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The Burning Rage
A wholesale trader once came to meet me. His language had become very abusive due to the surrounding environment and frequent interactions with labourers. He would not be satisfied without using an expletive or bad word in every sentence. He had a very sturdy physique and was short-tempered. If he got pushed by someone even unintentionally while walking on the road, he would slap the other person, abuse that person and quarrel vehemently. Due to this nature, he was occasionally even beaten up by others. He would get enraged if his tea had more or less sugar or more milk. He would then fling the cup and saucer. Till the time he met me, he must have broken many cups and saucers! While having lunch or dinner, he wouldn't hesitate to throw away a plate full of food if he was mistakenly served any dish that he disliked. His wife had already appraised me of his nature. It was his wife who brought him along to meet me. In the presence of her husband she told me in a frightened voice about his short-tempered nature. This person was a bit relieved when I responded, "It is but natural to get annoyed when someone behaves or something happens contrary to one's wishes or expectations. I too get annoyed sometimes." Annoyance is the permitted form of anger while rage is prohibited. When a person gets enraged he may cause harm to another person, to oneself or to both. Suppose we get enraged and break something. The consequent loss is irreparable. Even if we are able to replace it with an identical substitute but the original object is damaged beyond repair. I suddenly asked him his age and he replied that he was fifty-two. No matter how strong and gymnastic a person is, Nature will have its way and the same person will become weaker in old age. I asked him, ''If you don't change your nature and mellow down, would you like to keep getting bashed by others after you are over sixty years?" The saying that 'one's temperament has no cure' is only a half-truth. While we never have a cure for another person's temperament or nature, we can change our own nature by deciding to that effect. This person met me every Sunday. I helped him change his attitude towards himself, his household life, his occupation and the world at large. Within a year there was a radical transformation in his nature. He began to tell others, ''It is natural to get annoyed but never get enraged." Once he intervened in an actual fight between two persons. He pulled alongside the person who was getting bashed and persuaded him to leave the scene by telling him that the attacker was a fool! He then pacified the attacker, ''Why are you screaming and troubling yourself when the other person has already gone?" Today this gentleman leads a life with a blissful state of mind.
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