Control your cravings, raise your conscience

The habit of drinking coffee did not happen in one day. Addiction starts with a repeated experience of a particular object. It becomes a habit — and the nature of habit is that it does not give you joy. It gives pain. 

Therefore, drinking coffee will not carry you to heaven, but if you do not have it, it can give you hell. The repeated experience or association of a particular sensory object makes you want it more. You think about it — and it creates a sensation of more wanting. Wherever you put your attention 

in the nervous system, the craving for that begins. 

With association comes desire. And with desire comes anger. Whenever a person is angry, behind that anger is a desire. Whether fulfilled or unfulfilled, desire leads to anger. So you get angry with somebody. The next step is that you get attached. Now, whoever you are angry with, sooner or later you will regret it. Regret brings more attachment. 

By regretting, you do not move away from the person or situation, you move more into it. All this happens in a subtle way. Have you ever observed that whoever you are angry with or hate, you think of that person more than yourself? And as you think of this person, you get agitated or distressed. 

On the other hand, if you think of someone you love, you have a nice feeling and your nervous system assumes that form. When your nervous system assumes either of the forms, it stays like that and you get drawn to those kind of people. This is entanglement. Therefore, an obsession brings anger which in turn brings entanglement. Entanglement clouds intellect. 

Your wisdom and judgment are lost; your ability to understand and access the situation is lost. This is a chain reaction and it happens in such a subtle manner that you do not even realise it. Entanglement, whether out of craving or aversion, clouds the intellect. And a distorted intellect does not let you be at peace. Such an intellect does not even bring up the emotions — the subtle feelings within you. 

With a clouded intellect, the memory of pleasant things is lost. Life has two sets of memories: one of pleasant things and the other of unpleasant things. Children often have pleasant memories more than the unpleasant ones. That is why they are so cheerful. But as we grow up and lose our innocence, our unpleasant memories increase. 

Spiritual practices help bring back the pleasant memories more and more, and reduce unpleasant memories, to almost an insignificant amount. Therefore, it is important to meditate regularly. 

Once the memory of “Who am I” is lost, the memory of “What do I want in my life,” the “reality” and “seeing life in context with the universe” is lost, wisdom is lost. Then there is no happiness and peace. This is critical for success in life. The knowledge of coming back to the Self, makes it rich, energetic and beautiful.