This is the 2nd in a three-part series on anger and forgiveness. Anger, as an all-consuming negative emotion, even if only momentarily manifest, where it becomes possible to create havoc, do irreparable harm, or say something you will regret the rest of your whole life, is born out of self-centeredness.
In an angry state of mind, we are blind to all spiritual thought and awareness. In a moment of anger, there is zero awareness of ourselves as spiritual beings (temporarily residing within a material body) and zero awareness or the soul or spiritual being of others. In this state we cannot feel empathy for the ‘others’ we heap our anger upon. This anger often grows into hate – the child of anger.
Love on the other hand, in its’ purer forms, manifests from a place of selflessness and there will be a deep empathy and feeling of compassion for those whom we love. In the state of spiritual love, this empathy, compassion, and affection are felt for all living beings.
In this way, we can understand how anger, being an expression of self-centeredness, is the polar opposite of selfless love, and why it is harmful to spiritual cultivation or living a spiritual life.
