Anger is a weakness but people think of it as strength. The person who does not display anger has more inner strength than the one who displays it. One usually becomes angry when things do not go his way, or when the other person does not understand him or when there is a difference of viewpoint. Many a time we become angry when we are accused of being wrong when we think we are right. We think that we are right because of our perception, and the other person thinks that he is right. Often, it is when we have no idea of what to do next, have no foresight or intuition, that we become angry. We become angry when we are insulted, incur a loss, protecting our pride or greed. If one is to become free from pride and greed, one needs to have awareness. What happens if the servant were to break a china tea set? If your son-inlaw were to do the same thing, would you not control your anger? Therefore, it is dependant on circumstances.
Anger can only disappear if one understands that if someone ruins him, that person is merely a nimit (person instrumental in delivering the effects of his past karma) and that what one is experiencing is the result of his past life’s karma. We should be aware whenever and wherever we experience anger. When someone is hurt by our anger, we should repent and ask for their forgiveness and resolve never to get angry again. We must do this because the person we become angry towards will be hurt and will harbor a grudge and bind vengeance against us, so that in our next life we will have to suffer the consequences. When parents become angry with their children and when a guru becomes angry with his disciples, they bind punya (merit karma). This is because their aim is to improve their children and disciples respectively. If one were to do it for selfish reasons then he would bind paap (bad karma). This is the teaching of the Enlightened Ones. Anger, the subject dealt with in this article, is the most troublesome and overt of all inner human weaknesses. It is discussed extensively for clear understanding. It is our sincere hope that the readers will find this helpful in their endeavor to free themselves from the severe grip of anger.
