Anger is anger. Now I must observe my anger. How to observe anger? There is no shape of anger, there is no color of anger, you close your eyes and try to observe anger, what will you observe? Only the object of anger. So-and-so said like this, so-and-so did like this, something unwanted happened, wanted didn’t happen, and that keeps on coming in your mind. You are not observing anger, you are observing the object of the anger and that is the stimulation for your anger, where it becomes more and more; you are not observing anger.
That is why enlightened people said observe your respiration, observe sensation. Observing respiration, observing sensation, you are not diverting your attention to something else because this very sensation, this very respiration, is like the other side of the coin. On the one side you have got your mental negativity, on the other side, these physical things that are happening, your respiration becoming abnormal or your sensation on the body. So you are facing the problem, you are not running away or suppressing it.
A very wonderful solution was found and for that one has to practice. No magic, no miracle. The old habit pattern of the mind was to always give importance to things outside. The things outside? One never tries to understand what is happening inside. Vipassana helps you to see what is happening inside, which is more important than things happening outside. When all importance is given to things outside, then one always remains under the delusion that I am miserable because of things outside. I am miserable because so-and-so said like this or so-and-so did like this. All the cause of my misery I will keep on feeling is outside.
A husband will say, if my wife changes a little, our house will become like a heaven, everything will be all right. She has to change a little. And ask the wife, she says the husband has to change a little, a little change in the husband, wonderful. Father will say the son should change a little, son will say the father should change a little, mother-in-law will say the son-in-law should change, the daughter-in-law should change and the daughter or son-in-law will say the mother-in-law should change, everyone else should change not I, I am perfect. What’s wrong in me? Because you find fault only outside. You always find the cause of your misery outside. So all you’re energy all your strength throughout the life is used to rectify things outside. Nothing wrong, but big mistake you are forgetting everything about yourself; what is happening inside. Your energy goes waste. First thing is that it is so difficult to change others.
You have no control over others, how can I change others? Even if someone becomes the sole ruler of the whole world, so much power, yet it is not possible, that in this person’s life everything will happen according to his or her wishes. Nothing will go against his or her wishes. Even then, with all the power when someone tries to correct somebody or amend somebody, where is the guarantee that someone else will not raise their head and do something against your wishes. Impossible. You can’t change the whole world, but you can certainly change yourself.
