The secret to managing anger and hatred lies in your thought. Change the way you think to fix these negativities, says AJIT KUMAR BISHNOI

Our thoughts are dominated by lust, greed, anger, hate, etc. In old age, our thoughts turn towards our aging bodies. If we allow these thoughts to linger, we are in serious trouble. Because they reinforce “tamoguna” — the mode of darkness.

There are three modes, which constitute our bodies. These are: the mode of goodness, the mode of passion and the mode of darkness. The mode of goodness is the most desirable, because this is illuminating and free from diseases on account of purity. The mode of passion suffers from the fault of attachment because of our faulty desires. Normally, this mode dominates the psyche of most people. The mode of darkness causes delusion, because it is born of ignorance. These modes exist in different percentages in us. Ideally, the mode of goodness should have the highest percentage, followed by the mode of passion and we should have the least percentage of the mode of darkness.

The wise try to reinforce the higher modes and reduce the percentages of the lower modes by their thoughts, deeds, etc. The secret to managing these modes within us lies in the way we think. To work on ourselves, we need to reform our thinking. Because our thoughts cause the most damage, that is, they have a large share in changing the relative proportions of the three modes. Thoughts of love, compassion, cooperation, forgiveness, etc. increase the percentage of the mode of goodness, which benefits us immensely. On the other hand, if we reinforce the mode of darkness by our impure and negative thoughts, this gives rise to fears, anxieties, depression, etc. This mode can become so potent that it can even kill, as happens in suicides. There is no outside force involved in such deeds; the self commits this senseless act.

Let us understand how this dangerous mode establishes its control in us. Lust thoughts appear in the mind at a certain age. If we allow these thoughts to rule, we end up causing harm to ourselves without realising. Lord Krishna has warned of this enemy in several verses of the Gita. The lust may exist for many things, of which lust for tasty food and illicit sex are the most damaging.

It is said that lust leads to the doors to hell. Greed and its related thoughts are common and not far behind in hurting us. The same is true of angry thoughts. Hate takes us to an entirely low level. One may even end up being born in lower species in the next birth!

Focusing our attention to our bodies, we only harm ourselves; we don’t allow our bodies to perform their functions, which they do quite well. This human body is a thing of marvel. Normal care by eating, sleeping, being active and entertaining the self appropriately is what we really need to do; our miseries will be reduced drastically. (Bhagawad Gita, 6.17)

So what should we do? As soon as harmful thoughts appear in the mind, we need to seek help from God. By ourselves, we may be helpless in controlling them. Saintly persons go a step further; they think of God a lot. God is prepared to help and guide. This is the cosmic design. When we do that our lives take an about-turn. Not only do we get the perfect guidance and requisite help, we also get the elusive peace. This in turn leads to ‘sukha’ or the real happiness, which is different from transitory sense pleasures. However, this practice is not easy. Because we have to act on two fronts. One, we must desire to shun bad thoughts and two, we should desire to have God-related thoughts. This is ‘tapasysa’. Either we convince ourselves of the right way or the tamoguna will create havoc in our lives.

Bishnoi is a spiritual writer and can be reached at spiritual@ajitbishnoi.com