Wednesday, 10 December 2025

ABOUT A TRAVELLER’S ANGER

 

                 ABOUT A TRAVELLER’S ANGER

            Anger is known as a major sin and a door to hell in several religions.

            In Hinduism it is an enemy of wisdom, arising from thwarted desire and ego.

In Buddhism it is a destructive mental state caused by unmet expectations

            In Christianity it is included in seven deadly sins.

            Indignation, fury, outrage, annoyance, provocation, irritation and vexation are some of the common synonyms of anger.

             What follows is a traveller’s story quoted by the Indian mystic and philosopher Acharya  Rajneesh mostly  known as Osho (1931-1990) .

            A learned traveller came to see a celebrated fakir. He was upset probably due to hard travelling. He untied his shoelaces angrily, tossed the shoes aside in a  corner,  and pushed, opened the door with a heavy thud.

            Commenting on this behavior, Osho observes that a man in anger takes the shoes in a manner as if he is an enemy of the shoes; he even opens a door as if there is standing enmity between him and  the door.

            The traveller threw open the door, went in and offered his homage to the fakir who told him:  No, I do not accept your homage. First go and offer apologies to the door and the shoes.

            The traveller was amazed and said that these things are not beings. The fakir did not accept such arguments.  Ultimately, the traveller obeyed the enlightened fakir and wrote in his life history that after obeying  him  he felt very calm, very calm, very serene and peaceful.

            What one has to learn from this story is that one should  love not only human beings but also  everything else on this planet.  

                                                            *******

G.R.Kanwal

10 December 2025

No comments:

Post a Comment