Psychology of anger

"Aaaa......eeeee", a shrill sound pierced the air. The woman in blue had caught hold of another woman by her hair, who in turn twisted her tormentor's wrist. Some came to separate the two, while others just watched the scene out of curiosity. Verbal abuses flowed freely. No, this is not some film shooting, but a real life scene in the 9.30 a.m. crowded Mumbai local. Anger, being the dominant mood at this hour of the day, no one has the patience or time to listen to others.

So we come to our question, ‘what makes us angry?’ Are we angry because of fear? Fear of losing a beloved one, fear of losing a job, fear of not having achieved something bigger, fear of losing money, fear of complacency, fear of facing tomorrow.... we have no idea of what all we fear from. The list is endless. Or are we angry because others have achieved more than us, others seem happier than us, others have more friends than us or others seem to enjoy life more than us? Or is it because we cry over missed opportunities, over life having slipped away from our fingers, over wrong choices we make? Or is the anger directed on someone whom we squarly blame for the situation we are in? Whatever the case may be, there is some anger in everybody which manifests in different forms. Everyone is supremely engrossed in his or her own life and the stress associated with it.

Generally we come across two categories of people, each on the opposite end of the poles. There are the ones who are perpetually angry and make a noise even if the speed breaker is just lying there, mutely. They don’t make it to an event on time because their speed was rudely cut short by that dumb wall-of a speed breaker. They are angry because there is too much or too less work in the office or their assistant is not capable enough. They are also angry because the Indian cricket team did not win the match or that the players are spoilt dirty that they don’t deserve to win. They are angry at the government policies, the bureaucracy and red-tapism, the corruption at the grass root level and its general apathy towards the betterment of the country. They are angry at the lackadaisical attitude of the people of this country to take-on the government head-on and teach a lesson. They are angry because the mosquito bit them! The mosquito had no business behaving in this manner. Phew..!! That makes for a long list. Such people are forever angry and antagonize others with their behaviour.

Then there the people who can hardly be provoked into losing their cool. For them everything happens because it was predestined to happen. It was designed that way. They have no control over it. So nothing pretty much affects them. These are the ones who are so calm that it makes others around them furious, because Mr. Cool is never angry at anything. Even if they are treated like a foot mat, they don’t bother. Only when the cauldron is full, that the anger comes flowing out like red hot lava. God forbid if that happens! For, hell hath no fury than a calm person scorned!

And then there is this justification for anger. It is always the other person who is wrong. But when we are wrong, are we bold enough to accept our mistakes? No! This non-acceptance gives rise to more anger and we see everybody around us seething with fury. When we take the larger picture, anger has been responsible for the destruction of civilizations.

Anger or ‘raudra’ as a 'rasa' is given a predominant importance, in Sanskrit dramatics, by Bharat muni, in his treatise ‘Natyasastra’. Thus we find anger in creativity too! All said and done, anger is the mainstay in humans, for it is anger that needles us to achieve those seemingly impossible tasks. Constructive anger does lead us to glory but destructive anger is all gory.