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Monday Morning Greetings 2024 #37 – Some Thoughts on Envy and the Path of Devotion

September 9th, 2024

Sometimes my Monday Morning Greetings is inspired by a question that I was asked recently in class, such as one from last Sunday which sparked a discussion about envy and the path of devotion:

 

“Is there envy in the spiritual world?”

 

Of course, although there is the facsimile of jealousy in the drama of Radha and Krishna, all rasa (loving exchanges) in the spiritual world are born purely out of ecstatic love. Therefore nothing that happens there can be born of envy or hate. That, however, is not our story in this world.

 

“O scion of Bharata, O conqueror of the foe, all living entities are born into delusion, bewildered by dualities arisen from desire and hate.”

 

“…The illusory energy is manifested in the duality of desire and hate. Due to desire and hate, the ignorant person wants to become one with the Supreme Lord and envies Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead…” Bhagavad-gītā 7.27, verse and purport

 

There you have it, the foundation of the material world in a nutshell. We come to this world out of ego desiring superiority and thus we naturally hate or envy those who threaten that self-conception. We may think that as decent people this no longer refers to us, but before making that assessment we should at least reflect just how much the disease of envy is inherent within us once we have accepted a material body. Consider the following.

 

At the end of one’s life, in consideration of our past deeds and our present desires, God decides through his supporting agencies the appropriate body that will give us the best opportunity to evolve in consciousness in our next life, mostly by frustrating the desire to enjoy and control which the present body has afforded us. This identification with the material body is facilitated by the element of false ego which delimits our consciousness or awareness so that we fully relate to the specific body which we have received. In other words, our material identity is based on the false ego, which is primarily characterized by the desire for superiority, and thus our present body and its attachments are naturally imbued with the duality of desire and hate!

 

It should now be clear from this current exposition why the path of devotional surrender, or pure service, is the most direct and powerful process of liberation from material entanglement. Serving God and consciously cultivating the true ego as His servant is completely antithetical to the false ego, the cause of the bodily concept and its dualities.

 

In fact, the path of bhakti is so antithetical to the false ego, and its consequent dualities of desire and hate, that in the beginning of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.2), it is proclaimed that this book is for the devotees (satām) who are completely free from hate, (nirmatsarāām). Therefore even religious activity that offers reward for one’s sacrifice (which includes most of the Vedas) is adamantly rejected in the Bhāgavatam because it is also still infused with the dualities of desire and envy.

 

Does this mean that devotees are automatically free from envy? Obviously, not.

 

What it does mean is that the path of devotion is not for one with material aspirations connected to the false ego. Rather, its practice and goal is pure devotion:

 

“One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.” Bhakti-rasāmta-sindhu 1.1.11

 

And it means our exemplars are devotees like the Six Goswamis:

 

“…They are just like the ocean of love of God, and they are popular both with the gentle and with the ruffians, because they are not envious of anyone…” (emphasis mine) Ṣa-gosvāmy-aṣaka 1

 

And that was our brief discussion on envy and the path of devotion.

 

 

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