I used to have a terrible temper when I was a boy. But one day I said to myself, “If you want to do good on earth, you must not lose your temper.” I promised myself that I would destroy that enemy of my soul; and to this day I have never hurt anyone out of anger or spite. Greater than the wounds of battle are wounds to your soul. Let not your soul be wounded by anger and hate. Though it is terrible to see people manned and killed in this war, there is consolation that on one side they know they are immortal souls; only their bodies have been hurt. The scars of the body perish with the body, but wounds to the soul on the spiritual battlefield are terrible. They are more deadly in their torture. Those who lose the battle of life by succumbing to hatred and meanness will lose themselves. Those scars remain on the soul; they will go with you beyond the grave and last for incarnations. If you are an angry or hateful person, who knows? You may come again on earth for many incarnations, hurting people and being hurt by them.
Wrath and hatred accomplish nothing. Love rewards. You may cow down someone, but once that person has risen again, he will try to destroy you. Then how have you conquered him? You have not. The only way to conquer is by love. And where you cannot conquer, just be silent or get away, and pray for him. That is the way you must love. If you practise this in your life, you will have peace beyond understanding. And then you will know what Christ is. Why shouldn’t you be victorious in this way? Conquer dark qualities that cause great suffering and wound the soul. Get rid of them; pulverize them. These enemies I have destroyed, and now I am free. So must you destroy them.
Extract from the book “The Divine Romance” by Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda.
