________________
Jainism : The Cosmic Vision Anger hurts the angry person himself. How preverted a man becomes when he grows angry ! His eyes are dilated and emit sparks. Sometimes he stamps his feet and sometimes he utters foul language. He, who is angry, defiles not only the other person, but the whole atmosphere. That is why Shakespeare said that anger is deep like the sea and quick like the fire. Saint Tiruvalluvar says that fire burns whatever goes near it, but the fire of anger burns the whole family. An angry man closes his eyes and opens his mouth wide. Anger expels discrimination from the mind and bolts it out. Such anger can be compared to a stone thrown at a beehive; it soon gets transformed into enmity.
A great man was returning from a riverbank, after having a bath. A Chandala (sinful man) splashed water on him. The great man flared up and began to abuse the Chandala. He bathed again. When he came out of the river, the Chandala went to bathe. This enraged him all the more. He said, "Why do you need a bath ?" The Chandala said, “It is necessary to wash away a Chandala's touch. When you were abusing me, the great Chandala of anger was inhabiting your mind. I bathe to wash away that foul touch of yours."
Thus, anger makes a man a great Chandala. It commits the offence of violence and destroys joy. Anger comes like a wave and develops into a great ocean engulfing man's mind. From a small seed of anger, a great banyan tree of enmity shoots up. Through a small hole, it enters the mind and pervades everywhere. Anger turns a man into a demon. In order to know it, we should find out the seed of anger. After the seed has been found, we should stop fertilizing it. This is what saints have done. Tukaram, the saint, never grew angry. Someone is said
86
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
