Combating addiction: Recognizing the battle within

Whenever someone is abducted, the abductor demands a ransom for the person’s release. The most fiendish abductors, however, continually increase their ransom without ever releasing the victim. Negotiating with such abductors is futile; only a forceful rescue can free the captive.

This scenario is similar to our predicament with addiction. Addiction can be viewed as an abductor that takes hold of our consciousness. To understand this, let’s explore what addiction truly abducts and how it torments us.

Addiction captures our consciousness, the energy of awareness and action. This consciousness originates from our spiritual core as souls, flows through our mind, and reaches the outer world through our body and senses. Addiction redirects this energy, either by dragging it toward external objects, like an alcoholic being drawn to a drink, or by internal hijacking, such as obsessive thoughts and memories of indulgence. In either case, addiction paralyzes us.

The ransom addiction demands is indulgence—immediate and excessive, even to the point of self-destruction. Though indulgence seems to relieve the torment momentarily, this relief is deceptive. It strengthens the addiction, ensuring that the cravings return more frequently and more powerfully.

The Bhagavad-Gita (3.36) describes how we can feel compelled by forces beyond our will when controlled by addiction. To break free, we must recognize that indulging cravings will not grant freedom but will deepen captivity. Addiction is not a force to negotiate with but a monster to combat.

Winning this war requires strategy, including creating a connection with a purpose and ultimately seeking shelter in the Divine, as emphasized in Bhagavad-Gita 7.14. While the methods to fight addiction are multifaceted, recognizing the need to fight is the first and most crucial step.

Summary:

Addiction abducts our consciousness, pulling it toward external objects or internal obsessions, and demands indulgence as a ransom.
Indulgence offers only deceptive relief, strengthening addiction and worsening our captivity.
Recognizing addiction as a monster to combat, rather than a force to negotiate with, is essential to initiating the fight for freedom.

Think it over:

Have you ever felt as though your consciousness was abducted by an addiction?
What ransom does addiction demand, and how does it fail to release you after indulging?
How can recognizing addiction as an enemy rather than a negotiator empower your journey to freedom?

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03.36 Arjuna said: O descendant of Vṛṣṇi, by what is one impelled to sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if engaged by force?