JEALOUSY & ENVIOUSNESS

ਜਿਸੁ ਅੰਦਰਿ ਤਾਤਿ ਪਰਾਈ ਹੋਵੈ ਤਿਸ ਦਾ ਕਦੇ ਨ ਹੋਵੀ ਭਲਾ ॥:
Jisu andari taati paraaee hovai tis daa kade n hovee bhalaa (sggs 308).
<><><><>

Man's instinctive mind is stained by the filth of evil instincts - jealousy or enviousness is one of them . It is responsible for causing more sufferings and miseries to people than any bodily diseases, without achieving anything. How's so? One who is jealous or envious of others wealth, success, qualifications, beauty, strength, prosperity, etc., feels painful and resentful at their betterment, and would feel happy only when some miseries befall on them. Along all other demoniac instincts, this instinct of jealously is also born of the false ego-sense (Haume). It is this false ego that gets hurt upon seeing others enjoying an advantage. This character weakness stems from feelings of inferiority, anger, fear, insecurity, inadequacy, helplessness, and a limited view of one's True Self (Joti-Svaroopa).

Jealous persons are often resentful. Hence jealousy is the root cause of conflicts between individuals, groups, religions, communities, and countries. It grows in one's mind by stages and ultimately turns into hatred, which burns his entire life and leads to his downfall. Thus, it ends up in calamities and destruction. One in jealousy always plans to pull down the other. Inflicted with such envy, people do not hesitate wounding the sentiments of others by ridiculing their behavior or uttering harsh words (ill speaking, badmouthing, gossiping, backbiting, etc.).

As the Gurbani reminds us, those who posses this evil instinct are not austere or spiritual, even though they may pretend to be as such. Accordingly, jealous individuals remain uninterested in sincere Shabad-Vichaar, etc. As indicated in the SGGS (Sri Guru Granth Sahib), such persons render themselves unfit for gaining Spiritual Knowledge for they cannot understand it. As a result, they become unfit for Self-Realization.

Unfortunately, most of us end up listening to the Gurbani from such unfit people at organized religious places such as Gurdawaras, temples, churches, mosques, and so on. The result is as the saying goes: "blind leads blind".

We are told in the Gurbani that the Soul is made in the Pure Image of God (Joti-Svaroopa). "Then how does one end up acquiring filthy instincts such as jealousy?", one may ask! Because ignorance born false ego-sense has intervened. This unripe ego, being the offspring of the false Maya (Cosmic delusion), is also false. As the Gurbani tells us, Maya is like a fly who always likes to sit on a filthy object. Likewise, the deluded mind also likes to dwell on filthy thoughts. As we sink more and more in the marsh of deceptive Maya (illusion), our mind becomes more and more "filthy" or deluded. Thus, we keep accumulating the "filth" for countless incarnations.

Effects of Jealousy and Enviousness

The instinct of jealousy is like a serpent's venom. It is capable of agitating our consciousness and cast many shadows over clarity of perception for long segments of time. It pollutes our minds and corrupts our intellect with ill-will. Also, it destroys our body, nature, and personality. The body, mind and intellect of a person with such malicious instinct become nothing more than a "trash basket". As a result, we:

Jealousy makes people mean. The Gurmukhs compare the envious ridden person to a "sanitary inspector". For example, a sanitary inspector generally spends his time inspecting filth or trash. Similarly, the envious ridden person spends time inspecting faults in others. As a result, he becomes habitual to slandering, hating, and resenting others. Consequently, the poison of slandering and enviousness tastes sweet to him. To the contrary, the hearing of God's nectarian Name (Amrit-Naam-Aatam-Giaa...) tastes bitter and painful to him, like the stung of a scorpion. Preoccupation with retaliatory jealousy or enviousness can also be likened to an "allergy". Just as allergies become active in the allergy season, similarly, the allergy of evil instincts also become active as soon as we see those for whom we hold malice and hate in our mind! Thus jealousy — along with fear, insecurity, and anger — in a way is a protective mechanism of the conditioned mind.

Such as cancer is a bodily disease, similarly the evil instincts are the disease of our the conditioned mind. However, the bodily diseases finish with the death of the body, but the mindl's diseases do not, until they are roasted in the fire of the Divine Knowledge (Aatam-Giaan, Bibek-Budhi of the Gurbani ).

Cure

As we can see, the instinctive emotion such as jealousy is a deadly disease of theworldly mind as it blights one's peace and throws him into hellish existence. When turned active, it makes people aggressive, deceitful, and treacherous. In other words, it is a royal path to a complete destruction of the mind, body, and intellect. How can this blot be removed from our mind? How can we cure ourselves from such vicious instinct? The Gurbani shows us the way out as follows:

With control over the mind (thinning of the false ego-sense, Haume, illusion, etc.) the force fields of jealousy, envy, emotional attachment, resentment, selfishness, hostility and passion stand shattered. When such expanded consciousness is maintained, it frees us slowly but surely from ever again falling in the magnetic pull of such negative tendencies.

How can one tell if he is inflicted with this mental disease? Here is a simple self-test - when others get what they wish, and we are sad, it means we are inflicted with this disease. It's a disease in the mind that eats away one's peace.

— T. Singh
www.gurbani.org

Updated on Monday, January 30, 2012 1:41 PM (PST)

[Home] [Article Menu]