What generally happens in life is this: man acknowledges what he should not acknowledge, and he does not acknowledge what he should acknowledge. As a rule it is best never to acknowledge a fact that one does not wish to give life to. For instance, when a person begins to see that his friend is not as kind, not as affectionate as he ought to be as a friend, as soon as he acknowledges it he at once gives substance to something which so far has been only a shadow. A person who feels, "Everyone in my family, in my surroundings, dislikes me, disapproves of me; I have a thing effect upon them", certainly gives life to that fact.

Once a friend came to me and said, "I do not know what bad planet is exerting its influence upon me, but for the last three years everything I touch has gone wrong; nothing that I touch brings success or pleasure." I said, "I am very sorry you have come so late; yet it is not too late; but for three years you have added fuel to this fire." Then he asked, "How did I add fuel to this fire?" I answered, "By acknowledging it."

If we acknowledge every little fact that has a bad effect upon our life, we give it life from our own, and thus make it a living thing. And so it is with many illnesses. Very often people get into the habit of saying, "Oh, I am so tired!" It is not necessary for them to cut wood or carry stones; they will be tired before doing it; no sooner do they think of tiredness than it is there. There are many cases in which there is no need to be tired; one becomes tired only by the fact of having acknowledged it. It is the same with sleeplessness. Once one acknowledges to oneself that one cannot sleep, that is enough to keep one awake all night. There are many illnesses of this kind, and chief among them is depression.

To the one who acknowledges this life to be his friend, life will prove to be his friend; to the one who acknowledges this life to be his enemy, life will prove in every way to be his enemy. There are many who take notice of those who are working against them, and by taking notice they make them do it even more, because they make an impression upon them. One might ask if there does not exist any animosity in people if one does not think about it. It may exist, but by taking notice of it, by acknowledging it, one gives life to it; if one does not acknowledge it, it will die in time. For animosity is a fire, but not a perpetual fire; it is the acknowledging which gives fuel to the fire. If one does not acknowledge it, the fire will be extinguished. Many might say that it is hypocrisy not to acknowledge a fact; but that hypocrisy is better than the truth. In point of fact one would not call it hypocrisy if one knew its meaning, its worth. The doctor who, even when he sees that his patient has a high fever, tells him, "It is all right, it is nothing", is not a hypocrite. By saying that there is a high fever, he will certainly increase the fever of the patient; and many doctors do so. Everything a physician or a religious man does to make a person who is on his deathbed think of death, only encourages him towards death, he is pushing him towards death. One could prove a greater friend to someone who is on his deathbed by not acknowledging his trouble, his difficulty, his coming death. I have known cases in which, as soon as the doctor said that he had given up hope, the whole family began to talk about it to the patient, and his departure was hastened by many months.