Is anger a weakness or strength?

Questioner: Would it not be considered cowardly to remain silent when someone insults you?

Dadashri: Not at all, to bear an insult is a sign of great strength. If someone were to swear at me right now, I would not have a single negative thought towards him. That is strength. Quibbling and quarrelling is weakness. To bear an insult calmly is a great strength. If a person overcomes an insult just once, he will acquire the strength to do so hundred times over. Do you understand? If you are strong, your opponent will become weak. That is the natural trend. When a weak person harasses us and we do not do anything in response, it is considered a great strength.

In actuality the weak should be protected and the strong should be confronted. In this current time cycle, nobody behaves in this manner at all. Nowadays, people keep badgering the weak and run away from the strong. There are very few people that protect the weak and stand up against the strong. This whole world keeps hurting the weak. At home, the husband dominates the wife. If you beat a cow that is tied up, where will she go? And what if you were to untie the cow and then beat her? She would either run away or fight back.

A man who, despite being strong, does not harm his opponents, not even his enemy, is considered a powerful person. Is it not cowardly when you get angry with someone who gets angry with you? I am saying that these inner enemies of man, anger, pride, attachment, and greed are weaknesses. Why would a person who is strong need to get angry? People, however, try to control others with their anger. Those who do not use anger as a weapon have something else. That something else, is sheel (extraordinary moral character). Sheel in a person subdues even animals. Lions, tigers, and enemies will all surrender to such a person.