Anger Management in Bhagavad Gita

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Vijay Singal

Anger, undoubtedly, is one of the major reasons of  human suffering. When one loses his
temper, he loses his reasoning too ; and ends up doing things which he repents later.
Such an irrational behaviour creates problems not only for the person concerned but also
for others around him. Those under the control of anger have been proclaimed by
Bhagavad Gita to be of demoniac nature, and the ones free from anger are stated to be of
divine nature. Sri Krishna has, in fact, declared anger to be one of the three gates of hell.

‘There are three gateways leading to hell - lust, anger and greed. One must give these up,
for they lead to the degradation of the soul’ (shloka 16.21).

Sri Krishna, in His dialogue with Arjuna, has analysed the working of anger. When asked
as to what impels the man to commit sin, as if by force, even against his own will ;
Krishna replied that the root cause of the problem was lust (excessive desire), which
when unsatisfied, emerged as anger. It is the all-devouring and most sinful enemy of
mankind (shlokas 3.36 and 3.37). Lust has been called a constant enemy of the wise,
because like fire, it has an insatiable appetite (shloka 3.39). It cannot be satisfied for
long. It envelops wisdom, and gives rise to frustration and anger. This concept has
further been elaborated in shloka 2.62 wherein it has been stated that thinking about
sense objects produces attachment towards them. Attachment breeds desire, and non-
fulfilment of desire leads to anger.

The consequences of falling prey to anger have also been examined. It has been stated in
shloka 2.63 that anger breeds delusion (an unreasonably inflated view of oneself) which
leads to loss of memory and, in turn, decline in intelligence. From the destruction of
intelligence, one perishes. It has further been stated in shloka 2.56 that only the one who
is free from anger becomes fit to be called a man of steady intelligence.

The causes and effects of anger have thus clearly been spelled out. When one comes in
contact with any object (which one sees, hears or tastes etc.), one develops an
attachment (a like or dislike) for it. From such like or dislike develops a desire to possess
or to get rid of that object. Non-fulfilment of desire breeds anger. Anger leads to clouding
of judgement, and impairment of judgement results in bewilderment of memory ( one
forgets as to what is right and what is wrong). When the memory is bewildered,
intelligence (the wisdom) is lost. Instead of using his discrimination diligently, one flows
with the stream of emotions. As a result, one falls into degradation. He is ultimately
ruined.

One of the essential conditions for getting spiritual wisdom has been declared to be
freedom from anger (shloka 4.10). Sri Krishna has further stated that only he who has
become capable of withstanding the urges of lust and anger is a happy man (shloka

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 5.23).

Not only the causes and effects, Bhagavad Gita has also discussed the ways of conquering
the anger. Instead of dealing only with the symptoms, it has stressed upon curbing the
root cause of anger, which is stated to be the lust. Anger arises out of lust and constrains
man to indulge in evil deeds. Anger can thus be controlled by shunning lust. But, it is
easier said than done. One has to understand how the lust arises.  And how can it be
reined in.

An attachment arises when the senses come in contact with their respective objects (such
as different people, money or positions of power etc.). Every sense impels one to have
likes and dislikes for the objects of that sense. It has been advised that one should not be
the slave of likes and dislikes because both of them hinder spiritual growth (shloka 3.34).
A self-disciplined person, who even while experiencing sense-objects keeps senses under
control by shunning likes and dislikes, he can attain the purity of spirit (shloka 2.64). In
other words, by moderating one’s likes and dislikes ; one can bring his desires and anger
etc. under control.

It has further been urged that one should curb the sinful lust, which is the destroyer of
wisdom and knowledge, by controlling the senses, from the very beginning (shloka 3.41).
In other words, rather than suppressing it after it emerges, one should try to stop anger
from arising in the first place.

Sri Krishna has time and again highlighted the importance of the equanimity of mind.
Anger can never overpower the one who remains equipoised in success and failure, loss
and gain etc. Such an equanimous person focuses on his job at hand, and is not worried
about the results. He is not troubled by selfish desires, unreasonable expectations and
outbursts of anger.

To conclude, unless one brings his likes and dislikes under control, it is not possible to
conquer anger, which is nothing else but a manifestation of the unfulfilled desires. A
slave of his likes and dislikes is a slave of his emotions. The real freedom lies in not
getting overly attached to or woefully bound by any object, activity or situation.

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