Burn Anger Before Anger Burns You

By J.P. Vaswani

Anger is just one letter short of danger. It is an eroding emotion. If not dealt with firmly and positively, it destroys everything around and within us. This book tells us how to

Cope with anger and be angry only at the right time, with the right person, in the right measure.
Grow in the power of understanding ourselves and others and avoid making hasty judgments.
Develop the spirit of forgiveness and learn to forgive even before forgiveness is asked for.
Practise the therapy of cheerfulness when all other therapies fail, cheerfulness can still work.
An invaluable guide by one of India's most revered spiritual masters, this book offers simple yet profound tips which help us solve the problems and challenges that are a part of everyday life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wisdom Tree Publishers
• Release date: Mar 20, 2015
• ISBN: 9788183284028

J.P. Vaswani

Dada J. P. Vaswani is the author of over 200 self-help and inspirational titles, including the bestselling Daily Appointment with God and Why Do Good People Suffer? One of contemporary India’s leading nonsectarian spiritual leaders, his books are filled with enlightening anecdotes from world traditions and practical wisdom that helps many people to start living confident, fulfilling, and connected lives. Dada, as he is known to his admirers and followers, has held audiences with prominent world leaders, including the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, and Pope John Paul II. As the spiritual head of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission, he has been a tireless advocate for animal rights and non-violence for the past half century. Visit him online at www.sadhuvaswani.org. One of India’s foremost spiritual leaders, J. P. Vaswani is the author of more than two hundred inspirational and self-help books, most of them bestsellers. A scientist-turned-philosopher, he is widely admired all over the world for his message of practical optimism.

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© Author, 2014

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise—without the prior permission of the author and the publisher.

Disclaimer: While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and the author cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions, or for any damage caused by the use of information contained therein as it does not constitute medical advice and should not be construed as such.

ISBN 978-81-8328-402-8

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Wisdom Tree

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Printed in India

CONTENTS

Editor’s Note

Part I: Burn Anger Before Anger Burns You!

1. All Over a Naya Paisa!

2. You Are a Slave of My Slave!

3. The Wild Fire

4. When to Be Angry

5. Why Must I Not Be Angry?

6. Three Ways of Handling Anger

Secret of Happiness

Part II: The Miracle of Understanding

1. Dialogues of the Deaf

2. The Great Famine

Building Blocks of Life

Part III: The Magic of Forgiveness

1. Anger Ceaseth Not by Anger

2. Forget What God Hath Forgotten

3. Four Stages

4. Witness of the Great Ones

How to Overcome Fear and Resentment

Part IV: The Therapy of Cheerfulness

1. Therapeutic Value of Laughter

2. Laugh Your Way to Health!

3. Medical Evidence

4. Case Histories

5. Does God Laugh?

6. The Devil’s Tool

The Man Who Was Trapped in a Coal-mine

Part V: Smile, Smile, All the While!

1. The Unhappy Millionaire

2. If You Have Nothing Else to Give, Give a Smile!

3. A Permanent Smile

EDITOR’S NOTE

Anger is an eroding emotion. It is a natural, but negative emotional response to stress or opposition. If we do not deal with it firmly and positively, it will keep on destroying our inner selves.

This profound book is a compilation of a few talks given by Dada JP Vaswani. It tells us how to deal with anger—the number one enemy of our individual peace—and the negative emotions that go with it.

In his clear, inimitable style, Dada Vaswani presents his logical and practical suggestions to help us in understanding, controlling and dealing with anger. He tells us how to overcome anger by forgiveness, understanding and laughter. He provides answers to our oft-asked queries about anger with the insight that combines the wisdom of the best Indian traditions with the well-proven and scientific approach of western thinkers and philosophers. The balanced and sensible approach prescribed by Dada Vaswani does not merely generate physical benefits but mental and spiritual health as well.

Here is a book of great value. It is a self-help book which presents practical guidelines to encourage us to be the persons we were really meant to be. An excellent book that everyone needs!

PART I

BURN ANGER BEFORE ANGER

BURNS YOU!

Anger is more destructive than

fire, more disastrous than an earthquake.

In anger, individuals fight each

other with dire consequences.

In anger, nations fight each other

and thousands of young, precious, promising

lives are lost.

Anger can be controlled!

1

ALL OVER A NAYA PAISA!

This happened in Delhi, several years ago, when the naya paisa had come into circulation, even as the old coins were being gradually withdrawn. Both new and old coins thus exchanged hands as legal tender.

One morning, a man called Jamna Singh bought tomatoes worth two annas from a vegetable seller. He offered the vendor a four-anna coin. Twelve naye paise was returned as balance.

Unhappy with the change, Jamna Singh’s temper rose. ‘A four-anna coin amounts to twenty-five naye paise,’ he screamed.

‘But two annas add up to only twelve paise.’ Seething, Jamna Singh demanded one more naya paisa.

Enraged, the vendor yelled back, ‘Can’t you count? I have already given you two-annas worth of tomatoes. And returned two annas, which is twelve naye paise. Now, you want more….’

Things got heated as anger fuelled more anger. ‘You dare cheat me!’ cried Jamna Singh. ‘Do you think I am a fool? I know how to get my naya paisa out of you!’

Getting increasingly irritated, the vegetable seller then ordered his irate customer to get going, ‘You have got your due. Now, clear out! I have tackled many customers like you. So don’t think you can bully me!’

Things soon spiralled out of control. Boiling in rage, Jamna Singh pulled out his kirpan—a dagger—and stabbed the vendor.

The vegetable seller fell, dying on the spot. Jamna Singh got arrested. Found guilty, he was later sentenced to death.

Two lives were lost. All over one naya paisa. One paisa, which is a mere hundredth of a rupee—and no more than six thousandth part of a US dollar.

How true it is that anger can burn more than a fire and unleash disasters worse than an earthquake!

Whenever you find your temper rising, just shut your mouth and seal your lips. This simple effort may be all it takes to avoid an ugly situation.

A woman once approached a holy man, complaining, ‘Whenever we have an argument, my husband beats me up.’

The holy man called for a bottle of water. ‘I will bless it and give it to you,’ he told the woman who watched him in wonder.

‘When should I give this water to my husband to drink?’ asked the transfixed woman.

‘The water is not for your husband,’ exclaimed the holy man. ‘Whenever you feel an argument brewing, take a sip of water from this bottle and hold it in your mouth! This act will stop you from answering back, so the argument will end where it began. The question of beating will thus not arise!’

Many of our problems would resolve themselves if only we keep quiet. We try to explain things, and in the process, complicate them. An ancient book observes, ‘All your answers are great and excellent, and which a man can hardly understand.’ Truth has its own way of being out at the right time.

Keep the mouth shut. Therefore, begin by observing mauna—silence— for at least two hours every day. Once you acquire the habit of silence, you will not wish to speak, unless there is a great need to do so. Keep the mouth shut, and when you open it, speak softly, lovingly and gently.

When individuals clash, consequences may turn dire. When nations war, it gets more tragic as thousands of young, precious and promising lives are lost forever.

Gautama Buddha thus rushed to intervene when he learnt two kings had marched to battle on the banks of the Rohini. Standing between the two armies, Buddha asked what they were fighting over. The reason was simple. Each party claimed to own the waters of the Rohini.

Buddha then questioned the kings, ‘How much is water worth?’

Both the rulers admitted, ‘O Blessed One, water is actually worth very little!’

Buddha then asked, ‘What is the worth of kings?’

‘Great is their worth,’ replied the two, in one voice.

‘And how much are your queens worth?’ queried the Blessed One.

‘The queens have much worth.’ Both kings declared they loved their queens a lot.

‘And how much are your soldiers worth?’ Buddha finally asked.

‘Precious to me,’ answered each king, ‘is the life of every one of my soldiers. Precious is their life-blood.’

Then said the Buddha, ‘O ye wise and worthy kings, why then are you out to destroy each other, and your queens who you say are so dear to you, and even your soldiers, whose life-blood you term precious? All this, for the sake of a little water which floweth into the sea! Is not peace better than unfurling a river of blood?’

When the kings heard these wise words, their weapons fell to the ground. They hugged each other and reached an amicable solution that saved thousands of precious lives. Sometimes, in haste, and in an attempt to accomplish too much, we lose our peace of mind.

When you avoid haste, you might avoid anger. Haste is the mother of anger and hatred is its father. Never be in a hurry to do anything. Avoid overwork. Go about your work quietly, lovingly, gently. The very thought of overwork sometimes spoils our mood.

There is a man