatavedas, and Vasivanara, is the embodiment of the lower three regions of Earth. (BD, 1.6.6.)

• Agne is the embodiment of the Earth.

• Jatadevas is the embodiment of the mid-Earth (RV 1.77.5; 2.4.1; 3.1.20; 4.1.20; 4.58.8; 6.4.2; 6.10.1; 6.12.4; 6.15.13; 7.9.4; 7.12.2; 10.45.1; 10.61.14; 10.83.2; 10.88.4.) Indra, the Philosophic Salt, in his representation of strength and vitality, embodies the mid-world.

• Vasivanara is the embodiment of Heaven. (RV 1.59.3, 4, 6, 7; 1.98.1, 2; 3.2.1, 11, 12; 3.3.1, 5, 11; 3.26.1, 2, 3; 4.5.1, 2; 5.15.13; 6.7.1, 2, 6, 7; 6.8.1, 2, 3, 4; 6.9.1, 7; 7.5.1, 2, 5; 7.6.6, 7; 7.13.1; 7.49.4; 8.30.4; 9.61.16; 10.45.12; 10.88.12, 13, 14.) The Purified Mind (Soma), the inherence of the Eternal Law of God-Realization and Purification, embodies Heaven.

The Lower Ocean, the material world, is the domain for the Vedic alchemical dharma. There is an intermediary level binding the Upper Ocean and Lower Ocean. Materially, the binding level is represented by the Mid-World, the Firmament. In both the Rg Veda and Atharvaveda there are three levels to the atmosphere, the mid-world, the firmament. (RV 1.34.8; AV 8.9.16.) The mid-world binds the two levels, the Upper Ocean and Lower Ocean.

On a subtle level, these two levels of existence, the Upper Ocean and the Lower Ocean, are bound by the Svar. The Svar is the transitory world of Heaven and Light. In the middle, the Svar, is an intermediate world of Heaven and light. (RV 1.35.6.) And here the Svar is bound by Triads. There are three subdivisions to each region, and each region has three subdivisions. (RV 3.56.8.) There are three Regions of Light in the Svar. Those Regions Are Rocanna, Svar, and Raajati (raajati). (RV 1.102.7; 2.27.9; 1.149.4; 4.33.5; 5.29.1; 5.69.1; 9.17.5.) These regions of light are sometimes indicated as general regions of light. (RV 1.102.7; 1.149.4; 3.56.8; 4.53.5; 5.69.1; 5.29.1; 9.17.5.) Those three Regions of Light are:

• Rocanna. (RV 1.49.1; 1.49.4; 1.50.4; 1.81.5; 1.93.5; 1.102.8; 1.146.1; 1.149.4; 2.27.9; 3.2.14; 3.5.10; 3.12.9; 3.44.4; 3.56.8; 3.61.5; 4.53.5; 3.61.5; 5.29.1; 5.56.1; 5.61.1; 5.69.4; 6.6.2; 6.7.7; 8.1.18; 8.5.8; 8.8.7; 8.14.7; 8.14.9; 8.93.26; 8.94.8; 8.98.3; 9.17.5; 9.37.3; 9.42.1; 9.85.9; 10.32.9; 10.46.3; 10.49.6; 10.65.4; 10.89.1; 10.170.4; 10.189.2.) Rocanna is the highest sphere of light. (RV 1.6.1, 9; 1.19.6; 1.81.5; 1.86.1; 1.92.17; 1.113.7; 1.121.9; 1.124.3; 1.146.1; 3.2.14; 5.41.3; 6.7.7; 6.44.23; 8..1.8; 8.14.9; 8.25.19; 8.52.8; 9.42.1; 9.85.9; 9.61.10; 10.32.2; 10.70.5; 10.143.3.) The highest region of light is sometimes indicated as upa nam ketu. (RV 5.34.9.)

• The Svar.

• Revati (RV 1.164.12; 6.2.2; 6.66.7; 9.84.4; 9.108.2), also known as rajas. (RV 1.125.20; 1.36.12; 1.188.1; 5.8.5; 5.28.2; 5.81.5; 7.32.16; 8.13.4; 8.15.3; 8.15.5; 8.19.31; 8.37.3; 8.60.15; 9.66.2; 9.86.5, 28; 10.140.4; 10.167.1.)

It is a grand structure, and on top is Parame Vyoma, the highest Heaven. The parame vyoma is that highest level of Heaven where Divine Grace (Indra, the Philosophic Salt) and Transformation (Agni) were born (RV 3.32.10); it is where the very source of Deification and Divination (Soma) dwells with the power of Divine Grace (Indra, the Philosophic Salt,). (RV 9.86.15.) It is the place of origin where all the principles inherent in the divinities reside (RV 1.164.39.) It is a place beyond Space and Time. It is a region of Pure Being.

Parame Vyoma is a psychological state as well as region of Being. It is made of a psychological state through the agency of select divine attributes. The Fire of Transformation (Agni), as soon as it appeared in the realm of Pure Being (parame vyoma), placed the spark of consciousness in the firmament. (RV 4.50.4.) Brihaspati, as soon as it appeared in this region, created the seven layers of consciousness and the entire multitude of physical forms. (RV 5.15.2.) These divine qualities and others are crystallized in the place of the sacrificial altar (RV 5.15.2), where, once reborn, the worshiper, sadhaka, adept, or Vedic alchemist are united with this highest place of Pure Being. (RV 1.143.2.) The Vedic force representing this highest state of Pure Being is Brihaspati. Brihaspati is the Supreme manifestation of Consciousness. The appellation literally means Lord of Infinity, The psychological state of Pure Being. Parame Vyoma is Pure Being in the Vedic dharma (Rta).

Below Pure Being is the lower levels of the Vedic alchemical dharma. This is where the alchemical precept, As Above so Below, resides. This precept was indicated by Krishna where he explained this world-view from a different perspective. In this view

• Two kinds of Purusa exist in the world – the perishable and the imperishable. Bodies are the perishable and the Self is imperishable. (BG, 15.16, trans. P. Lal.)

• Another, the Supreme Purusa, is the Highest Soul, the deathless Lord, whose energy sustains the three worlds. (BG, 15.17, trans. P. Lal.)

• I (Krishna) am the perishable and the imperishable; therefore the world and the Vedas call me the Highest Purusa, Purusottama. (BG, 15.18, trans. P. Lal.)

The transition into the material world corrupts the pure state of Being and transforms it to a material state of Becoming. It is in this transition that this pristine state is transformed into the existential planes that we know today. Schematically, this edifice looks like this:

↓

UPPER HEAVEN (Upper Ocean)

↕

THE SVAR

THE INTERMEDIARY REGION

BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH

↕

THE SENSIBLE WORLD (Lower Ocean)

It is in this cosmological framework that the Vedic alchemical dharma is found. As far as the sentient being is concerned, that population is composed of one binding substance –- Water. The Upper Ocean consists of Water, and the Lower Ocean consists of Water. What falls from Heaven –- the Macrocosm of Upper Ocean – becomes the subtle essence in Water. Water becomes sperm –- the Microcosm – and the sperm creates Life. (MB, 1:90:40., trans P. Lal.)

The Vedic alchemist understands that while Water is the fundamental essence of the Vedic dharma (Rta), another element, Fire, binds this essence into the alchemical dharma. Water and the rivers, indeed, are the mothers of the elemental Fire. The Mahabharata gives this timeline

• Agni was lost but re-discovered by Arthavan at the bed of the ocean. (MB 3:222:20, trans P. Lal.)

• From his ocean floor base, Agni traveled the land and produced different traditional Fires. (MB 3:222:21, trans P. Lal.)

• A total of thirty enumerated rivers became the mothers of Agni. (MB 3:222:22 – 26, trans P. Lal.)

This will be a theme which we will frequently revisit in this book. Fire and Water are not mutually exclusive. There is a general and mutual equivalence between the alchemical elements and, indeed, the entire Vedic alchemical dharma. This is true even if the result is paradoxical, such as the mutual identification of Fire and Water. The two elements of As Above, So Below constitute an organic whole. Fire, with Water, is instrumental to the creation of these existential levels of the Vedic dharma (Rta). Millennia later, by the time of the Mahabharata, the terminology would change. The structure, however, would be the same.

According to the Mahabharata, in the beginning there were five Agnis (MB, 3:220:1):

• Kashyapa.

• Vasistha.

• Pranaka.

• Cyavana.

• Trivorca.

Fire, the five Agnis, created the five existential levels of the Vedic dharma (Rta). (MB 3:220:1, trans., P. Lal.) Those levels (MB 3:220) were called:

• Janah.

• Mahah.

• Svah.

• Bhuvah.

• Bhuh.

Thereafter the five Agnis assigned five colors to these existential levels. (MB 3:22:5, trans., P. Lal.) These themes from the Vedic dharma (Rta), Fire and Colors, will be expanded and explained in the course of this book. Each find a specific place in the Vedic alchemical dharma.

There is also a second evolutionary track. This is the establishment of the macrocosm. The macrocosm is expressed in astrological terms, corresponding these members of the stellar population to the worshiper and Vedic alchemist. These correspondences are