'Your spiritual practices will take you out of bad habits'

‘Your spiritual practices will take you out of bad habits’ Posted: 23 Feb 2010 09:07 PM PST Bangalore ashram, Feb. 22: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar just returned from a week-long trip to the North-east of India. Narrating experiences from the trip, Sri Sri spoke about his visit to Bodoland in Assam. “A very remote area, and a tough place, much affected by violence. Our YLTP teachers (graduates of the Youth Leadership Training Program) have done such a good work. Over 1,50,000 people gathered under the hot noon sun for a satsang in Bodoland. In such remote areas, people have started doing good work. There you can’t complain if you don’t have electricity because anyways, there is no electricity! There is no electricity, road or water there. But people were contented. When we have all the facilities, we complain but sometimes where there are no facilities available, people live with contentment.” (Someone from the audience asks a question) Q: How do I drop the desire of alcohol and cigarette? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There are three things that you can do to drop such a desire for alcohol or cigarette. 1.       Do your spiritual practices daily. It will take you out of such desires. 2.      Think that intake of alcohol or cigarette smoking will diminish your good luck. If you take like that, then something unlucky or unfortunate may happen. 3.      Suppose someone offers you a crore ($10 million), if you stop alcohol or cigarettes for a month. Will you still do it? Each time you get a desire to do that, you will think that you will lose the 1 crore. So, you will control yourself because of greed or fear. To come out of a bad habit, fear and greed are divya aushadi, best or even magical remedies! After that, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar led the audience through a meditation. “That which you cannot express is Love. That which you cannot reject/renounce is Beauty. That which you cannot avoid is the Truth.” ~ Sri Sri Ravishankar For Global Spirituality