Is there any use of anger at all?
Anger is not just destructive. Anger is nature’s way of endowing us with energy. It depends on man as to how he uses this energy. Fire is energy. It can be used for cooking food and also for burning down homes. When homes burn, then we say fire is bad. Actually, it was the use of fire that was wrong and not the fire itself.In the same way, energy is neither good nor bad; it just depends on how we use it.
If energy gets directed towards love, then it is manifested as love. If it is directed towards anger, then it is manifested as anger.
The revlutionary way to be rid of angerThe revolutionary way to be rid of anger is simple – use your anger. Transform the destructive anger into constructive anger. If you learn to make constructive use of this energy, then you can be successful in getting constructive results even from anger. You will have to learn this art. Even in an extremely bad person, there are some good qualities. If you focus on those good qualities, then that person does not remain bad for us. Similarly, even with anger the doors of Truth can be opened.
If anger arises and sets us on the path of seeking the Truth or if anger arises and we start investigating, then this is investigative anger. A person is distressed by heat. He gets very angry and sets out to find such a thing which will end his distress. He then invents a fan. This is constructive use of anger. It is a misconception that anger is wrong. But the destructive use of anger is bad. Only destructive anger has negative outcome. History is proof that when there has been investigative anger, the outcomes have also been positive. Wherever the rulers of a nation or kingdom have exploited their subjects, those subjects have revolted in anger, creating a revolution. If there had been no anger in freedom fighters of colonized countries, perhaps their freedom would not have been possible. The anger aroused from patriotism was ‘investigative anger’ which some people expressed as violence, while some as non-violence. Violence and non-violence seem to be different but are the outcome of the same energy.
Science has done tremendous research in the field of energy and all the discoveries have been the result of investigative anger. Actually in order to understand investigative anger, we need an experimentative intellect and an open mind. We have been conditioned that anger has to be suppressed. Society has taught us to hold anger, suppress anger. But, understand that if you suppress anger within you, its results will be horrendous. Actually, people should be taught how to transform anger, how to create something from anger, how to benefit from investigative anger.
Due to anger, energy is produced in the body. The whole body vibrates with energy. That energy is not negative. Then as soon as the vibration created due to anger ceases, the person feels powerless. During the moment of anger, instead of acting against someone, engage yourself in some constructive work. Then you have learned to transmute and transcend anger.
How to transform destructive anger into constructive or investigative anger?There is an instance in Saint Kabir’s life where once he was appointed as a judge in a village. One day there was a theft in a wealthy person’s house in that village. The thief was caught and brought before Kabir. When Kabir asked the thief why had he committed the theft, the thief answered that his mother was very sick and he did not have money for the medicine. He was helpless and that is why he had to steal. The thief was now supposed to be punished. But Kabir ordered punishment for three people. He ordered one day of imprisonment for the thief. Secondly, he ordered two days of imprisonment for the wealthy man since he had accumulated more wealth than required. Thirdly, Kabir punished himself with three days of imprisonment because in his village there was someone in such a pitiable condition and he did not even know it.
We have understood so far that anger is a manifestation of energy. When energy gets accumulated, then it needs a vent to come out. Whenever energy gets an opportunity, it takes a specific form and manifests itself. If water is poured into a glass, it takes the form of the glass. When poured in a pot, it takes the form of the pot. In the same way, energy is also manifesting itself in different forms – sometimes in the form of anger and sometimes in the form of love. So is anger a strength or a weakness? If we think beyond the polarities of good or bad, strength or weakness, a new understanding will dawn upon us. The understanding that anger is neither good nor bad. ‘When you are using anger, it is strength and when anger is using you, it is weakness’. This means that when anger is being used, as per the need of the situation with full awareness, then it is strength. But if you are getting angry just because the other person is also angry, then it is weakness. Reaction is weakness. Response is strength. When you are reacting to the situation without any awareness, it is a weakness, a folly. Responding with awareness as the situation demands is harnessing the strength of anger.
The most powerful form of revolutionary anger : Investigative AngerA truth seeker’s anger is the most powerful of all. It arises out of the question:“How much longer can I live in ignorance? Till when shall I burn in the fire of hatred and malice?” Because of these questions, his search begins. This is the use of investigative anger; even self- realization is possible. In the Buddha’s life, the search for Truth had begun in this way.
When he saw an old person and a sick person, he asked his charioteer,“Am I going to be old too? Am I going to be sick too?” When he saw a funeral, he asked, “Am I going to die too? If I am going to die tomorrow, then today itself I have died.” As a result, he left his home and family and set out in the search for Truth.
Anger of the BuddhaThere is one more misconception in people’s mind that a selfrealized person does not get angry. Once it so happened that two of the Buddha's disciples were sitting and discussing about each other’s begging bowls. They were discussing whose bowl was more beautiful.The Buddha heard their conversation and shouted at them, “You have come here after renouncing your home and family and everything else. But, even after coming here if you are doing the same thing that you used to, then what is the use of all this? Even today you are seeing beauty in external objects. If you want to find beauty, then search for it inside yourself.”
The wise don’t get angry. They create anger for the benefit of others. They create it with full awareness.