When one is not accorded honour or praise, one becomes jealous. Many times, when someone who is of the same calibre and position as you is promoted, you become jealous. Even though you may not wish anything bad or hurtful for him, yet you experience restlessness and displeasure.
No matter how fine a pair of shoes one wears, but a thorn in one’s foot disables one from walking properly and with ease. Similarly, the thorn of jealousy robs one’s joy in spite of having 10 million rupees or a good position at work.
Once, there were two officers who each had a monthly wage of ` 1,200. Both their homes were next to each other. Every evening, they would return to their homes, have dinner and visit each other’s homes on alternate days. For four years this routine continued smoothly. Both were happy friends and neighbours. However, one day, one of them bought a fridge. When his friend came to know of it he burned with envy. He became sleepless and kept on thinking, “He has five family members, whereas I have only three. We both get the same wages. Yet, how did he manage to buy a fridge?” Soon after, he stopped visiting and speaking to his friend. Though he had not given a single paisa for his friend’s fridge, he became restless because of his own jealousy. The strange thing was that other people living in the same colony had posh cars, yet this officer was not jealous of them. If he had not had a close friendship with his neighbouring officer, he would possibly not have been jealous. So, being close to someone leads to such things. In fact, jealousy is more predominant between brothers and other family members. Other than someone else’s progress, the progress of one’s own brother ignites more jealousy. How can one be happy in such a state of mind? Even one’s own wealth and property fail to make one happy in such a state of mind.
Another point is in not being able to tolerate the progress of others. In fact, one desires for that person’s loss and downfall. When that person suffers a loss, one becomes very happy. Further, one either causes that person’s ruin or instigates someone else to do so. In this way, matsar means not being able to tolerate the progress of a peer or a non-peer. Shriji Maharaj says that one who has matsar unnecessarily burns when someone else donates and another accepts.
One who has asuya (a subtler form of jealousy) shows and interprets another person’s virtues as faults and bears malice towards him. As a further regression to this, a person having asuya will display intense abhorrence (droh) towards him. When one behaves in this manner, one’s body is destroyed or damaged. However, when one behaves in this manner with God or the Satpurush, one’s intellect (buddhi) and soul (jiva) become demonic (asuri). Thereafter, such a person is never satisfied with the extent of abhorrence (droh) he practices.
Bhagwan and the holy saints say no to harbouring such faults (doshes). They are never happy upon someone having these doshes and neither do they get along with such a person. Doing bhakti out of ego is said to be demonic. Renounce stubbornness (hath), ego (man) and jealousy (irsha) and develop faith (shraddha), eagerness (khap) and spiritual association with the Satpurush (samagam). God and the guru like a devotee who does bhakti coupled with faith and bereft of jealousy.
When a devotee is honoured someone feels jealous, and when the same devotee is insulted the person rejoices. He again rejoices when anything goes wrong or there is a loss for the devotee.
When a good relationship turns sour jealousy rears its head. Thereafter, one cannot tolerate that person’s progress. Formerly, one likes the person’s progress, but later one detests it. He starts finding overwhelming faults in him. He contemplates about his ruin. Things like this happen a lot in human society. Even brothers who have been together for years, decline into developing intense hatred for each other when their relations turn bitter. And their hatred continues into future generations.
Once, a person gave up his hatred for someone and he experienced immense peace. That person confessed, “Before I used to be stressed and get agitated.” In this way, there are so many who remain agitated because of jealousy. But one should try to understand and think that the person is being rewarded with the fruits of his past karmas or his hard work. We, too, should try to achieve things through intense effort. After this, one should develop a higher understanding: “Only offering bhakti to God gives one happiness.”
Yogi Bapa used to say, “May God do good to all.” Others cannot sincerely utter this. In fact, for those whom we are jealous of we feel that they should be taught a lesson. Yogi Bapa never believed or accepted when someone told him that so and so person was jealous of him. Once, someone told Bapa, “A certain person is terribly jealous of you and he cannot bear your progress.” But Bapa refused to believe it and responded, “No one is jealous of me.” Yogi Bapa could never ever imagine that someone was jealous of him. Thus, how can Yogi Bapa be jealous of anyone?
When someone is jealous of us, we feel self-pity and become miserable and inactive; or we react adversely. Once, there was a Russian officer who was highly patriotic for his country. When someone junior to him was promoted the officer divulged his country’s secrets to another country. He thus harmed his own country out of his personal jealousy.
Shriji Maharaj states that within ego lies the element of cruelty. In fact, ego is the root of all the terrible base instincts of pretence, envy, jealousy, anger and others. Even a devotee of God does not like to offer bhakti without satisfying his ego. However, without offering true or pure bhakti one cannot rid oneself of ego.
That is why the manifest form of God or the Satpurush is required in order for one to offer pure, untainted bhakti. I pray that such pure gurubhakti towards Param Pujya Pramukh Swami Maharaj develops in all.