Humans get angry. Therefore when you’ve reached self-realization, do you still have feelings of anger, of rage, or outrage?

A question like this is usually asked by a seeker or a disciple. A devotee couldn’t care less. When you ask a question like this you’re asking from the viewpoint of the ajnani, and there are different answers. It’s very paradoxical.

It reminds me of the time I was initiated by Paramahansa Yogananda in self- realization when I was 17, prior to going to India to see Ramana Maharshi. And during the initiation I was on my knees and he put his hand on my head and he said, “Robert, do you promise to love me no matter what I do, or no matter what you think you see me do?” I hesitated. I said to myself, “What is he going to do? Is he going to kill somebody, and wants me to love him no matter what he does?” But then I also realized that I didn’t have all the answers. So I said, “Yes.”

It’s only by being around two or three months that I realized what he meant. He reacted differently to different people, to different personalities. It was Christmas and he was living with the monks in Encinitas at that time. So I recall one monk came over to him and said, “Master,” they called him Master, “may I go visit my family at Christmas time? I’ll be gone two weeks.” He became very sweet and he said, “Of course you can. You should see your family. They miss you. Go and have a good time and come back in two weeks.”

Then somebody else came and kneeled before him and he said, “Master, may I go see my family during Christmas?” He became outraged and started screaming at the monk and said, “How dare you ask me a question like this. Why do you want to see your family? They don’t want to see you. Of course you can’t go. Don’t ask stupid questions. Go back to your quarters,” This was the dilemma, same questions different answers.

I consequently realized that he was able to read into the person. He knew exactly what was going on with each person. He couldn’t possibly give the same answer to two different people. He realized the first person had a loving family, and the first person had high self-esteem, so it wouldn’t matter where the person goes. Their heart is always on truth, on reality, on God. But the second person had a low self-esteem, and if he left he would be dragged by the powers of maya back into reality, of materiality that is, the reality of materiality and he probably wouldn’t even come back again. That’s why he gave that answer.

Robert Adams

Transcript 35
Does a Sage get Angry?
January 6th, 1991