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People all over the world get angry. What is it that makes people get angry and react the way they do? Of all the emotions that people have and exhibit, why is anger supposed to be the most destructive? What does anger do to an individual who harbors it in his heart? For centuries people have studied and written scholarly work on anger, its causes and its effects.
In simplistic terms, anger is a reaction to the belief that one has been wronged or offended. This perception may or may not be correct. That is another matter altogether and warrants a separate discussion. Some scientists also term it as part of a fight-or-flee response that people exhibit. It is supposed to be more of an animal instinct.
The best way to describe anger is that it is deflected desire. When the fulfillment of a desire is obstructed in some way, anger arises in people. Now, this desire could be for an external object that is sought after or it could be an idea or concept in the head that one is trying to “sell” to another person. When the desired object cannot be acquired or when one’s idea is resisted, anger erupts.
So what happens to people when they get angry? When people get angry, they get deluded and confused. When this confusion sets in, their memory is lost – memory of past lessons that have been learned on what should or shouldn’t be done. When this memory is temporarily lost, the intellect goes with it. The intellect is the organ that helps us to be rational and discriminate between what is right and wrong. When people lose this intellectual ability, they commit mistakes and perish, as it were. So what can people do to safeguard themselves against this emotion? The answer lies in not suppressing anger but sublimating it.