Workings of Envy - (1199)

Introduction

We may not often work on envy, though as you may see from this post, it is worthwhile because within the work on envy is an important marker through which we can evaluate our progress.

Being Honest

If we be very honest and look into ourselves we will find that it is not so easy to be deeply and sincerely happy for the success of others. Especially, when they have success in the areas where we have failed or are not doing well.

Partly Happy

We can feel happy for their success in the top levels of our mind, yet underneath those levels, there is a tension, something that pulls down on our smile, something that dulls the emotions of happiness towards them and something that as soon as others look away pulls our face into a slight scrunch and frown, and turns that previously felt tension in the emotional centre into a slight welling up of discomfort, maybe a touch of pain, uncertainty, worry and tightness (stone like) in the heart etc.

What Happens Normally – Happy when they are Unhappy

What happens normally is that when others are unhappy or are not doing well or are going through some difficulties or have had an accident or are sick or have been diagnosed with a certain condition, our envy disappears and we feel happy with them. We tend to be more understanding and kind towards them.

It feels very good that we feel kind feelings towards them and we have kind thoughts and we feel like a pity and compassion towards them and we want to offer our help and support. We are sort of relieved as well, because we say to ourselves, "oh good my love is coming out, I do love them after all". In the relativity of things this is good, it is certainly much better than feeling negative towards them, but strictly in the field of psychological work, this warrants some investigation.

Perhaps a Little Odd this Happiness We May Say

These new feelings of happiness towards the other person that we previously envied, seem so normal and kind and we think that we love them. Though if we did really love them, wouldn't we feel like this towards them all the time independent of circumstances?

What happens is we have like a psychological memory gap where we don’t connect to the fact that we felt envy towards them and that this new happiness is a little odd, and really to possess the virtue of the soul opposite to envy, which is the happiness for the success of others permanently inside of ourselves, we have to take this happiness outside of circumstances and fix it into our psychology so that it will shine as does the sun all the time and anytime and not like the moon which appears and disappears according to a mechanical cycle of circumstances. 

An Example of Envy in Relationships

Here is an example of how envy works with self-love in relationships. Really behind envy we can see is lots of pride. It seems that envy and pride are very intimately related, as you'll see below in this very typical example.

I have seen Red being happy with Blue, because Blue is starting to suffer for the harsh treatment that Red is giving Blue. All for the reason that Blue’s suffering shows attachment to Red, as well as self-love and pride to do with Red, and so then Red does not feel below or inferior to Blue. Red feels happy that Blue is still not free from Red and is no better than Red in the dissolution of their pride, self-love and attachment. A little ill-willed I might say, and something that I am sure we have all witnessed countless times before.

Unequivocal Sign of Our Progress

Master Samael says that this is a sign of progress in our work, if we can sincerely not feel superior to others and we can sincerely feel happy with others given their success.

It is really a measure of how our overall work on ourselves is going.

This means that we really have to study our reactions in relation to the success of others.

So how do you react when others succeed? (You knew this question was coming – I asked myself as well. It is ugly for one's pride to admit one has envy, I always remember Master Samael saying that when you hide a defect it is because you are protecting it, and protecting it means you are further away from eliminating it.)

Conclusion

I think that it really worth looking into this point or area of how we react beyond our feigned happiness towards the success of others. It is an important sign post for us to observe.

There is much freedom to gained if we can detach from these feelings of envy. As I have mentioned in a previous post, anyone who succeeds, if we overcome our envy, becomes for us a guide, a teacher and a help and because our success is also their success and a chain is formed, where our success will later pull and help others to arrive at the same success and this chain builds one link at a time. The work of a missionary is like this. The success of his/her students depends greatly on his/her success. If Master Samael never got success on the path we would not be here and we would not get our future success. Master Samael got his success because his guru had gotten success and so on and so on.

Envy blocks and stops this process, which is like a principle of the path, and that principle is that everyone on the path has their left arm extended forward to reach those who are ahead so to receive their help and at the same time they have their right arm extending backward to give their help to those who are behind forming a chain of help right from within the depths of creation all the way up to the Absolute! Mate that is the way!

End (1199).