Anger only destroys and causes harm to oneself. A story on anger based on incident from the life of Bhagavan Sri Krishna on Earth. It shows that our opponents become powerful due to our anger.
Once, Balarama, Sri Krishna, and Satyaki left their palace on some work. All three of them had horses that could run very fast. They soon reached a dense forest. The sun was setting and it was getting dark. Having decided that it was not safe to go any further, they agreed to spend the remaining night there and tied their horses to the trees. The first quarter of the night passed thus. They had to spend the remaining three-quarters in the forest. They decided that each one of them would stand guard by turns, every quarter of the night, while the other two would sleep.
Once, Balarama, Sri Krishna, and Satyaki left their palace on some work. All three of them had horses that could run very fast. They soon reached a dense forest. The sun was setting and it was getting dark. Having decided that it was not safe to go any further, they agreed to spend the remaining night there and tied their horses to the trees. The first quarter of the night passed thus. They had to spend the remaining three-quarters in the forest. They decided that each one of them would stand guard by turns, every quarter of the night, while the other two would sleep.
Satyaki's Anger Makes the Ghost Powerful
Satyaki had the first turn to stand guard. At that time, there appeared a terrible and frightening ghost.
It roared at Satyaki: ‘Hey! If you permit me to eat these
two, I would do no harm to you.’
Satyaki roared louder than the ghost: ‘O puny creature! If
you wish to live, run from here this very moment! Beware! If you open your
mouth, I will crush you!’
Hearing Satyaki’s angry words, the ghost got angrier and
jumped at Satyaki. Unperturbed, Satyaki, also showed more anger.
Satyaki’s anger was rising and so was the form and strength of the ghost and it pushed Satyaki to the ground several times and rolled him. Satyaki was badly wounded. A quarter of the night passed with Satyaki and the ghost fighting. And just as the quarter ended, the ghost disappeared. Satyaki woke up Balarama, and himself went to sleep.
Satyaki’s anger was rising and so was the form and strength of the ghost and it pushed Satyaki to the ground several times and rolled him. Satyaki was badly wounded. A quarter of the night passed with Satyaki and the ghost fighting. And just as the quarter ended, the ghost disappeared. Satyaki woke up Balarama, and himself went to sleep.
Balarama's Anger Makes the Ghost Powerful
As soon as Satyaki fell asleep, the ghost came again and started quarreling with Balaram and talked to him just like it had with Satyaki. Balarama too became angry and started quarreling with the ghost. Just as before, the form and strength of the ghost increased. That quarter of night passed with the ghost and Balarama wrestling. With the end of the quarter, the ghost disappeared as before, and Balarama woke up Sri Krishna, and himself went to sleep.Sri Krishna's Calm Nature Subdues the Ghost
As soon as Balarama fell asleep, the ghost returned and told
Sri Krishna: ‘Run away from here leaving these two behind!’
But, Sri Krishna calmly replied: ‘Come, come! It is good
that you came. If I wrestle with you, the last quarter of the night would also
pass. I would not feel sleepy and I would not feel exhausted.’
This time too, the ghost pounced upon Sri Krishna. However,
this time the ghost proved harmless. As it was angrily fighting, Sri Krishna
laughingly said: ‘Wow! What a great fighter you are! How much enthusiasm you
have!’
As Sri Krishna said these words, the ghost’s form started
reducing in size and strength. Gradually, the ghost became the size of a worm.
Immediately, Sri Krishna tied it in the corner of his blanket.
Form and Strength of Anger Will Increase to the Extent You Show Anger
All three woke up early in the morning.
Seeing Satyaki’s swollen face and knees, Sri Krishna asked
in surprise: ‘What happened to you?’ Upon this, Satyaki and Balarama recounted
the previous night’s happenings.
Hearing this, Sri Krishna laughingly opened the knot in his
blanket, took the worm, and put it on the ground. Pointing that puny worm, he
said: ‘Look! This is your ghost! Its form and strength will increase to the
extent you show anger. Both of you could not recognize it. This is what is
called anger; this is the nature of anger. If you do not become angry, its
strength reduces and it becomes almost invisible. Therefore, if we control our
anger, the anger of the opponent also disappears.’
Source - Prabhudha Bharata Magazine Feb 2017 Issue
Source - Prabhudha Bharata Magazine Feb 2017 Issue