How can God give happiness out of His anger?

[An online spiritual discussion was conducted on December 19, 2020, in which several devotees participated. Some of the questions of devotees answered by Swāmi are given below.]

[Smt. Anita Renukuntla asked: In general, man always wants happiness. He only remembers God during his hard or difficult times. But Kuntī asked for difficulties after the Mahābharata so that she could remember God continuously. Swāmi, in one of Your discourses, it is written that difficulties in our life come by the grace of God, whereas, happiness comes due to His anger. God is unhappy if we do bad deeds. He becomes angry and gives difficulties to us, I understand this clearly. How can God give a particular soul happiness, when He is angry with that particular soul? Please explain to me.]

Swāmi replied: There are two types of anger. One is good anger which is due to love and the other is bad anger, which is due to vengeance. Parents getting angry with a bad child is the result of their love for the child. It is meant to reform the child and bring it to the good path. Difficulties come to a soul as a result of its previously-done sins. God does not give difficulties unless we have committed sins. So, we should not misunderstand the difficulties given by God. Like realized people, we must understand that the difficulties are given to us only due to God’s grace. Realized people never misunderstand the difficulties given by God to be the result of His anger. The intention behind giving punishments for sins in the form of the difficulties is to reform the soul. The reason behind the punishments given to the sinner is only the love of God and not the vengeance of God. God hates and shows vengeance towards the concept of sin, but not towards the sinner. We punish a sinner with vengeance, but God punishes the sinner for his reformation, due to His immense love for the soul who is His child.

During difficulties, the soul becomes highly devoted to God and this is spiritual progress. Happiness comes as a result of our meritorious deeds and in those times of happiness, we develop ego and negligence towards God. In the times of happiness, we go far from God and we go down spiritually. In times of difficulty, we become close to God and rise up spiritually.

Our anger is of two types namely the anger arising out of love and the anger arising out of vengeance. But the anger of God is only of one type, which is the anger arising out of love. He never has any place for vengeance in His heart. We have earned abundant sins and some merits as a result of the deeds done by us already. God has the freedom to either give us the fruits of our sins or the fruits of our merits, as per the situation. If the soul requires an urgent reformation, the fruits of the sins are given. When the soul requires a period of interval in between the difficulties, the fruits of merits are given. But by the enjoyment of the fruits of merit, we go down spiritually, whereas, by facing the fruits of sins, we rise up spiritually. When we rise up spiritually, we consider it to be the result of the grace of God while when we go down spiritually, we consider it to be the result of the anger of God.

Based on such a mature psychology, God tells us that difficulties come by His grace and that happiness comes by His anger. This statement of God is based on a wise and mature psychology. But our psychology is a foolish psychology. So, we think that happiness comes due to the grace of God and difficulties come due to the anger of God. The Gītā says that one must find inaction in action and action in inaction. This type of shrewd intelligence which enables us to find the reverse through analysis is appreciated in the Gītā (Sa buddhimān manuṣyeṣu...).

For sinners who are related to us, we show anger towards them due to love. For sinners who are not related to us, we show anger towards them due to vengeance. Hence, we exhibit both types of anger towards sinners. But in the case of God, He has only one face of love which is expressed in the form of anger towards all sinners. God has the face of vengeance which He expresses in the form of anger only towards sin.