Acharya Tulsi
Dreams of creation and construction are very attractive and useful. Any society or nation which does not have such dreams is in deep slumber. Dreaming is the predominant feature of a creative way of life. Any person or group that is afraid to dream can never attain anything big. There is always a time for dream. Children do not dream because they live in the present moment. The person who lives only in the present can have nothing to do with the world of dreams. Grown up people cannot dream, because they are interested in living in the past. They have no courage to look into the future with wide open eyes.
Between these two generations is the third generation-the young generation. Even while living in the present, that generation does not stop looking into the future. But during the past decade, this generation has become so crippled that it has forgotten to dream of creation and construction. But why has this generation of youth become so crippled? Why did its consciousness get stunted? Where did its sense of discretion disappear? Why did it become prone to commit crimes? Why did it become confused? Why is the young generation closing its eyes to reality? The culture of intoxication is the only answer to all these questions.
How Does One Get Addicted to Intoxication
No child is born with addiction to intoxication. That habit is the result of the prevailing environment. According to the medical science, the components of one's personality are in the genes. After studying a person's genes it can be predicted how a particular child would grow in the future. Not only that, it is also believed, that it would also be possible to develop the desired personality by changing the genes. Looking at the achievements of science, this does not seen impossible. The only question is: Would this technique be employed to turn man into a human being in the true sense? Would it be possible to protect man against wrong and harmful habits with the help of this technique? Would this technique be able to start a process of changing the human nature? What are the elements in the genes of the present generation that drive the young people into the dark tunnels of intoxication?
There is a young man who imbibes intoxicating drugs to get over the fatigue and worries resulting from his busy professional schedule. What appears necessary at first becomes an inevitable part of his life. He is unable to give up that habit even if he wants to do it.
Harassed by financial worries and family tensions, a young man goes astray. He starts consuming smack, heroin etc. After doing it once he has such craving for them that he is unable to hold himself back. His body insistently demands it. Spending all his resources, he allows that habit to overpower him.
There is another young man who resorts to intoxication because he is fed up with his drab and lonely life. For once he gets a feeling that his life is full of joy. He adopts that way of life, believing it to be his real life. By the time his illusion is dispelled, he has already become a helpless victim of intoxication.
Thinking himself the most modern person among his colleagues, a young man went to a liquor shop. He did not enjoy the taste of alcohol at first. But his mind was obsessed and he continued to drink. By the time his family came to know about it, alcohol had started consuming him.
Consideration of feelings of one's friends and their pressure are also the factors that can lead any youth astray. Some young people, because of their social milieu, forget their own culture. There are some people who succumb to intoxicating drugs although there are no compulsions for them. They see others enjoying that stuff and that arouses their desire to do the same and they slip. Some people use this as a means to fight their inner conflicts. In the process, they are engulfed by new conflicts which seem to have no end.
Intoxication is a World Problem
Intoxication is not confined to any particular class, society or country. The entire world is caught in its grip. When, where and how did this habit begin? It is a matter for research. For the past several decades, people all over the world have been smoking and drinking. When one reads and hears about all the forms of intoxication that have come into vogue during the last few decades, it seems there is a terrible conspiracy aiming at the destruction of mankind. Bidi, cigarette, hemp, opium, smack, heroin, marijuana, hashish, varvidhuredas, emphasmycin etc. are all very old substances. The greatest tragedy is that these substances have found their way among the students studying in schools and colleges. What is surprising is the fact that attractive sachets with attractive names like chutki, gutka, panparag, rajnigandha etc. are found hanging even in the smallest shops. Even the young kids, two of three years old, are eager to have those things, and their guardians, unmindful of the evil effects on children, readily put those packets in the hands of their children.
There are some people who, while consuming intoxicating substances themselves, are keen to keep their children away from them. But the attraction for those things grows precisely because of such restriction. A father went to a pub without informing his family. As he looked behind by accident, he was stunned to find his twenty-year old only son coming right there. That man walked up to the son and said, "Why have you come here, son?" The son, putting aside both his hesitation and fear said, "Father, you yourself taught me that the young should follow the footsteps of the elders: I have started living up to your teaching!"
Intoxication not only affects man's physical health, its evil effect extends to his mind and emotions as well. It is evident that at the physical level, incurable diseases affect the body. Cancer of the lungs, cancer of the mouth, respiratory heart diseases, etc. are the diseases resulting from the use of tobacco. Let us forget about the world figures. Even the surveys conducted by the Health Ministry of the Government of India reveal that in India more than six to eight lakhs people are thrown into the jaws of death on account of their addiction to tobacco. According to a report of the World Health Organization, more than six lakh people in America and ten lakhs people in Europe die prematurely because of their addiction to tobacco.
The psychological and emotional perversions resulting from addiction to intoxicating substances gives rise to criminal mentality. Violence, terrorism, rapes, murders, etc. and such other cruel crimes are backed greatly by man's morbidity. Otherwise, how can the adolescents and young men, born in aristocratic families, think about indulging in murder and rape? There was a time when it used to be said that a person belonging to aristocratic class would prefer to die rather than indulge in any wrongful act. He valued his honour much more than wealth and luxuries of life. Where have those standards gone today? The culture of intoxication has undermined honesty in financial matters and devotion to normal values.
An Iron Nail in the Platter of Gold
Birth as human species is always rated very high. "There is nothing higher than taking birth as a human being." Four things are considered rare in this world-human birth, listening to religious discourages faith in the ultimate truth and self-creation in the right direction. I often wonder on what ground the human life is rated as high? Discretion sets man apart from animals. Animals cannot make a distinction between what should be done and what should not be done. But man has the great ability to make his choice. No animal probably possesses the type of brain which man has. The human body has the power to break the whole chain of karmas and liberate itself. Even the gods possessing far greater power and glory are required to take birth as humans to liberate themselves.
Man has a tremendous potential for growth Along with knowledge and faith, he also possesses the strength of character. It is not matter of surprise that man worships the gods. But what is surprising is the fact that influenced by that strength of character, the gods serve the human beings. But that can happen only when man leads a pure life. A blemished and rebellious life cannot ever suggest anything great. If there is anything that has a degenerating effect on man's life, it is intoxication. An iron nail in a platter of gold is an ugly sight. Intoxication brings far greater ugliness into life. There are many other addictions too that can blunt the human qualities in man. Intoxicating substances lead to addiction. It is necessary that the life of man should be completely free from intoxication. The greatness of man's life can be proved when it becomes free from intoxication that spells ruin.
It is Possible to Change the Habit
Some people believe that it is not possible to change a deep-rooted habit. They quote a proverb in support of this view:
The manner in which man's mind is shaped; remain with him all through his life. The neem does not become sweet even if it is nurtured with gud and ghee. In the same way, man's habit does not change. [1]But this view is not acceptable to me. If man would never change, then the tradition of giving him advice has no meaning. All religions follow the practice of preaching, and its impact too is evident. Students' consciousness is being aroused. Soldiers are trained in all kinds of things. People are being trained to make them efficient in their household jobs as well as in their professions. In the past decade or two, several fields have been developed for giving training to people. If a person did not develop some special characteristic abilities as a result of training, who would spend so much time, effort and money for it? Of course it would be too much to imagine that all people would show a hundred percent change. I do not believe in extremes. Nor do I wish to create an atmosphere of crushing disappointment. In practical terms it means just this that if man himself desires to change and he gets the appropriate atmosphere, the transformation of his life is possible.
I have come in direct contact with millions of people in the course of my padyatras. I have also studied their individuals and collective problems. Along with many other problems, I have found that addiction to intoxicating substances had given rise to more acute problems. People were made aware of that problem. The code of conduct based on anuvrat was explained to them, and thereby, their mental attitude was changed. In the process, thousands freed themselves from those addictions. On the basis of my own experiences, I believe that it is possible to bring transformation in man.
Process of Transformation
Transformation takes place at two levels: physical and emotional. The transformation which takes place only at the physical level is temporary. But man undergoes emotional change, his transformation is permanent. The inner transformation becomes manifest in man's practical life. The transformation may come automatically or it may come with the help of a teacher. For that, he needs to know his faults and their remedies. It is not possible to develop any attitude to break any habit unless one known his own faults. The proper information regarding the evil effects of addiction to intoxicating substances inspires one to keep himself away from them. Then follows the search for remedies.
After knowing the remedies, comes the stage of putting them into practice. The faith that adopting those remedies would bring definite results is the first step towards transformation.
Spiritualism is our eternal heritage. Science is the greatest contribution of the modern age. Both spiritualism and science are attempting to transform man. A scientist conducted an experiment on some people given to addiction to intoxicating substances. He passed electric vibrations on their ears. Out of seventy, fifty persons developed abhorrence for alcohol and cigarettes. The teacher who gave training in prekshadhyan at the de-addiction centres, asked people to concentrate on the ears; this leads to their de-addiction. Similarly, by practising concentration chaitanyakendras [2] like jyotikendra,[3] darshankendra [4] etc., one's emotions and impulse are controlled as a result of which, man gets transformed.
Anuvrat is another movement for character-building. Intoxication makes one's character hollow from within. Intoxication is another name of ruin. From that point of view, the campaign for freedom from intoxication is a concrete programme of anuvrat. It has its value from the social point of view as well. If other organisations, voluntary workers working in this field, as well as the people engaged in spreading the anuvrat philosophy make concerted and intensive efforts, our dream of a healthy human beings and a healthy society can be realised.
