On the Term "svabhaviki siddhi"

 Siddhi, accomplishment that comes about naturally, out of one's own nature (svabhava). The term may be used, in the context of the microcosmic model, to denote the ability of an organ, structure or an anatomical component to realize a function without the need for any neural control. In particular this term seems to have been applied in respect of the conduits (bronchial, arterial) located at the distal ends of the lungs such as those in the respiratory acinus (respiratory bronchioles, alveoli, pre-capillary arterioles) that are almost devoid of innervation. Nerve fibres particularly motor ones are practically absent in some cases or, their population is very sparse. These components are able to carry out their function as a result of their own anatomical peculiarities and certain other factors that preclude the need for neural intervention. ​

Soma, the Pulmonary Arteriole

 It is now established beyond doubt that the soma plant refers to the pulmonary arterioles that grows in the distal end of the respiratory acinus. Ample textual references pertaining to the soma ritual have sealed its identity and confirmed our earlier hunch. These passages mention how the soma plant is pressed by the stones at first and that its juice is then mixed or brought into close contact (upaparcana) with milk or water and even filtered (implying a sieve like mechanism) by means of sheep skin. All these details have left no room for any doubt in the mind of this author regarding the identity of this mysterious plant of the Vedas (and even other ancient cultures such as the Avestan).

It is the pulmonary arteriole at the acinar level that is referred to as the "soma plant" in the Vedic texts. This "plant" is crushed into capillaries under the "rocks" of the alveoli. Then, the "milk", the vivifying stream of oxygen molecules, is added to its "juice", the deoxygenated blood, flowing through the capillaries. At the same time, "sheep skin (wool?)", the membrane of the alveoli, is used as a highly effective filter to filter out the carbon dioxide inherent in the pulmonary flow. The net result of all these "activities" is that the blood, hitherto deoxygenated, becomes reoxygenated and exceedingly pure. It is this purified soma juice that brings delight to the microcosmic world as the ambrosia for the neural entities.  

The pulmonary artery is crushed as it were by the stones of the alveoli into capillaries. These capillaries are apposed to and have virtually become one with the alveoli. The flow of oxygen molecules -- the milk -- flowing forth from the "udder" of the respiratory bronchioles (cows) exit the bronchial tree and enter into the deoxygenated blood -- the soma juice -- carried by the capillaries. This is the "mixing" (upaparcana) referred to in the passages from the primary texts. But, at the same time as the happening of this blending -- of "soma juice" (deoxygenated blood) with "milk" (flow of oxygen molecules), there also takes place another movement of molecules. Carbon dioxide inherent in the deoxygenated blood exfiltrates through the membrane of the alveolus. This must be the "filtering of the soma juice" referred to in the text. The alveolus, it seems, in yet another addition to our ever burgeoning list of mystical animals, is sheep! And its membrane is its skin (wool?). Or it may be that it is the alveolar duct that is the sheep and the alveoli are merely its wool!

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The Lord Overcomes the Entropic Forces

 The process of creation by the supreme director of material evolution is met with resistence emanating from the forces of destruction. These repulsive forces imbue the system with a tendency to disintegrate and self-destruct. The horde of such entropic forces is led by time himself.

The authors of the Puranas seamlessly integrated the battle between ventilation and perfusion going on in the recesses of the microcosm with the macrocosmic battle between creation and destruction, between the forces of repulsion and the forces of attraction and preservation (which are led by the supreme lord himself).

Krishna's slaying of the demons represents the winning of the power of conscious intervention. The lord overcomes the destructive effect of the repulsive forces which threaten to stymie and wreck the process of creation by making intelligent choices in combining material forms, choices that minimize instability and cancel out the destructive tendency. ​

Attraction, Repulsion, Creation

 The two entities of the pulmonary artery and the pulmonary veins contain respectively the destructive and the constructive (life-sustaining) forms of matter. Their controlling neural entities represent the forces of repulsion (tamas) and integration (sattva); they are viewed as wielded by Siva and Visnu respectively.

There are two paths, consequently, that one may take with respect to the bronchial conduit (representing the earth). The first path is the one starting from the level of the primary bronchus and moving down to the level of the alveoli. This path, taken by the pulmonary artery (or the deoxygenated flow contained within it), is the path that can be used to demonstrate the destruction of the world. The second path is the one taken by the life-sustaining flow contained within the pulmonary veins. It is the path that can be used to demonstrate the creation of the world. The alveoli are like the atoms or the fundamental particles. These organize or integrate themselves into the alveolar ducts and respiratory bronchioles. These fundamental units arrange themselves into the bronchioles and so on. Finally the end-product, the primary bronchus, is created. This is a generalized depiction of the stages of creation (assembly) of any material product.

Creation represented by the bronchial conduit then is viewed as being situated in the midst of the forces of repulsion and integration (represented by the arterial and venous conduits). ​

Autonomic Forces Vs Conscious Intervention

 The autonomic forces such as the nerves in the cardiorespiratory system of the body which correspond to the in-built forces of nature, alone cannot perform the function sometimes. In order to maintain the equilibrium necessary for preserving the microcosm, the intervention by the conscious personality is necessary. The purusa (Visnu) in the body corresponds to the Lord in the external universe. So when in the course of churning the ocean Visnu takes over from the devas and the asuras the autonomic neural entities , it points to the more general overarching meaning of insufficiency of the forces of nature and the necessity of a supreme mind to achieve the desired teleological end of creation. ​

Unique Sense Unique Entities

 From the perspective of (the concept of) a flow, the flow of (deoxygenated) blood in the p. artery is a river. While from the standpoint of its (life-negating) nature it's a poison. In this manner on account of a variety of senses and perspectives a range of distinct metaphorical entities are created ("river," "poison" etc). These entities, although mapped to the same entity, are differentiated and made unique by the sense in which it is considered. This strategy helps in creating a profusion of entities and personalities out of a limited set for deployment for story telling purposes. ​

Deciphering the yajna

A number of conduits ("animals") are first cut and then at the top (acinus) of the sacrificial altar which represents the bronchial hierarchy, the "fire" (deoxygenated blood) generated by the pulmonary arterioles is burning. Into this "fire" the priests standing for the neural drivers of respiration -- they are the sympathetic nerves controlling the bronchi -- put milk, etc. representing the flow of oxygen molecules. And as they do so, out of the "fire" appears "riches" , the oxygen rich blood, the soma, the vivifying liquid that makes the "gods" (neural entities) immortal (as it were). ​