What feeling arises in the mind after seeing someone’s success or happiness, someone getting a good companion or getting an award or a good vehicle? When the house of someone you know becomes bigger and more beautiful than yours or he(she) has more friends, associates, followers, disciples than you, what arises in the mind? I am sure you don’t like those feelings. These type of feelings forces you to gossip and look at the shortcoming of others. These feeling takes away your peace and tranquility. Due to this you feel as if a snake is coiling in your heart and you have burning sensation. You feel low and bad. It reduces your working capacity. This bad feeling is called jealousy or envy.

*Is jealousy a punishment?*

It is mentioned in the scriptures regarding punishment that one is burnt in oil pans. Boiling in an oil pan causes pain only for a few moments compared to the soul burning in the fire of jealousy who continues to smolder for an entire year or even a lifetime upto the next birth. Basically, jealousy is a torture, it is a punishment. The evil continues to punish and due to ignorance the soul continues to suffer this punishment.

Ask yourself: Is there always peace in my heart? Have I stopped crying? Do I always have love for myself? Do I always have love for everyone? Do I always feel joy, happiness in my heart? Do I always experience the true form of bliss? Am I free from anger in my actions and words?

If the answer to any one of the above questions is “No”, then it means you are going through the punishment.

*Is being jealous a bad thing?*

The soul suffering from the feeling of jealousy is said to be going through the life of a snake. Such a soul is burning within and doesn’t like another person, just as a snake doesn’t like anyone around him and is eager to bite. Similarly, a soul suffering from jealousy will continue to feel envious at every step and will continue to speak ill of them. They will keep spitting out poison, just like a snake.”

*How to be free from jealousy?*

God says, “If you donate the vice, the eclipse of bad feelings will go away.” O soul, you are a great and noble soul! Resolve again and again that “I am a great soul, I am a noble soul.” While doing this, voices may come from your heart telling you that you can’t be great, you are egoistic, you have the vices within your mind, you have many desires, you are angry, you are greedy, you live in tension, you are weak, your beliefs are weak, you are sick, you are depressed, you have no enthusiasm, etc. Whatever bad feelings arise in your heart, write them down and give them to God, in this way you will be free of negative thoughts. Until the soul is satisfied with its mind, intellect, values, and role, it can’t love itself, it can’t give regard to itself, and others will not give respect either. The soul will not be able to live in joy and will automatically start burning with jealousy after seeing those who are achieving success.

Until and unless the soul tells the truth to God and takes the blessing “Sachche Dil Par Saheb Raazi” (God is pleased by the true heart), the soul is forced to burn in the fire of jealousy, and its progress also stagnates. One has to tell the condition of one’s heart and feelings of jealousy to God. Who is that person you don’t like to see? Whose success are you irritated by? What is it about them that makes you feel bad? If you develop some of their qualities, then you will feel relaxed? If something bad may happen to them will it bring peace to your heart? If you give heartfelt answers to all such questions in a written form to the Supreme Father, Supreme Soul, then this effort will help you to be free from jealousy. You need to give words to your feelings; otherwise, you will fall into the category of people with sugar in their mouth and a knife in their heart. The more you tell the truth, the more you will become established in self-respect and become free from jealousy. Secondly, you should definitely appreciate the person for his good quality or success to be free from jealousy. If we don’t appreciate, jealousy gets over us.

So let us appreciate to save our mind from jealous feelings.