Give direction to your Anger – It can propel you…….

For centuries we have been hearing the adage that anger can cause nothing but destruction – to families, to relationships, to business deals, to friendship and other spheres of life. Protracted feelings of anger is said to spoil years of hard work. In the Vedas, anger is listed as one of six “Ripus” (enemies to human beings) along with lust, greed, alcohol, jealousy and attachment. Too much anger is also known to increase the risk of heart diseases and shoot up your BP levels. In the Bhagwad Gita, Lord Krishna says that anger leads the human mind and brain to the path of self-destruction and affliction, so man should never let anger take control of him.

I, however, have an antithesis on this common human emotion. Whatever I have said thus far about the ill-effects of anger is absolutely true, but can we as human beings really get rid of anger completely? If yes, then we would become yogis, but if not, we should find out a way for ourselves so that anger does not harm us.

From life, I have learnt that anger is not always fiendish. Whenever somebody has said something or done something that I have not liked, I have tried not to revile on his face by expressing anger. I have tried not to be virulent either. However, I have strived to achieve excellence in my work and respond to that person through my achievements, and not through words. I have tried to convert my anger into will-power, determination and the hunger to succeed.

I have always felt that if I had not been angry, I would not have been a 1st class Honours graduate from University of Calcutta; I would not have entered into an IIT, passed out of an IIT with 9.0 CGPA, and also I would not have filed two patents for my company. I had a point to prove to many people because they had angered me over a period of many years, and it was this anger that propelled me to give that extra 10% effort every time. Now it gives me immense pleasure to see that those same people do not have the guts to look straight into my eyes.

To me, anger is like nuclear energy – if you cannot control it, it can destroy a continent, but if you can use it productively, then it can provide electricity and power to billions. So, from now on, if somebody berates you, avoid a riposte, just smile and walk away, and return to the same guy 2 years later with a bag full of achievements in life, which he must not have even dreamt of.