For many, giving up old bad habits appears to be impossible. Subconsciously we convince ourselves that it is impossible for me to give up my habits. “I am like that only”, we often fret. It is true that changing old habits isn’t so easy. And so we compromise and start seeking pleasure or relief by indulging in those activities. The more we indulge in bad habits the more that habit gets reinforced in our life. A smoker knows that smoking is injurious to health but he is so accustomed to smoking that he feels that he cannot live without smoking, and also convinces himself that smoking provides relief and relaxes his mind. Thus we get caught in a vicious cycle of bad habits.
Suppose that an unemployed person gets a job of Rs 10000 and if someone offers him a new job of Rs 5000 then will he accept it. Definetely not. But if someone offers him a job of Rs 50, 000 then the person will happily give up his Rs 10000 job for Rs 50000 job. Similarly, we are not ready to give up our old bad habits because we do not find anything more pleasurable than it. Our soul longs for happiness but we starve our soul of joy. As a part and parcel of the Lord we are ananda-mayo ‘bhyasat i.e. we are full of consciousness and we always hanker for eternal pleasure. And the best form of happiness which can satiate our heart is the transcendental pleasure. The blissful heart then does seek pleasure in any wrong activities. Once we taste that nectarine joy then we will never forego it. Chanting the names of God like the Hare Krishna Mahamantra can provide us transcendental joy.
