Honest anger is wonderful

Following is an excerpt from a samvaad (dialogue) session with Acharya Prashant.

Questioner: Sir, how can I stop myself from wanting to smash a car or motorcycle when I am about to smash?

Acharya Prashant: There is no need to stop yourself, you are already stopping yourself. I don’t think so you have ever smashed your bike against any car. So, when you are all ready to stop yourself, why are you asking this question?

Listener: Okay, so how do I be with my anger?

AP: See, that you are just trying to escape away from the real fact of the anger. It is not somebody’s car or bike that you want to smash; it is something else that you want to destroy. What is it that you really want to destroy? What will you get by smashing somebody’s windshield? What will you get by deflating somebody’s tyres? What will you get by fracturing a few bones of your own?

There is something else that you intensely dislike. What is it that you really dislike? Why don’t you face that up? All your attempts, to empty out your violence on miscellaneous objects are just an avoidance of the fact. Why don’t you have the courage to look at the facts squarely? What is it that you really want to break?

And you will find that it is such a holy anger.

Everything about the life is holy if you can look at it directly and really.

You will find that it is nothing but your own incompetence, your own fear, your own littleness that you are so angry with; that you cannot agree with. And when you see that real thing that you want to get rid of, you get rid of that thing. Just see it really. Don’t vent out your anger on proxies. Don’t have cheap substitutes.

Anger is wonderful, but only honest anger is wonderful.

You know the kind of anger that we have? Your boss irritates you, humiliates you, and you vent out your anger on your child. Now this is totally dishonest anger.

Anger is wonderful! We need a lot of angry people. Anger is deeply spiritual, but spirituality demands one basic quality, that quality is faith and honesty. All the Prophets, all the Avatars have been shown to become very angry at some point or other in their Leela. So, anger does have a place in the scheme of things.

Ram was angry, Krishna was angry, even Jesus was angry. They were not always angry. But when anger was needed, they didn’t suppress anger. Just as everything else in life has its place, anger too has its place. Why don’t we be honest about it?

Go to the roots of your anger and you will reach the root of your suffering; the root of your ego. Attack there!

Don’t find helpless targets.

Don’t find cheap substitutes.

Attack the real enemy.

Watch the full video here.

You are welcome to know more about Acharya Prashant and the work of the Foundation. You can also contact the Foundation directly.