Anger resides in the Linga Sarira (astral body), but it percolates into the physical body just as water percolates through the pores to the outer surface of an earthen pot. Just as heat melts lead, just as heat and borax melt gold, so also Kama and Krodha—the heating factors of the mind—melt the mind.
Passion (Kaama) is the root and anger the stem. Too much loss of semen is the chief cause of irritability and anger. Passion is the root and anger the stem. You will have to destroy the root (passion) first, then the stem (anger) will die by itself. A passionate man is more angry. A Brahmachari who has preserved his Veerya (semen) always keeps a balanced mind. He has a cool brain at all times.
Anger gains strength by repetition. If it is checked then and there, man gains immense strength of will. When anger is controlled, it becomes transmuted into spiritual energy that can move the three worlds. Just as heat or light is changed into electricity, so also anger becomes changed into Ojas (see Ojas : http://spiritualsanatan.blogspot.com/2013/08/ojas.html . Energy takes another form. Energy is wasted enormously when one gets angry. The whole nervous system is shattered by an outburst of anger. The eyes become red, the body quivers, the legs and hands tremble. No one can check an angry man. He gets enormous strength for the time being and gets a collapse after sometime on account of reaction.
The root cause of anger is ignorance and egoism. Through Vichara (right enquiry), egoism should be removed. Then alone can one control his anger completely. Through development of the opposite virtues such as Kshama, love, Santi, Karuna, friendship, etc., anger can be controlled to an enormous degree. The force can be reduced. Atma-jnana alone can fry all Samskaras of anger and eradicate it.
An aspirant should direct all his attention towards the conquest of this powerful enemy. Sattvic food, Japa, regular meditation, prayer, Satsanga, service, Vichara, Kirtan, practice of Pranayama and Brahmacharya—all are some of the most potent factors that pave a long way in eradicating this dire malady. A combined method should be adopted in its eradication. Smoking, meat-eating and drinking of liquors make men very irritable. Therefore, these should be completely abandoned. Be careful in the choice of your company. Give up the companionship of evil characters. Talk little. Mix little. Plunge yourself into the spiritual Sadhana. Develop Kshama (forgiveness), Visva Prema (cosmic love), Karunya (mercy) and Nirabhimanata (absence of egoism).
If an aspirant has controlled anger, half of his Sadhana is over. Control of anger means control of lust also. Control of anger is really control of mind. He who has controlled anger cannot do any wrong or evil action. He is always just.
If a man wants to correct another man and manifests slight anger unselfishly, as a force to check and improve him, then it is called “righteous indignation” or “spiritual anger.” Suppose a man molests a woman and tries to outrage her modesty and a bystander becomes angry with the criminal, it is called “righteous indignation” or “noble rage.” This is not bad. Only when the anger is the outcome of greed, of selfish motives, it is bad. Sometimes a religious teacher has to manifest a little anger outwardly to correct his disciples. This is not bad. He has to do it. But he should be cool within and hot and impetuous without. He should not allow the anger to take deep root in his Antahkarana for a long time.It should pass off the next moment even as a wave subsides in the sea. If a man becomes irritable for trifling things very often, it is a definite sign of mental weakness.
Anger influenced even Hanuman the mightiest Brahmachari to burn Lanka. He lost his understanding and then repented “Alas! I have burnt the whole of Lanka under the influence of anger. This fire might have burnt Mother Sita also. What shall I do now? How can I return without Janaki Devi? I became a victim to anger. How powerful is anger? I am a powerful Brahmachari. I have destroyed passion to its very root and branch and yet I have not controlled anger. How powerful it is! It is more powerful than passion.”
Instances are recorded wherein women have killed their children by nursing them with breast-milk when they were in a fit of anger. Various poisons are thrown into the blood when one is angry.
Manyu Sukta (Rig Ved 10.83-84) :
Manyu Sukta from Rig Ved 10.83-84 is dedicated to Manyu. This suktham is believed to help in the control of anger and lust. A regular recitation with the appropriate chandas will help a lot to control anger and lust. This sukta refines the nuetral energy of anger within ourselves and paves way for subtle dharmic valour and prevents from "sinning" with anger.The original purpose was to decimate the internal foes {Shadripus- Kama(Lust) , Krodha (anger) , Lobha (Greed), Moha (Attachment of a negative kind) ,Mada (Arrogance-to be differentiated from ego) and Maatsarya (Jealousy)}.Thus Manyu suktham aids in the journey towards self-knowledge (see Manyu Sukta : http://spiritualsanatan.blogspot.com/2013/03/holy-vedas-know-about-verses-about.html)
" O Indra, kill the delusion (owl); kill the anger (wolf), kill the jealousy (dog), kill the lust (chakravaka), kill the arrogance (eagle), kill the greed (vulture). "
............ Atharva Ved 8.4.22
1. As the bowstring from the bow, thus do I take off thy anger from thy heart, so that, having become of the same mind, we shall associate like friends!
2. Like friends we shall associate-I take off thy anger. Under a stone that is heavy do we cast thy anger.
3. I step upon thy anger with my heel and my fore-foot, so that, bereft of will, thou shalt not speak, shalt come up to my wish!
............. Atharva Ved 6.42
1. This darbha-grass removes the anger of both kinsman and of stranger. And this remover of wrath, 'appeaser of wrath' it is called.
2. This darbha-grass of many roots, that reaches down into the ocean, having risen from the earth, 'appeaser of wrath' it is called.
3. Away we take the offensiveness that is in thy jaw, away (the offensiveness) in thy mouth, so that, bereft of will, thou shalt not speak, shalt come up to my wish!
............... Atharva Ved 6.43
Bhagavad Gita On Anger :
"tri-vidham narakasyedam
dvaram nasanam atmanah
kamah krodhas tatha lobhas
tasmad etat trayam tyajet" (Gita: Chapter Sixteen verse 21)
"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, There are three gates leading to the hell — Lust, Anger and Greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the Soul."
"dhyayato visayan pumsah
sangas tesupajayate
sangat sanjayate kamah
kamat krodho ’bhijayate" (Gita : Chapter Two verse 62)
"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, One develops attachment for the sense objects by thinking about the sense objects. Desire for sense objects comes from attachment to them, and anger comes from unfulfilled desires."
"krodhad bhavati sammohah
sammohat smriti-vibhramah
smriti-bhramsad buddhi-naso
buddhi-nasat pranasyati" (Gita: Chapter Two verse 63)
"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Delusion or wild idea arises from anger. The mind is bewildered by delusion. Reasoning is destroyed when the mind is bewildered. One falls down from the right path when reasoning is destroyed."
"kama-krodha-vimuktanam
yatinam yata-cetasam
abhito brahma-nirvanam
vartate viditatmanam" (Gita: Chapter Five verse 26)
"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Those who are free from anger and all material desires, who are self-realized, self-disciplined and constantly endeavoring for perfection, are assured of liberation in the God in the very near future."
"dambho darpo ’bhimanas cha
krodhah parusyam eva cha
ajnanam chabhijatasya
partha sampadam asurim" (Gita: Chapter Sixteen verse 4)
"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Pride, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness and ignorance—these qualities belong to those people who are of demoniac nature."
As per the Gita, when anger is aroused in a person, it deprives him of his power of discrimination. He is unable to weigh the pros and cons of a question or a situation.He will not heed the consequences of whatever he does in a fit of rage. Such is the nature of the delusion caused by anger. When this delusion grows, man forgets in what relationship he stands with those around him, what he should do and what he should not, how he had planned to do a thing, and what he is actually doing. He is thus unable to carry out his predetermined plans as his memory of the past is torn asunder. When the mind is clouded, man loses his reasoning abilities and he can exhibit acrimony, harshness, violence, vindictiveness and stupidity. All these expressions of emotion could result in very expensive consequences and leave the person regretful later on.
Swami Vivekananda says :
“When I am angry, my whole mind becomes a huge wave of anger. I feel it, see it, handle it, can easily manipulate it, can fight with it; but I shall not succeed perfectly in the fight until I can get down below to its causes.
A man says something very harsh to me, and I begin to feel that I am getting heated, and he goes on till I am perfectly angry and forget myself, identify myself with anger. When he first began to abuse me, I thought, “I am going to be angry”. Anger was one thing, and I was another; but when I became angry, I was anger.
These feelings have to be controlled in the germ, the root, in their fine forms, before even we have become conscious that they are acting on us. With the vast majority of mankind the fine states of these passions are not even known – the states in which they emerge from sub consciousness.
When a bubble is rising from the bottom of the lake, we do not see it, nor even when it has nearly come to the surface; it is only when it bursts and makes a ripple that we know it is there. We shall only be successful in grappling with the waves when we can get hold of them in their fine causes, and until you can get hold of them, and subdue them before they become gross, there is no hope of conquering any passion perfectly.
When we let loose our feelings, we waste so much energy, shatter our nerves, disturb our minds, and accomplish very little work. The energy which ought to have gone out as work is spent as mere feeling, which counts for nothing. It is only when the mind is very calm and collected that the whole of its energy is spent in doing good work.
And if you read the lives of the great workers which the world has produced, you will find that they were wonderfully calm men. Nothing, as it were, could throw them off their balance. That is why the man who becomes angry never does a great amount of work, and the man whom nothing can make angry accomplishes so much. The man who gives way to anger, or hatred, or any other passion, cannot work; he only breaks himself to pieces, and does nothing practical. It is the calm, forgiving, equable, well-balanced mind that does the greatest amount of work. ”
................ Swami Vivekananda
Some Suggestions To Control Anger :
Be alert. Remember your Ishta Devata when you get angry. Do more Japa. Practise Vichara. Keep a watch over your mind. Be silent. Do not talk much and try to observe Mouna daily for an hour. Observe Brahmacharya. Remember the Gita Slokas describing anger as monster and gate to hell. (Ch. III-37 and Ch. XVI-21). Consider everything as God's will. If you find it difficult to control anger, leave the place at once. Take a long walk. Drink cold water.
Food has a great deal to do with irritability. Take milk, fruits, Moong-ki-dall, curd, spinach, barley, groundnuts, butter milk. Do not take onion, garlic, cauliflower, Massoor-ki-dall and drumstick.
Prana entwines the mind like a creeper. Pranayama leads to the control of mind. Pranayama will put a break on the impulse of speech. It will give you abundant energy to check anger.
A Vedantin denies the body and mind as illusory sheaths. He does Vichara, enquires, ‘who am I’ and practises ‘Neti-neti’ ‘not this, not this’. ‘I am not body’. ‘I am not mind’. ‘Chidanandarupah Sivoham’. ‘I am blissful Siva or Atman.’ He identifies himself with Brahman or Atman, the Eternal. The world is unreal for him. He chants OM, sings OM and does Japa of OM and meditates on OM and derives soul-power and spiritual strength.
"Om Shanti Shanti Shanti"
Passion (Kaama) is the root and anger the stem. Too much loss of semen is the chief cause of irritability and anger. Passion is the root and anger the stem. You will have to destroy the root (passion) first, then the stem (anger) will die by itself. A passionate man is more angry. A Brahmachari who has preserved his Veerya (semen) always keeps a balanced mind. He has a cool brain at all times.
Anger gains strength by repetition. If it is checked then and there, man gains immense strength of will. When anger is controlled, it becomes transmuted into spiritual energy that can move the three worlds. Just as heat or light is changed into electricity, so also anger becomes changed into Ojas (see Ojas : http://spiritualsanatan.blogspot.com/2013/08/ojas.html . Energy takes another form. Energy is wasted enormously when one gets angry. The whole nervous system is shattered by an outburst of anger. The eyes become red, the body quivers, the legs and hands tremble. No one can check an angry man. He gets enormous strength for the time being and gets a collapse after sometime on account of reaction.
The root cause of anger is ignorance and egoism. Through Vichara (right enquiry), egoism should be removed. Then alone can one control his anger completely. Through development of the opposite virtues such as Kshama, love, Santi, Karuna, friendship, etc., anger can be controlled to an enormous degree. The force can be reduced. Atma-jnana alone can fry all Samskaras of anger and eradicate it.
An aspirant should direct all his attention towards the conquest of this powerful enemy. Sattvic food, Japa, regular meditation, prayer, Satsanga, service, Vichara, Kirtan, practice of Pranayama and Brahmacharya—all are some of the most potent factors that pave a long way in eradicating this dire malady. A combined method should be adopted in its eradication. Smoking, meat-eating and drinking of liquors make men very irritable. Therefore, these should be completely abandoned. Be careful in the choice of your company. Give up the companionship of evil characters. Talk little. Mix little. Plunge yourself into the spiritual Sadhana. Develop Kshama (forgiveness), Visva Prema (cosmic love), Karunya (mercy) and Nirabhimanata (absence of egoism).
If an aspirant has controlled anger, half of his Sadhana is over. Control of anger means control of lust also. Control of anger is really control of mind. He who has controlled anger cannot do any wrong or evil action. He is always just.
If a man wants to correct another man and manifests slight anger unselfishly, as a force to check and improve him, then it is called “righteous indignation” or “spiritual anger.” Suppose a man molests a woman and tries to outrage her modesty and a bystander becomes angry with the criminal, it is called “righteous indignation” or “noble rage.” This is not bad. Only when the anger is the outcome of greed, of selfish motives, it is bad. Sometimes a religious teacher has to manifest a little anger outwardly to correct his disciples. This is not bad. He has to do it. But he should be cool within and hot and impetuous without. He should not allow the anger to take deep root in his Antahkarana for a long time.It should pass off the next moment even as a wave subsides in the sea. If a man becomes irritable for trifling things very often, it is a definite sign of mental weakness.
Anger influenced even Hanuman the mightiest Brahmachari to burn Lanka. He lost his understanding and then repented “Alas! I have burnt the whole of Lanka under the influence of anger. This fire might have burnt Mother Sita also. What shall I do now? How can I return without Janaki Devi? I became a victim to anger. How powerful is anger? I am a powerful Brahmachari. I have destroyed passion to its very root and branch and yet I have not controlled anger. How powerful it is! It is more powerful than passion.”
Instances are recorded wherein women have killed their children by nursing them with breast-milk when they were in a fit of anger. Various poisons are thrown into the blood when one is angry.
Manyu Sukta (Rig Ved 10.83-84) :
Manyu Sukta from Rig Ved 10.83-84 is dedicated to Manyu. This suktham is believed to help in the control of anger and lust. A regular recitation with the appropriate chandas will help a lot to control anger and lust. This sukta refines the nuetral energy of anger within ourselves and paves way for subtle dharmic valour and prevents from "sinning" with anger.The original purpose was to decimate the internal foes {Shadripus- Kama(Lust) , Krodha (anger) , Lobha (Greed), Moha (Attachment of a negative kind) ,Mada (Arrogance-to be differentiated from ego) and Maatsarya (Jealousy)}.Thus Manyu suktham aids in the journey towards self-knowledge (see Manyu Sukta : http://spiritualsanatan.blogspot.com/2013/03/holy-vedas-know-about-verses-about.html)
" O Indra, kill the delusion (owl); kill the anger (wolf), kill the jealousy (dog), kill the lust (chakravaka), kill the arrogance (eagle), kill the greed (vulture). "
............ Atharva Ved 8.4.22
1. As the bowstring from the bow, thus do I take off thy anger from thy heart, so that, having become of the same mind, we shall associate like friends!
2. Like friends we shall associate-I take off thy anger. Under a stone that is heavy do we cast thy anger.
3. I step upon thy anger with my heel and my fore-foot, so that, bereft of will, thou shalt not speak, shalt come up to my wish!
............. Atharva Ved 6.42
1. This darbha-grass removes the anger of both kinsman and of stranger. And this remover of wrath, 'appeaser of wrath' it is called.
2. This darbha-grass of many roots, that reaches down into the ocean, having risen from the earth, 'appeaser of wrath' it is called.
3. Away we take the offensiveness that is in thy jaw, away (the offensiveness) in thy mouth, so that, bereft of will, thou shalt not speak, shalt come up to my wish!
............... Atharva Ved 6.43
Bhagavad Gita On Anger :
"tri-vidham narakasyedam
dvaram nasanam atmanah
kamah krodhas tatha lobhas
tasmad etat trayam tyajet" (Gita: Chapter Sixteen verse 21)
"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, There are three gates leading to the hell — Lust, Anger and Greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the Soul."
"dhyayato visayan pumsah
sangas tesupajayate
sangat sanjayate kamah
kamat krodho ’bhijayate" (Gita : Chapter Two verse 62)
"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, One develops attachment for the sense objects by thinking about the sense objects. Desire for sense objects comes from attachment to them, and anger comes from unfulfilled desires."
"krodhad bhavati sammohah
sammohat smriti-vibhramah
smriti-bhramsad buddhi-naso
buddhi-nasat pranasyati" (Gita: Chapter Two verse 63)
"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Delusion or wild idea arises from anger. The mind is bewildered by delusion. Reasoning is destroyed when the mind is bewildered. One falls down from the right path when reasoning is destroyed."
"kama-krodha-vimuktanam
yatinam yata-cetasam
abhito brahma-nirvanam
vartate viditatmanam" (Gita: Chapter Five verse 26)
"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Those who are free from anger and all material desires, who are self-realized, self-disciplined and constantly endeavoring for perfection, are assured of liberation in the God in the very near future."
"dambho darpo ’bhimanas cha
krodhah parusyam eva cha
ajnanam chabhijatasya
partha sampadam asurim" (Gita: Chapter Sixteen verse 4)
"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Pride, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness and ignorance—these qualities belong to those people who are of demoniac nature."
As per the Gita, when anger is aroused in a person, it deprives him of his power of discrimination. He is unable to weigh the pros and cons of a question or a situation.He will not heed the consequences of whatever he does in a fit of rage. Such is the nature of the delusion caused by anger. When this delusion grows, man forgets in what relationship he stands with those around him, what he should do and what he should not, how he had planned to do a thing, and what he is actually doing. He is thus unable to carry out his predetermined plans as his memory of the past is torn asunder. When the mind is clouded, man loses his reasoning abilities and he can exhibit acrimony, harshness, violence, vindictiveness and stupidity. All these expressions of emotion could result in very expensive consequences and leave the person regretful later on.
Swami Vivekananda says :
“When I am angry, my whole mind becomes a huge wave of anger. I feel it, see it, handle it, can easily manipulate it, can fight with it; but I shall not succeed perfectly in the fight until I can get down below to its causes.
A man says something very harsh to me, and I begin to feel that I am getting heated, and he goes on till I am perfectly angry and forget myself, identify myself with anger. When he first began to abuse me, I thought, “I am going to be angry”. Anger was one thing, and I was another; but when I became angry, I was anger.
These feelings have to be controlled in the germ, the root, in their fine forms, before even we have become conscious that they are acting on us. With the vast majority of mankind the fine states of these passions are not even known – the states in which they emerge from sub consciousness.
When a bubble is rising from the bottom of the lake, we do not see it, nor even when it has nearly come to the surface; it is only when it bursts and makes a ripple that we know it is there. We shall only be successful in grappling with the waves when we can get hold of them in their fine causes, and until you can get hold of them, and subdue them before they become gross, there is no hope of conquering any passion perfectly.
When we let loose our feelings, we waste so much energy, shatter our nerves, disturb our minds, and accomplish very little work. The energy which ought to have gone out as work is spent as mere feeling, which counts for nothing. It is only when the mind is very calm and collected that the whole of its energy is spent in doing good work.
And if you read the lives of the great workers which the world has produced, you will find that they were wonderfully calm men. Nothing, as it were, could throw them off their balance. That is why the man who becomes angry never does a great amount of work, and the man whom nothing can make angry accomplishes so much. The man who gives way to anger, or hatred, or any other passion, cannot work; he only breaks himself to pieces, and does nothing practical. It is the calm, forgiving, equable, well-balanced mind that does the greatest amount of work. ”
................ Swami Vivekananda
Some Suggestions To Control Anger :
Be alert. Remember your Ishta Devata when you get angry. Do more Japa. Practise Vichara. Keep a watch over your mind. Be silent. Do not talk much and try to observe Mouna daily for an hour. Observe Brahmacharya. Remember the Gita Slokas describing anger as monster and gate to hell. (Ch. III-37 and Ch. XVI-21). Consider everything as God's will. If you find it difficult to control anger, leave the place at once. Take a long walk. Drink cold water.
Food has a great deal to do with irritability. Take milk, fruits, Moong-ki-dall, curd, spinach, barley, groundnuts, butter milk. Do not take onion, garlic, cauliflower, Massoor-ki-dall and drumstick.
Prana entwines the mind like a creeper. Pranayama leads to the control of mind. Pranayama will put a break on the impulse of speech. It will give you abundant energy to check anger.
A Vedantin denies the body and mind as illusory sheaths. He does Vichara, enquires, ‘who am I’ and practises ‘Neti-neti’ ‘not this, not this’. ‘I am not body’. ‘I am not mind’. ‘Chidanandarupah Sivoham’. ‘I am blissful Siva or Atman.’ He identifies himself with Brahman or Atman, the Eternal. The world is unreal for him. He chants OM, sings OM and does Japa of OM and meditates on OM and derives soul-power and spiritual strength.
"Om Shanti Shanti Shanti"
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