When we do wrong, our conscience does not let us have peace. As long as we have a conscience, we can term ourselves human. But often, we regress to the animal state, as for instance when we lose our temper, said Suki Sivam.
A man who is angry will do things he wouldn't do otherwise. Being angry is like being in an intoxicated state. Anger leads to conduct that we may regret later on, when we have sobered down. That is why the wise curb their anger and focus on the Supreme One.
But to move towards God requires courage. It is not easy, and we might not find the courage to undertake the journey. The one who lacks courage, will turn back.
We start with the intention of trying to reach God, but find the journey difficult, and when we encounter obstacles, we turn back from our objective. We then go back to our bad ways. We must learn from the example of gnanis, to see how they handled difficult situations.
It is not as if they would have never faced problems in their spiritual journey. But they knew how to handle the problems, without losing their temper.
There was a pious man, who would fast during Sashti. Once at the end of his six day fast, he asked the servant of his host to cut an apple for him and to pack it for him, so that he could break his fast with the apple.
The servant was not too bright. He peeled the apple, but instead of packing the slices, he packed the skin of the fruit! When the pious man discovered what the servant had done, he did not say even one harsh word against him.
He just laughingly wondered how his master managed with a servant who lacked efficiency!
Yet another example is that of a religious minded man not being offered any food by his host.
During his discourse the next day, the religious man referred in glowing terms to his host's generosity towards his guests.
The lady of the house, who was in the audience, was ashamed that she had not served any food to the visitor the previous night.
She made amends by cooking up a feast for him the next day. Affection and regard can be won by patience, but anger serves no purpose.
