What are the effects of cigarettes and other tobacco products on Spirituality?

Spirituality is the path of awareness; as the awareness enhances, one progresses in spirituality. The Enlightened One, while explaining the effects of the addictive products on our spiritual health, says: “Your awareness will definitely become dull. First of all, you are unconscious of your Soul, as you do not realize that, ‘I am Soul’; rather You believe that, ‘I am John (please insert your name here).’ That first unconsciousness is there. (To know that I am really a Soul) this is spiritual consciousness. And when you take alcohol or drugs (or tobacco), then you forget that ‘I am John.’ So, that is even more unconsciousness. (On the path of spirituality,) we want to come out of all unconsciousness and be full of awareness. All these intoxicating (or addictive) things will cover your awareness, and in the end, they ruin your awareness. You have to understand what are the dangers of these. In your awareness, you must have the knowledge that, ‘This is dangerous. I should not go for those things.’ You don’t know ‘who am I?’ From this awareness of, ‘I am John’, we have to go to further awareness that ‘I am a Pure Soul.’ How can you reach that awareness with all these bad habits?” To come out of these bad habits, the Enlightened One prescribes 4 easy and most practical steps. What are these 4 steps? Let’s understand… 1. A Firm Determination to get rid of the bad habit of smoking Make a firm determination in your mind that, “I want to quit my bad habit of smoking cigarettes and other tobacco products!” 2. A Deep Analysis and Study of how this habit is wrong Find out more and more information on how smoking is harmful to you and how not consuming cigarettes and tobacco products is beneficial. List down all the points on a paper. This shall develop a deeper level of understanding within you, which will help you get rid of your bad habit soon. Inspite of this, for some time, you may still be driven towards smoking cigarettes and other tobacco products. Don’t bother, you continue to boost your right understanding. Whenever the mind craves to smoke, if you have a good basic understanding on the hazards of smoking and a conviction in your belief that cigarettes and tobacco products should certainly not be consumed, then it will work effectively against the craving, and gradually, you will get rid of the bad habit. 3. Seeking Forgiveness from God, everytime you smoke or consume tobacco products When we are driven to smoking, knowing the cause of why are we so much driven to it, and thereafter solving the cause, will help us get away from the bad habit. The Enlightened One explains that in the past, knowingly or unknowingly, we have formed strong opinions in favour of how smoking is good, which is why today, we find it so fascinating and cannot get rid of it. But now, by asking for forgiveness from whichever God we have faith in, for indulging in this bad habit; and also seeking for strength from Him so that you never smoke again, we reverse our former opinion. Each time we repent, one layer of our opinion that ‘smoking is good’ gets removed. When all the layers are gone, not even a thought to drink a cigarette or put some tobacco product in your mouth will ever arise in your mind. 4. Accepting our flaw when highlighted- Most of the times, we do not like when people target on our weaknesses. And therefore, unknowingly we end up protecting that bad habit of ours, which otherwise, to remove we were striving so hard! But if we accept our flaw internally and externally, it brings about a much quicker closure. For example, when you are decided you want to quit smoking, and suddenly your friend comes and points out your weakness, then instead of rejecting him or showing him his flaw in return, accept that “Yes, it is a bad habit, I’m really trying hard to get rid of it.” Then, you shall soon get over your weakness. This acceptance of our mistake and registering our opposition towards it, suggests that now, we are ruling over our weakness, and it’s not the other way round any more. And when we do not accept our bad habit or flaw in front of others, we are internally protecting and supporting our weakness, which actually extends the habit that we are wanting to get rid of, for long, very long. The above 4 steps work wonders in overcoming any bad habit that we may have. The whole process of above four steps is very scientific. At times, one may feel that after doing all this, there is no change in my behaviour. However, keep on with it as it is working inside, even though on the outside, it seems to be taking you a little longer.