Leading Light | Decoding Jealousy And The Secret To Overcoming It

Maharishi Patanjali, the master of the human mind and a true scientist, codified the vast wisdom of yoga in simple and lucid Yoga Sutras thousands of years ago. In them, he speaks about asteya, non-stealing, one of the five yamas (yoga’s guide on social ethics). When you are established in non-stealing, you get all the wealth.

It is said that even wishing to possess the qualities in others is stealing in a way. When you look at someone and think, “Oh! How I wish I had a voice like them,” you have already stolen! Sitting and wishing, “I wish I had that car, that power, that money,” creates jealousy and is stealing too. Why do people steal? Because they want to possess. “Mine, mine!” This very thought keeps one poor.

Maharishi Patanjali also advises

being friendly with those who are happy. If you are not friendly with happy people, you will feel jealous. Jealousy arises because someone is happier than you. But if you own them, if you think that they belong to you, then you will not be jealous of them. You are not jealous of someone very dear to you; when they are happy, it brings you joy.

Why do people get jealous? Because stress weakens the mind and distorts love into greed, jealousy, fear, and hatred.

There is a verse by Kabir, “I went to find a bad person in the universe, and I found none.” All human beings are good! Nobody is born as a bad person. There are negative tendencies in people, but that is not the basic human nature. This negativity is only on the circumference. Whether it is greed, jealousy, anger, hatred, or frustration, all these negative emotions can be healed or reoriented through yoga and meditation.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna talks about all the good qualities and then tells Arjuna that these qualities are already in you. Just like in an atom, the core is positive and the negative particles are on the periphery. Don’t ever think that jealousy or sorrow is deep inside you.

Don’t get caught up in how people behave; instead, keep your attention inward and realise that you are very dear to God. You are no less than the others. If this one thought gets solidified in your mind, jealousy will not touch you.

If you are jealous of others, know that the person has done some good karma and is now reaping the fruit. Take it as inspiration to gain more merit in life. Create a sense of belongingness with them. Think of what you have and feel grateful. Think of those who have much less than you. It is better to compare yourself with your own self. How you were 10 years or five years ago, and what you can yet be tomorrow.

If others are jealous of you, praise them in superlatives, create a sense of belongingness in them by your kind actions, and know their feelings are temporary. The best is not to recognise their envy at all, for that only makes ignorance grow. All feelings are like passing clouds.

Someone jealous is teaching you what not to do and what not to be. Simply know that everyone who is jealous of you and who you are jealous of will die. That’s the ultimate truth!

The author is a humanitarian leader, spiritual teacher and an ambassador of peace. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.