The Resilient Mind - Your Mind Works for You: Why Did You Make It Your Enemy? - Sadhguru

Episode Date: October 2, 2026

Sadhguru is the founder of the Isha Foundation located in Coimbatore, India. The foundation operates an ashram and yoga center that specializes in education and spiritual practices. An accomplished yoga teacher since 1982, Sadhguru is also the author of several New York Times bestsellers, such as Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy and Karma: A Yogi's Guide to Crafting Your Destiny. He is also a frequent speaker at international events and forums.This episode is brought to you in partnership with Sadhguru. Follow his YouTube channel by visiting: https://www.youtube.com/@sadhguru/videosExplore tools from past guests of the podcast. Some links below are affiliate links, meaning we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you:💓 HeartMath: https://www.heartmath.com/resilient🧠 Muse: https://choosemuse.com/resilientmind🌿 Brain Ritual: https://www.brainritual.com/THERESILIENTMIND🌍 The Resilient Mind Podcast is a proud member of 1% for the Planet — building resilient minds and a resilient planet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shankar and Pillai had chronic tuberculosis. Tuberculosis. So he went to the doctor. Been festering for a long time, but it became too much of a problem, so he went. The doctor took an x-ray and looked big holes in the lungs. He said, you need to get admitted into the hospital right away. And it takes a minor surgery and you have to stay in the hospital, minimum six months.

And it'll cost you $50,000. Shankar and Pill, I said, no, no way. 50,000 for sure I don't have. Six months, no way. I can give you $100. What can you do? Now, the doctor looked at him, looked at the x-ray, looked at him, looked at his ray. He said, well, for $100, I could touch up the x-ray for you.

It is possible that you could have caused physical damage to your system, an ailment, because of your patterns of thinking, very much possible. Because you're a psychosoma. Whatever happens in the mind, invariably happens in the body. But once the damage is manifested in the body physically, trying to think it away could be just wishful thinking. I'm not saying it's not at all possible.

But after all, you have only one life. You don't want to take such a risk. Yes, you would like to assist it with your thought process also. But, no, I will just sit down and think it away. You may think yourself away. I know. So don't try such things. Disease or no disease.

Alement or no ailment. You have no business to make a mess out of your mind. You have no business to torture this being. Whether you get ailment or you don't get an ailment is the next thing. But you have simply no business to torture this being. Because this is, in a way, it's a helpless being. See, if I run after you with a hot, iron right now, you will try to escape. You'll call for help. You can do all those things.

But suppose you take a hot iron and start putting it at this one, where will this one run? Even if you're a child, you can still have some defense. Yes? Even a six-year-old kid has some defense, isn't it? But this one, no defense. Whatever nonsense you do, whatever nonsense you to this one, it has to just go through it. No escape. So this is like torturing a fetus trapped inside. Now you start poking it. This is just like

that. Yes? The cruelest form of torture. The cruelest thing that you can do is self-torture because are totally helpless being. Everybody else, however helpless they are, they have some defense, isn't it? Yes? The weakest

person can stab you when you when you're fast asleep. Yes, no. This happened, isn't it? Somebody is weak. You went on poking them. One day when you were sleeping, they came and poked you. They can do something.

Even a very weak person, even a child can do something to you. But this one totally helpless. So you have no business to torture this one, whether you have got an ailment or you haven't gotten an ailment. If you have gotten an ailment already, you've already taken it that far, that you cause damage to the system, it is better that it is assisted in all ways possible.

Yes, definitely you must stop your nonsense. But if the system needs medicine, surgery, this one, that one, whatever is needed, it has to be done, trying to just think it away. Because you brought it through your mind. Do not think that you can take it away through your mind. Possible. I'm not saying no at all. I cannot say it's 100% no.

It is possible. But you don't try such things because you may think yourself away. Once it crosses a certain point, then nobody can help you, isn't it? Yes? Doctors give up at some point or no? The only people who don't give up on you is insurance. Everybody else gives up on you at some point. The only people who don't want to give up on you is insurance because, you know.

So, keeping your mind life-friendly is definitely your business. Your mind should be friendly to this life, isn't it so? Should work for this life. After all, your mind is your employee. Yes, sir? Why have you made him your enemy? If you do not know how to handle the people who work for you, they will turn into your enemies.

Don't have any misunderstanding about this. Don't have any doubt about this. What happens, isn't it so? If you don't handle your own children properly, they will turn into your enemies. No, you have any doubt? No, not my son. He won't do that.

Don't have any doubt. do that if you don't handle him right he will turn into your enemy yes or no yes or no that's where life is now why is it your mind such a powerful beautiful miraculous thing has turned into your enemy this is something we have to look at whether you have an ailment or you're on the way whichever way it's time you look at it, isn't it so? You shouldn't let her any time pass because thinking diseases in and thinking diseases out is not fun.

It'll cost life. Once you have an ailment, it becomes a full-time engagement. You won't have any other luxury of sitting and listening to spiritual discourse like this. It'll take away everything. You'll be sitting in a hospital queue. Yes or no? It's not fun. Yes?

It's not fun. Till you get there, you don't realize how bad it is. I want you everybody, however healthy you are, once a month, take a tour of a major hospital in your town. You must. Really? You must go and see. Not for some perverse pleasure,

but you must see what can happen to human beings. Just small things wrong. That's all. They didn't commit any great crime. They were just every day creating little acid in their stomach. See where it's gotten them. You handle everything right? Still, you know, the damn tick may get into you.

And cause problems, who knows? Yes. You handled everything right. It doesn't matter. You got into an airplane. You're thinking they're all people, but a swine flu got into you. Somebody's a swine there. You don't know.

If you do everything right, still. Still there are million problems, isn't it so? Yes? The nature of life is such. Even if you drink milk, you could get poisoned. But if you're talking about drinking poison and living well, all the best. That's all I can say. Isn't it so?

If you eat good food, it can turn into poison in your stomach. It's possible. You eat the best things, it can turn into poison. You want to eat poison? and live well? I can only wish you luck. Because there's no other way for such a person. Isn't it?

You're churning up poison and hoping to live well. You need a lot of luck. We have to arrange the whole tapestry of stars into a line, straight line for you. All the stars in line for you. Otherwise, life will not work for you. It'll get you. So, please.

Keep your mind in line. It should work for you. It should do beautiful things for you. Not ugly things. Why is your mind doing ugly things? If I develop resentment, resentment, anger, hatred, these are all poisons you drink and you expect someone else to die.

Life doesn't work like that. If you drink the poison only you die. Not somebody else. I hate... I hate her. I want to. I hate her, I want her dead, I want her dead. Only you die, not her. Isn't it? You drink poison and you expect somebody else to die.

It doesn't work like that. So, you need to get this straightened out. If your mind is working against you, first and foremost thing that you do is take a break from every damn thing that you're doing. It doesn't matter what you're doing. Understand? Your work, your family, your nonsense,

take a break from everything. go to an appropriate place, if you want, you can come here or go to India, go somewhere else, wherever it works for you. Do something about this one. Fix this one before you enter the world, isn't it? So sit down in one place. See, what you can do about this one? Because once you live in this world, either you must do something good to yourself,

or you must do something good to ten people around you. Either you must be keeping yourself truly joyful and living. You don't care about anybody. it doesn't matter. At least you're happy. We're okay. Or you're doing something nice for somebody around you. You're okay. Anybody who is not doing any good to himself or to anybody around him has really no right to call himself human, isn't it? That much intelligence and awareness nature has put into you, isn't it so? Yes? Maybe you can't do some great act in the world. It doesn't matter. At least walk gently upon this planet That much you can do, right?

Yes? Maybe you can't go out and serve the whole world. It doesn't matter. At least walk joyfully. If you walk joyfully on this planet, suddenly you see the whole world looks beautiful. Once the whole world looks beautiful, naturally you will shed a glance,

a loving glance upon everything. This is natural process. Is it so? If you walk through this very joyfully, whatever you look at looks beautiful. Once everything looks beautiful to you, you naturally shed a very loving glance upon everything that you see.

You are a blessed being. That's all it takes. And if you are not so, isn't it time that you take some time off and work upon yourself? No, no, I am doing something important. You're not doing anything important. because in everything that you do,

who you are will find expression, isn't it? Not your stupid good intentions which will find expression. Who you are will find expression in everything that you do. If you are poison in your head with good intentions, you'll inject poison into the world. That's what is happening in the world. More damage is happening to this world with good intentions than with bad intentions. Isn't it so?

In 1934, Hitler, Adolf Hitler, gave a speech in Hamburg. And he said, I'm doing the duty of my forefathers when people asked him why he is rounding of people and sending them to the gas. And I want you to understand. I believe that he was not lying. He believes that's the most dangerous thing. He's not a lion He believes what he's doing

That's what empowers the men's Within a short span of time The way he organized the whole nation And made everybody believe Whatever he believes it He's not simple organization Phenomenal organization, isn't it? Because the man believes 100%

And he believes That he is the best thing He is doing the best thing that can be done to the world So your good intentions are not going to save the world how you are and how you are will change only if you can breathe

walk, lie down, sit down joyfully if you cannot do this one thing everything else will be just poison whatever you do only when you're pleasant within yourself you feel pleasant about everything around you only when you feel pleasant about everything around you you move around with a certain sense

and value to life around you Otherwise, it doesn't matter how much morality you carry in you, how many scriptures you remember, you will find ways to do the cruelest possible things. So the first and foremost business, the first and basic responsibility for a human being is how he sits here. Are you sitting here joyfully? Are you sitting here with some misery being manufactured in your head? This is the foremost thing that you have to attend to. only after that everything else because otherwise nothing else really works

please say whenever you feel very miserable always the thought comes you want to end your life you don't take action on that but thought comes isn't it yes sir no you try this

24 hours you remain in misery you always entertain yourself with a television or a book or a friend or something don't do that 24 hours just remain in misery. Within 24 hours, you will get serious thoughts that you want to end your life, for sure. Because nobody can bear misery more than for a few minutes. More than a few minutes, you need a diversion.

Otherwise, you'll go crazy, isn't it? To understand misery does not work. That's not the way to conduct life. Whatever may be your life situation. Whatever I'm saying. Whatever may be happening with your life, Maybe when you came to the satsang you packed everything in your car and come and you have no house to go back to. Maybe if you come from Michigan.

Not you, okay, not you. Maybe something else. There may be many things in life. Whatever it may be, you are better off than when you were born, isn't it? You came with nothing. At least you got something now. You're on the prophet side. Look at the beauty of life.

You came with utterly nothing. Whatever may be happening, you are still in profit, not in loss. So you cannot complain. Isn't it? So don't try to think your disease away. Think your misery away. Thank you for listening. Continue strengthening your mind by subscribing and listening to our other episodes.