Japa Decreases Drug Abuse

Depth meditators claim to have a weapon with which to fight drug abuse in the form of japa, repetition of mantra. According to medical professor Herbert Benson and physiologist Robert Wallace the longer one practices meditation the less he has to do with just about any kind of drug, whether it be marijuana, LSD, amphetamines, barbiturates, narcotics or even alcohol and cigarettes. The two researchers noticed the decreased drug abuse in those people who meditate, while studying the physiological effects of japa on the body. A questionnaire was used to check their observation in 1,800 people. Their results showed that after an average of 21 months of regular meditation, the proportion of marijuana smokers in their survey had decreased from 78% to 12%; LSD users: 48% to 3%; amphetamine abusers: 30% to 1%; barbiturate abusers: 17% to 1%; and narcotic abusers: 17% to 1%. Alcohol use had dropped from 60% to 25% while cigarette smokers decreased from 48% to 16%.

A report of this study was sent to the Select Committee on Crime of the American House of Representatives in which Benson stated that, "So few alternatives to hard-core drug addiction now exist that I believe further investigation of the effects of depth meditation on such addiction is warranted."

If you have an addiction, whether it is to drugs, alcohol, television, or a favourite food, use yoga to break the restrictive patterns of your life and to enter into the freedom of spontaneity.