Transforming Anger
Tuesday August 24 2004 09:55 IST
By Karmayogi
There was a Muslim
Chief of Justice in Pondicherry in the sixties who used to ask everyone whom he
considered wise, ”What shall I do to control anger?” He was genuine in his
quest.
No one had given him the answer he was looking for. Nor was he in a mood to
listen. He asked the question, as it was uppermost in his mind. Nowadays, even
doctors recommend yoga, meaning meditation, as part of their prescription. Meditation
of any description is relaxing.
Relaxation relieves stress and indirectly helps cure diseases. About a thousand
books, maybe a few thousand, have been published on anger.
There was a time when people were proud about being angry. They used to boast,
”He never knew my anger, it is better he tastes it.” This is no longer true.
Many people are ashamed of it.
Some apologise for their angry outbursts. Such a climate is a commercial
opportunity. Until now, books have been written on anger. Now software
programmes are on the foreign markets which show how angry you are. They
measure your stress, depression, etc. using graphics.
The programme suggests ways of overcoming these psychological deficiencies. They
are methods of deep breathing, which is physical, and generation of good will,
which is psychological. Such programmes have become popular with executives,
managers and those who work in situations that generate stress.
When California was coming up and Los Angeles was shaping into a premier city,
electricity played a major role. It was responsible for more than 75 percent of
the city’s success. People coined a slogan, ‘Electricity is the road to health,
wealth and happiness of mankind’.
At that time a German scientist wrote a book advocating the ‘all-electric
state’. Lenin read the book, got the message and coined his own slogan, Soviet
+ electricity = Socialism. This is true of any major discovery. Today, computer
and Internet assume that role. No wonder that the physical, mechanical parts of
Hatha yoga or even other yogas are computerised.
It is a boon to the lay public who can systematically and easily learn these
methods and solve most of their daily problems. The moment the inner stress is
relieved in a major measure, naturally several problems vanish. In our country,
commerce is frowned upon, service is approved. It is my view that when a
service is commercially viable, the entire community benefits.
Commerce or service, he who has computerised psychological processes has rendered
a great service to humanity.