Are thoughts just imaginary?

[Ms. Bhanu Samykya asked: Padanamaskaram Swami, Swami I heard from one of the present day philosopher saying - "Do not try to stop uncontrollable thoughts because any kind of thought is just a thought. Nobody told that this kind of thought is negative, and there is no negative thought at all, thought doesn't have any power. If you think it's reality, then it will destroy you. If you fight against a thought thinking it as negative and win against it, then you actually failed because it is just imaginary in first place and you must be mad because that thought is not reality. You created it in the first place and that has become so big a ghost for you that now you want to fight against what you have created. If you create something in your mind then you must be able to roll it up also. All these uncontrollable thoughts are only due to the reason that the soul is identified with something which it's actually not and these thoughts will not stop by chanting any God's name until you consciously come out of that wrong identity. Only negative thing about it is that this uncontrollable thinking is happening unconsciously. Healthy process of thinking should be conscious”.

Is this true Swami? Is there no negative thought at all? Should one not try to stop the troubling uncontrollable thoughts? Are these kind of mental irritation only imagination of that soul? Or is it a type of return of the soul's bad karma? What is the best way to come out of this unconsciously happening uncontrollable thoughts? -At Your Divine Lotus Feet, Bhanu Samykya.]

Swami replied:- Already there is a classification of thoughts as positive and negative. Positive thoughts are always encouraging and negative thoughts are always discouraging. If thought is merely a thought, why these thoughts lead some human beings to become mentally derailed and be admitted in mental hospitals? The harm done by negative thoughts is clearly felt with practical proof. Thought is simply a thought; it should not make people to become mad and get admitted in hospitals for treatment even using powerful electric shocks to the brain. If thought is nothing, all these practical effects should not have been seen by us with our naked eyes. You are always pondering around a central point, which is that thought is not a reality. What you think is totally wrong because thought is subtle and not gross because it is not matter. Electromagnetic radiations are also very subtle in nature and by this, can you conclude that the electromagnetic radiations are not reality? You are mistaking subtle energy as non-reality. A subtle radiation can cause wonderful materialized effects. Hence, you are mistaken in the fundamental level itself.

Thoughts are generated in an uncontrollable way and this is the problem of the mental patient. You are bombarding the generator of such uncontrollable thoughts, which is completely meaningless. This problem is generated by many human beings without control and such generation can’t be blamed by you because such generation is due to the lack of control of the mind. In such a case, you must suggest some external possibility of help, which alone is the proper medicine. Scolding the human being for the generation of uncontrollable thoughts and suggesting such victim to control the thoughts is not directed towards the solution of the problem. Due to winter, a person got Asthma and you are scolding that person to control the winter! The uncontrolled thoughts are like that uncontrollable winter. Your suggestion may be helpful in the earliest stage so that the person will be careful about the uncontrolled thoughts in the beginning itself. Now the stage has crossed prevention and entered the stage of curing. Your solution for prevention does not work for the situation of cure.

You are advising that the affected victim shall come out of the disease, which has grown up to an uncontrolled state. In this situation, the only path is to surrender to God for help and such unimaginable power alone can solve the problem. What is really needed here as the proper medicine, you are rejecting it foolishly by mentioning it! A person was exposed to severe winter and got the problem of flu and cough. You must give a medicine that cures the disease first and then advise him not to get exposed to the cold atmosphere. Your suggestion will certainly help the person in the future. Now, the medicine must be given for the already attacked disease. Prayer to God will certainly help the mental problems. You are speaking about conscious thinking and I don’t follow the difference between conscious thinking and unconscious thinking. Consciousness itself is the process of thinking and the same is called as awareness. This suggestion will certainly bring lot of confusion and a fresh psychological problem will start in addition to the old psychological problem. Hence, the entire analysis proceeded in wrong track from the beginning itself! These uncontrollable thoughts leading to psychological problems are only due to the bad fruits of sins of the soul. The effect of the punishment is inevitable because even if the person tries his best, the bad fruit is inevitable against any effort of any soul. Only by God, such inevitable effects can be temporarily postponed to a later date or to a later birth, if God is pleased with your prayers.