Sadhguru answers a question on how chronic diseases are caused by the thoughts and emotions that we generate, which ultimately poison the chemical soup in our body.

Questioner: Sadhguru, you mentioned in previous discourses that 70% of all illnesses are mind-created. If that is so, what would be the emotional and thought pattern behind it, and how to correct that?

Sadhguru:You sound like a disciple of Freud. Only recently, certain letters became public that showed how hollow this man was who is seen as the father of modern psychoanalysis. This is not the way to approach it.

To give you a simple analogy – suppose your right hand was acting funny, beating you up, strangling and torturing you every day – would this not be sickness? For sure it would be. That is exactly what your mind is doing. It is acting funny, hurting you, poking you, making you cry, making you suffer – is this not sickness? But too many people are with you – you can form an army of sick people. When there is an army in front of you, sick or otherwise, there is no point in arguing with them – just bow down to them and keep going. That is what most enlightened beings have done – they just closed their eyes and sat.

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Ancient societies always saw disease as something wrong. But modern societies are treating disease as normal, because there is a whole industry that thrives on it.

Sickness can manifest in many ways in the physical body. Every thought, every reverberation on the level of the mind changes your chemistry. Let’s say you think about tigers, one kind of chemical change will happen. If you think about flowers, another kind of chemical change will happen. Depending on the type of thoughts you create, you may produce a lousy, poisonous soup.

If you are soaked in this poisonous soup on a daily basis, how can you be well? Today, we only have limited control about what we eat, what we drink, what we breathe – all that is somewhat poisoned. The world is trying to poison you in some way, but if you are not only on industrial help but on self-help, depending upon how hard you strive, you will succeed. You know, “self-help is the best help.”

Ancient societies always saw disease as something wrong – a human being should not be in any state of illness. But modern societies are treating disease as normal, because there is a whole industry that thrives on it. One of the largest industries on the planet is pharmaceuticals, which means there is too much lousy soup. Every day, you have to add something to it to make it nice. If you are willing, we can make this into a wonderful soup, without external chemicals. Once your chemistry is in a fantastic state, to be blissful will be natural. That way, 70% of the ailments could vanish from the planet. For the remaining 30%, there are many external influences, which are not always in your control. But what you are doing from within can be 100% in your control.

If you are constantly creating a nasty chemistry within you, how is life within you supposed to understand you are seeking wellbeing? It will assume you like ailments and will give them to you. Some people may have a robust system that will take a lot of beating – some people will fall at the very first assault. But if you are poisoning your system from within through the thoughts and emotions that you generate, sooner or later, it will get you.

Editor’s Note: Isha Kriya is a simple but powerful 15-minute guided meditation available online. Daily practice of Isha Kriya brings health, dynamism, peace and wellbeing. It is a powerful tool to cope with the hectic pace of modern life.

This article is based on an excerpt from the May 2014 issue of Forest Flower. Pay what you want and download. (set ‘0’ for free). Print subscriptions are also available.