Spiritual Advice on Anger

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I am looking to work out some anger related issues , so I was thinking if there is a clear cut way to decrease anger and build confidence simultaneously through chanting. The philosophy of Hare Krsna is all good and well, but in an effort to make one humble, I think it is too hard on self esteem and destroys all confidence. If this is not the outcome that one should expect from chanting, please tell me how to chant then.

Yours Truly,

-Sam.

[Guest guest]

Forget the Fiyeh

 

c. 1995 mahaksadasa

 

Words are hurled like rocks on a lake, agitate the waters for awhile

I take what I said back for now, but the waves bounce around for miles

I should only do what Jahmon say, and go about business, turn other cheek

Don't lose real treasure and break my heart by all worldly things I seek

 

To forget the fiyeh, it burns me

Let it all fade to history

 

Barking dogs defend the land, angrily showing their teeth

Do I join their kind today, all this anger burning beneath

Or should I do what Jahman say, and always tolerate

All these waves of illusion crashing down, and forget the fiyeh of hate

 

To forget the fiyeh, it burns me

Let it all fade to history

 

Trouble all around me crumbling down, but why should I think Im alone

The culprits surely pay for their crimes, someday we all must atone

I should just follow what Jahmon say, forgive the demon who will slay me

The theif with my shirt deserves my coat, if I understand this he will save me

 

To forget the fiyeh, it burns me

Let it all fade to history

 

Tresspasser, just go your way, retaliation is not up to me

I forget this fiyeh, it burns me. et it fade into history

I should always do what Jahmon say, no need to worry any more

"Vengeance is Mine" says the Lord, this is what He said it for

 

To forget the fiyeh, it burns me

Let it all fade to history

 

 

 

[Bhakta Don Muntean]

Hi Sam!

 

Do you have an issue with anger or just an issue with 'issues' that make you angry - that is where we should start.

 

The chanting part comes when we call out like the child calling for mother - with full anxiety - if we chant but don't have that sense of hopeless urgency - to get away from the cause of suffering - it isn't the same.

 

Do you know what the Gita says about anger? The causes?

 

BDM

[Guest guest]

Take it from personal experience, detachment does not work. It never shows up when you want it to, but always shows up in the aftermath. Take anger for example, you feel guilty after the yelling and screaming. Take lust, only feels bad after you are done with it. These things seem out of our control sometimes.

 

-Sam

[Guest guest]

Maybe I was being too hard on myself, my problem is that I have issues with issues like you said, maybe I just need to give it a little time and let Krsna take over, Thanks.

-Sam.

[gHari]

Son of Sam,

 

Self esteem? What self? Is it the body personality self falsely engaged in the drama of temporary existence, the dance of the paved cemented plastic playground? Then the source of the problem is THE REAL PROBLEM. We must identify with the eternal self which is full of eternity, knowledge and bliss.

 

To understand anger and its source we must examine carefully the words of Lord Krishna on the battlefield at Kuruksetra. He explains how anger arises, and therefore we can see how to avoid it. The verses around these links reveal the nature of anger and can lead a man to constant happiness:<blockquote>

http://vedabase.net/bg/2/62/en

http://vedabase.net/bg/3/42/en

http://vedabase.net/bg/6/5/en

http://vedabase.net/bg/18/38/en

http://vedabase.net/bg/3/34/en

http://vedabase.net/bg/5/8-9/en

http://vedabase.net/bg/16/21/en

http://vedabase.net/bg/3/39/en

http://vedabase.net/bg/18/51-53/en

</blockquote>

We see that when lust is not satisfied, the result is anger. This devouring lust comes from attachment; and that attachment arises after contemplating the objects of the senses. It is not that we can, in the heat of an anger fit, suddenly become detached (but surely we must try). The detachment must occur at the front of the cycle of senses/attachment/lust/anger.

 

Who am I? This is the key question. If I am an eternal soul, then rarely will I be angry, rarely will I be attached.

 

These are the lessons, and they slowly lead to perfection. Until then we will have to dissect every incident of the burning fiyeh of anger. We will find its source, then deal with our illusion that caused it - the illusion that separates us from the soul, from our eternal bliss, and most importantly, from Sri Krsna.

 

Summary: http://vedabase.net/sb/3/12/11/en

 

gHari

[Guest guest]

I too suffer with anger. If i get cross about something it seems to last forever in my heart. If a devotee is a little insensitive in dealing with me i really find it sooooo hard to forgive and forget. I know i should, yet i tend to remember the bad.

 

My ancestors are all from soldier background on my moms side...they fought in World war 2. Have strong characters. I hope this is not just part of my genes.

 

Has anyone here learnt how to deal with a similar problem and can help?

[gHari]

 

ANGER: teardrops in the ocean of eternity.

 

[Bhakta Don Muntean]

Hare Bolo!

 

Quote:

 

Maybe I was being too hard on myself, my problem is that I have issues with issues like you said, maybe I just need to give it a little time and let Krsna take over...

 

Reply:

 

Yes - I agree...

 

YS,

 

BDM

[Bhakta Don Muntean]

Anger can be placed into ‘standby’ - if we are focusing our thoughts on the teachings of Srila Prabhupada and Lord Krishna – in that way - we are not thinking or ‘contemplating’ about the issues that are making us angry.

 

That is the key - not to ‘over’ contemplate the things that make us upset.

 

Of course reading and remembering scriptures etc., helps in this connection – in fact it is the only measure that shall check it each time.

 

Sort of like stubbing your toe and knowing not to run up the stairs again – when we encounter the stairs and start to desire to run up – the memory kicks in ‘ouch I stubbed my toe that time’ – thus one’s memory checks the propensity to run up the stairs.

 

Just like when someone says some nasty thing to us – we can let the words go into our heart and roll around in there – causing a great mess or – we can recall what the scriptures tell us about situations like that.

 

The trick with anger is to not let thoughts of the ‘cause’ linger in your memory – and chanting and contemplating the scriptures as often as possible is the best route to go. For instance as another example – when you are out walking and say you are about to fall down on ice – it should become reflex that you chant out “Krishna” – if we can train ourselves to call out to Krishna - in times of acute need – then it shall become easier to deal with anger issues too – as when we feel a slip coming – we can call out to Krishna – as a matter of reflex – that gives us a second - to avoid letting the thoughts turn into emotions and later - into words and actions.

 

Over the years I have come to see the scriptures as an owners ‘manual’ for our lives.

 

If we buy state of the art electronics – we get a manual to tell us how to use the functions and there are even troubleshooting sections – hardly anyone would try to use a complicated electronics without ever looking at the manual – especially if a function goes awry - after a while we’ll know that information and it’ll be there in our memory each time we use that equipment – thus there shall tend to be less stress in the use of such ‘complicated’ equipment.

 

Similarly – in our lives – we need to have in our memory the right information that’ll help us to make the right adjustments in complicated situations.

 

YS,

 

BDM

 

[Guest guest]

From the novel, Kipu'Ka (c 1995 mahaksadasa), seen at:

 

http://www.geocities.com/mahaksadasa/k1.html

 

"Anger is like the fiyeh, like the wind. It comes and goes as it pleases, from soul to soul, to see if anyone will invite him to stay. No one is held responsible by the One God for Anger stalking their neighborhoods, ringing their doorbells. In fact, O Jahovia is pleased by His Own when they live freely without fearing this demon. But, to invite him into your house will surely burn it down and blow it's contents to all corners of the world. Anger, when turned away as you have always done, comes by less frequently. You say you are sorry, I say you are most fortunate to have so little of his attention."