Moving from addiction to a greater high

Time of India

2 days ago

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a humanitarian and spiritual master. He has founded The Art of Living, present in 180 countries, known to empower individuals through its unique breathing techniques and tools for mind management. LESS ... MORE
(Today is World No-Tobacco Day)
The nature of the mind is to chase joy. It moves towards anything that seems to offer a moment of joy. In that search, it looks in places joy cannot be found in and often falls into the trap of habits that promise happiness but do not deliver on this promise. All addictions of this planet promise joy, but they never deliver.
Ask people who are smoking: do you feel ecstatic? They'll say-No and yet leaving the habit is painful.
If you look closely, you'll see this habit is not stronger than your mind. What can help to break free from it is not just force, but spiritual wisdom. In order to come out of a habit that brings you limited pleasure, you need something that gives you greater joy. Is it possible to experience a high that doesn't lead to bondage and pain?
Love is powerful. When you love someone deeply, whether it is your child, your partner, your parents and you promise them you'll stop, you find the strength to do so. Not because the craving disappears, but because love is greater than the craving. You keep the promise not for yourself, but for someone who matters more than a cigarette.
Greed too can be used positively to tame a bad habit. Suppose someone said, 'If you quit smoking for three months, you'll win Rs. 2 lakh,' the mind will immediately drop the habit to chase the reward. The same mind that seemed helpless now becomes determined.
Fear can also guide you in giving up a habit. When someone is told, 'If you continue drinking or smoking, your health will fail, and you might not survive,' a deep alertness can arise. That fear, when understood with wisdom, can help you steer away from the danger. Fear and greed are lower forms of motivation. To me, love and commitment can bring lasting change.
What can truly liberate us from the bondage of our habits and patterns is the path of spirituality. Spirituality gives you the greatest high, far more potent than any substance. Meditation, devotion, service-they uplift you instead of leaving you depleted. They energize and expand your awareness. They make you vibrant, your mind calm, and your heart open.
Even the act of smoking itself is nothing but a misuse of breath. The relaxation one feels is not just from nicotine, but from the way you breathe. Just hold your fingers near your mouth as if holding a cigarette, inhale deeply and exhale slowly. Do this for a few rounds. You will feel the same calmness. It is nothing but pranayama, but without the side effects.
To truly break a habit, don't make grand, lifelong vows. If you say, 'I will never smoke again,' the mind becomes rebellious. Instead, take a smaller, achievable step: 'I will not smoke for the next 40 days.' Then, renew that commitment. Gradually, you will find the distance between you and the addiction grows wider, until the craving falls away altogether.
Another secret lies in shifting your mindset from 'what can I get' to 'how can I serve?' This change is a revolutionary act in one's life. Obsession and depression often stem from a life centered on oneself. But when you step out to serve others, your problems begin to fall away. Your life becomes purposeful and you realize you are needed in this world. And slowly, a deeper joy begins to take root, one that no substance can ever offer.
The journey out of addiction is not one of suppression, but of expansion. As you engage in meditation, singing, and acts of kindness, your body grows stronger, your immune system improves, and your heart becomes more open. The mind becomes clear and the spirit becomes free. You are no longer a slave to a craving. You are full, content, and joyful.
Always remember, we have a choice. We can choose short-term comfort that leads to long-term pain, or short-term discomfort that leads to lasting joy. Spiritual wisdom is what enables us to make the wiser choice-to endure a little, so that we may be truly free.
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Views expressed above are the author's own.