Nobody wants to admit to jealousy, not even to themselves. It is easier to look away from than to examine. But it is worth looking at, because jealousy tells you where your sense of worth is kept.
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Originally published in Deccan Herald on 4 September '26
Nobody wants to admit to jealousy, not even to themselves. It is easier to look away from than to examine. But it is worth looking at, because jealousy tells you where your sense of worth is kept.
Somebody calls you brilliant, and you accept the certificate. Now you are brilliant. But where is this brilliance kept? Not in your understanding, not in your work. It is kept in the mouth of the one who called you brilliant. The day that mouth turns elsewhere, your brilliance falls like a leaf, and because you cannot bear the fall, you start hating the one being praised, as if they stole something from you. But they stole nothing, because you had nothing. You were only carrying borrowed jewellery, and when the lender looked elsewhere, you felt naked.
It shows up in small daily situations: a friend laughs more with someone else, parents compare you to a cousin. In each case, jealousy rises when identity is hanging on comparison. You are not living your life, you are negotiating your rank.
