Are psychedelic drugs helpful in spirituality?

The following is an excerpt from a samvaad (dialogue) session with Acharya Prashant.

Questioner: Recently, I came across an article on psychedelic drugs. I was surprised to know that a large part of the spiritual community consumes such psychedelic drugs and claims that it has helped them remain peaceful.

I was even more surprised to find that many spiritual teachers encourage their people to take psychedelic drugs, especially LSD, etc. Osho has once said, “The drug opens up a door and helps you to understand that man’s life and his experience need not be confined to the ordinary, mundane world. He can fly high towards the stars. He is capable of knowing things which are not ordinarily available. Psychedelics can open doors, not lead you through them.”

Acharya Prashant: When you want to be intoxicated, there is a lot to be intoxicated upon.

First of all, understand this: yes the mind is eager to go beyond the daily, mundane experiences, and that’s why the seeker goes to a Teacher. But, if the Teacher fails in bringing the seeker to the beyond, then this is the option that the Teacher has.

So, recommending the use of psychedelic drugs, in fact just tells of the inability of the Teacher to take the seeker beyond usual consciousness, through other means.