by Sean Clarke

Created on: May 23, 2007

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

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