Addictions are a worldwide phenomenon adversely affecting the lives of millions across all geographical boundaries and cultures. At a personal level, people’s lives are destroyed by their addictions and their loved ones also suffer the trauma from the negative ripple effect.
Causes of addictive behaviors according to modern science
There is no consensus as to the etiology, prevention and treatment of addictive disorders. Many people consider addictions as ‘diseases,’ but others consider addictions to be behaviors learned in response to the complex interplay between heredity and environmental factors. Still others argue in favour of a genetic cause. This lack of agreement among experts causes problems with prevention and treatment of much addictive behaviour.
Root cause for addiction according to spiritual research
Spiritual research has documented that 96% of the causes of addiction are spiritual in origin and only 4% of addictions are initiated due to non-spiritual causes in the person itself such as a person’s intense liking for a certain substance or psychological reasons such as tension, anxiety, depression etc.
The spiritual causes of addiction include:
1. Possession by ghosts (30%)
2. Possession by subtle bodies of departed ancestors (70%)
The reasons behind possession:
1. The possession by ghosts or ancestors is mainly to satisfy their own craving for the addictive substance and/or to trouble the person by making him an addict.
2. Ghosts possess anyone with a mental weakness or vulnerability. The person does not necessarily have to be their descendent
3. The ancestors possess because of the give-and-take account and the karmic bond between them and their descendent which is a subtle (intangible) doorway that they exploit to possess their descendents and satisfy their cravings through them.
Suggested principles in the treatment of addiction obtained through spiritual research
The principle behind any spiritual treatment is to instigate an increase in the basic subtle sattva component in the person along with a concomitant decrease in the subtle basic tama component by doing spiritual practice that conforms to the five basic principles of spiritual practice, done regularly and increased from time to time at a quantitative and qualitative level.
The 3-step Spiritual treatment program for overcoming addictions, recommended by SSRF
1. Repeating the protective chant of ‘Om Namo Bhagavate Vaasudevaaya’ for a minimum of 2.5 hours or 972 repetitions daily.
2. Repeating the protective chant of ‘Sree Gurudev Datta’ for a minimum of 1.5 hours or 972 repetitions daily.
3. Salt Water treatment for 15 minutes daily (by placing the feet in a bucket filled with water, add 2 spoons of rock salt to the water)
This can be followed up with reducing the intake of the addictive substance or thing in a phased manner along with any medical treatment that has been prescribed by one’s doctor or psychiatrist.
The highlights and benefits of spiritual healing treatment of addiction:
• Minimal cost – cost is mainly in terms of time invested and regularity of effort and for rock salt
• Very low incidence of withdrawal symptoms
• The spiritual practice increases the tolerance due to increase in sattvikta in the person
• Increases our spiritual energy and defense systems against the ghost/departed ancestor thus the person is able to give up the addictive habit immediately
• It works both as a treatment to cure addictions and as a preventive mechanism and it takes care of addiction formation as well as relapse too.
• The parents can take these 3 steps as a preventive measure while planning to have a baby. Bringing up the child in as sattvik an environment as possible and introducing the child to spiritual practice since early childhood will also help as a preventive measure.
• As a preventive measure for people who are not currently addicted
The factors critical for success are
1. Regularity in spiritual practice of the 3 step spiritual treatment
2. An intense desire to quit addiction
3. Strong willpower to do so
4. Faith in a Higher Power and spiritual practice helps to accelerate the healing process.
Bottom line
Spiritual research on addiction shows that the spiritual dimension has a monopoly on the root causes of addiction and without taking the spiritual dimension into account, people trying to assist in rehabilitation of addicts can only have limited success.
For more information, do visit http://www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org/spiritualresearch/mentalhealth/addiction/
Sean M. Clarke has been studying and practicing Spirituality with the Spiritual Science Research Foundation (SSRF) over the past 9 years. An MBA graduate from Monash-Mt Eliza Business School, Australia. Sean gave up his regular career as a Strategy and Business Analyst in the technology sector to help co-ordinate dissemination of SSRF research material as a full-time volunteer.
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