Envious of Other Living Entities - The Disease of the Conditioned Soul
The material world is characterized by constant rivalry and exploitation. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the tendency to be envious of other living entities is the fundamental symptom of conditioned life, and this animosity can only be cured by recognizing the presence of the Supreme Lord within everyone's heart.
Root Cause of Material Envy
The competition found in material existence is not a natural state for the soul. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that because we rebelled against our original position as servants of God, we brought that envious mentality into the material world, resulting in constant animosity toward our fellow living beings.
- Because of our envy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we have become envious of all other living entities.
- Every conditioned soul has the propensity to cheat, even in marriage. Everywhere in this material world, one conditioned soul is envious of another.
- In the conditional state, every living being is envious of another living being, but in the liberated state there is an absence of animosity.
- So long one will be, stay on the material platform, he will be envious of others only, animal propensity, dog. Dog does not like another dog is coming. So unless one is spiritually realized, the dog mentality will remain there.
Violence of Jīva-hiṁsana
When envy is left unchecked, it manifests as gross violence against others. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that jīva-hiṁsana—the killing of animals or the obstruction of spiritual preaching—is the most severe consequence of this envious mentality, ensuring a hellish destination for the perpetrator.
- Jiva-himsana refers to the killing of animals or to envy of other living entities. The killing of poor animals is undoubtedly due to envy of those animals.
- Jiva-himsana refers to the killing of animals or to envy of other living entities.
- If one enviously kills others for the protection of such a body, does he actually know the true interest of life? Certainly he does not, for if one is envious of other entities, he surely goes to hell.
- The animal-killers (dvisatah), envying other living entities and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are placed in darkness and cannot understand the theme and objective of life.
Developing Universal Brotherhood
True peace is only possible on the spiritual platform. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that a pure devotee of the Lord sees beyond the external bodily covering and recognizes the soul and the Supersoul within, thereby losing all desire to envy or exploit anyone.
- A devotee is never envious of other living entities.
- Realizing this (that the Supreme Soul is present everywhere), one envies no living entity-he sees no difference between man and animal because he sees soul only, not the outer covering.
- Seeing this (universal brotherhood), one does not envy, exploit or trouble another living entity. Thus one who is a devotee of Krsna automatically develops all good qualities, for he is in the proper consciousness.
- He (a devotee of God) does not envy his fellow living entities. Here is a contrast between a pure devotee of the Lord and a yogi interested only in his personal elevation.
The Perfection of Non-Enviousness
To advance in true religion, one must systematically root out all forms of animosity from the heart. As taught in the Vedic literatures, the ultimate instruction is to offer respect to all moving and nonmoving entities, knowing them to be intimately connected to the Supreme Lord.
- My dear sons, you should not envy any living entity - be he moving or nonmoving. Knowing that I am situated in them, you should offer respect to all of them at every moment. In this way, you offer respect to Me (Rsabhadeva).
- Persons who want to advance in superior religion are advised to give up all envy of other living entities, whether in relationship to the body, words or mind. There is no religion superior to this.
- During this period, one should not unnecessarily talk of material subjects or topics of sense gratification, one should be completely free from envy of all living entities, and one should be a pure and simple devotee of Lord Vasudeva.
- The word jiva-himsa (envy of other living entities) actually means stopping the preaching of Krsna consciousness.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the tendency to be envious of other living entities is the defining symptom of the material disease. Because the conditioned soul is originally envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this animosity trickles down into every material interaction, resulting in a dog-eat-dog mentality that fuels exploitation and violence, such as animal slaughter. However, this deep-rooted disease is completely cured through the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. When a person realizes that the Supreme Lord is situated within the heart of every moving and nonmoving creature, they naturally develop perfect universal brotherhood. A pure devotee abandons all desire to cheat or harm others, offering respect to every living entity and achieving the ultimate peaceful state of liberation.
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Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Envious of Other Living Entities. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience the teachings in their direct, verbatim form.