From a spiritual perspective what causes addiction and how can it be dealt with?
So in addiction, some people try to deal with it by distraction.
Some people try to deal with it by substitution, offer some other satisfaction. But what exactly causes addiction from a spiritual perspective and how can it be dealt with? To be conscious is to be desirous. Consciousness itself has an innate feature of desiring.
You know, when I'm conscious of things, this is good, this is not so good. If this is good, then I like it, I want it. So desire is a natural function of consciousness.
At the same time, another feature of consciousness is also intelligence. Although, say, a child may like chocolates, but the mother eating too many chocolates is harmful for the teeth. So there is desire and the child may not have intelligence, but the mother has the intelligence.
The mother will regulate how many chocolates the child eats. The point is, in consciousness, there is desire and there is intelligence. Now, whenever our consciousness basically works on the principle that whatever gets our attention, gets us.
So if something gets our attention, we get caught in it. We get consumed by it. And so naturally when we see something, we desire it.
When we desire it, we do it. And each time we do it, that becomes a pattern in our consciousness. Something, it might just be impulsive.
I feel like eating this, I feel like drinking this. It's fine. But the impulsive, when it is done repeatedly, it becomes compulsive.
So basically, when our desires are not guarded and guided by our intelligence, then the desires go off in undesirable directions. And when those become repetitive, that becomes an addiction. Now, our desires come because we all are innately pleasure seeking.
We all seek pleasure. Now, it is explained in the Gita that, that we are all parts of the whole. So we are parts and the absolute truth is the whole of which we are parts.
And the parts are meant to live in harmony with the whole. That whole, the Gita explains, the absolute truth is the all attractive supreme being. So God is not just a great power or just a tyrant or just a powerful being.
God is actually the embodiment of everything attractive. So whatever is attractive in this world, the Gita explains, it manifests a spark of God's all attractiveness. So whenever we are attracted to anything, we are attracted to a spark of God.
We are attracted to a spark of God. That spark may be when we are attracted to a beautiful person. We may be attracted to natural scenery.
We may be attracted to an addictive substance. Yeah, that's fine. To? Gambling.
So everything that we are attracted to, that manifests a spark of God's attractiveness. But there are some sparks which take us away from God. Now the point which I am making through this is, you know, what is there in alcohol? What is there in drugs? What is there in cigarette that can make people give up everything for it? Waste their money, ruin their health, break their relationships, you know, destroy their status.
What is it there in it? What is there? Actually, the soul is searching for God. We all are searching for God. In connecting with God through love, we find lasting satisfaction.
But not knowing about God, we look for some substitute for God. And the sparks which look attractive to us, they become our substitute for the whole. Now if we are fortunate, we might get attracted to a spark which is elevated.
Some people get attracted to reading. Some people get attracted to nature. That is also a spark.
But that spark is elevated. That spark is not damaging. It's an attraction to the spark.
But somebody gets attracted to addictive substances. Attraction to that spark is very damaging. But essentially, the addiction happens when our natural power to desire, instead of being directed towards the whole, in whom all our desires can be fulfilled, instead of that, it is directed towards some spark.
So the process of yoga, specifically Bhakti Yoga, which the Bhagavad Gita talks about, Bhakti Yoga involves practices by which we can redirect our desires from the sparks to the whole. And the more this redirection happens, the more the desires for the sparks go down. And between thousands of people all over the world, have by the practice of Bhakti Yoga, experienced freedom from addictions.
So the addictions happen when our desires get misdirected away from the whole to the spark. And at a practical level, distraction, substitution may help. But at the ultimate level, what we need is redirection.
When our desires are redirected towards the whole, then all the addictions caused by misdirection, they will end. Thank you. Thank you for your intelligent question.
Any other questions or shall we stop here?