Krodha-Vegaṁ : Understanding Anger in a holistic way.

What is anger:-

Anger is an important and basic human emotion we all experience from time to time.  Anger basically arises from fear, greed, and lust.

• Anger is a response to a real and perceived threat to our safety and well-being. 
• Anger arises when  in an effort to mask other feelings, which is fear of some kind
• Anger arises when our expectations are not fulfilled, which is again a lust or threat of some kind.

Science of anger:- 

Anger is connected to the sympathetic nervous system's "fight, flight, or freeze" reaction and gets people ready to fight. Fighting, however, is not always associated with hitting.

Whenever we feel any kind of real or perceived threat to our safety (physical, emotional, social, financial, etc) or well-being our brain's amygdala raises the alarm, causing the release of the crucial hormones testosterone and adrenaline, which prepare our body for physical aggressiveness. The anger trigger also stimulates the prefrontal cortex in addition to the amygdala. This area of the brain controls logic and decision-making, preventing us from responding unreasonably to a circumstance.

Epinephrine and norepinephrine, often known as adrenaline and noradrenaline, are catecholamine neurotransmitters that are stimulated to release when this region is activated in response to a perceived threat.

These hormones prepare  our body to act by:

• Raising heart rate, BP and breathing rate.
• Tensing up muscles
• Raising body temperature
• Increasing blood flow to some body parts like the face, arms, legs, hands, and feet (making them appear red).
• Narrowing attention toward the factor that triggered the anger.

Is anger good or bad or both?

According to Srila Prabhupada, “Even if there is provocation one should be tolerant; for once one becomes angry his whole body becomes polluted. Anger is a product of the mode of passion and lust, so one who is transcendentally situated should check himself from anger.” 

But at the same time warrior like Arjuna must also show fury when engaged in combat since it is impossible to battle without being angry. 

"With two fiery red copper balls for eyes, Arjuna skillfully arrested Ashvatthama, the son of Gautami, and roped him up like an animal. Arjuna intended to transport Ashvatthama to the military camp after binding him. With His lotus eyes fixed on Arjuna, the Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna addressed him angrily". (SB17.33-34)

Science and scriptures both have revealed from time to time that releasing anger in a rational way is actually good for us. A situation is unlikely to become better in the long term if we can't control our anger response. Anger is working in the appropriate way when we sit down and talk about what or who made us furious. According to studies, controlling our anger in a healthy way is beneficial. On the other hand, holding onto anger is known to have a negative impact on some people and may even result in depression. Long-term high blood pressure and possibly heart disease can result from persistent, chronic rage.

Of course, harboring anger too regularly or easily can have a negative impact on relationships over time, as well as your physical health. Anger's prolonged production of stress hormones can damage immune system function and neurons in the parts of the brain that control judgment and short-term memory.

Mention of anger and its significance in our scriptures:- 

What anger is? how it should be dealt with ? and what losses may incur if it is not dealt with wisely? have been discussed in various places in the scriptures.

(Nectar of Instruction Verse-1)

 vāco vegaṁ manasaḥ krodha-vegaṁ

jihvā-vegam udaropastha-vegam

etān vegān yo viṣaheta dhīraḥ

sarvām apīmāṁ pṛthivīṁ sa śiṣyāt

Meaning:-A sober one capable of enduring the urge to speak, the demands of the mind, the outbursts of anger, and the whims of the tongue, tummy, and genitalia is qualified to make disciples throughout the globe. 

(B.G. 2.63)

krodhād bhavati sammohaḥ

sammohāt smṛti-vibhramaḥ

smṛti-bhraṁśād buddhi-nāśo

buddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyati

Meaning:-Anger impairs judgment, which causes memory to become confused. Memory confusion leads to intellectual destruction, and intellectual destruction leads to ruin. 

(B.G. 16.21)

tri-vidhaṁ narakasyedaṁ

dvāraṁ nāśanam ātmanaḥ

kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobhas

tasmād etat trayaṁ tyajet

Meaning:-The three doors to hell are lust, anger, and greed. These must be abandoned because they impoverish the soul. 

(B.G. 3.37)

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

kāma eṣa krodha eṣa

rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ

mahāśano mahā-pāpmā

viddhy enam iha vairiṇam

Meaning:-The Supreme Personality of Godhead declared: The only wicked enemy of this world is lust, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material mode of passion and eventually transforms into a rage. 

(B.G. 4.10)

vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā

man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ

bahavo jñāna-tapasā

pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ

Meaning:-Many, many people in the past got purified by knowledge of Me, and as a result, they all gained transcendental love for Me. They did this by letting go of attachment, fear, and wrath, becoming completely absorbed in Me, and seeking refuge in Me. 

(B.G. 5.23)

śaknotīhaiva yaḥ soḍhuṁ

prāk śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt

kāma-krodhodbhavaṁ vegaṁ

sa yuktaḥ sa sukhī naraḥ

Meaning:-One is in a good place and content in this world if, before leaving this body, he can control his desire and anger and tolerate the cravings of the material senses. 

(SB 11.4.11)

ksut-trt-tri-kala-guna-maruta-jaihva-saisnan

 asman apara-jaladhin atitirya kecit

krodhasya yanti viphalasya vasam pade gor

 majjanti duscara-tapas ca vrthotsrjanti

Meaning:-Some men engage in extreme penances in order to escape our grasp, which is like an infinite ocean with waves of thirst, hunger, heat, and cold as well as other conditions brought on by aging, such as the sensual wind and the cravings of the tongue and sex organs. However, despite successfully navigating this sea of pleasure through stringent penances, such individuals foolishly perish in a cow's hoofprint when overcome with pointless anger. As a result, they waste the benefits of their difficult sacrifices.

(SB 4.11.31)

saṁyaccha roṣaṁ bhadraṁ te

pratīpaṁ śreyasāṁ param

śrutena bhūyasā rājann

agadena yathāmayam

Meaning:-Please take into consideration what I have spoken to you, My Dear King, as it will serve as a curative for illness. You should learn to control your anger since it is the biggest obstacle in the way of spiritual realization. I'm wishing you nothing but success. I ask that you obey my directions.

Why do people get angry?

Anger may be associated with personality traits. Also, a few behaviors and mindsets that can cause anger are:-

• Entitlement (the conviction that one's privileges and rights outweigh those of others)

• Concentrating on external factors (such as a partner's actions)

• External regulation of emotions (attempting to manage one's environment in order to control                   emotions);

• External sphere of influence (believing well-being is controlled by sources outside of oneself)

• Refusal to consider alternate viewpoints (viewing different perspectives as threats)

• Low tolerance for discomfort

• Inability to tolerate ambiguity

• Overemphasis on blame

• A fragile ego

How to deal with anger?

At the very beginning of the Gita, Lord Krishna exhorts Arjuna to control his anger and refers to someone who has done so as "a sage of stable mind."

Learning how to recognize and manage this potent emotion can promote growth and transformation and ave one from committing numerous aparadhas. whether one struggles with chronic anger issues or only occasionally loses control. 

The following steps can be taken to manage anger in effective ways:-

1. Optimum sleep can prevent unnecessary anger outbursts due to sleep deprivation. According to researchers Adults need to sleep at least seven hours a night. A previously sleep-deprived person would need more sleep to compensate for previous sleep deprivation. Pregnant women and lactating mothers may sometimes need more sleep than usual due to frequently interrupted nighttime sleep because of frequent urination, GERD, OSA, RLS, other bodily discomforts, changing nappies, and lactating babies respectively.
2. Consider alternative interpretations: Ask yourself what evidence you have to support your angering interpretation. Consider different perspectives.
3. At the onset of anger, the episode breathes deeply, and slowly, and uses your diaphragm as opposed to your chest.
4. Understand that it's acceptable to be furious: If you've been wronged, treated unfairly, or provoked, you should be angry. However, you should show your anger assertively rather than violently.
5. Your amygdala's response to triggering is lessened by relaxation techniques like mindfulness, deep breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation as well as lifestyle improvements like better sleep habits and food.
6. Your prefrontal cortex can exercise its emotional control function with the aid of cognitive behavioral therapy.
7. Some people have anger issues related to some sort of diabetes. Maintaining stable blood glucose levels and a level head by following your diabetes treatment plan, which includes checking your blood glucose, taking your medication, eating appropriately, and exercising.
8. Hunger or tiredness can also cause irritability leading to anger. Therefore one must take healthy meals and take enough rest to keep going.
9. Meditation:- mindfulness, spiritual, focused, movement, mantra, transcendental, progressive relaxation, loving-kindness, and visualization

Role of Mantra-Meditation in Anger management:- 

One of the most effective meditation methods for controlling anger is mantra meditation. There are two varieties: Japa and Kirtan. Japa is a form of private, meditative sitting when you choose a peaceful area to sit and calmly chant a mantra. On the other hand, kirtan is a collective meditation in which individuals chant and play musical instruments.

The inclusion of faith can have magical benefits on the practitioner of this meditation technique in addition to the mantra's appropriate frequency for each individual. A practitioner of mantra meditation can successfully complete the path to achieving happiness, self-realization, and enlightenment while also achieving a disease-free body, a peaceful mind, clear and coherent thinking, and an increase in intelligence quotient.

Mantras are effective, but in order to get the intended benefits, one must chant them religiously and firmly in mind. Mantras, when spoken with the heart, draw out the bad energy and fill the body and mind with good energy.

Mantro Hinah swarato varnato va mithya prayukto na tamarthamah.

Sa Vagvajro yajmanam hinasti yathendrashatruh swaratoparadhat.

The meaning: The mantra without proper pronunciation of vowels (svar) and consonants (varna) that is the utterance of a mantra in a  faulty manner makes it faulty and does not convey the intended meaning.  Instead, it gets converted into a  verbal thunderbolt and may harm the one chanting it.

As in the above verse, we can see that in order to tap the spiritual energy and benefit a mantra is supposed to give us we must do it in the proper way and not casually while taking it for granted.

A regular mantra meditation routine can assist you in deciding when and where to channel your tension and when and where to let it go.

Results are obtained automatically during this meditation exercise of consciousness, not by mind control or other mental tricks. The practice of meditation reaches the deepest level of the inner Self beyond the mind.

Hare Krishna🙏

Asht Sakhi Vrind Devi Dasi

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