The letter “J” in the English alp-habet leads to words such as joy and judgment, but it also stands for other words such as jaundiced and jealousy. Jealousy or envy, the green-eyed monster, can breed a host of other negative emotions such as hatred, resentment and greed and if unchecked can send a person on the path to self-destruction.

Meanwhile, victims in the gaze of the green-eyed monster scurry for cover from its unpleasant effects, which could range from a run of bad luck to a reversal of fortunes.
Being human, it is perhaps normal to feel a little jealous of others at times. The grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence, and somehow from a distance, the success or adulation that someone enjoys looks so rosy, even undeserving and the result of an extraordinary run of good luck. A feeling of insecurity arises along with wanting exactly what someone else has, while forgetting to appreciate the good that one has been blessed with.
Our scriptures tell us time and again that we must first be grateful for what we have. By succumbing to jealousy, we are right away making a cardinal mistake. We are going against one of the Ten Commandments that states — Thou shalt not covet. In Chapter 16 of the Bhagavad Gita we learn that non-covetousness is a divine quality. Divine qualities lead to liberation, whereas demonic ones lead to continued and increasing bondage.
Do bear in mind that God gives to each one according to what he is best suited for. How else do you explain the fact that children born to the same set of parents sometimes turn out so differently in the way they look and behave, their personalities and their choice of careers, etc? Each one of us is blessed with different skills. Comparisons are odious and futile and only serve to frustrate.
Take a look at the fingers on one hand. Are they exactly the same? If ever you injure your thumb or stub one of your toes you realise what a huge difference it makes to the functioning of the hand or foot. Which proves the point that each of us has a role cut out for us and we all
contribute to the overall scheme
of things.
When we are smitten by jealousy we are just looking at things superficially. We never know what the other man’s load is, the price he paid for getting where he has, the sacrifices made, the hard choices, the battles he fought within and without, the inherent risks and the labour put in. If we did we would probably not want to be in the other person’s shoes.
Being grateful for what one has been given and using one’s skills and talent to make a difference is the best way forward. There is an added bonus in doing that — peace and righteousness. The Bible tells us, “I am the Lord your God who teaches you what is best for you and who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands your peace would have been like a river. Your righteousness like the waves of the sea.”
Isaiah 48:17:18
If left to fester and snowball, jealousy can wreak havoc — sometimes driving people to resort to irrational behaviour, especially when what they yearn for remains out of reach. Here is a wonderful little story from the Panchatantra, which tells it humorously.
Once there was a dhobi who had a dog and a donkey for pets. The dog was a good watchdog and guarded his house. The donkey slogged hard and carried a huge load of clothes on its back, day after day. The dhobi was very fond of the dog and whenever the dog saw him it would squeal and wag its tail and put its front paws on the dhobi’s chest and give him an enthusiastic welcome. The dhobi would pat and stroke the dog affectionately in return.
Every time the donkey saw this he got a little upset and somewhat jealous. “I work so hard for my master, carrying these loads, but only the dog gets these pats. I wonder why?” he thought. So from the next day he decided he too would behave like the dog. So upon seeing his master, he brayed loudly, moved wildly and put his forelegs on his master’s chest trying to replicate what the dog did.
The dhobi thought that the donkey was behaving very strangely and suspected it had gone out of its mind. In a bid to rein it in, he hit it hard with a stick. The frightened and confused donkey learnt a bitter lesson the hard way and collapsed in the process.
While the donkey in the story suffered bodily injury, growing covetousness, the hankering after shortcuts to catch up with someone else in life, all stemming from envy and jealousy, can even lead to one’s downfall.
In recent times we have seen the sad and unfortunate fall from grace of one of the most brilliant and respected minds in the banking world among the Indian diaspora. This was ostensibly because the gentleman in question aspired to be in a league with more financial muscle and clout. A lapse in judgment and the wrong company cost him dearly and sent his stock plummeting, destroying in one fell swoop a reputation he had built over a lifetime.
By allowing jealousy to get the better of you, you are actually doing a gross disservice to yourself. As Osho says, “Let me remind you, because you have not allowed your own juices to flow, you have not allowed your own being to bloom. Hence you feel empty inside and you look at each and everyone’s outside because only the outside can be seen.”
In closing, like the Bhagavad Gita reminds us, if one wants to attain a higher state and achieve soul happiness, jealousy or matsarya is clearly a base quality that one must get rid of.