No More Outward Manifestations of Anger
A Level-six person never loses his temper. His brain understands that anger and negative emotions are self-destructive and serve no purpose whatsoever...
In the previous article, we've completed Level Five and now we continue with Level Six.
Ten Exemplary Levels from Total Anger to Total Tranquility
Level One: Overt Anger and Violent Revenge
Level Two: Silent Anger and Emotional Revenge
Level Three: Incessant Overt Anger, But No Revenge
Level Four: Calm in Public, Angry at Home
Level Five: Trying to Do Better
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Level Six: The Advanced Spiritual Trainee – No More Outward Manifestations of Anger
Take a Level-five person at the start of his spiritual journey, and after a few short weeks of spiritual awareness training, he'll move up to Level Six.
A Level-six person never loses his temper. His brain understands that anger and negative emotions are self-destructive and serve no purpose whatsoever, yet his newly acquired spiritual awareness has not yet filtered down to his heart.
I once overheard two people arguing about what is the longest distance in the world between two points. One said, from the North Pole to the South Pole. The other said from Hawaii to Saudi Arabia. I suggested that neither was correct: The longest distance in the world is the distance between the heart and the brain. People can travel the whole globe a lot faster that they can internalize what they learn. Therefore, spiritual trainees move quickly up the spiritual ladder the minute they decide to open their hearts and minds to internalizing the lessons that we'll be learning throughout this book.
A Level-six life changes drastically for the better within a few short weeks. Yet, small coals of anger still burn within. That's understandable – Rome wasn't built in a day. Building a tranquil soul is much more difficult than building a metropolis, or even conquering the world. Ask Alexander the Great.
Alexander the Great Arrives in Jerusalem[1]
Alexander the Great arrived victoriously to the Land of Israel, after conquering all of Europe, the Near East, and North Africa. On the back of a stunning white horse, he led his army on a glorious parade-march from the port of Jaffa to the Holy City of Jerusalem, a distance of forty-five miles.
The entire population of Jerusalem, including the Sages and the Priests of the Holy Temple, welcomed the new ruler of the civilized world.
At the Gates of Jerusalem, Shimon HaTzaddik (Simon the Pious), High Priest of the Holy Temple, dressed in his best ceremonial white, led the entourage of dignitaries who joined to honor the hero of Macedonia.
Alexander saw Shimon HaTzaddik, dismounted, and fell prostrate at the High Priest's feet.
The Greek commanders were aghast. "Why is our king bowing down to the feet of an old Jew?"
Alexander rose to his feet and looked over his shoulder to his staff officers: "That is no old Jew. That's the angel who stood before my eyes each time we were victorious in battle". From that poignant moment, Alexander opened his heart to the Priests and wise men of Jerusalem.
One of the elderly wise men addressed the king: "Congratulations, Your Majesty; now that you have won the little war, you're prepared to fight the big war".
The wise man's words both perplexed and astonished Alexander the Great. "Rabbi, do you call the battles of Gall, Italy, Mesopotamia, and Egypt a little war?"
The frail but intrepid Sage answered, "Certainly, Your Majesty. Fighting external enemies is easier than fighting the internal enemy, one's evil inclination. Defeating anger is a greater challenge than ruling the world."
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Alexander the Great conquered the world, yet remained prisoner to negative emotions. When he listened to gossip about rivals plotting against him at home in Greece, he lost his temper and lost control of his empire. He subdued entire continents, but never succeeded in subjugating his own evil inclinations and inner turbulence. Had he been a Level Six, maybe the Macedonian Greeks would be ruling the world to this day.
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Level Seven: Forgives and Forgets, No More Anger in His or Her Thoughts, But Still Hurts When Reminded of Painful Experiences
Allow me to interject a word about levels. Graduating from one level to the next higher level is far more significant than moving from the ninth grade to the tenth grade in school. Each level of progress on the scale from turbulence to tranquility represents a new lease on life.
Levels One through Four describe the relative anger levels. Levels Five and Six are the spiritual trainee levels. Level Seven is the introductory level of inner peace.
Level Seven is beyond the reach of anger management. One cannot possibly eradicate anger from the mind and heart without concerted spiritual effort, as you'll learn from Chapter Four onward.
Level Sevens are always calm. If you remind a Level Seven of a painful experience, he/she might wince, but won't succumb for a moment to any trace of negative feelings. Level Seven people are highly attuned to the feelings of their fellow human. Here's another poignant story from the Talmud, which describes Level-seven deportment to the letter.
The Young Israelite and His Ex-wife
A young Israelite at the time of the Roman occupation had a shrew for a wife. For several years after the wedding, he suffered in silence. But, once the woman began acting like the Roman occupiers, the young man divorced her.
The young Israelite became wealthy, but his ex-wife married a Roman soldier, and they became destitute. One day, he saw them dressed in rags and searching for a morsel of food in the garbage heap at the marketplace.
Despite the emotional scars she left on his heart, the young Israelite took pity on the couple, put a roof over their head, and placed food on their table.
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At Level Seven, you bear no malice toward a single person in the world that has harmed you. On the other hand, Level Seven people are lovers of humanity, and won't forgive tyrants that harm other people.
"If a person disregards an insult, the Almighty disregards all that person's transgressions." — Babylonian Talmud
To be continued…
(The Trail to Tranquility is available in the Breslev Store.)
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[1] Based on Talmudic lore.
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