Why do we feel envious of God but not of materially rich people?

From: Aravind

Please tell me why do I feel such strong enviousness towards God when I do not feel any enviousness towards successful and rich people like Lionel Messi, Steve Jobs, etc? Rather, I feel a sense of awe and wonder towards these people very easily but the same is very difficult with God.

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
A question from Aravind Prabhu.
Please tell me why do I feel such strong enviousness towards God when I do not feel any enviousness towards successful, rich people like Lionel, Messi, Steve Jobs, etc.? Rather I feel a sense of awe and wonder towards these people very easily, but at the same time it is very difficult with God. Answer, this difference between our feelings towards God and towards much successful people is because of our perception of these people. We tend to perceive people who have become successful as trailblazers whom we would like to follow.
And at the same time we feel that what they have achieved is so great that we will not be able to follow. And that’s why we feel impressed by those people. And in contrast with respect to God, often we think that God is controlling us, restricting us, punishing us, judging us.
And on top of that we may even feel that God is having a good time in the spiritual world. So while we are struggling and suffering in this world, because our perception of God is different from that of this person, naturally the emotions that are evoked are different. Now what is wrong with these perceptions? If you want to change the feelings, you have to change the perceptions that underlie those feelings.
So the perceptions are wrong because we need to see God not as a controller, but as a guide, as a mentor, as a partner, one who wants to help us. It is not that God alone is having a good time. He invites us to be with him and to have a good time.
And it is not that he is causing the suffering to us. It is our own past deeds that have caused suffering upon us. And he is helping us to counter that suffering by guiding us to remember him, by guiding us to choose right courses of action by which we will not again do the misdeeds that will cause us suffering.
And if we understand that God does not need us in any way, he is completely self-satisfied just by himself. And even if he wants to reciprocate love with his devotees, he has millions of pure devotees in the spiritual world. So he does not need us per se.
But yet he loves us so much that he descends from the spiritual world to the material world, again and again as various avatars, performs pastimes to attract us. And he is also present in our heart as a super soul, as our constant companion, offering us guidance and help as we go through our adventures and misadventures in material existence. So to the extent we can perceive Krishna’s love for us and understand how much he is doing for us, then to that extent the enviousness will go away.
If we understand that Krishna is like our parent, like our father, and he wants us to be back with him and by serving him, we will become happy forever. Whatever he has will be our legacy which we can enjoy in his service, in his association. Then when we understand this, then we will be able to give up the envy.
So this attitude is not unusual. Kulasekhar Maharaj in one of his prayers in the Mukunda Mala Stotra states, He laments our condition when he says, That Lord Purushottama, that Lord Narayana, he is our Nath. He is our natural father and master.
He is the lord of all the three worlds. And we can serve him just by remembering him. And when we serve him this way, what happens? Actually he gives the residence in his own abode.
What is his becomes ours as we live with him. In this way Lord Narayana resides in the transcendental world. But he says that what is our tragedy that, That there are some people who in this world who are They are just the controllers of few villages.
He is referring to landlords during his time. What can they give us? They just give us a little money. He says, but still we are begging for their service.
As if we think that what they will give is far more value, far greater than what God will give us. So he is contrasting the qualities of God. And the qualities of any material successful person.
And he is saying that actually it is far easier to serve Krishna. The results are far greater. And the lord is himself the owner of something far far greater than what any worldly person has.
So actually by philosophically re-educating ourselves. And re-orienting our vision of God. So that we see him not so much as a controller, restrictor, judge, punisher.
But more as a object of love and mercy. That we will be able to become free from that envy. So philosophical education in the fundamentals of life is very important for us.
To be able to change this perception. And of course, along with philosophical education. If we purify ourselves by chanting the holy names and by cultivating remembrance of Krishna.
Then the natural attraction will awaken. Krishna’s qualities are transcendental. And to the extent we are close to transcendent, to that extent we are attracted to those qualities.
Whereas the qualities of worldly people are material. And because we are material consciousness, we get attracted to those people. And to their material qualities.
But whatever they have is temporary. And the feeling of awe that we get by looking at these people. We can connect even that with Krishna.
By contemplating how whatever wows us in them is also coming from Krishna. yad yad unbhuti matsatvam shri madhur jitam eva vantatva devavagacchatvam mamate jyam shi sambhavam In the 10th chapter. Bodhi Purusha’s Lord Krishna describes that.
Actually speaking in the last verse of the 10th chapter. Whatever opulent, beautiful and glorious creations are there in this world which attract our attention. They all spring from but a spark of Krishna’s splendor.
So therefore, by remembering that the opulence as well as the qualities of those who attract us in this world. They are also coming from Krishna. In fact, they are only a spark of Krishna’s splendor.
Krishna possesses what these people possess. In a infinite and perfect, infinite quantity and in perfect quality. So when we understand this, then we can redirect our attraction from these people towards Krishna.
And in this way, by education, by purification and by redirection, we can overcome our envy for Krishna and instead awaken our love for Krishna.