The Search for Soma: Dealing with Demons Between the Eclipses with Raj Balkaran

Name: The Search for Soma: Dealing with Demons Between the Eclipses with Raj Balkaran
Start: 2026-02-24T18:30:00-08:00
Location: The Alembic

Schedule

Tue, 24 Feb, 2026 at 06:30 pm

UTC-08:00

Location

The Alembic | Berkeley, CA

An evening of storytelling, insight, inspiration, and discussion, exploring one of India’s most profound stories of transformation. Soma, the legendary Vedic sacrament — plant, potion, and deity in one — was praised as a gateway to immortality. Yet the deepest technology for transforming consciousness, this myth suggests, isn’t a plant. It’s a plot.
At the heart of the evening is the Churning of the Ocean, a myth that encodes the mechanics of inner evolution. The gods cannot obtain soma alone; they must partner with demons, their own half-brothers, pulling the opposite end of the rope. And what emerges first is not nectar but poison — held by Shiva without swallowing or spitting — before any treasure or immortality can arise. How does this story illumine your story? How do you harness your demons to procure the elixir of life?
Dr. Raj Balkaran arrives at Alembic directly from leading the California Alchemy Retreat, held February 20–23, 2026, framed by the solar eclipse of February 17 and the lunar eclipse of March 3.
Framed by eclipse season — when the shadow demon Rāhu devours the light — this gathering offers a potent moment for examination, illumination, and transformation. Through storytelling and discussion, Raj Balkaran explores how myth can guide personal and spiritual evolution, including:
• Why the gods need demons to obtain immortality
• Why transformation produces poison before nectar
• What it means to hold toxicity without swallowing or spitting
• How stillness becomes the foundation for upheaval
• What happens when the prize is stolen rather than earned
• Why divine deception can be legitimate
• Why abundance follows immortality
• How eclipses can be used for personal transformation
Shadow is the greatest of gurus if we become its pupil.
An evening of storytelling, insight, inspiration, connection, and discussion.
Raj Balkaran, Ph.D., is a scholar, author, and lineal wisdom teacher who brings the insight traditions of ancient India into clear, contemporary expression. He is the founder of the online Indian Wisdom School, a tutor at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, and host of over 400 episodes of the New Books in Indian Religions podcast. With over fifteen years of university-level teaching and invited lectures across North America, Europe, the UK, India, and Australia, his work integrates rigorous scholarship, living tradition, and compelling storytelling. He leads educational retreats internationally and works one-on-one with individuals seeking clarity, purpose, and alignment across personal, professional, and spiritual life domains. His book The Stories Behind the Poses has sold over 35,000 copies worldwide. Visit rajbalkaran.com for more information.