Way of The Seekers — Page 73
73 THE Why don’t you speak? The visitor replied: I am thinking that the dirty habit of smoking has been responsible for my coming to a man like you. Had I been not a smoker, I would not have come here and suffered the ignominy of hearing the Promised Messiah being reviled. Let me tell you, as I have told you a number of times before, that smoking is a foul habit. Other intoxicants are equally harmful. They should be given up once and for all. Certain intoxicants breed the habit of lying. I will not name people who are addicts to spare them embarrassment. But the fact remains that intoxicants damage nerves. Therefore, do not become addicted to any. Thank God, I have an innate anti- pathy towards such things. In my infancy, I was given opium during an illness for about six months. Mother tells me that once I missed a dose and there was not the slightest reaction, whereupon the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) observed: Do not administer to him any more that which God has delivered him from. Even now I can discard taking things which I use daily, without suffering any adverse effects. Occasionally, I stop taking tea despite the fact that in our family tea is served as part of breakfast. I do this to avoid making it a habit. As a matter of fact, we should not form any such habit – intoxicants or no intoxicants. 26. Arrogance: Looking down upon others. 27. Enmity: Even If it is never made public and lies hidden in the heart, it is a vice. 28. To distrust others: It prevents one from delegating a task to others. 29. Greed: This too is a vice of the heart. 30. To grieve too much: Too much grief damages the faculty of application. 31. Excessive joy.