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Questioner: I do attend lot of courses in yoga, but when I get back, I go back
to my old self. I’m not at peace. How do I sustain the benefits I derive from
this class into my daily life, and is there anything wrong with enjoying a good
drink? Because even doctors say a drink a day is probably good for you.
Sadhguru: The wise said, ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away.’ When did it change from the apple? An apple a day keeps the doctor away; a drink a day keeps the doctor with you. I’m not surprised if the doctor is saying that!
With a good drink in the night, definitely you will not have enthusiasm to do yoga in the morning. Right now the drink, whatever variety of drink you have, wine or whiskey, is just soothening you a little bit. It’s playing on your chemistry to feel peaceful and relaxed. If a small quantity of it is so relaxing, then if you drink a bucket of it you must be really relaxed—but it doesn’t work like that.
When you have something in a certain quantity, it may feel good, but one more could make things something else. People have felt peaceful and relaxed with a drink so that’s why many of them are into it. But a little more drink suddenly makes them violent and uncontrollable. Things that they wouldn’t have done in their life, people have done just because they had one more drink than they should have had. Lots of crime happened because they had one more extra. So the question is not about, ‘Is this wrong or is this right?’ I’m not talking about this in moralistic standpoint. Are you for life or against life? That’s the fundamental question. If you are for life, what is it that you call as life?
Right now, you know you are alive because you are alert enough. Suppose you fell asleep, do you know whether you are alive or dead? All experience has disappeared. So, essentially in your experience of life, awareness is aliveness. How aware you are, that’s how alive you are. Because the experience of life is such: only what you are aware of exists for you, the rest does not exist for you. Right now, you are sitting here, there is a huge tusker behind you; such a big animal. You are not aware of it; it doesn’t exist for you, isn’t it? So, it doesn’t matter what is present here, if you are not aware of it, it does not exist for you. So, awareness is aliveness. Any kind of intoxication, it doesn’t matter what kind, lowers your aliveness or awareness. Why they are telling you “you can’t drive with a drink” is because it lowers your awareness.
If you become fully aware instead of existing here as a piece of creation, as a piece of flesh and blood, you will exist as the creator himself. That is the choice you have. Either you live here as just a piece of creation or you live here as the creator himself.
So, if you want to exist as a creator, now your awareness has to spread. For this, your depressions, your unhappiness, your confusions, your alcohol, everything is putting it down. So, if all you are seeking is a little bit of pleasure, I’m not against it. But if you are a pleasure seeker, wouldn’t you be interested if I give you an opportunity to have a much bigger pleasure? If I teach you how to be drunk all the time and fully alert, would you be interested? Then you are ? for life.
It’s just that whatever yoga you did, it works only for those who practice. That’s the problem with yoga. I think it’s so with anybody. If you go to a doctor, it works only if you take the medicine that he gives you. Even the drink, it works only if you drink it, right? So, I’m not against drink, I’m not against pleasure. I just think it’s a pity that human beings are settling for such small pleasures when something far bigger is possible within themselves. I can have you drunk all the time. Free, no hangover, and no doctor!
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Be drunk all the time
By: Sadhguru 
July 2010
Sadhguru: The wise said, ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away.’ When did it change from the apple? An apple a day keeps the doctor away; a drink a day keeps the doctor with you. I’m not surprised if the doctor is saying that!
With a good drink in the night, definitely you will not have enthusiasm to do yoga in the morning. Right now the drink, whatever variety of drink you have, wine or whiskey, is just soothening you a little bit. It’s playing on your chemistry to feel peaceful and relaxed. If a small quantity of it is so relaxing, then if you drink a bucket of it you must be really relaxed—but it doesn’t work like that.
When you have something in a certain quantity, it may feel good, but one more could make things something else. People have felt peaceful and relaxed with a drink so that’s why many of them are into it. But a little more drink suddenly makes them violent and uncontrollable. Things that they wouldn’t have done in their life, people have done just because they had one more drink than they should have had. Lots of crime happened because they had one more extra. So the question is not about, ‘Is this wrong or is this right?’ I’m not talking about this in moralistic standpoint. Are you for life or against life? That’s the fundamental question. If you are for life, what is it that you call as life?
Right now, you know you are alive because you are alert enough. Suppose you fell asleep, do you know whether you are alive or dead? All experience has disappeared. So, essentially in your experience of life, awareness is aliveness. How aware you are, that’s how alive you are. Because the experience of life is such: only what you are aware of exists for you, the rest does not exist for you. Right now, you are sitting here, there is a huge tusker behind you; such a big animal. You are not aware of it; it doesn’t exist for you, isn’t it? So, it doesn’t matter what is present here, if you are not aware of it, it does not exist for you. So, awareness is aliveness. Any kind of intoxication, it doesn’t matter what kind, lowers your aliveness or awareness. Why they are telling you “you can’t drive with a drink” is because it lowers your awareness.
If you become fully aware instead of existing here as a piece of creation, as a piece of flesh and blood, you will exist as the creator himself. That is the choice you have. Either you live here as just a piece of creation or you live here as the creator himself.
So, if you want to exist as a creator, now your awareness has to spread. For this, your depressions, your unhappiness, your confusions, your alcohol, everything is putting it down. So, if all you are seeking is a little bit of pleasure, I’m not against it. But if you are a pleasure seeker, wouldn’t you be interested if I give you an opportunity to have a much bigger pleasure? If I teach you how to be drunk all the time and fully alert, would you be interested? Then you are ? for life.
It’s just that whatever yoga you did, it works only for those who practice. That’s the problem with yoga. I think it’s so with anybody. If you go to a doctor, it works only if you take the medicine that he gives you. Even the drink, it works only if you drink it, right? So, I’m not against drink, I’m not against pleasure. I just think it’s a pity that human beings are settling for such small pleasures when something far bigger is possible within themselves. I can have you drunk all the time. Free, no hangover, and no doctor!
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