ONCE when I lived next door to a famous couple, I’d regularly watch a current of people flow past my house to go to theirs and feel a surge of envy. Compared to them, I was downright unpopular and that was painful.
Pain, however, is not the only emotion envy can evoke. Envious people can also feel hostile, resentful, angry and irritable; we’re likely to feel ungrateful for our assets and circumstances; and we can be anxious and depressed. Envy can harm our mental well being and ability to get along with others. Envy also blocks our spiritual progress. Sri Krishna says the reason he chose to speak the Bhagvad Gita to Arjun was because Arjun had the unique qualification of being non-envious (Gita 9.1).
Looked at analytically, envy is ironic. When I covet another’s popularity, bank balance, looks, talent, power, intelligence or whatever, I become envious because I think that not having that asset is making me unhappy and having it will make me happy. Yet, the emotion of envy itself makes me miserable. Being envious eradicates happiness.
Naturally, we ask, how can I rid myself of envy? There are certainly mundane steps we can take, for example, we can reduce our social media time. Envy is the result of comparing ourselves with others and due to social media, such comparisons have increased exponentially. So, rather than comparing myself with others, I can learn to compare my present self with my past self. Such a technique may help, but in fact envy is so insidious there’s no quick fix to be rid of it. It takes knowledge, time and effort.
The process begins with an understanding of karma. Krishna says, “Action pertaining to the development of the material bodies of the living entities is called karma, or fruitive activities” (Gita 8.3). The body and mind we, as spiritual beings, inhabit are not ours by accident, although modern science would have us think so. In fact, not only our body and mind, but also the circumstances we find ourselves in are results of our previous activities, our karma. Similarly, this applies to the circumstances others are in. A jailed criminal may envy the free person, but he must admit his own actions put him where he is. He didn’t get there by chance.
If we can accept the law of karma and see others’ good fortune as the result of their past piety, it helps us become detached and freed from the grip of envy. Just as there was a great flow of people to my neighbour’s house, a great flow of reactions from our previous actions have created the situation we currently find ourselves in. Instead of bemoaning my fate, I live with it knowing it’s what’s due me. Unlike manmade laws, the law of karma is inescapable. We may not understand it or like it, but nonetheless we get what we deserve. Accepting the law of karma changes our entire perspective on life.
In his introduction to the Bhagvad Gita As It Is, Srila Prabhupada, the founder of the Hare Krishna movement, writes “The Lord, the living entity, material nature and time are all interrelated and are all eternal. However, the other item, karma, is not eternal. The effects of karma may be very old indeed. We are suffering or enjoying the results of our activities from time immemorial, but we can change the results of our karma, or our activity, and this change depends on the perfection of our knowledge.”
To change the results of our karma, we act in relationship to Krishna, for he alone can vanquish all the karmic reactions due us. This is called Krishna-karma. For example, we do business for Krishna by acknowledging that he is the proprietor of the business and the enjoyer of the profits of the business. Those profits can be used to construct a temple for Krishna, and this is also Krishna-karma. If we don’t have the means to do a big project, we can cleanse Krishna’s temple, for that’s equally Krisna-karma. We can grow fruits, flowers and vegetables to offer to Krishna. Acting for Krishna is called devotional service or bhakti and Krishna says, it’s “joyfully performed.” In Srila Prabhupada’s words, “Devotional service to the Lord is not an activity of this material world; it is part of the spiritual world, where eternity, bliss and knowledge predominate” (Gita 9.29 purport). Devotional service doesn’t produce a reaction; there’s no karma involved.
Bhakti, devotional service, is the ultimate cure for envy. As we engage in it, we’ll discover encouraging signs that we’re progressing: we’ll view others in a positive light, we’ll be happy for their achievements and glorify their successes – in my case, I’ll be delighted to see admirers filling my neighbour’s home.
