The Spiritual Cause of Disease (And How to Heal It) – Paramahansa Yogananda

Yogananda once asked his guru, Gurudev, is it really possible? Do thoughts truly have such power that they can correct deep-rooted weaknesses within us? How deeply do our thoughts affect us? When Paramahansa Yogananda received the answer, he was stunned. Since childhood, he had weak digestion. This made him thin and fragile. Even a little effort would exhaust him. Long travels would leave his body aching. Many times he felt inferior because of it. During college, his room had more tonics and strength-giving medicines than books. He tried many remedies to improve his digestion and physical strength. But none worked. After coming to the ashram, Yogananda would often silently think, can I really practice spiritual discipline with such a weak body? One day, while Yogananda sat on the ashram's veranda, his guru Sri Yukteswar Giri suddenly looked at him and said, Mukunda, you look very thin and weak. Yogananda realized his guru had read the hidden feelings of inferiority within him. He replied, Gurudev, I too don't like my sunken eyes and frail body. I've had digestion issues since childhood and no medicine has helped. Guru Yukteswar smiled and said, Mukunda, medicines have their limits. The real cause of your illness and weakness is you. You have limited the use of your inner power. You see disease in yourself and you believe in your weakness so much that your thoughts themselves have become weak and self-defeating. If you believe that you are strong and healthy and truly hold that powerful thought in your mind with full conviction, then you will very soon become healthy and strong. Yogananda asked, Gurudev, is that really possible? Can mere thinking have such an effect? Can my thoughts truly heal a chronic disease? Yukteswar replied, it is not just about thinking, Mukunda. Let me tell you a personal experience. I once suffered from typhoid for two months, which left me extremely weak. Once the fever was gone, I went to meet my guru Lahiri Mahasaya. I told him, Gurudev, I've been very ill. I've lost so much weight. I no longer have the strength to meditate properly. Lahiri Mahasaya replied, Yukteswar, first you deliberately made yourself ill and now you say you are weak. Don't worry. I'm confident you will feel better by tomorrow. I completely trusted my guru's words and spent the day believing that he would heal me through his divine power. The next morning, I felt a surge of energy in my entire body. I felt light and refreshed. I rushed to Lahiri Mahasaya, overjoyed, and told him, Gurudev, for the first time in weeks, I feel vitality and strength. You have healed me. But Lahiri Mahasaya chuckled and said, that's good, but who knows how your body will be tomorrow? Maybe it will become weak again. When I heard this, a strange fear gripped me. The thought kept circling in my mind. What if I fall ill again? And strangely, the next day, I became so ill I could barely walk. With great effort, I reached Lahiri Mahasaya and said, Gurudev, I'm sick again. He replied, so you made yourself sick again. I asked, but Gurudev, how can I make myself sick? He smiled and said, Yukteswar, you are making the same mistake again. It is your mind and your beliefs. Your thoughts made you healthy and your fears made you weak again. Do you understand now? I asked him, Gurudev, if I now think I am healthy and my weight is back to normal, will it really happen? He responded seriously, The body is literally manufactured and sustained by the mind. The mind is the creator. The body is an extension of the mind. It is created and governed by it. Your current mental state defines not only your body, but your intellect as well. The human mind is a spark of the Almighty Consciousness of God. If you believe in powerful thoughts, not only your body, but your willpower and life force will also be amplified. Lahiri Mahasaya continued, Let me show you right now how whatever you believe in with full intensity comes to life before you. As soon as he said this, Yukteswar felt a mysterious lightness within. He was ill. He was weak. But in that very moment, he felt a surge of strength and even an increase in weight. That evening, he slowly walked home and fell into deep, restful sleep. All worries and stress about his illness vanished. The next morning, when his mother saw him, she panicked and asked, Why is your body swollen? Do you have edema? Edema is a condition in which fluid gets trapped between tissue layers, causing swelling. But Yukteswar knew this wasn't a disease. His body had literally transformed overnight to its healthy state. In a few days, he gained 22 kilograms. And no one could believe such a transformation was even possible. After this story, Yogananda says, All my doubts disappeared. I immediately began to believe in my guru's words. My illness vanished. Within two weeks, I gained the physical strength I had long desired. And I never suffered from indigestion again. He writes an autobiography of a yogi. Believe in powerful thoughts. Before this, I saw many doctors. But I never believed I could fully heal. So I never did. But that day, I learned the greatest medicine is faith in yourself. How to develop the power of thought. See goodness in every situation. Yogananda says, If you constantly allow yourself to think distorted or negative thoughts, your face and energy will reflect that distortion. Train your mind to only absorb the good in every person and every circumstance. Just as the body absorbs nutrients and releases waste, so should your mind absorb goodness and let go of distortion. Be aware of your thoughts. To use the power of thought, we must become conscious of them as they arise. Only then can we nurture the good ones and discard the destructive ones. This can only happen if your level of consciousness rises. For that, practice meditation. It allows you to observe your thoughts without judgment or reaction. As alertness increases, so does your power to choose empowering thoughts. Without alertness, you cannot harness your thought power. Develop concentration. The mind is easily distracted by external disturbances and internal cravings. This weakens its ability to hold powerful thoughts. So build your power of concentration. How? Yogananda says, Hold on to one powerful thought, like, I am the master of my mind and nothing can disturb me. Or, I am filled with eternal joy and energy. Think it repeatedly. Visualize it. Feel it in your body and mind. Keep your goal vivid before your eyes. This is also a form of prayer. With such focused concentration, mental energy flows in one direction, and your thoughts become so powerful that whatever you believe with full faith becomes real. If you like this video, check out my other video, How to Awaken the Kundalini Energy by Paramahansa Yogananda, where Yogananda explains secret tips to awaken the Kundalini. Watch it now or save it for later. No video, no news is more valuable than your inner growth. See you in the next video.