Dear friends at Ananda, I have been a disciple of our Guru for five years and a Kriyaban for three years. I always try (with pauses) to do my practices to the best of my ability, and think that it works quite well. However, I have a big problem, which is heavy for me: I live in a relatively stressful environment, and often I tend to be overtaxed and irritable. Often I have a feeling of anger and rage. How can I deal with it?
—Marcel, Germany
Dear Marcel,
I am glad you keep up your spiritual practices. They will in time also diminish your anger.
Anger is a habit. It needs to be stopped by will-power. The first thing is to decide: “I won’t allow myself to get angry.” Yogananda would call it an “anger-fast.” You tell yourself that for a certain period of the day, let’s say from lunch to dinner, “I won’t permit myself to get angry.” Then you do your utmost, with all your tricks and will at hand, to not let it happen: breathe deeply when something starts to irritate you. Or tense the whole body, as if you were “catching” your anger in that tension, and then forcibly exhale and throw it out. Or get out of the room for a moment. Relax.
When it works, expand the hours of your “anger-fast”. Maybe from 11 am to dinner — then the whole day. In this way you overcome this emotional habit. It won’t be easy: it’s like an inner battle. But you will win if you keep working on it.
Use this strong affirmation by Yogananda: “I make up my mind never again to wear anger on my face. I will never inject the poison of anger in the heart of my peace and thus kill my spiritual life.”
Should it happen anyway that you break your anger-fast, meaning that you again get angry, don’t despair: rather resolve even stronger to continue to try really hard. Don’t judge yourself, but at the same time never give up.
Anger is of the third chakra, it’s fire. Do you do sports or any strong exercise? That re-channels that fire very well.
Would it be possible for you to do less in your work, so that you don’t feel so overtaxed? Often we create our stress ourselves, and we could easily do a little less.
Also pray for divine assistance. Our inner transformation works better if we have help from Above.
In divine friendship,
Jayadev
