We all know anger causes a lot of harm. It can prevent us from understanding the reality of a situation, ruin the health of a persistently angry person, and cause hurt to others. And yet it does come up in many of us from time to time. Why is this?
I think it is often connected with feeling unloved, and isolated. Anger forcefully draws attention to the self, allowing our presence to be felt. It enables us to be ‘seen’. But to try to be seen is to miss the point.
Anger usually ends up making us feel even more isolated. When we get angry because of feeling disrespected or marginalized, it is not other people or circumstances that are causing those feelings. It is the sensitivity and emptiness within that is at the root of the problem.
Recently I sat down and had the following little chat with anger.
Me: What do you have to say about this, my old companion?
Anger: I know I make matters worse, because I come by taking hold of the reins of your mind, and that makes you still more lacking in self-respect. One reason why you find me attractive is that I ‘blind’ you temporarily, and that fools you into briefly forgetting the pain of inadequacy. But then the feeling bounces back, and you feel even more inadequate.
Me: Thank you. That is very clear. The tendency is there. The way to say goodbye to it is to remove the ‘need’ for you. That means staying in my own self-respect, as an eternal soul whose deepest nature is like that of the Supreme Mother and Father. However, it does not feel that simple in practice.
Anger: I have been around for a long time. Any time you become frustrated or hurt, I am liable to reappear, like a genie summoned by its master. You have to be very attentive to keeping your thoughts positive. A lot of understanding is required for that.
Me: What kind of understanding?
Anger: You need to know that although there is a lot of negativity in today’s world, it was not always like that, and it will not always be like that in the future. Time runs cyclically. There was a time when human beings were so full of truth, I did not exist at all. That same era lies ahead, but to get us back to it, the Supreme Being urges us to remember Him at every possible moment. I too will be happy if you do that, because I can see that you have had enough of me – and in any case, I am tired of being used by you to cover up your inadequacies. Fill yourself with the light of truth that is originally yours, and I will become totally redundant!
Neville Hodgkinson is a UK-based author and journalist, and a long-time student of Rajyoga.