I lost my younger brother a month back. He was only 37 years old. He was in the hospital and faced multiple organ failures. He had become physically weak which we as a family did not realize. He had been through a lot of emotional turmoil in the last few years and got into excessive drinking to sort of cope with it. Why is it that sometimes the body fails to respond to treatment? Are there any spiritual or karmic reasons for alcohol abuse and early death due to it?
—Suvi, India
Dear Suvi,
I’m sorry to hear of the loss of your brother and hold you and his soul in my prayers.
1) Why does the body fail to respond to medical treatment?
Alcohol is a very potent toxin. It robs the body of vital nutrients and kills brain cells. If the body has primarily alcohol poured into it for a prolonged period of time, it can no longer recover from the toxicity of alcohol without clean water and nutrient interventions to reverse cellular damage throughout the body and brain. Toxins must be flushed out of the body and the body must be fed the nutrients it has been missing to recover.
Your brother’s body had more alcohol toxemia than medical interventions could reverse and this is what caused his death.
2) Are there any spiritual or karmic reasons for alcohol abuse and early death due to it?
Karma is the law of cause and effect. If we consume a poison, we will be sick from the poison. If we take more poison than the body can detoxify, the body will fail and the soul will need to depart from the body.
After many lifetimes, the soul repeatedly learns alcoholism is a “dead end” and it isn’t serving us in our quest for True happiness. We start to choose habits and influences that bring us happiness and at a certain point we seek to avoid the pain and suffering of this world and to love God. We find it helpful to associate with others who support us in choosing health and following a true guru to guide us to our Divine reality.
May your soul guide you to the highest opportunities for spiritual growth and may it integrate the lessons your brother’s life and passing have imparted to you.
In Divine Love and Friendship,
