Imagine that there is a taraju, scales. On one side you have put the negative tendencies and traits of life, and on the other side the goodness. Which side will be heavier, the negative side or the positive side? The negative is always more weighted than the positive. Nobody can deny it, for negativity comes naturally, and positivity has to be cultivated. Nobody has taught you how to get angry. You have not asked anybody, “Please teach me how I can get angry”Everybody is asking, “Please teach me how I can love others more.” “Please teach me how I can be a little bit more compassionate.”
The more you become aware of the negative, the more depressed you will be for you will see ‘this is what I am’. Therefore, ignore the negative and develop the positive.
The concept of pratipaksha bhavana, cultivating the opposite of what you feel and think is the sadhana to manage the traits that restrict the growth or evolution of the human mind, human consciousness and human life.
Abridged from a talk by Swamiji on April 11, 2014, Worli, Mumbai, Courtesy: Bihar School of Yoga