SMITH,
Forget everything in your life and just keep reading this over and over and over etc, etc, etc.
Your evil instincts such as jealousy or enviousness cause you more sufferings and miseries to people than any bodily diseases/harm. How is so? One who is jealous or envious of others feels painful and resentful at their betterment, and would feel happy only when some miseries befall on them. This demoniac instinct of jealously/enviousness is born of the false ego. And the false ego gets hurt upon seeing others enjoying an advantage.
Those who posses this instinct are not austere, or devoted , or engaged in sincere meditational or devotional services. According to Vedic scriptures and gurbani, such persons are unfit for gaining spiritual knowledge for they can not understand it. Consequently, they render themselves unfit for self-realization.
But, unfortunately, most of the people end up listening to divine scriptures from such unfit people at organized religious places such as gurdwaras, temples, churches, etc. The result is as the saying goes "blind leads blind".
The scriptures of all faiths describe God as being immaculate and pure. He has made all of us in this pure image of Him. Then, how does one end up acquiring such filthy instincts?
This pure image of Him (soul, light, consciousness, etc.) has been covered by ignorance born ego. This ego, being the offspring of false Maya, is also false. As we sink more and more in this false maya, our mind becomes more and more deluded or filthier. We accumulate this filth for countless incarnations. As the scriptures tell us, the maya is like a fly who always likes to sit on a filthy object (i.e., filthy mind).
The ego and maya is but filth, and the soul is filled with this filth (sggs 570). The scum of so many births is attached to this soul and it has become pith black (sggs 651). Impure is the body which is soiled with the filth of ego (sggs 1045). Having been smeared with the filth of ego, the world suffers. This filth of ego attaches because of profane love (sggs 39).
EFFECTS
The instinct of envy is like a serpent's venom. 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, you look for faults in others; and never see their good qualities; think ourselves faultless. We disown our own faults and elude responsibility for such faults and throws it on others; continuously burn inside upon seeing others enjoy advantage, and become like a half-burnt wooden log; become irritable and unpleasant; shoot nonsense from our mouth; criticize and argue with others; ever ready to fight and explode into red rash;
become doubt ridden; hate others; feel insecure in the outside world; feel lonely, friendless, unaffectionate, unenthusiastic, without self-esteem, courage less, etc.; become mindward (manmukh); and lack divine attributes such as truth, contentment, knowledge, love, forgiveness, sacrifice, mental and bodily control, faith in God and scriptures, selfless service, etc.
Do not think good of others or wish good to others;
Saintly souls compare the envious ridden person to a "sanitary inspector". A sanitary inspector spends his time inspecting filth. Similarly, the envious ridden person spends time inspecting faults in others. As a result, he becomes habitual to slandering, hating, and resenting others; the nectarian Name tastes bitter and the poison of slandering and enviousness sweet; and the hearing of lord's name feels like scorpion's stung. He, in whose heart there is jealously for others, never gathers any good (sggs 308). By slandering, the slanderer washes other's filth and he is the filth eater and wealth-worshipper (sggs 507). Without Lord's meditation, to live is like burning in fire, even though, like a serpent, one's life may be long (sggs 712). If the snake be locked in a basket, its poison and (similarly) mind's rage goes not (sggs 1009).
Nectar deemest bitter and poison sweet. O mammon-worshipper, such is your condition, which I have seen with my own eyes. You are fond of falsehood, fraud, and ego. If you hear the Name, O man, you feel as if you are stung by a scorpion (sggs 892).
Being entangled and enmeshed in the love of false doings, the whole world has perished (sggs 133).
The instinct of jealousy or enviousness is also compared with an "allergy". As in the allergy season, the dormant allergies become active, 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.
Such as cancer is a disease of the body, similarly the evil instincts are the disease of our soul. The bodily diseases finish with the death of this body, however, the soul's diseases stay with the soul for birth after birth, until they are roasted in the fire of divine knowledge.
Whatever I did, for that I have suffered; blame no one (sggs 433).
CURE As we see, the evil instincts of jealousy or enviousness are a royal path to a complete destruction of mind, body, and intellect. How can we cure ourselves from such vicious instincts? Scriptures show us the way out as follows:
Associate with those souls who possess saintly qualities.
Practice humility. One should not consider himself faultless and others full of faults. Engage in Lord's Simran or meditation, because, to live without Simran is like burning in fire, even though, one may live long life as a serpent.
Do good to those who are evil persons without harboring wrath in mind for them.
Turn away from faithless people.
Give up faults and share good qualities of others.
Develop and accumulate divine attributes.
Perform introspection on a daily basis.
Think others as friends, not enemies.
Turn away from slanderers, and do not slander others.
Engage in selfless devotional service.
Cleanse or purify the soul. Because, with dirty soul, neither God' meditation or devotional service is performed, nor is the holly Name obtained. As the Lord is pure, an impure soul can not blend with Him.
Do not turn around and hurt those who have hurt you. Why do evil deeds for which one has to suffer for?
Be aware that we can not hide anything from Lord.
Analyze our own-self, do not get angry with any one.
To avoid troubles, do not harbor evil to others in your mind.
Forgive and forget.
Love all. God is realized by those who love every one.
Follow the instructions of scriptures. Proper understanding will help us in throwing of the curtain of ignorance, and in forgetting to be jealous.
Be humble in the world, with God's grace, we will be delivered.
"Give up your jealousy of others, O fool. Your stay here is only for one night (temporary)" - (sggs 889).
MM |
