37 - Real Psychiatrist

Once a couple visited Mama for his Darshan. They bowed down to Mama and sat down. Mama asked, ‘What brings you here?’ The gentleman replied sadly, ‘Mama, my son is addicted to tobacco. We scold him so much. But he does not understand.' The lady said, ‘Once we had beaten him up too.' Mama advised,‘You shouldn't beat your son.' The gentleman spoke helplessly, ‘what should we do Mama? He does not listen to us. Earlier, he used to chew tobacco stealthily. Now he chews it in the house in front of us. If I scold him badly, he threatens to smoke cigarettes too.' The lady said, ‘Mama, we are Satsangi. Is it good to have such addictions? We are tired of reforming him.' The lady became sad. She added, ‘Mama, that is why we have come to you. Through your kindness and blessings, he could be freed from addiction.’ Mama agreed, -‘Tomorrow, bring him to me, I will talk to him.’

Next day both the parents and son, all three of them, went to Mama. Mama asked the parents to wait outside. The young man bowed down to Mama and sat down. Mama asked, -‘What are you studying? ’ The young man replied, ‘I am in college.' Mama said, ‘Good. Your parents have come to me with a complaint against you.' The young man was upset, ‘They announce it to everyone. They keep on scolding me. They scold me even in front of outsiders. Therefore, I have decided that I will continue chewing tobacco till they behave in this manner. At the most they will scold. Even otherwise, they scold. Now it does not affect me anymore.' The young man expressed his anger. Mama consoled him, ‘Please, calm down. Your parents’ behaviour is not proper. They should not scold their son. And they should never scold in front of outsiders.' The young man felt better. He thought that Mama understood his feelings. Mama was in his favour. He told, ‘Mama, When they scold me in front of everyone, I feel it very insulting.' Mama assured, ‘I can understand your feelings. I will convince them to not to scold you. Never in front of others.' The young man insisted, ‘Please, convince them. They will listen to your advice. If it happens I will help them in household chores also.'

Mama noticed that the young man had cooled down. Therefore Mama asked, ‘Would you listen to me?' Mama respected the young man and asked his permission for the discussion. There was a favourable impact on the young man. He said politely, ‘Yes, Mama. I will listen to you and follow your advice.' Mama explained, ‘I want to know a few details about your addiction. I do not have to advice anything.' Slowly, Mama was trying to make his point clear. The young man thought Mama required a few details only. He cheered up. Mama asked, ‘How do you feel while chewing tobacco? Why do you do that? ’ The young man replied, ‘When I chew it I feel fresh. It stimulates my brain. It inspires new ideas. Now I have become addicted to it. I cannot survive without it. Without it, I feel exhausted. I feel as if energy is drained off my body. So I have to take it.' Mama asked, ‘For how long are you addicted? ’ The young man replied, ‘For last two years.’

Mama thought something and asked, ‘How many percentage did you get in tenth standard?' The young man brightened up, ‘Mama I got 85% in tenth standard and 80% in twelfth standard.' Mama congratulated, ‘Wow! That is great! You are a brilliant student. Now how many percentage do you get?' The young man looked down. He informed, ‘Now, I get less marks. I cannot concentrate in studies like earlier. As soon as I sit down to study, I remember tobacco. Then I get up. I chew tobacco and study for some time. Then I cannot continue for long. I lose concentration.' Mama spoke thoughtfully, ‘This means that you were studying with better concentration when you were not addicted to tobacco.' The young man agreed, ‘Yes, Mama, that is right.' Mama continued, ‘This also means that it is completely baseless to say that chewing tobacco inspires new ideas. Or raises the energy level, you will also accept this right? Now tell me the advantages of chewing tobacco. Whatever you had described earlier are not the benefits.' Now the young man was confused. He thought what he had thought beneficial, was not beneficial at all. What are the advantages of chewing tobacco? After a while he told Mama, ‘I cannot think of any advantage.' Mama grabbed this opportunity. He said, ‘You also agree, if it is not beneficial, why to get addicted to it? Do you know how harmful it is to chew tobacco? It weakens your body as well as mind. It stimulates all the nerves and gradually they are weakened. Then your mind weakens and a poor (weak) mind generates poor thoughts; you cannot perform creative work. Memory power decreases; concentration also becomes poor. Just now you have agreed, isn’t it. It affects physical well being also. We catch a lot of diseases. Thus our future is also affected. We have to spend our lives in poverty. Now your father gives money.' The young man interrupted, ‘Mama, I spend all my pocket money in buying tobacco.'

Mama sympathised with him, ‘See! In the beginning, you chew tobacco, later on tobacco chews you. It eats up your body from within. In future, you will spend all your earnings on it. How would you come up in life? Please, tell me?' The young man seriously thought about it. He spoke to Mama, ‘I never thought about it in so much detail, such depth. And nobody explained me with so much affection.' Mama asked, ‘So now will you give up tobacco? ’ The young man promised, ‘I will sincerely try.' Mama explained, ‘If we make up our mind totally, everything is possible. The scientists continue experimenting till they do not achieve success. They stop only when they are successful. Similarly, you should also achieve success. We must be addicted to good things. We should be addicted to worshipping God. We could be addicted to good books. Then we can progress in life.' The young man bowed down to Mama and prayed, -‘Mama, please bless me. With your blessings, I will definitely become successful. I promise you. I will be free of (give up) my addictions to tobacco.' Mama was pleased to see his positive attitude. He blessed him. The young man went out with a new self-confidence.

Difficult words:
Addiction - Habit
Chores - Daily tasks
To stimulate - To make more active
To grab - To snatch

Points to ponder:
- We must keep away from the addictions which make our lives useless and thoughts poor and ultimately make our future hopeless.
- The addictions like worshipping God, meaningful reading habits, selfless service etc. are supportive in growth and development of our personality. They should be embraced.

Exercise

Answer the following questions:
1. The parents visited Mama with which complaint?
2. What were the benefits of chewing tobacco according to the young man? Were they really benefits?
3. What are the disadvantages of chewing tobacco?
4. What did the young man promise Mama?

Fill in the blanks:
1. My son is addicted to ____________.
2. We are ____________ is it good to have such addictions?
3. You should not ______________ your son. You should never scold him in front of ________.
4. Whenever they scold me in front of everyone, I feel it very _________.
5. Tobacco weakens your ______ as well as ________.
6. I have never thought about it in so much ____________.
7. We must be addicted to ____________ in life.
8. I _________ you, I will be free of _________.