Anger is the fire of the mind. As it burns, it burns up the others as well.

Why do we get angry?

One reason is the desire for revenge. This is born out of hatred for a rival. If things don’t turn out according to your wishes, you get angry. It can be born out of your own weakness. You get angry because you are unable to fight. May be someone has insulted you or laughs at you. You get angry. Once a person gets angry, he shows it in some form or the other. You might heap insults on someone or you might even beat up someone.

From suicide to murder, any of these things is possible in a fit of anger.  The tragedy is that nobody gains anything by losing one’s temper. Yet it has been seen that whole families have been wiped out due to anger. Father kills son, son murders father, and so on.

Anger is the root of sin. It happens all the time in all sorts of situations. Even a group of tiny children can be seen fighting with each other because they have lost their tempers. Families fight. Friends become enemies and nations go to war with one another. The mother who holds her child close to her breast does not think twice about beating the child once she is angry. Anger can make a person do anything. This is why it is said to be the root of sin.

Still there has to be an end to anger. When the fires of anger have been put out, a feeling of repentance takes over. Sometimes we are proud to admit our anger, so we do not show that we are sorry.  But the foolishness of anger is always followed by repentance. There is a Sanskrit saying that says:  “A good man’s anger lasts a moment, an ordinary man’s anger lasts two hours, but lowly man’s anger for a day or night, a sinner stays angry till he dies.”

Anger only reveals our own animal nature. Instead of understanding the problem or another person’s mistake, we display our own crudeness.

An incompetent person gets angry.

A person who is not able to convince others gets angry.

A person who is unable to influence others gets angry.

Have you ever seen a wise man lose his temper? He knows how useless it is. He knows how fearsome the fire of anger can be.  Maharishi Parasher has said that only the foolish get angry, not the wise.

Yes, anger is the weapon of the weak. The strong and the brave do not use it. When a person is not what you want him or her to be, you get angry. But think for a moment. Are you the way someone wants you to be?  Or are you made the way you have become yourself? When you cannot be like someone else, how can you expect someone else to be like you? What right have you, to get angry?

Man’s greatest enemy is anger. And if you can overcome anger, it will be considered your greatest victory. You become blind with anger. You lose all sense of right and wrong, fair and unfair. In a fit of anger, you can do anything. Later, you realize how foolish you have been. Sometimes you have to pay a heavy price for this foolishness. Gautam Buddha said, “Just as you cannot see your reflection in boiling water, an angry man does not know what is good for him.”

What is the remedy for anger? One suggestion is that the moment you get angry, you should start counting backwards. Once sometimes elapses, anger also can be brought under control. When you put out a fire with water, there is a lot of smoke. For a while you cannot see. So it also with anger. If some time is allowed to pass, anger can be controlled. The real hero, therefore, is one who conquers anger.

Beware of anger. Only saints never get angry. It is quite human to get angry, but you must know how to control it. If you let your temper take control of your life, you will become like rakshasa.