Question - Gurudev, why do people get into bad habits such as smoking and drinking alcohol? How can we make them realise the importance of sadhana, seva and satsang?
SriSri - See, people feel some lack or vacuum in their life, as if something is missing. To fill that gap, people try to forget themselves by latching on to intoxicants. You simply have to tell them that you can give them a better intoxicant, a much higher brand of intoxication (here meaning sadhana, satsang and seva). Tell them to just come here to the Ashram and meditate. Ask them to do the Sudarshan Kriya, and to attend Satsang. The intoxication these practices give you does not come at the cost of your health, rather it improves your health, your state of mind and there are absolutely no side effects because of it. There are no hangovers due to this. Promise them this, and trick them to somehow come and attend the programs and satsang.