Why this Kolaveri di? Anger and Disease

This article explores “anger” as a mental pathogen. It is probably as dangerous to the body if not more, as all the deadly viruses and bacteria known to us. Let’s understand a few concepts first.

What is disease? In plain simple words,Lack of ease! “Ease” depicts both simultaneously, the state of mind – freedom from anxiety, concern, worry, tension, agitation, constraint etc. and the state of body – freedom from pain, labour, physical annoyance or irritability etc. Clearly, “ease” is both, a physical as well as a mental phenomenon.

In an era where stress has become pandemic, mind is recognized as the seat of most of the ailments. This has been known to us in India through ages but is today accepted even in the Western world.

According to Yoga Vasistha,disease or Vyadhi can be classified into two categories, Adhijavyadhi (the psychosomatic or stress borne diseases) and Anadhijavyadhi (psychosomatic, non- stress borne diseases).

Non-psychosomatic diseases have an external cause like injury, accident, infection, pollution etc., these need to be, and are usually treated quite efficiently with medicines, surgery, nutritional supplements and physiotherapy.

Psychosomatic diseases on the other hand are caused due to strong emotional reactions based on subjective likes and dislikes, attachments or repulsions, raga and dvesha. So, these are rooted in the mind. The Psychosomatic diseases are further divided into two categoriesSaraand Samanya. The formerrefers tothe health conditions that are present by birth like developmental anomalies and congenital diseases. These, according to ancient Indian belief system are due to Karma and can be overcome only with self-realization. The second category psychosomatic diseases “Samanya” are acquired during one’s lifetime due to one’s emotional reactions like anger, fear, jealousy, guilt, humiliation, obsession etc. to various stressors like conflicts, deaths, adversities, occupational targets, expectations, adaptation difficulties, peer pressure etc.

A disturbed mind or a stressed mindis one of the leading causes for generating, precipitating and aggravatingcardiovascular conditions, auto-immune disorders, gastro-intestinal disorders, depression, anxiety, musculoskeletal aches and pains etc. Many symptoms of such problems can be and should be alleviated through medication especially in acute situations, but long-term prevention or cure is possible only when the mind is addressed.

“Anger” is one of the biggest mental-stressors. One can most definitely feel the blood pressure rising along with anger. In fact, anger in one form or the other is a mental root to many healthconditions.

Auto-immune disorders could be translated as the natural intelligence of the body gone wrong or the memory cells of the immune system getting confused making the body attack itself.

Bhagavad Gita states something similar:

Krodhaatbhavatisammohaha, sammohatsmrutivibramaha.

Smrutibramshaatbuddhinaashaha, buddhinaashaatpranashyati (Ch-II, 63)

Anger leads to delusion which confuses memory. When memory is confounded, it attacks intelligence, when intelligence is lost, the man falls down.   

Anger translates itself into auto-immune disorder at the mental level. From the mind, the disorder percolates into the body. In her book,You can heal your life, Louise L. Hay suggests that the leading cause for cancer is deep-seated resentment.

We also attack ourselves through constant anger against ourselves in forms of self-criticism, self-hatred, cursing one-self. The body only concurs with the mind by attacking itself in return.Louise L. Hay traces the roots of Arthritis and many other inflammatory disorders “itis” to the feeling of being “inflamed with anger”.

Jealousy, traditionally referred to as the “Green Eyed Monster”is another form of continuous anger.The Greeks associated jealousy with excessive production of bile (a greenish liquid produced by the liver). Popularly, anger is described as “Bile rising in the throat”. Well the bile does rise, leading to digestive distress and potential damage to the lining of stomach and oesophagus.

Many of us hold “Anger”. Buddha describes anger as a hot-coal held in the hand with the intention of throwing it at someone! A hot coal held for long only burns the entire hand.

With a bit of observation one can easily trace these correlations. If any of these hold true for you then “Why this Kolaveri di?”If you cannot avoid getting angry (like myself) at least cease to hold on to it.

To health and Wellness!!