The AA and AOL way

The Alcoholics Anonymous Path ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, a self help group established in 1932, have upended the pyramid of the lives of millions of addicts. They commence every single meeting by faithfully and unflinchingly reciting the Serenity Prayer; this is the starting point of their 12 step recovery programme. The critical element in the recovery of any alcoholic lies in admitting to the fact that he or she needs help. The alcoholic has to emerge from the world of self denial, the belief that everything is hunky dory and he/ she is not affected by the perils of alcoholism. There are several triggers which engineer addiction. However one can safely conclude that it is the recalcitrant mind and low prana levels which are the endemic to the craving, the compulsion and eventual enslavement to the Bacchus. In the swathes of the ether maniac’s cobweb filled mind the power of discrimination and discernment seem lost in the darkness of an endless tunnel. The Serenity Prayer provides immense succour to make a paradigm shift and a 360 degree change in an addict’s life; leading up to a complete turnaround and eventually to eschew dependency on alcohol. The first and the only step they have to initiate are to singularly submit to a superior power and admit their powerlessness over the Bacchus. Once this first step is taken the process of recovery begins. The Art of Living Way I TOO WAS AN ALCOHOLIC for several years. The disease impacted me immensely. It was only my wife and parents who stood by me, offering support in my most trying moments. My wife enrolled me for the Part 1course of the Art of Living while I was posted at Jaipur. Winter had set in Jaipur and the weather was chilly. Any stock individual would have preferred the warm climes of a quilt. Yet my wife faithfully dropped me and picked me from the centre for seven days where I had undertaken the course. Like a zombie I used to attend the course. I was in a state of haze every morning after endless drinking the previous night, sparring with my wife and petrified children. It was nothing but Divine grace that I could undertake the course and indeed I am most grateful to my feisty wife who ungrudgingly escorted me for the course. There I learnt the unique rhythmic breathing technique of “Sudarshan Kriya”, cognated by the spiritual master H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Today, by the grace of the Master and through the breathing technique I am sober for over a decade. As a faculty of the Art of Living I have been able to conduct courses for alcoholics and drug addicts. In the final analysis when a person hits rock bottom, it is the grace of almighty God which can extricate him from the cesspool of addiction. There are millions of alcoholics suffering from this pestilence who cannot remain without the spirit. By participating in various programmes of the Art of Living, I am sober today. There are several unfortunate ones who are struggling to rediscover their way from this lethal ailment. They need to upend the pyramid, detoxify their minds and bodies and once again discover love in their lives. It is paramount that they discard the feelings and emotions of futility, guilt, inadequacy and self rejection. They have to strengthen their minds and make it robust to eschew dependency on alcohol. Do they have it in them to stay half an hour without alcohol? How many people are appreciative, or even cognizant of the fact that the Art of Living is helping around 200 students who could not clear their SSLC examinations in Karnataka and were consequently placed in the supplementary category? These young minds are being imparted training to cope with stress and the harrying feeling of appearing for the examination. Coercion is being combated through various relaxation and meditation techniques. Such craftsmanship and techniques are encompassed in the Pragna programme of the Art of Living and is providing succour to students. Various Art of Living programmes address different sections of society to provide alternative and holistic therapies to ameliorate the physical and mental conditions of overwrought people. The vast gamut includes children, through what is now popularly known as the Intuition Programme and youth through Art Excel and Yes Plus courses. A person could be a stock individual, a home maker, a seeker or even an addict, through variegated Art of Living programmes help is always at hand. Meanwhile the year was 2017, the month, early November. The place was Gorakhpur. A devotee of the Art of Living happened to read my maiden effort “The Matter of the Mind” and passed on the copy to a psychiatrist. The doctor read the book and was taken aback at my recovery from alcoholism and the fact that I was sober for over ten years after undertaking the Art of Living courses. He quickly connected me with a rehab centre to provide alternative therapy in addition to allopathic treatment. This was a wonderful gesture on part of the psychiatrist. Soon I found myself at the rehabilitation centre along with two other teachers of Art of Living to ameliorate the pitiable state of the inmates. I could easily establish a connection with those in the centre as I too had once been a victim of this lethal disease. Alcoholism is essentially running away from the self. A person living in constant fear; unable to express or appreciate authentic love. Such an individual is unable to discover his/ her inner potential and really carouse in life. Gorakhpur is situated in a region steeped in vibrant history. The place is esteemed for the Gorakhnath Temple, of the Nath monastic tradition. It is also the birthplace of the mystic seer Paramahamsa Yogananda who had cognated Kriya Yoga. Strains of Buddhism can also be felt in the air at Gorakhpur. Several historical Buddhist sites are to be found in the vicinity of Gorakhpur. Not far away is Sarnath (the twin city of ancient Benares), where Gautama Buddha gave his first sermon to humanity upon attaining enlightenment. Lumbini (in present day Nepal), Shravasti and Kushinagar are other places in the vicinity of Gorakhpur. Gorakhpur is also intertwined with modern Indian history, literature and philosophical schools. Eminent writers and poets like Firaq Gorakhpuri and Shrilal Shukla hail from this town, known for its widespread railway establishment which once was the headquarters of the North Eastern and North Eastern Frontier Railway. Chauri Chaura of the famous Chauri Chaura killings is also located in Gorakhpur district. Not far away is the world’s largest opium factory at Ghazipur; opium being the raw material for pharmaceutical products. It is believed that monkeys of this town are in a state of euphoria after partaking opium! Given this background of a rich historical, cultural and religious tradition, I could not but wonder at the high rate of addiction in the region. The strapping youngsters, quite like the monkeys of Ghazipur did not possess a resolute and determined mind and easily succumbed to alcohol and drugs. How does one conduct the course for hardened alcoholics and drug addicts, who are in a perpetual state of self denial? They looked at us in the most disgusted manner possible, with disbelief writ large on their faces. The three of us received sneering looks from the inmates. Some refused to do the course, others boycotted the course midway. We nevertheless persisted and as the course proceeded, several participants triggered into hysterical bouts of laughter. This was their attempt to distract us and derail the course. But we remained resolute and hardy in our effort and continued with the programme. Bowing down to the photograph of Pujya Gurudev, we sought his Divine benediction and played the cassette of “Sudarshan Kriya.” As the syntax of “ SOHAM” gathered momentum and the rhythm of the breathing technique permeated each cell of their body and soul, and soon the hysterical laughter gave way to tears of gratitude and silence prevailed. Cacophony gave way to symphony. Following this course we had regular courses of Art of Living for the addicts and follow up sessions. The breathing technique of Sudarshan Kriya and the knowledge points of Gurudev began to unfold, with a salutary impact on the minds of the addicts. They were slowly revealing the determination to metamorphose and transfigure their lives and eschew dependency on the substance. My heart bled for them as I too was one of them. The Guru Dakshina that we asked of them was to seek pardon from those that they had hurt and secondly to regularly practice the technique of Sudarshan Kriya. What really touched the core of my heart and being was when an addict broke down and said, “Sir. aap humko chod kar jaoge toh nahin?”(Sir, you will not forsake us.) Another person remarked, “Sir, aap roz aoge na?”(Sir, will you come and meet us every day?). I recalled the gloomy but riveting movie, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, how the inmates lodged in a mental asylum for treatment of insanity had reached a state where they were determined to break the bondage and run away. Similarly these youth and middle aged persons with families and children back home yearned for love and affection and pined to be with their loved ones and were determined to break the four walls of the rehab centre. Normally the mind of an alcoholic borders on futility, guilt, a gargantuan burden of inadequacy, self-rejection, self-depravation and self-dejection. After the initial treatment at the rehabilitation centre and subsequent exposure to the unique rhythmic breathing technique of Sudarshan Kriya they began to believe in the Power of Now, the efficacy of ‘Living in the Present Moment”. Every day was a new day, a harbinger of hope and the addicts realised their self-worth and the “Power of Love and Acceptance” and began giving themselves positive strokes. The concepts of the Power of Now or the Present Moment have been postulated by several masters of the past both in the oriental and occidental world. In India, Maharishi Patanjali, Gautama Buddha, the Advaita saint Adi Shankara have written and spoken about it extensively. In present times the quintessential rhythmic breathing technique of Sudarshan Kriya transmogrifies the human mind to the present. Authors like Eckhart Tolle, Robin Sharma, Deepak Chopra and Louise Hay too have emphasised on reengineering and polymorph sing the human mind to remain in the present moment to combat various challenging situations in life. The rehab centre was opened by a doughty lady whose husband too was once an alcoholic. As a goodwill gesture the couple inaugurated the centre and have made it their mission to provide shelter and comfort to those suffering from alcoholism. To this day they remain connected with me through WhatsApp and express their gratitude to H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and the Art of Living Foundation for providing immense assistance in the recovery of those afflicted from this lethal disease to combat it. The inmates could remain half an hour without alcohol, can you? This is the question that resonates in my mind, the question I pose to any addict. This is possible only through surrender to the higher power / the supreme intelligence of the Universe.