Podcast details
Bad habits
Life is a river, and the alluring coat floating in it represents the trap of drugs and addiction. A story illustrates this: a strong man swims to retrieve a beautiful coat, only to discover it is a hungry bear that kills him. Similarly, in youth, the current is strong, and the fluttering coat is the drug. You seek to taste it, but it captures you first. Addiction then brings unhappiness, ruins studies and social standing, and drives good people away. This leads to deeper disappointment and further drug use to forget. Alcohol is also such a drug. One must guard the body as something complete and unblemished; even stickers laced with drugs can cause addiction through the skin. Damaging the body through drugs or aggression reduces its wholeness. When the five sheaths are healthy, the inner Self is felt. Bad habits, once formed, become a second nature that overrides your divine, kind first nature. This drives people away, creating loneliness. Therefore, avoid bad habits from the start.
"The coat caught him. Why? What was it? It was a hungry, cold, dispirited, tired, big, grisly bear."
"You want to taste the drug... But before you can take the drug, the drug takes you."
Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic
This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.
The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:
- Yoga in Daily Life - The System
Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda. Ibera Verlag, Vienna, 2000. ISBN 978-3-85052-000-3 - The Hidden Power in Humans - Chakras and Kundalini
Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda. Ibera Verlag, Vienna, 2004. ISBN 978-3-85052-197-0 - Lila Amrit - The Divine Life of Sri Mahaprabhuji
Paramhans Swami Madhavananda. Int. Sri Deep Madhavananda Ashram Fellowship, Vienna, 1998. ISBN 3-85052-104-4
