Acharya Prashant explains that negative feelings increase when one attempts to suppress them, as suppression provides the ego with a false sense of power. Instead of fighting or ignoring these feelings, he suggests developing a friendly relationship with them to understand their origins and demands. He emphasizes that ignoring or trying to forget feelings like envy, fear, or hatred is often rooted in fear and victimhood, which only allows these emotions to dominate one's mood. Using one thought to conquer another is a futile exercise that leads to exhaustion because both thoughts originate from the same mind. Acharya Prashant advises dropping the moralistic urge to control emotions, asserting that nothing in existence needs to be controlled, only understood. He uses anger as a primary example, noting that people often find a hidden pleasure in it because it massages the ego. To truly address anger, one must have the honesty to admit they are nurturing it for pleasure and the courage to face it without feeling small or guilty. He concludes that while situations and the body will continue to trigger emotions like anger, one should remain aware and welcoming of them like a guest, rather than allowing them to enter unnoticed and dominate one's state of being.
