Category:Envious
Theme Analysis
According to Vedic philosophy, the entire material world operates on a single, poisonous principle: enviousness (matsaratā). Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the original cause of the living entity's fall from the spiritual world is their envy of the Supreme Lord's position as the absolute master and enjoyer. Having rebelled against God, the conditioned soul enters the material universe where this envy expands and fractures into endless rivalry. It manifests individually as jealousy toward a neighbor's success, socially as caste or class warfare, and globally as the driving force behind devastating international wars and political diplomacy.
The ancient scholar Cāṇakya Paṇḍita categorized the envious human being alongside the venomous black snake, noting that while a snake can at least be pacified or controlled by herbs and mantras, the envious human (khala) can never be satisfied. An envious person is driven by the mode of passion, feeling distress when others are happy and finding joy only in the suffering of others. Even exalted personalities like Devakī, Kuntī, and the Pāṇḍavas were subjected to the relentless cruelty of envious relatives like Kaṁsa and Duryodhana, proving that no one in the material world is safe from this disease.
The ultimate solution to this pervasive suffering is presented in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is specifically compiled for those who are paramo nirmatsarāṇām—completely non-envious. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is scientifically designed to cure this disease. By recognizing that Kṛṣṇa is the supreme proprietor and the friend of all living entities, a devotee loses the desire to compete with others. True spiritual advancement is directly measured by one's freedom from jealousy; when a person is no longer envious of anyone's success, they are no longer in the material world, but are already situated on the spiritual platform.
- The Universal Disease: The foundation of material existence—from family disputes to world wars—is the principle of matsaratā (enviousness) and the desire to usurp the position of others.
- The Two Snakes: Vedic wisdom compares the envious person to a venomous snake, concluding that the human is far more dangerous because their envy cannot be charmed or pacified.
- The Original Rebellion: All material jealousy is simply an extension of the soul's original, foolish envy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead's absolute position.
- The Spiritual Cure: The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant to train individuals to become paramo nirmatsarāṇām (completely non-envious), which is the true test of spiritual realization.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Envious - The Root Disease of the Material World.
Subcategories
This category has the following 35 subcategories, out of 35 total.
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Pages in category "Envious"
The following 140 pages are in this category, out of 140 total.
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A
- A karmi must be envious because he wishes to enjoy material pleasures to their fullest extent. That is the material disease
- A poverty-stricken man, therefore, is unable to perform harmful, envious activities. In other words, such a man automatically gains the results of the austerities and penances adopted voluntarily by saintly persons - SB 10.10.16
- A snake is considered to be the most cruel and envious living entity, but those who are human beings and are envious of others are considered to be even more vicious than snakes
- According to Canakya Pandita, there are two kinds of envious living entities: one is a snake, and the other is the man like Hiranyakasipu, who is by nature envious of everyone, even of his father or son
- After seeing such beauties (Krsna's queens and Draupadi) in the palace of King Yudhisthira, Duryodhana was envious
- Akrura also learned that the envious sons of Dhrtarastra had tried to kill the Pandavas by poisoning them
- Almost all the conditioned souls within the material world are envious. Jealous people generally turn against one who automatically attains some reputation. This is natural for jealous people
- Although Daksa was qualified by many material assets, because he was proud of his possessions and because he was envious, all those qualities were polluted
- Although he (Daksa) spoke like a man in ignorance, he wanted to cover his statements by saying that he was not speaking for impudent and envious reasons
- Although Krsna demands our surrender in the Bhagavad-gita, the greatest scholar and so-called philosopher in modern India has protested that it is "not to Krsna" that we have to surrender. Therefore, he is envious
- Although Ramacandra Puri was naturally very envious and although he was against the principles of Vaisnavism - or, in other words, against the principles of the Supreme PG and His devotees - common people nevertheless addressed him as Gosvami or Gosani
- As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita envious speculators are without knowledge and are surely condemned life after life. They unnecessarily take shelter of Sripada Sankaracarya, but he was not so drastic as to commit an offense at the lotus feet of Lord Krsna
- Atheists are so much averse, sura-dvisat. They are envious. So to such person the madhyama-adhikari cannot preach because it is useless waste of time. If one is innocent but not envious we can preach there. That will be, I mean to say, fruitful
D
- Despite all her (Gandhari's) good qualities, she had the natural frailties of a woman, and she was envious of Kunti when the latter gave birth to a male child. Both the queens were pregnant, but Kunti first gave birth to a male child
- Devaki was once put into difficulty by her envious brother, otherwise she was well. But Kuntidevi and her sons were put into one difficulty after another for years and years together
- Devaki, the mother of Krsna and sister of King Kamsa, was put into prison along with her husband, Vasudeva, because the envious King was afraid of being killed by Devaki's eighth son (Krsna)
- Do not tell Krsna what I (Radharani) have said, although I know that you (bumblebee) are very envious. We gopis have given up our husbands, sons & all the religious principles that promise better births, now we have no business other than serving Krsna
- Duryodhana was especially envious and lustful upon seeing the beauty of Draupadi because he had cherished a special attraction for her from the very beginning of her marriage with the Pandavas
E
- Envious of the scriptures
- Envy means the cow has got right to live; he does not allow the cow to live. That is envy. You cannot understand this? Suppose you are walking. You have got right to walk, I have got, and if I kill you, you cannot walk. That is envious
- Every living being is serving the dictates of desire, anger, lust, illusion, insanity and enviousness - all materially affected. But even while executing such dictations of different temperaments, he is perpetually unhappy
G
- Generally a materialistic person becomes very happy when there is something for his sense gratification and his body, but when he sees that others have something for their sense gratification and he hasn't, he is sorry and envious. BG 1972 purports
- Generally this (to accept God is great & surrender to Him) is not our position in the material world. We are characteristically envious and consequently think, - Oh, why should I surrender unto God? I am independent. I shall work independently
- Gradually Akrura learned from Kunti and Vidura that the sons of Dhrtarastra were intolerant and envious of the five Pandava brothers because of their extraordinary learning in military science and their greatly developed bodily strength
H
- He (father of Dhruva) then took another woman as queen, and she became stepmother to the boy. She was very envious of him, and one day, as Dhruva was sitting on the father's knee, she insulted him
- Human life is not meant for making the senses unnecessarily strong so that one suffers from disease and one increases in an envious, fighting spirit
I
- 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
- If one has a motive for personal sense gratification, his devotional service is manifested differently. Such a man may be violent, proud, envious and angry, and his interests are separate from the Lord's
- If we are jealous or envious of our friends or other associates, we are in the material world, and if we are not jealous we are in the spiritual world. There need be no doubt of whether we are spiritually advanced or not. We can test ourselves
- If we are jealous or envious, we are in the material world, and if we are not we are in the spiritual world
- In the battlefield, a king or ksatriya, while fighting another king envious of him, is eligible for achieving heavenly planets after death, as the brahmanas also attain the heavenly planets by sacrificing animals in the sacrificial fire. BG 1972 purports
- In the beginning of Kali-yuga, the Lord will appear as Lord Buddha, the son of Anjana, in the province of Gaya, just for the purpose of deluding those who are envious of the faithful theist
- In the forest of the material world, the conditioned soul is sometimes bitten by envious enemies, which are compared to serpents and other creatures. Through the tricks of the enemy, the conditioned soul falls from his prestigious position
- In the material world if someone is greater than us, we are envious. We are not only envious of one another, but of God
- In this Age of Kali, people are gradually becoming less than animals. Nevertheless, although they are eating the flesh of cows and are envious of brahminical culture, Sri Caitanya is considering how to deliver them from this horrible condition of life
- In this verse (in SB 3.29.23), two phrases, bhutesu baddha-vairasya ("inimical towards others") and dvisatah para-kaye ("envious of another's body"), are significant
- Instead of being envious of a more qualified man, one should be jolly to receive him
- It appears that even such a great personality as Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami met with some envious obstacles; what, then, to speak of us, who are only insignificant creatures in this universe
- It is said by Canakya Pandita that there are two envious living entities - the snake and the envious man
- It is the duty of a husband to protect his wife, and therefore Devaki's husband said, - My dear brother-in-law, why are you envious of your sister? After all, your sister will not kill you; it is her son who will kill you. That is the problem
K
- Kamsa was a condemned personality in the Bhoja dynasty because he was envious and sinful - SB 10.1.35
- Krsna consciousness movement is meant for the paramo nirmatsaranam those who are not envious. How they can be envious? Paramahamsa, one who has understood what is this creation, who is the creator, what are these living entities
- Krsna describes in the Bhagavad-gita: Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, I perpetually cast into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life
- Krsna had enemies. This world is such: envious. Ordinarily, they are envious. The whole world is full of enviousness. Even the greatest personalities like Indra, he is also envious
- Krsna is easily visible, but He is only visible to those who are devoted to Him. For those who are envious, foolish or unintelligent, He obscures Himself with His veil of maya
- Krsna tells them - Here is a maha-bhagavata. Please do not disturb him - Why, then, should the animals be envious of such a great personality
- Kumbhipaka is meant for persons who are unnecessarily envious. Those who are envious of the activities of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are punished in that hellish condition
L
- Learned scholars call this hell Raurava. Not generally seen in this world, the ruru is more envious than a snake
- Lord Kapila continued: This instruction is not meant for the envious, for the agnostics or for persons who are unclean in their behavior. Nor is it for hypocrites or for persons who are proud of material possessions
M
- Maharaja Prthu, however, was concerned with persons who were gentle, and therefore he first addressed all the honest persons, not caring for the envious
- Material world means politics, jealousy, diplomacy, enviousness, so many things. This is material world. So even in the heavenly planets, these things are there, politics. Even in animal kingdom, these politics are there. This is the nature
- Matsarata means envious. I am envious of you, you are envious of me. This is material life. Therefore in the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is stated that this Krsna consciousness is not for the people who are envious
- Modern capitalists accumulate more wealth than necessary, and the communists, envious of their prosperity, want to nationalize all wealth and property
O
- O Hrsikesa, master of the senses and Lord of lords, You (Krsna) have released Your mother, Devaki, who was long imprisoned and distressed by the envious King Kamsa, and me and my children from a series of constant dangers
- O protector of the universe, you are engaged by the S P of Godhead as His all-powerful weapon in killing the envious enemies. For the benefit of our entire dynasty, kindly favor this poor brahmana. This will certainly be a favor for all of us
- O son of Surabhi, you need lament no longer now. There is no need to fear this low-class sudra. And, O mother cow, as long as I am living as the ruler and subduer of all envious men, there is no cause for you to cry. Everything will be good for you
- Of course no one can become God, but this endeavor to become God or His competitor is not very pleasing to Him. Persons who try are described in Bhagavad-gita as dvisatah, envious
- One may sometimes think that the monkeys in Vrndavana are envious, because they cause mischief and steal food, but in Vrndavana we find that the monkeys are allowed to take butter, which Krsna Himself distributes
- One must have firm faith in the process of devotional service and the scriptures that support it. If one hears the activities of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu with this faith, he can be freed from his envious position
- One who approaches the Supreme Lord to render devotional service, but who is proud of his personality, envious of others or vengeful, is in the mode of anger
- One who is envious of or inimical towards others never experiences any happiness
- One who offers Me respect but is envious of the bodies of others and is therefore a separatist never attains peace of mind, because of his inimical behavior towards other living entities
- Others say that since both Vasudeva and Devaki prayed for You (Krsna), You have taken Your birth as their son. Undoubtedly You are unborn, yet You take Your birth for their welfare and to kill those who are envious of the demigods
- Others, who engage in envious activities, are known as karmis. Karmis are envious of one another. Simply for sense gratification, they can kill thousands of innocent animals
- Our only shelter is Nrsimha-deva. This world is very, very dangerous. Padam padam yad vipadam (SB 10.14.58). In every step there is danger. Every step there is envious creatures. You cannot live here peacefully
P
- Prahlada Maharaja is a typical Vaisnava. He prays not for himself but for all living entities - the gentle, the envious and the mischievous. He always thought of the welfare of mischievous persons like his father, Hiranyakasipu
- Princes offered prayers to Krsna, "Because we were all envious and wanted to conquer one another, we all engaged in fighting for supremacy, even at the cost of sacrificing the lives of many citizens"
S
- Sarpah krurah khalah krurah sarpat kruratarah khalah, that "Two kinds of krurah, envious animals, are there. One is the snake, and the other is envious man"
- Since all the demigods who are situated in the higher planetary system will have to come down again, they are all envious of my being elevated to Vaikunthaloka by devotional service
- Since envious, impious activities cause a body in which one suffers in the next life, why should one act impiously - SB 10.1.44
- Since you are supposed to be the knower of all religious principles, why are you so envious of me, and why are you so anxious to kill a woman?
- Sixty years, they could not do any of these books. And still they are envious. Within sixty years they could not attract any foreign student or any book published. And still, they are proud. They have got all the blessings of Bhaktisiddhanta
- 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
- Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura stresses that even though Diti was very envious, her heart was purified because of a devotional attitude
T
- That worker who is attached to the fruits of his labor and who passionately wants to enjoy them, who is greedy, envious and impure and moved by happiness and distress, is a worker in the mode of passion. BG 18.27 - 1972
- The author of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, has condemned all his enemies by comparing them to envious hogs and pigs
- The brahmana said, "The present King, Ugrasena, is envious of the brahmanas!" The exact word used in this connection is brahma-dvisah. One who is envious of the Vedas, of a qualified brahmana or of the brahmana caste is called brahma-dvis
- The Caitanya-caritamrta pastimes of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu constitute a very secret literature. It is the life and soul of all devotees. Those who are not fit to relish this literature, who are envious like hogs and pigs, will certainly not adore it
- The crowlike birds or crowlike men or karmis, they're envious. You'll find. And even, without any offense... Just like dog: You pass on. Without any offense, he'll bark, Ow, ow, ow, ow
- The demigods, being envious of the austere life of the rigid brahmacaris, would try to cause them to break their vows by dispatching soldiers of Cupid. But in the case of the Lord, it became an unsuccessful attempt
- The difficulty is that the khala (envious living entity) is rarely pacified
- The entire arena was filled with dread on the part of Kamsa and his priest and restless expressions of pleasure on the cheeks of Krsna's friends. Frustration was felt by His envious rivals
- The general tendency of anyone within this material world is to be envious, and therefore, to become a Krsna conscious person, one must curb this tendency
- The Germans, they could not do business throughout the whole British Empire. We know, Indians. So they were very much envious of these British people, and therefore they started two big wars, world war
- The goddess of fortune, Laksmi, is sometimes envious of the tulasi leaves which are placed at the lotus feet of the Lord, for they remain fixed there and do not move
- The gopis were envious of the deer because the deer were able to offer their service to Krsna along with their husbands. The gopis thought themselves not so fortunate because whenever they wanted to go to Krsna, their husbands were not very happy
- The grhamedhis, being interested in family affairs only, are certainly envious of others
- The grhamedhis, however, are those who live only for the benefit of the family members, extended or centralized, and thus are envious of others. The word medhi indicates jealousy of others
- The Krsna consciousness movement is not for the persons who are envious. Envious. It is a movement to train people how to become not envious. It is very first-class scientific movement, yes
- The lifetime of such an envious householder is passed at night either in sleeping or in sex indulgence, and in the daytime either in making money or maintaining family members
- The Lord says: Envious, mischievous, the lowest of mankind, these do I ever put back into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life - BG 16.19
- The paramahamsa is called vijita-sad-guna. He must conquer the six material qualities - kama, krodha, lobha, moha, matsarya and ksudha-trsna (lust, anger, greed, illusion, enviousness and hunger and thirst)
- The snake can be charmed or controlled by mantras and herbs, but a person who is envious cannot be controlled by anyone
- The two wars was arranged by the German people, they were envious of the English people. So these wars are not right wars, righteous wars. No. They are play of the diplomats, politicians
- The whole world is based on the principle of enviousness. Anyonya-vairah. And what is the meaning of this enviousness?
- There are two classes of human beings, namely the envious and the obedient. Since the Supreme Lord is one and the father of all living beings, the envious living beings are also His sons, but they are known as the asuras
- There are two envious living entities. One is a snake, black snake, and one is a human being with the quality of black snake. He cannot see any good thing
- They (envious, mischievous, the lowest of mankind) are put into hellish conditions because they are envious of God's position
- They (prakrta-sahajiyas) are envious of a bona fide spiritual master who is addressed as Prabhupada, and they commit offenses by considering a bona fide spiritual master an ordinary human being or a member of a certain caste
- They're thinking that East is conquering West by culture. That is their enviousness
- This caste system is not only in India. In everywhere the caste system is there. And enviousness between one community to another, that is also existing everywhere. This is human nature
- This is the test of Krsna consciousness. In the beginning they (the gopis) were a little envious that Krsna had taken Radharani alone, leaving aside all the other gopis
- This killing of the envious, of course, can be done without the presence of Krsna. By setting to work the natural forces of war, pestilence, famine, and so on, Krsna can kill millions of people
- This service is very difficult for the envious to perform, especially for a woman whose intentions are wicked, who lives only to gratify her bodily demands, and who indulges in duplicity
- Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, are cast by Me into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life. BG 16.19 - 1972
- Those who are jealous and envious are within this material world, and those who are not are in the spiritual world. Therefore, we can test ourselves
- Thus the demons, being fond of disastrous activities, took Hiranyakasipu's instructions on their heads with great respect and offered him obeisances. According to his directions, they engaged in envious activities directed against all living beings
- To accumulate material possessions, one must labor very hard, and when he gets them he creates many enemies because this material world is always full of rivalry. If one becomes rich, his friends or relatives are envious
W
- Wanting to pacify Kamsa, who was so cruel and envious that he was shamelessly ready to kill his sister, the great soul Vasudeva, who was to be the father of Krsna, spoke to him in the following words - SB 10.1.36
- We are envious of our enemies and friendly toward our friends, but because Krsna is absolute, even when He appears to be inimical toward some demon He is actually a friend
- We are envious of our friends, envious of our father, our son even, what to speak of others - businessmen, nation, society, community, only enviousness, matsarata. "Why he should go ahead?" I become envious
- We must depend on Krsna, like Devaki and Kunti. After Kunti became a widow, the envious Dhrtarastra was always planning ways to kill her sons, the five Pandavas
- When a human being acts enviously and cheats others to maintain his body, he is put into a hellish condition
- When Hiranya dasa, Raghunatha dasa’s uncle, made an agreement with the government to collect taxes, the Muslim caudhuri, or tax collector, having lost his position, became extremely envious of him
- When persons who do not know your austerity see you moving with Uma, they misunderstand you to be lusty, or when they see you wandering in the crematorium they mistakenly think that you are ferocious and envious. Certainly they are shameless
- When the cult of Caitanya is spread all over the world, should those who embrace it not be accepted as Vaisnavas, brahmanas & sannyasis? These foolish arguments are sometimes raised by envious rascals, but Krsna conscious devotees do not care about them
- When we try to keep aloof from the envious, that is not our enviousness. That is just to avoid trouble for preaching work. Not that we hate them