Legal Drug Pushers

[Gauracandra]

This week’s Siddhasvarupananda television program was about the drug industry. It was actually quite a funny episode in a number of ways. First off Srila Siddhasvarupananda would read off the marketing brochures of various drug companies. I won’t be able to do it justice in writing, but his intonations, facial expressions, and quips as he read them were very funny. Examples from some well known drug companies included (paraphrased): “If you’re depressed due to unemployment because a computer has taken your job, this drugs for you”; “If you are unsure of the future, or find it difficult to make decisions…”; “If you’re in anxiety because you don’t fit in, then try this drug”; “For the college woman who with greater knowledge of the problems of the world now feels unease….”

 

Practically speaking they have reduced all experiences in life to chemical problems. So they market these drugs to the public as the cure all. Their goal is to convince people that life is about eating, sleeping, and having sex, and if after all of this you still feel depressed then “Here are some drugs to make you feel happy.”

 

These chemical scientists are the new high priests of the modern age. They are here to free us of our suffering. No need for that old fashioned religion.

 

But the truth is pain is not unnatural. Pain is nature’s way of saying something is not set right. When you burn your hand by touching fire, this is actually good that you feel the pain. This way you know not to do it again. So if we realize that this pain or depression we feel is actually a signal that we are not situated properly, then this can be to our eternal benefit.

 

These chemists will tell you “If you’re depressed about being unemployed then take this drug to feel better”. So alter your brain, but don’t change reality. The true solution in this case is to get a job. And the true solution to life’s eternal problems is to develop a loving relationship with God.

 

If you analyze what the saints have said, they do not say “Drugs shall set you free”; they say “Truth shall set you free”. The truth we are looking for is to find real happiness. The old fashioned approach is the one that will truly free one from pain and suffering. We fear death, and old age. Drugs will just mask our fears. But if we realize that we are eternal souls, part and parcel of God, then what do we need to fear of death? The true reason you are depressed is that you are eternal, but are in a temporary position. [He then jokes] “If you aren’t depressed now, hopefully by the end of the show you will be. If you aren’t depressed, either you are on drugs, or you are naturally in illusion.”

 

A person has to be a little depressed. By nature I am eternal, but all I see around me is death. The Drug Revolution will not solve your problems. Instead of seeking real answers, they seek to just change your brain around. “Don’t search for a deeper meaning – just take these drugs.”

 

But this industry is full of exploiters. 50% of all those who go to hospitals for such problems actually have no real problems. But they are convinced that they need help with big marketing campaigns. And these legal drug dealers have as high a mark up as many illegal drug pushers. Instead of searching for real solutions we spend our money on drugs, or engage in useless activities to distract our mind from reality. The true solution is first to understand your true identity, and second to develop your relationship with God.