In Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna articulates that, there are three
gateways to hell of self-destruction for the soul. These are lust, anger and
greed. Therefore one should abandon these three completely.
- Lust (Desire): If a person is lustful about something then he
deviates from the primary objective of life. He is ready to do anything to
satisfy his lust without thinking about right or wrong.
- Greed: Greed forces man to crave for more and more, and
that drives him towards material pleasures and he is no more into the
spiritual world. Attachment for material pleasures takes a man away from
God.
- Anger: It destroys love and compassion. Anger makes a
man violent. He is not compassionate to others. Angry people are not able
to understand other’s feelings and thoughts. Anger blocks the ability to
love and respect. Also, anger leads to irrational thinking. They are
unable to see the reality as it is.
So, lust, greed and anger actually disturb the balance of mind and
soul. These things block the spiritual path and therefore called the gateways
to hell.
A Basic Human Emotion - Anger
All of us definitely get irritated, annoyed, frustrated and angry
with this person or that person for this reason or that reason. We want things
done in certain way and when they are not done in that way, we get angry. Anger
may be the outcome of frustration, humiliation, jealousy, hurt or sadness,
feeling unable to control a situation, feeling threatened or frightened,
feeling misunderstood or not listened to and so on.
Anger is seen in the way we speak, change in facial expressions,
irritation and a raise in our voice. If we further lose control, we may shout,
slam a door, bang the table or even physically strike somebody. Whatever it is,
the fact remains that all of us do get angry, difference being only in the
intensity and frequency of emotion.
Does Anger Create Problems?
Anger is a normal emotion. However, anger becomes a problem when
it begins to affect a person’s daily life and causes them to react in ways that
might hurt themselves and/or others around them. In general, anger can give
birth to various problems like:
- Physical health: Constantly operating at high levels of stress and anger
can make us more susceptible to heart disease, diabetes, a weakened immune
system, insomnia, and high blood pressure.
- Mental health: Chronic anger consumes huge amounts of mental energy,
and clouds our thinking, making it harder to concentrate or enjoy life. It
can also lead to stress, depression, and other mental health problems.
- Career: Constructive criticism, creative differences, and
heated debate can be healthy. But lashing out only alienates our
colleagues, supervisors, or clients and erodes their respect.
- Relationships: Anger can cause lasting scars in the people we love
most and get in the way of friendships and work relationships. Explosive
anger makes it hard for others to trust us, speak honestly, or feel
comfortable—and is especially damaging to children.
Tips For Managing Our Anger And Deal With Someone Else’s Anger
- Breathe: Anger is often an instant response to a situation. It
can range from mild frustration to an immense temper. But, most of the
time, anger reduces or calms down. So if we find ourselves feeling weighed
down by anger, we should take a few minutes to breathe deeply so as to
calm down.
- Step Away: Words said in anger are rarely well thought out. And we
can’t take them back. If we find ourselves really angry at a
colleague, sometimes it’s better just to admit those feelings. It’s fine
to say, “I just need a few minutes to be alone and get my thoughts
together.”
- Think About It: Very often we are angry about the things we
misunderstood. We may think our friend did something purposely to upset
us, but when we look closer at the situation realize it was unintentional.
Or something that really annoyed us – like brother eating the last of your
favorite chocolate – may seem less important on second thought. So, just
think about it.
- Laughter Therapy: Dr. Asthana (Boman Irani) in the movie ‘Munnabhai
MBBS’, gave a strong message to advocate laughter therapy whenever anger
sets in. It is the practice of reminding oneself of the intrusion of anger
so as not to let it interfere on one’s intellect. The practice of pressing
the panic button is what we have to habituate ourselves with in this fight
with anger.
- Express It (The Right
Way): Sometimes we get angry because
the same things keep happening over and over – our partner interrupts us,
or a colleague keeps making mistakes. Addressing these problems in a
moment of anger can make things worse. But it is important to bring it up
in the right way because the other person(s) involved may not realize they
are making you angry. We can express our feelings in healthy ways to
resolve conflict in a positive way considering the following
aspects-
- Make the relationship your
priority. Respect the other person and their viewpoint.
- Focus on the present. Rather
than looking to the past and assigning blame, focus on what we can do in
the present to solve the problem.
- Be willing to forgive.
Resolving conflict is impossible if we’re unwilling or unable to forgive.
Anger is like a poison. Would we want to drown in it?
Offcourse, No. We should try to cultivate an attitude of calmness
at all times. Taking care of our overall mental and physical well being can
help us ease tension and diffuse anger problems.
- Manage stress: We can try practicing relaxation
techniques such as mindfulness meditation, progressive muscle
relaxation, or deep breathing.
- Talk to someone we trust: Nothing eases stress more effectively than
chatting face-to-face with a friend or loved one. The person doesn’t have
to provide answer; they just need to be a good listener
- Get enough sleep: We can try to get seven to nine hours
of good quality sleep.
- Exercise regularly: It’s an effective way to ease stress, feel
relaxed and positive throughout the day.