Drugs will not liberate you

Meditation is not, and never could be a form of escape from reality. Drug taking is an escape from reality. Meditation is a way to make you face reality. The efforts of drug taking and meditation are directly opposite. One forms dependence, the other forms independence.

Now because the entire body and the mind, the being of man is composed, to a great extent of a chemistry, of chemicals, other forms of chemicals can have a very direct effect upon the chemistry of the body and that could bring the person concerned temporary relief.  But how good is that temporary relief?  There is not a single drug in the world, as was told to me by psychiatrists that does not have after effects.  So here, in one form, you escape from the realities of life, not being able to face responsibility, and then, the greater struggle begins, is trying to escape from the mechanism of escaping.  You try to escape from escaping.  First you try and escape into drugs, and then the battle begins in how to get out of it.  And that happens, and hospitals are filled with these cases where so many rehabilitation programmes are put forth and some of the rehabilitation programmes do include meditational systems.  So, as far as hospitals and rehabilitation is concerned, our organisation do help in these matters.

Drug taking produces dependence while meditation produces independence.  Meditation is not and never could be, ever, a form of escape from reality.  Drug taking is an escape from reality, while meditation is a way which makes you face reality.  So the effect of drug taking and medicine, meditation rather, is directly opposite.  One is dependence forming, the other is becoming independent.

With drug taking, it excites the impressions in the mind.  And it is the excitation of the impressions in the mind that take these people on these trips.  And you might just be fortunate enough to excite a good past experience, so you have a good trip.  And you might also excite some impression, a bad impression that is there in the mind, a bad samskara, and that takes you into a bad trip.  But be that trip good or bad when you regain consciousness, or come back to yourself, your problem is still there.  And you feel low.  You do not feel regenerated, or rejuvenated.  You do not feel closer to yourself.  You feel alienated from yourself.  While the purpose of life, the goal of life, is to become one with yourself.