Once a sadhu was sitting on the bank of a river. He had just finished taking his meals and he wanted to have a tiny nap. Just as he was about to doze off, he saw a washerman walking down the bank, in his direction leading two donkeys loaded with dirty clothes. The sadhu thought, "Oh, I hope he doesn't come here. I am in no mood for small talk.. and he must smell awful. All those dirty clothes, those dirty donkeys." But the washerman called out, "Hey, Babaji! I need to go back home and get something I forgot. Could you watch my donkeys while I am gone? Please, you are a holy man! You should be helping humanity. I'll be back soon." The sadhu pretended not to hear. He just sat there with his eyes closed, hoping the man would go away, and sure enough, his prayer was answered. He heard footsteps walking away and he dozed off sweetly in the shade. When the sadhu woke up, an hour had passed and the washerman was back, shouting, screaming, as he came towards the sadhu. "Where are my donkeys? " The washerman's face was red as a beet, and he was directing all this rage at the sadhu. "You were supposed to look after my donkeys. Why didn't you do it? You're a sadhu. You go find my donkeys and bring them back!"
The sadhu became absolutely furious. "This is no way to treat a man of God!", he shouted back. "You are supposed to speak to me with respect. Hey! Don't you kick me! I am not one of your donkeys!" "I know!", the washerman said. "My donkeys have more sense! " And they began to fight. Now the washerman was very healthy and strong from all the exercise he got by washing clothes, and the sadhu, who never got any exercise at all, was very skinny and frail. In no time at all, the washerman had him pinned to the ground and pummeling him with both fists. Eventually, just as the person who takes a beating gets tired, the one giving the beating also wears himself out. Soon, both men were lying in the mud, completely exhausted.
The sadhu then raised his eyes toward heaven and cried, "O God! I have been worshiping You all my life! I think of You, I pray to You, I adore You. For the past thirty years, God, not a single day, not a single night has gone by that I haven't thought of You. For Your sake, I have given up all the comforts of life. But when I needed You, O God, where were You?" As soon as the sadhu stopped complaining, a voice boomed out of heaven. "O sadhu, I wanted to help so much. I came as soon as you called. And I would have saved you, I would have pulled you out of there with My own hands. But when I looked down, all I saw was a tangled mass of angry energy. I couldn't tell who was the washerman and who was the sadhu."
This is exactly what happens once anger erupts and we can't tell who is right and who is wrong, who is a good person and who is not. Anger completely takes over. Freedom from anger is a magnificent virtue. So Lord Krishna says in Srimad Bhagavad Gita 5.23, "Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is well situated and is happy in this world".
The Mahabharat declares, "kshamaa jayati na krodhah kshamaavaan brahmano bhavet" - "Patience, forbearance, always wins out, not anger. One who is patient becomes established in the Absolute, in Brahman."
The sadhu became absolutely furious. "This is no way to treat a man of God!", he shouted back. "You are supposed to speak to me with respect. Hey! Don't you kick me! I am not one of your donkeys!" "I know!", the washerman said. "My donkeys have more sense! " And they began to fight. Now the washerman was very healthy and strong from all the exercise he got by washing clothes, and the sadhu, who never got any exercise at all, was very skinny and frail. In no time at all, the washerman had him pinned to the ground and pummeling him with both fists. Eventually, just as the person who takes a beating gets tired, the one giving the beating also wears himself out. Soon, both men were lying in the mud, completely exhausted.
The sadhu then raised his eyes toward heaven and cried, "O God! I have been worshiping You all my life! I think of You, I pray to You, I adore You. For the past thirty years, God, not a single day, not a single night has gone by that I haven't thought of You. For Your sake, I have given up all the comforts of life. But when I needed You, O God, where were You?" As soon as the sadhu stopped complaining, a voice boomed out of heaven. "O sadhu, I wanted to help so much. I came as soon as you called. And I would have saved you, I would have pulled you out of there with My own hands. But when I looked down, all I saw was a tangled mass of angry energy. I couldn't tell who was the washerman and who was the sadhu."
This is exactly what happens once anger erupts and we can't tell who is right and who is wrong, who is a good person and who is not. Anger completely takes over. Freedom from anger is a magnificent virtue. So Lord Krishna says in Srimad Bhagavad Gita 5.23, "Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is well situated and is happy in this world".
The Mahabharat declares, "kshamaa jayati na krodhah kshamaavaan brahmano bhavet" - "Patience, forbearance, always wins out, not anger. One who is patient becomes established in the Absolute, in Brahman."
In Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 4, Chapter 11 titled, "Svayambhuva Manu Advises Dhruva Maharaja to Stop Fighting", Manu while advising his grandson about the dangers of anger instructs as follows in verse 31
samyaccha rosham bhadram te / prateepam shreyasaam param
shrutena bhuyasaa raajan / agadena yathaamayam
"My dear King, just consider what I have said to you, which will act as medicinal treatment upon disease. Control your anger, for anger is the foremost enemy on the path of spiritual realization. I wish all good fortune for you. Please follow my instructions." shrutena bhuyasaa raajan / agadena yathaamayam
Svayambhuva Manu, the father of mankind has mercifully given us the eternal remedy in the above verse - "shrutena bhuyasaa" or constant hearing. In the purport Srila Prabhupada has emphasised the same as follows, "By constantly hearing about devotional service, one can check the force of anger, which is detrimental to the process of devotional service. Srila Parikshit Maharaja said that the constant hearing of the pastimes of the Lord is the panacea for all material diseases. Everyone, therefore, should hear about the Supreme Personality of Godhead constantly. By hearing one can always remain in equilibrium, and thus his progress in spiritual life will not be hampered.
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http://toimmortality.blogspot.com/2013/07/anger-is-contagious.html
