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As the left side of the above chart depicts, the anger has two components: creation and expression. Most people follow path-I and upon provocation get angry and express their anger either instantaneously or slowly over a long period of time-sometimes for decades! The intensity of anger expression depends upon the person's psychological makeup and karmic burden,
Usually anger expressed in this fashion is destructive because it is accompanied with a number of other harmful emotions such as hate, sense of revenge, violence and many others that linger on in a person's psyche for a long time.
Obviously, we won't have to deal with anger expression if we stop it right before it raises its ugly head-i.e., from the very moment it pops up. It means the instant we start getting angry, we need to quickly recognize the emotion and take a detour. (path II)! If we realize it and become aware of it, then most probably we will be able to control it.
This means we must allow our mind to stop from reacting fast. If we just pause, reflect and think for a while, it will be difficult to get angry! That is one of the reasons modern psychiatrists recommend counting 10 when we are about to explode, and suggest other ideas as well to tackle the anger provoking situations.
Now let us look at the religious remedies. First of all, almost all major religions of the world have identified anger as one of the major sins. The common antidotes recommended are FORGIVENESS, COMPASSION, AND UNDERSTANDING. It appears that the emphasis is on anger CONTROL and PREVENTION rather than EXPRESSION.
Those who came up with these spiritual cures had human weakness and foibles in mind and advised us to react to anger generating stimuli with a compassionate heart and an attitude of forgive and forget. The following Biblical passage and Jain composition on forgiveness express a similar thought:
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving.
(Ephesians 4:31)
I forgive all souls, may all souls forgive me, I am on friendly terms with all, I have enmity towards none.
(Translation of Khamemi Savva Jive..... Jain Scripture)
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