By: Hasti Gopala Dasa, Toronto This article is in response to the article: Dealing with envious people written by Vidura Prabhu.
Now that we as a movement have come into our second and third generations this advice will always be helpful. It is most important to remember that it is the cultivation of strong families and local community ties as well as the cultivation of true loyal friendships that will help to protect us all from the effects of envious people. It is not that when devotees fall prey to envious people that they are not faithful to Srila Prabhupada – that is a general assumption and misjudgment of others. The lives of every individual are also influenced by their upbringing. Even faithful devotees as they grow up may come under the influence of envious parents, friends, family, school, business and other societal organizations. Recognizing envy from others in regards to what one is doing in one's life can be very difficult for some.
Being warned of that envy by someone else may even be a tactic by that individual to gain influence over the one being warned for their personal desires. Many of us at this present time are personally struggling to try and fulfill some spiritual desires for Srila Prabhupada and are not yet recognized or responded to. Is that envy? When one puts out a crafted project onto a table expecting honest feedback and no one speaks, is that symptom of envy? Perhaps, but then one is also judging others to be envious and we must avoid that temptation, taking lack of attention for what it simply is, lack of attention, for whatever reason. That teaches humility and tolerance. Lack of attention to each other sets a very bad example for the upcoming generations who simply feel that belonging by label in general is enough, not knowing that lack of attention from seniors and more advanced devotees will spill over to their children's lives, their upbringing and those new people we are trying to reach.
Therefore in order to avoid as much as possible the problem of envy and lack of attention in our midst, there needs to be more honest and immediate communication amongst our first generation. Immediate is important these days as that is the normal speed of progress. That is of course relative to one's community of devotees and their communication set up.
Being envious does not make someone "third class”. It is a "third class" symptom but to lump the person into a permanent mould as a "third class" person is only a relative opinion. That label without "proof" can be used to destroy others that are also envious. There are three modes and we are all mixed in those, sometimes we slip from one to the other and may even act envious ourselves and not recognize it in ourselves. If we cannot recognize our own envious mood then how can we expect to teach others how to recognize that envious mood is someone who has not exhibited that mood for us up to a certain point in that relationship?
The last two paragraphs of this first class article show exactly what needs to be maintained and shows who the master is – Srila Prabhupada. Not that we shun envious people if we can recognize that in them but let them associate with us on terms beneficial to their spiritual well being based on Srila Prabhupada’s teachings. One must be very careful in that regard but that technique comes from cultivating knowledge and from experience. Learning introspection from an early age is very important, Srila Prabhupada's books, especially the original Gita can train us and other non devotees in that. Arjuna was the best at introspection, otherwise how could he examine his problems and doubts in order to talk with Krishna and solve those problems, problems that the readers will see in themselves?
The original 1972 Gita has everything that the whole world needs to solve its problems; especially on the topic of envy. In the General Index under "Envy" you will find endless information and realizations.
This article would not be possible if not for Srila Prabhupada and his good disciple Vidura Prabhu and Yashodanandan Prabhu for sending it to me. See below an endless text that in itself could have volumes written about it. I have taken the privilege to enhance what I feel is a key section of the purport by Srila Prabhupada as it invites the reader to engage in this first class philosophy in the same mood as Vidura Prabhu pointed out that Srila Prabhupada did with his God brothers.