Golden Steps To Salvation

Author(s): Padmasagarsuri
Publisher: Arunoday Foundation

Page 63

49 ("On account of anger people fall into spiritual disasters.")
A philosopher has said, “Anger originates from unwisdom and ends in repentance."
Those who get angry are really fools even though they might have read a large number of sacred books. When the intoxication caused by anger abates, the angry man repents but he cannot set right what he has done in his mood of anger and so his repentance is futile.
A poet says that the harm caused by anger is many times greater than the one caused by fever. Here is the Sanskrit poem in which he states this point :
हरत्येकदिनेनैव ज्वरं षण्मासिकं बलम् । क्रोधेन तु क्षणेनेव कोटी पूर्वाजितं तपः ॥ Haratyeka dinenaiva
Jvaram sanmāsikam balam Krodiera kshanenaiva
Kotipoorvarjitam tapaḥ. (Fever destroys within a day all the energy that has been gained in six months but anger destroys in a moment the good effects of all the noble actions done in millions of previous lives, poorva janmas.)
We may think that anger comes to us from outside but according to Vinoba Bhave anger lies latent within us and manifests itself when there is some provocation. If V throw a stone into a lake of pure water slime comes up because slime is present at the bottom of the lake but on the contrary if we throw a stone or even a rock into a concrete tank in a city slime won't come up because there is no slime in it. The hearts of true sädhus and santhas (ascetics and holy men) are free from passions. Therefore whatever external provocation may be there in the form of insults or abuses anger does not appear in them.
A poet has given a wonderful suggestion to people to give up their anger. G.S.4