Digital addiction is something new that the whole of humanity is facing. We are always addicted. Nobody can live without addiction. There are people who are addicted to alcohol. There are people who are addicted to smoking. I mean this is the reality of life. There are people who are addicted to many other things in life. Digital addiction is an added component to our bag of addictions. The question is can one live without addiction?
In normal life, I do not think one can live without addiction, because people are always attached to something in which they feel they are comfortable, they can be themselves and fulfil their emotional and mental demands and expectations. Addiction is also a state of a fragmented mind. Our mind is always fragmented, and you are well aware of how hard it is to focus and concentrate. If we can stop the mind’s movement even for five minutes, then that is an achievement. Many times people tell me, ‘I meditate so many hours a day.’ So I question them, ‘In all those hours of meditation is your mind stable?’ one hundred percent of the people say, ‘No.’
It is the fragmentation of the mind which does not allow us to come out of any type of addiction. The only way one can manage it better is by observing the mind and guiding the mind on the path of righteousness, positivity and stability.
From this perspective, any attempt you make to fix your mind and make it more stable will definitely help. Addictions come up due to the weakness of the mind, and in this state of weakness the mind gets entangled in an idea, or a concept of pleasure and fulfilment. By observing and guiding the mind on the path of positivity, one is able to better manage different forms of addictions.
Digital addiction is something new that has emerged in the last decades. Prior to that, there was no digital addiction. Nobody had mobile phones or access to internet. The internet did not even exist in the way we use it today, and people had to rely on their own mental strength to become independent in life. People had to depend on their mental strength, not to be influenced by the glamour that we see in the digital world. Ultimately, the answer is that you have to manage and control the mind. That is the only way that one can manage different types of addictions more effectively and efficiently.
Why do people smoke? Why do people drink? Why do people indulge in many different kinds of activities? Why are we hooked to the digital world? For gratification. Gratification is the main reason for our mental destruction. I am not saying gratification is wrong. There has to be gratification in life, yet there also has to be balance and not indulgence. When we get involved and indulge, different habits form. When we are involved and have the ability to step back when needed, addictions do not form. By engaging the mind in the right and positive direction, it becomes easier to manage addictions.
28 May 2023, Ganga Darshan, Munger