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Feeling Ashamed
Those who want to come out of addiction, should first examine how they got addicted. They were not born with addiction. Since they have cultivated it, they must have the ability to come out of it. While keeping this in mind if one exerts enough vigor to get out of his addiction, he would succeed in his endeavor. Thereafter he can go ahead for cultivating a virtuous life. That is the main purpose of listening to discourses.
One way to remove addiction is to spare some time in the morning and pray to the Lord for help in giving up the addiction. It works as watering the mind so that the plant of good thoughts can sprout out. In the morning, the mind is fresh and receptive, the impact of prayer made at that time would continue even while one is busy with other activities. Moreover, it is worth having on hand a book containing noble thoughts and to read from it whenever the time permits. The actual impact will of course depend upon one's background. There is an interesting story in that connection.
Four persons were once accused of identical offence and were brought to the court of king Vikram. The king examined them at length and decided to punish them differently. The first was released by simply pointing out that he should have been ashamed of getting involved in the offence. The second was sentenced to a fine of Rs. 500. The third was exiled to a rural place and the fourth was sentenced to move around the city on a donkey with the sign of culprit marked on his face.
When the secretary asked for the reason of differing punishments, the king said, "The first person was innocent and was inadvertently involved in the offence; the second was involved in several offences earlier; the third was a habitual offender and the fourth was a seasoned one. If you want to know the impact of varying punishment, go to them and find out how they are reacting to it."
The secretary sent his men to those persons and learnt that the first person felt ashamed of getting the rebuke. He wept bitterly and decided to make sure that he does not get involved in offence again.
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