Can we drink without becoming drunk?
What is best for us so if someone says we can drink but not become drunk how do we respond to them yeah now in some cultures drinking is just a part of their normal part of their just whole way of living and there are people who do who do drink but they don't get addicted in the sense of becoming compulsive drinkers that possibility is definitely there but at the same time there is a danger that is being quoted over there because whatever we do repeatedly even if it is a regulated quantity that gives us some kind of shelter now i feel good by doing this and when i do that then later on whenever something makes me feel bad at that time in order to seek shelter we fall back on that which makes us feel good and then so in the normal course of life such people will never become drunk but when when some serious problems come in their life the that they will be especially vulnerable to getting drunk at that time because they have the experience of feeling good through their activity and instinctively the mind will go towards that so it's like say somebody can say that i can walk on the very edge of a road which is on the edge of which there's a cliff i can walk cautiously and i will not fall that possibility is there but at any time if they just become habituated to walking there that way and if they are inattentive they can slip and fall so in general the capacity to indulge and fall is much greater so that's the first point second point is that that we have to differentiate between the if you are really serious human beings are interested in essential human values or ultimate human purpose are the most important things in our life we do need to think about the difference between the cultural and the essential just because something is a part of our culture doesn't make it essential so now somebody may say that oh you can become addicted to food also yeah but food is essential for living so somebody may say that by that token if you're saying you should not drink because you can become drunk somebody say you can become addicted to food also should we stop eating food but food is essential for our living now wine is not essential for living so it may be a part of our culture and that's why it's normal but it's not essential so on one side it is not essential on other side it is it can be dangerous when one becomes addicted and the possibility is much more when one is habituated even if in regulated quantity and thirdly even in the regulated quantity the consumption of wine does lead to the degradation of human consciousness because different subje different substances affect our consciousness differently so alcohol in its various forms it has a mind altering property to it which takes our consciousness down towards the mode of ignorance towards tamoguna now people may not understand the concept of mode of ignorance but the whole idea that after drinking when when over by over drinking people become crazy by over drinking people become people act like crazy do terrible things so that is a clear indication that that drinking does affect our moods it affects our thinking it affects our behavior now that is at a very visible and gross level when we drink a lot but even when we drink less although the effect may not be that visible and gross but regularly drinking even at that that regulated level has its effect and therefore a person who wants to raise their consciousness upwards they prefer to avoid such things because they they are trying to raise their consciousness and by taking substances which bring their consciousness down so it will be more difficult for people who are who are habituated to culture as a part of habituated to as a part of their culture to give it up but at least to recognize that it is non-essential to recognize that it is it is detrimental to the elevation of our consciousness and to recognize that it is it is potentially hazardous those can be reflections with which one can one can resist the temptation to.