“I am a yoga teacher. I do my sadhana regularly. I read knowledge and also do seva. I keep myself very busy. But still I have anger within me, and often end up in arguments. It is frustrating. I really can’t understand how much more I should do to be silent within. Please guide me how can I not get carried away by anger.”
Many holy books of yoga mention six passions or enemies of mind:
Kama – Desires
Krodha – Anger
Lobha– Greed
Moha– Attachment
Mada – Ego
Matsarya -Jealousy
Together they are called Arishadvarga.
All six passions are very strong individually, and extremely powerful collectively. They are interconnected and interrelated. One leads to another. They are strong because over a period of many life times they have deep-rooted themselves into your inner-being. In each life you accumulate more, and make them even stronger.
They are born out of avidya (ignorance), and are the root cause of unhappiness. Though in may books they are referred to as ‘enemies’, but I see them as challenges, not enemies.
Just as, the only way to remove darkness is to shine some light there, the only way to overcome Arishadvarga, which arise out of ignorance, is through the proper understanding and practice of jnana yoga, the path of knowledge.
Krodha (anger), like fire, can be both dangerous, and useful if used skillfully. In most instances, because people lack skills, anger is dangerous. In anger you hurt yourself first,
and then the others. In anger you loose your centeredness and clarity of mind. Anger destroys relationships. Excessive anger can damage your nadis, the energy channels, and severely affect your physical and mental well-being. According to Bhagvad Gita (2-63), anger eventually leads to your spiritual destruction.
In my next post I will talk more about krodha and also give you a simple practice which has helped me.
In the mean time do this:
Laugh twice daily, for minimum 3 minutes continuously, once in the morning to welcome the day that lies ahead, and once in the evening to say goodbye to all that happened during the day. Laugh from the heart but loud, and let your body move with the laughter. Sometimes , when things don’t seem right, it is difficult to laugh, but still laugh. It may give you the needed strength to deal with difficult situations.
