Be Angry and Sin Not

Its not Saturday, nor I am free, but I took out some time to write this post on the emotion which I thought should be given some credit, as we in our daily life experience it lots of times. I thought I should do some research on this very important, yet hated emotion.

So, you have lots of emotions. At different times, you may be happy, sad, or jealous. Anger is just another way we feel. It's perfectly OK to be angry at times — in fact, it's important to get angry sometimes. But anger must be released in the right way. Otherwise you'll be like a pot of boiling water with the lid left on. If the steam doesn't escape, the water will finally boil over and blow its top! When that happens to you, it's no fun for anyone.

"Be ye angry, and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the devil" (Ephesians 4:26, 27).

It's okay to get angry at times, but don't act upon it. Eph 4:29 says don't let corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth. Meaning if one gets angry keep it to yourself.

I think even god gets angry sometimes. Many religious or other guides to behavior discuss anger in some way.

* The Bible warns "do not let the sun go down on your anger"; that is, do not let feelings of anger last so long as to become sinful, but rather, deal with them before they reach that point. There is, however, what is commonly referred to as "righteous anger", as demonstrated by Jesus when he made a whip and cleared out the merchants in the Temple. In Romans 1:18, the sin of man also provokes the wrath of God, who not only punishes sinners, but also provides a way for them to appease His Wrath.
* In Islam, anger is seen as a sign of weakness. Muhammad said, "The strong is not the one who overcomes the people by his strength, But the strong is the one who controls himself while in anger." and "The best of you are those who are slow to anger and swift to cool down... Beware of anger, for it is a live coal on the heart of the descendants of Adam."
* Anger in Buddhism is defined here as: "being unable to bear the object, or the intention to cause harm to the object". Anger is seen as aversion with a stronger exaggeration, and is listed as one of the five hindrances. It is a common misconception that spiritual saints never get angry. This is not true: even the Dalai Lama, the spiritual Guru of Tibetan monks, gets angry. However, there is a difference; most often a spiritual person is aware of the emotion and the way it can be handled. Thus, in response to the question: "Is any anger acceptable in Buddhism?' the Dalai Lama answered:

"Buddhism in general teaches that anger is a destructive emotion and although anger might have some positive effects in terms of survival or moral outrage, I do not accept that anger of any kind as a virtuous emotion nor aggression as constructive behavior. The Gautana Buddha has taught that there are three basic kleshas at the root of samsara (bondage, illusion) and the vicious cycle of rebirth. These are greed, hatred, and delusion--also translatable as attachment, anger, and ignorance. They bring us confusion and misery rather than peace, happiness, and fulfillment. It is in our own self-interest to purify and transform them".

* In Hinduism, anger is equated with sorrow as a form of unrequited desire. The objects of anger are perceived as a hindrance to the gratification of the desires of the angry person. Alternatively if one thinks one is superior, the result is grief. Anger is considered to be packed with more evil power than desire.


What I am trying to say here is its okay to be angry. I don't know, why I am trying to justify that its okay to be angry at times but there are lots of points which helps me prove this. Another quote to support my point is :

“Love implies anger. The man who is angered by nothing cares about nothing.”

Edward Abbey says love implies anger. I think he is true, someone who do not care about anything can never get angry. And if you care about someone, you will get angry. Thats a good justification for being angry.

Another interesting theory is "Anger is Love". According to Linda Dove, we have been taught that anger is destructive, that by being angry we can hurt someone or get hurt ourselves.

Anger is a way of saying to the Universe and those in it that you deserve to be treated in ways that are unconditionally loving and respectful. Think of anger as a divine “force” that cleanses and makes room for something more loving to grow. When we speak of anger, we are talking about expressing anger from an understanding of the Oneness. When this happens we come to value not only our own Selves but also those of “others.” How can this be true, you might ask, when to express your anger could be hurtful of other’s feelings or get yourself hurt?

Read the full article here: http://neholistic.com/articles/0031.htm

So, I think is good to be angry, but whats important is that we should control it and should not let it act upon us. I have no idea, why I am writing about anger. Everything seems to work out very well in my life. I am enjoying the fast pace of changes happening in my life. I think I should stop justifying each and everything happening in my life and should concentrate on this which are important for me, or may be I am just too angry with myself.

I will continue to explore various emotions which I go through ( though I still claim that I am not angry), and would like to thanks Wikipedia in my this endeavor.