Yoga and Drug Addiction

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Here is a learned writer and well-known academician making an indepth study of the problem of drug-addiction-a global phenomenon. The book deals with this serious social malaise in all its aspects. It goes to the credit of the author, Dr. H. Kumar Kaul, that he has analysed the causes and effects of drug addiction in a remarkable way. What makes the book worth reading and worth preserving is linking Yoga with this problem, especially among the youth in general and the sportsmen in particular. The author has built up the thesis that Yoga is the real giver of the eternal peace of mind to whosoever looks for it, be he a Yogi or a common householder.

Born in Srinagar (Kashmir) in 1936. Dr H. Kumar Kaul received his school education in Hadow Memorial Mission School Srinagar (Kashmir). As College Student he distinguished himself as the best actor best debater, best swimmer, best sportsman, best scholar. His enviable performance in these diverse fields, brought in its wake the highest honour. All Round Best to him. He Passed his M.A. (English Literature) and B. Ed. (Kashmir University) Diploma in Journalism (Delhi University) and Ph. D. from Punjabi University Patiala.

In 1936, he joined D.A.V. College Abohar (Punjab) and remained Head of the Department of S.D. College Barnala (Punjab). He has been practicing Yoga for the last 40 years. He is a member of the All India Yoga Association Delhi, Member of the Yoga Academy, Banaras, Chairman (Yoga) Mission International Faridabad, Trustee of the International Centre of the study of Tantra Yoga, New Delhi. He has won many distinctions and Awards in the National Yogasana Competitions. Dr. Kaul is prolific writer. His 46 books on Yoga have been widely acclaimed in and outside India. His 220 Research Papers on Yoga have been published in National and International Magazines and Newspapers. His talks on Yoga therapy have been broadcast from All India Radio, Jallandhar. Due to his extraordinary contribution in the field of yoga title of Yogacharya was conferred upon him in 1998. Yoga ratna in 1999, Yoga Pursha in 2000 in the world Yoga Conferences. Yoga Shiromaini was conferred upon him by the Mission International Faridabad in 2001. In 1998, he was selected Senior President of Swami Virjanand Yoga Sadhna Kendra, Barnala. Dr. H. Kumar Kaul is broad-reservoir of ideas and experience a dynamic Personality.

Dr. H. Kumar Kaul is the author of a number of valuable books on Yoga and its application in several aspects of life, individual and national. His expositions are always practical though they always retain the authentic background of Yoga in the tradition of the Rishis. They uphold the higher values of existence in every context. In the present book, however, the author excels himself. Here is no ardent devotee of Yoga, citing from scriptures at every step. Here he reveals himself as a scientist examining the manifold ills of the present society - not only in India but all over the world and providing a sure means to - tackle the complicated problems that beset the modern man.

The subject he has chosen for his enquiry is Drug Addiction. He approached the problem from several angles and traces the precise routes along which it has grown to monstrous proportions. He goes to the ancient times of the Veda and examines whether the Rishis resorted to drugs. He refers to the common supposition that the Seers of the Veda helped themselves to inebriating Soma in the name of the Gods. The notion persists despite the clear declaration of the hymnodists that any one who drinks wine and imagines he has taken soma is under delusion. The author refers to the famous aphorim of Patanjali which refers to a number of factors capable of yielding siddhis, miraculous powers and includes herbs in them. He mentions the legitimate use of these herbs in medicine all over the world in infinitesimal quantities. He described how these slow poisons have been mis-utilised across the centuries and a whole industry has grown specialising in the cultivation and provision of these drugs. That is its history.

He includes in his siddertation the geography of the addiction too. He lists the various countries where special efforts are under way to promote trafficking in these drugs. With full statistics he narrates the nefarious role played by several countries; South Africa, Mid-Eastern regions, Pakistan and other countries on the sub-continent of India. He examines the large remifications of the interests involved political, criminal, commercial, terrorist etc.

The inspiration for writing this book came to me from a group of Engineering students with whom I chanced to travel from Bangalore to Delhi by the Karnataka Express in 1989. Most of these youngmen were from affluent families. Some of these students were under the influence of wine. Still others were carrying bottles of wine and certain brands of drugs in their suit cases. What was shocking for me was their conduct and the tenor of their conversation. Some of them, under the influence of drugs, were talking irreverently of our life sustaining traditions and tenets of the philosophy that has given our country an abiding place in inquisitive minds throughout the world.

The wild and irresponsible behaviour of these youngmen made me restless, something quite natural in the case of a person like me who has spent the best part of his life among the youth of the country. As a teacher, I have seen, felt and experienced their enthusiasm and zest for life. When I see these very youngmen going astray in life, I feel greatly upset. I feel convinced that drug-addiction can play havoc with the life of our youngmen. It leads to disintegration of personality and the stages that a drug addict passes through are self-rejection, self-pity, utter pessimism, loss of self-confidence etc. and the net result is shattering into smithereens of all the dreams of these people who are otherwise capable of achieving dizzy heights in whatever field they decide to work.

My quest in this direction got underway soon after. I met a large number of academicians, teachers, medical practitioners, social students, Students' Union leaders and members of the various voluntary organisations to delve deep into the problem and make the right assessment. Due to certain reasons, I cannot give the names of all those persons who have made my study of this global problem a rewarding experience.

**Contents and Sample Pages**