Isn’t consuming cigarettes and alcohol and spending our hard earned money on it a sheer waste of money?
Swamiji’s devotees contribute a very tiny portion out of their earnings towards a good cause i.e. conducting of a homa. There is absolutely no force for participation in a homa. Each devotee chooses to participate or not based on their financial status and purely on their inclination to participate in such an activity. Through this activity, both the person participating in the homa and the person who are witnessing it experience mental peace and spiritual upliftment.
The divine vibrations emanating from the homa smoke will be supremely beneficial to all of them. The inhalation of the fumes that emanate out of the burning of the specially selected herbs and tree barks and other herbal ingredients bestow good health to everyone in the vicinity.
-Glimpses of Bhaktimala 4