the etymology for sepenta or espawnda which must be at least the bronze age term to describe the peganum harmala plant is a description for a quality rather than an object (this may also reflect upon the ancients emphasis on verbs as the central carrier in language than nouns)
basically (at least it seems like) they would say "pulsating(like a heartbeat)/luminous/animate/living plant/herb/bush"
this is also interesting in the context of if you were passing by the dirt roads in the bronze age along the grazing paths in highland prairies and grasslands etc. the harmala bush is very difficult to miss both in terms of being a curious looking bush and the way it can reflect light and how potent the smell can be
now if you consider how in the bronze age all over Pakistan and north India and Afghanistan and Tajikistan and Tibet and Iran if you said "luminous plant" everybody would automatically think of P.harmala it paints a different picture of this plant as a organizing element of life in those days, where life was interpreted through the lens of the existence and experience of this particular plant
in terms of who would be allowed in a position of power , would need to undergo a multi day beta carboline ritual and if he did not get the shakes corelated with harmaline , or nausea and could travel to the eternal world and come back, he was allowed to be in charge of other people (chief of a village, lord of a tribe, king of a nation), or in terms of procreation, it was customary to procreate under the influence of a harmal drink
basically in any situation which you could consume harmalas, it was considered the sensible choice to consume it, so for maybe millennia life was seen for most people, more so men, through the lens of this plant
I believe the rare occurrence of "self deceit" as a cultural concept is also a sign of this , a motif that is most closely seen under the influence of beta-carbolines, as if enhanced capability to distinguish this, which is lacking in many religious or philosophical traditions, who are focused on proving that they are right, rather than bringing the human dilemma of self deception to the center of everyone's attention
the Vedas, Upanishads, Ayurveda , yogic traditions associated with Patanjali , probably other now forgotten traditions are the products of this era coming to an end, this era brought about by the discovery of cereal grain, the plow, and milk, which brought about a great and abundant time of leisure for the commoners to explore life itself , to go beyond the limitations of their migrating ancestors , the last age of mystery in the human past
shamans in the Himalayan foot hills some eight thousand years ago
basically (at least it seems like) they would say "pulsating(like a heartbeat)/luminous/animate/living plant/herb/bush"
this is also interesting in the context of if you were passing by the dirt roads in the bronze age along the grazing paths in highland prairies and grasslands etc. the harmala bush is very difficult to miss both in terms of being a curious looking bush and the way it can reflect light and how potent the smell can be
now if you consider how in the bronze age all over Pakistan and north India and Afghanistan and Tajikistan and Tibet and Iran if you said "luminous plant" everybody would automatically think of P.harmala it paints a different picture of this plant as a organizing element of life in those days, where life was interpreted through the lens of the existence and experience of this particular plant
in terms of who would be allowed in a position of power , would need to undergo a multi day beta carboline ritual and if he did not get the shakes corelated with harmaline , or nausea and could travel to the eternal world and come back, he was allowed to be in charge of other people (chief of a village, lord of a tribe, king of a nation), or in terms of procreation, it was customary to procreate under the influence of a harmal drink
basically in any situation which you could consume harmalas, it was considered the sensible choice to consume it, so for maybe millennia life was seen for most people, more so men, through the lens of this plant
I believe the rare occurrence of "self deceit" as a cultural concept is also a sign of this , a motif that is most closely seen under the influence of beta-carbolines, as if enhanced capability to distinguish this, which is lacking in many religious or philosophical traditions, who are focused on proving that they are right, rather than bringing the human dilemma of self deception to the center of everyone's attention
the Vedas, Upanishads, Ayurveda , yogic traditions associated with Patanjali , probably other now forgotten traditions are the products of this era coming to an end, this era brought about by the discovery of cereal grain, the plow, and milk, which brought about a great and abundant time of leisure for the commoners to explore life itself , to go beyond the limitations of their migrating ancestors , the last age of mystery in the human past
shamans in the Himalayan foot hills some eight thousand years ago
