All addictions vanish when this happens || Acharya Prashant, at Mithibai College Mumbai (2022)
Questioner (Q): Namaste, sir. My question is, in these teenage years, how do we avoid social evils like bad addiction and bad activities which exist in society and just focus on our goal?
Acharya Prashant (AP): For that, the goal has to be alluring enough. The goal has to be captivating enough. And then all kinds of addictions and wastage of time, energy, effort, money will just not happen on their own. Tell me, when you are doing something really meaningful, do you find you have the inclination to just get up and go elsewhere and waste time? Does that happen? That doesn't happen. How many of you play cricket? Today, we had a swashbuckling inning by one of the players. So, cricket. So, how many of you bat? How many of you bowl? Has it happened that in the middle of your run-up, you stopped, took out your mobile and ordered a pizza? Has it happened? Or the bowler is coming at you, and you say, "Please stop, I want to gossip with the wicketkeeper!"
Has that happened? Why does that not happen? Because you are in attention out of your own volition. Do you know what is happening? — You are in the game, and you love being in the game; nothing else is on your mind. And that's the best way of living, is it not? One thing and nothing else on your mind. Could we be on the crease forever as the batsmen? Wow! Unfortunately, life gets us out every time. Some wicked yorker and the stumps are shattered. And we have to return to the pavilion. And what happens in the pavilion? All kinds of distractions now. Somebody is ready for a fight. And somebody is sleeping too much. Somebody is eating too much. Somebody is smoking too much. Somebody is gambling too much.
Now, all kinds of things can happen. But nothing of that sort will happen when you have the ball or the bat in your hand. Why not continuously be on the crease? I am asking you, please. The same applies to all kinds of sports — racket sports — tennis, badminton. In the middle of a badminton rally, how many of you have stopped to scratch your back? "Please stop!" And you have ordered the shuttle to just keep hanging there, "You know, I need to scratch my back a bit. Yes, shuttle." Does that happen?
