How to deal with envy Orthodox. Man's envious past
Word of the Primate of the Russian Church after Great Compline with the reading of the Great Canon by St. Andrew of Crete at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior on Monday of the first week of Great Lent.
The sin with which a person struggles in the name of his salvation is revealed in all its essence through the vice called pride. A proud person puts only himself in the center of life, leaving everyone else on the periphery. This life position of a proud person entails many dangerous consequences, one of which is the vice of envy.
Reflecting on what envy is, Saint Basil the Great said very well-aimed words: “Envy is sorrow for the well-being of one’s neighbor.” A proud person cannot put up with the fact that someone is smarter, more beautiful, richer, more successful. After all, if for the proud man he himself is at the center of being, then who can prevent him from occupying this place? And the appearance of anyone who seems more successful and significant causes a person overwhelmed with pride, the deepest inner pain.
It is envy that reveals the absurdity of pride. Reflecting on envy, Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk said wonderful words: “Other vices and passions at least have an imaginary delight, but the envious sin and suffer.” Indeed, if other vices are accompanied by at least imaginary, but still pleasure, then envy is pain and always only pain, and no, even imaginary, pleasure. If you do not fight the feeling of envy, then it can enslave a person so much that he becomes aggressive and dangerous to others. After all, it is no coincidence that the reason for the first murder that Cain committed at the dawn of human history against his brother Abel was envy. An envious person becomes aggressive and dangerous to others. And the more carefully he hides this inner fire of envy in his heart, the more dangerous it becomes.
How to deal with this test? How to deal with this vice? The same Tikhon Zadonsky said: “Pride is the mother of envy. Kill the mother and the daughter will die." To overcome the feeling of envy, you need to fight with pride. But since pride fully reveals the very nature of sin, it is very difficult to fight this vice, and a person cannot overcome pride, only by the power of God. Therefore, prayer, participation in the sacraments of the Church, constant reflection on one's life, on the movements of one's soul, on one's thoughts, a strict judgment on oneself can help a person overcome pride.
But there are two other great ones as well.
The first is the realization of the fact that the Lord has awarded each person with unique qualities and there are no two people absolutely similar to each other. Each person is unique and has its own value before God. No matter how weak, sick, unfortunate a person may seem, he has value in the eyes of God. And the realization of this fact helps a person to refrain from envy. The world is big and everyone has their own place in this world. Understanding the uniqueness of a person and the wisdom of the Divine plan for a person help us overcome the feeling of envy.
And another very important means is good deeds. When we do a good deed to a person, he ceases to be distant to us, he becomes near. We do not envy those to whom we do a good deed. If someone doubts this, let him try to do a good deed to the person whom he envies, and envy will gradually go away, because this person will become close to him.
It must be remembered that very often we ourselves provoke a feeling of envy in those around us. Sometimes it is a pleasure to annoy an envious person, to awaken a feeling of envy. For example, when purchasing beautiful new clothes, some people think first of all that these clothes will cause envy among acquaintances or even relatives and friends. Envy is a dangerous and aggressive vice. And if we ourselves do not want to be wounded by envy, then there is no need to incite envy. Many misfortunes have been and are being committed in this world because of envy.
The time of Great Lent is the time of the fight against vice: both with pride and envy. Coming to the temple of God, listening to the marvelous words of prayers and hymns, turning with fervent prayer to the Lord for help in our spiritual life, let us ask Him to help us eradicate both pride and envy from our hearts. And having shaken off these vices, we will feel the extraordinary lightness of life, the joy of being. May the Lord help us in the days of the holy and saving Fortecost gradually but surely ascend from strength to strength in our movement towards the Lord and Savior. Amen.
St. John Chrysostom
St. John Chrysostom compares an envious person with a dung beetle, a pig, and even a demon.
According to him, envy is a direct enmity against God, who favors this or that person. In this sense, the envious person is even worse than the demons: they harm people, while the envious person wishes harm to his own kind.
“Envy is worse than enmity,” says the saint. - The warring one, when the reason for which the quarrel occurred is forgotten, stops the hostility; the envious will never become a friend. Moreover, the former wages an open struggle, and the latter - secretly; the former can often indicate a sufficient reason for enmity, while the latter can indicate nothing else than his madness and satanic disposition.
An example from life. Two people apply for a place with a good salary and career prospects. If the spiritual needs of these people are low, and the material needs are high, then, most likely, competition will arise between them, and against its background, an explicitly or implicitly expressed conflict.
On the part of the one who receives the coveted position, the conflict will be settled as soon as he takes the chair. But the “loser”, if he is at all prone to envy, will aggravate the conflict even more and will certainly fall into this sin - even when he finds another job, he will remember that this worthless person has taken HIS place.
Envy really resembles insanity in its most medical sense: an obsessive state. One way to get rid of an obsessive state is to try to rationalize it.
A person is successful, which means that God is glorified through him. If this person is your neighbor, it means that you are successful through him, and God is also glorified through you. If this person is your enemy, then you need to strive to make him your friend - already for the sake of glorifying God through him.
Rev. John Cassian the Roman
The common opinion for all Sacred Tradition is that it was out of envy that the serpent took up arms against Eve. It was envy of man's unique status as the image and likeness of God that forced him to make efforts to overthrow him. Moreover, the devil provokes the foremother Eve to envy: “You will be like gods, knowing good and evil.” It is the envy of these non-existent gods that pushes the first woman to violate the commandment of God. So, indeed, satanic vice.
St. John Cassian the Roman categorically asserts that envy cannot be overcome by one's own strength. In response to virtue, the envious person only becomes embittered. Thus, the benevolence and helpfulness of Joseph further hardened his eleven brothers. When he went to feed them in the field, they decided to kill his brother - the idea of selling him into slavery was already a softening of their original intention ...
Old Testament history repeats itself at all times, albeit without criminality. In many teenage groups there are guys who will call an excellent student explaining difficult tasks to narrow-minded classmates a “nerd” - and it’s good if they don’t put chewing gum, or even a button, on a chair ...
You should not despair. St. John Cassian gives universal advice: to pray.
“So that the basilisk (devil) does not exterminate everything that is alive in us, which, as it were, is inspired by the vital action of the Holy Spirit, with one wound only of this evil (envy), let us constantly ask for God's help, for which nothing is impossible.”
St. Basil the Great
Prayer is no less hard work than, for example, exercises in fasting. Not everyone is given it without proper training, and the battle with envy is necessary here and now. What to do?
Saint Basil the Great gives two very simple pieces of advice. First: to realize that there is nothing to envy at all. Wealth, fame, honor and respect are absolutely earthly things, which, moreover, must be learned to use correctly.
“Still unworthy of our competition - the rich for the sake of his wealth, the ruler for the sake of the greatness of his rank, the wise for the sake of abundance in the word. These are the tools of virtue for those who use them well, but do not contain bliss in themselves ... And whoever is, who is not amazed by the worldly as something great, envy can never approach that.
The second advice is to “sublimate” your envy into a creative transformation of yourself, the achievement of many virtues. True, this recommendation is suitable for dealing with a special kind of envy associated with ambition:
“If you certainly want fame, you want to be more visible than many and you can’t stand being second (for this can also be a reason for envy), then direct your ambition, like some kind of stream, to the acquisition of virtue. Do not under any pretense desire to get rich in any way and deserve the approval of anything worldly. For it is not in your will. But be just, chaste, prudent, courageous, patient in suffering for piety.
Even if you do not touch on high virtues, then the advice is more than practical. Suppose two young men are fond of playing the guitar. One becomes a rock star in his city, and the other plays three chords in the transition. For the second, it’s easiest to start envying a successful friend - it’s more difficult, firstly, to estimate the risks (Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix were colossally talented and wildly popular, which did not protect them from an ugly and terrible death, but only stimulated a tragic end), and secondly, to learn additional chords and go beyond the favorite transition.
A gradual increase in professionalism, tied to training and self-discipline, may not elevate you to Olympus, but it will allow you to develop, play and compose music for your own pleasure.
St. Theophan the Recluse
If it is rather difficult to resist an envious person with a kind attitude, as the Holy Scripture directly testifies (the above example of Joseph and his brothers, King Saul, who continues to envy David and persecute him despite his humility ...), then the envious person himself can and must overcome his passion through “I don’t want” - namely, a change in behavior in relation to my “victim”. No matter how hard it is.
“Well-wishers, in whom feelings of sympathy and compassion prevail over selfish ones, do not suffer from envy. This points the way to the extinguishment of envy, and to everyone who is tormented by it. It is necessary to hasten to arouse goodwill, especially towards the one whom you envy, and to reveal this by deed - immediately envy will subside. A few repetitions of the same kind, and with God's help, it will completely calm down, ”says St. Theophan the Recluse.
In other words, when compassion and sympathy for one's neighbor becomes a habit, there will be no place for envy.
Almost a textbook example: a lonely young lady, eaten by envy of successful gossips, suddenly finds out that her prosperous, married and rich friend has a drug addict husband, and all the well-being is ostentatious. If the process of envy has not yet been launched too strongly, the envious person (perhaps, at first, and not without gloating) rushes to help her friend ... and in the process of joint phone calls to drug treatment clinics, friendly conversations and mutual tears in the kitchen, she is so imbued with the grief of her neighbor that there is no more envy remembers. Compassion for grief is superior to envy for success.
Rev. Maxim the Confessor
By the way, this advice has another side: if possible, do not give a reason for envy. If you do not want to be envied, do not boast of your success, wealth, intelligence and happiness.
“There is no other way to calm him down, except by hiding it from him. But if this is useful to many, but causes sorrow to him, then which side should be neglected? One must take the side of what is useful to many; but if possible, do not neglect it and do not allow yourself to be carried away by the deceit of passion, giving help not to passion, but to those who suffer from it, ”recommends an approach with reasoning, St. Maximus the Confessor.
He also notes that one should get rid of this passion oneself according to the commandment of the Apostle: “rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15).
The first is more difficult. To regret the unfortunate is a natural movement of the soul. To rejoice in someone else's happiness is a conscious action and dictated by sincere love, when you truly treat your neighbor as yourself. Only the author of the famous "Hundreds of Love" could give such advice.
True, sometimes examples of his performance are found in life. A lonely woman in cramped living conditions worries for a long time that she does not have children, works with adoptive parents, begins to rejoice for happy children and their new parents ... And then suddenly, unexpectedly, circumstances develop in her favor, and she manages to adopt her child.
St. Gregory the Theologian
As we can see, the Fathers of the Church give monotonous advice on fighting envy: pray, rejoice for your neighbor, grow in virtue. None of the teachers of the Church conducts master classes on overcoming envy. Precisely because the birth of this passion can be traced from the Bible, precisely because it is obviously inexcusable as a direct offspring of the devil, the main weapon against it is denunciation.
St. Gregory the Theologian believed that envy, oddly enough, is not devoid of justice - already in this life it punishes the sinner.
The fathers say that an envious person's face becomes withered, he looks bad ... In our life, an envious person is easy to recognize by pursed lips and wrinkles. He is dissatisfied with life, he always grumbles (especially at the object of his passion). I will say more: many diseases that are psychosomatic in nature, from pancreatitis to asthma, are aggravated precisely in the envious person. “It’s not fair that another is more successful than me!” - this thought eats the unfortunate, not only his soul, but also his body.
This is bad justice, infernal. This alone should turn a person away from such a pernicious passion.
“Oh, if envy would be exterminated between people, this ulcer for those possessed by it, this poison for those who suffer from it, this one of the most unjust and at the same time just passions - an unjust passion, because it disturbs the rest of all the good, and fair, because it dries feeding her!" exclaims Saint Gregory.
Rev. Ephraim Sirin
Envy is based on the so-called "agonal spirit" - the ability of a person to be in constant struggle, competition, rivalry, aggression. Agonality was a characteristic feature of ancient culture (hence a large number of games and competitions) and is present in modern life in a very primitive form: you can compete in whoever has a cooler iPhone or more fashionable clothes.
The word "agonality" is the same root as αγωνία (struggle). This word we call the near-death state, the body's attempt to fight for survival, the last convulsive breaths. This is not a coincidence - the struggle for life is a direct consequence of the presence of death in the world. And death was brought into the world by sin and the devil. Paradoxically, struggle, which in nature is a manifestation of life, in the human world itself is death.
This is especially obvious when someone "competes" not in real life values, but in the external, expressed in the primitive "I want to be cooler." Thus, a person becomes akin to the devil - the same "agonal" spirit with him.
“And whoever is stung by envy and rivalry is pathetic, because he is an accomplice of the devil, by whom death entered the world (Wisdom 2:24), recalls St. Ephraim the Syrian. “In whom there is envy and rivalry, he is an adversary to everyone, because he does not want another to be preferred to him.”
The same saint emphasizes: the envious person has already been defeated, he is tormented by any other person's joy, while the lucky one who has escaped this passion is glad for the success of another.
Let not the comparison with death seem drawn to anyone. It is enough to look not even around, but inside yourself.
“Why does the neighbor have a new apartment and a car, and I work hard from morning to night - and I have nothing?” - a really hard-working person is indignant - and he does not have time to live behind these thoughts. Instead of spending the day off meeting with his mother, friends, girlfriend (not to mention going to church) - he takes work home, works even more, but he doesn’t get an apartment or a car, but envy eating more and more...
Rev. Paisiy Svyatogorets
Elder Paisius the Holy Mountaineer has not yet been officially glorified by the Church, but his works and advice have already firmly entered the treasury of Holy Tradition. For a modern person, his recommendations may be the most useful.
The elder believed that envy is simply ridiculous and can be overcome by elementary common sense.
“A person needs a little head work to overcome envy. Great feats are not required, because envy is a spiritual passion.
Indeed, you don't have to be an Einstein to understand that your longing for someone else's Mercedes is eating you up, and even a Toyota won't appear in your garage. Especially if you don't have a garage either. Stealing someone else's Mercedes is not only sinful, but also criminally punishable, so you should not envy, but work. And if the salary is small - be content with a bicycle. But the legs will be healthy.
But the most important thing that Elder Paisius draws attention to is that envy is a sin against one of the ten commandments. Even the most non-church person respects the Decalogue, if not on the natural, then on the cultural level. Killing is criminal, praying to idols is stupid, taking a spouse away from a family is immoral, stealing is disgusting... So, envy is also bad.
“If God said: “Do not covet ... everything that is the essence of your neighbor,” then how can we covet something that belongs to another? What, we will not even keep the basic commandments? Then our life will turn into hell.”
Miraculous words: orthodoxy prayer from envy in a full description from all the sources we found.
Ill-wishers and vile envious people meet in the life of each of us. In order to protect against gossip and rumors, as well as from the evil eye, a prayer from envy is read daily.
In ancient Greek mythology, one can find a description of Envy in the form of a terrible wrinkled old woman with rotten teeth and a protruding tongue from which poison drips. Justifying ourselves by the fact that our envy is "white" we, unfortunately, do not realize that it destroys our spiritual principle in any form. The fluids of envy saturate the air and poison the peaceful existence of society.
Reading a prayer text, a person first of all clears himself of bad thoughts, negativity, frees the information field, and is charged with positive energy. Prayer from envy helps to gain confidence, to reset the energy of someone else's anger that has fallen into a personal biofield. Such prayers are intended to be protection for a person and his family, to keep the well-being and peace of the hearth.
The process of reading a prayer: rules
It is worth saying a prayer from human envy with reverence and respect for the sacrament, observing some rules.
Wanting to get rid of the negative impact from others, you yourself need to analyze your thoughts and actions in relation to others. After all, envy on your part is also possible. Therefore, before starting prayer, it is worth mentally repenting before everyone and admitting your weakness.
Any request addressed to the Heavenly Father requires faith - all-consuming and undeniable.
The stronger a person believes, the more effective the prayer ritual will be. For the right attitude to unity with God, you need to stand in front of the images (at home, in front of the icon), light candles and think about what you want to convey to the Almighty with your prayers.
Since the prayers of envy are not long, you should read them several times daily until you feel lightness in your soul and the power of forgiveness. Thus, the envy that has stuck around the energy shell will evaporate and all negativity will subside.
Which prayer for envy is better to choose
All appeals to Orthodox saints about a bad demonic feeling - envy are conventionally divided into:
- protecting from any random human envy;
- aimed at envious people so that they stop gossiping about you and envying you;
- purifying, delivering the soul of the supplicant from this filth.
Orthodoxy considers the text presented in the Bible (Psalm No. 90) with the title “Living in the help of the Most High” to be the best prayer for envy. It should be read 12 times in a row.
If there is a person next to you from whom negativity and anger emanates, read the prayer text against the evil eye of the Most Holy Theotokos (you can mentally).
If you have been visited by evil envious thoughts in relation to others, turn to the Lord (possibly through your saint or guardian angel) with a holy prayer.
In order to stop gossip and slander about a person, especially for public and high-ranking persons, you can adopt a well-known sacred text from human envy. If you read this prayer with a lit candle, going around your home three times, then you and your family will forever be closed by powerful protection from the energy messages of ill-wishers.
Remember, any bad thoughts against other people will return a hundredfold to the one who sent them!
Other types of protective prayers:
Prayers for envy: comments
Comments - 3,
My husband and I had everything like in a fairy tale, holidays abroad, love, he has a highly paid position, two cars, and soon the long-awaited daughter was born. And suddenly I noticed that after talking with a friend who asked for all the details of our life, everything suddenly began to be disturbed, then someone gets sick, then my husband has problems at work, quarrels in the family. Then I began to read a prayer out of envy, and now everything seems to be getting better again, and my friend began to reduce communication to nothing.
That's how they say prayer helped, and you yourself too - contacts to a minimum and everything worked out. as the proverb says Happiness loves silence, that is, in this way they minimized the envy of a friend and this is evil for you, stopping her provoking her with her well-being talking about it, it’s certainly terrible that people are so envious, but what to do - she herself has the same situation even worse, I already wrote, if there is something on my problem, answer
A strong prayer from envy (for public figures, high-ranking people), the prayer is excellent, I just can’t understand why they are public persons, that they are envied, why they should pray for deliverance from their envy, this of course will not hurt, but then the meaning of the prayer about what? Advise an effective prayer if you are not envious at all, but you are. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help
Prayer from human envy and malice, 3 prayers
I bring to your attention Orthodox prayers from human envy and malice addressed to the Holy Saints.
What can I say, envy is everywhere these days.
It seems that there is nothing to envy, but still there are ill-wishers.
To protect yourself from the evil envy of people, you need to regularly whisper special prayers that allow you to drive away other people's energy.
Before you start fervent prayer, be sure to visit the Orthodox Church and submit a registered note about your own health.
If you know your enemies by sight, then in no case order their dead service.
Pray for their health and ask the Lord God to cleanse them of envious thoughts.
Prayer from envy to the Lord God
Light 12 candles and silently look at the burning flame.
Do not intrigue your envious people, they already have no peace.
Envious people constantly toil, wasting their vital energy on deep sorrows.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God. Have mercy and take away the eyes of envious people from me. Do not let them harm me in deed, word and thought. May all envious people find paradise, and all sorrows leave their souls. Lord, you repay me according to faith, but the enemies cannot be tested. May your will be done. Amen.
Prayer from envy to Nicholas the Wonderworker
Wonderworker Nicholas, Defender and Savior. Take away from me black envy and human dirty tricks. Protect me from rudeness and spoiled stoop. Do not punish me for temptations and forgive me all dashing sins. Do not torment my envious people with stinginess, and do not torment them with desperate stupidity. May your will be done. Amen.
Prayer from envy Matrona of Moscow
In the event that you feel not only an envious look on yourself, but also someone's spoiled muck, turn to the Blessed Matrona with a prayer.
Blessed Staritsa, Matrona of Moscow. Forgive me all evil suspicions and ward off all human defilements. Protect me from mournful envy, take illnesses and ailments from my eyes. Let envy never capture me, everything that I have is enough for me to death. May it be so. Amen.
Now you know that there are Orthodox prayers for envy that allow you to protect yourself from bad people.
For the Lord to help you, try not to indulge in envious thoughts yourself.
May God help you!
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Orthodox prayer from the evil eye, envy, corruption and evil people
Envy is a dangerous feeling that harms the envious person and the one to whom this feeling is directed. This "bone rot" can cause diseases and negative events in the lives of respectable people.
A true believer is not afraid of magic, it is not capable of harming him. Prayer is a means of healing, consolation and tranquility. Therefore, if you find a person who is envious, trying to jinx it, to bring damage, you should pray for him with sincere words.
Which saints should you turn to for help?
Prayer from the evil eye and envy, addressed to the heavenly patrons, will help protect yourself and your family. There is also a prayer from evil people and corruption, which has powerful healing power.
Basic Prayer to Jesus Christ
Almost every person knows by heart the prayer "Our Father".
It is she who brings relief and a sense of communion with the Almighty.
Our Father, Who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Give us our daily bread today; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
This is a powerful amulet that turns the arrows of the enemy into himself.
Alive in the help of the Most High, in the blood of the God of Heaven will settle. The Lord says: Thou art my intercessor and my refuge, my God, and I trust in Him. As if He will deliver thee from the net of the hunter, and from the rebellious word, His splash will overshadow thee, and under His wings you hope: His truth will be your weapon. Do not be afraid of the fear of the night, from the arrow flying in the days, from the thing in the darkness of the passing, from the scum, and the demon of the noonday. A thousand will fall from your country, and darkness at your right hand, but it will not come close to you, both look at your eyes, and see the reward of sinners. As you, O Lord, are my hope, the Most High have laid down your refuge. Evil will not come to you, and the wound will not approach your body, as if by His Angel a commandment about you, save you in all your ways. They will take you in their hands, but not when you stumble your foot on a stone, step on the asp and the basilisk, and cross the lion and the serpent. For I have trusted in Me, and I will deliver, and I will cover, and, as I know My name. He will call to Me, and I will hear him: I am with him in sorrow, I will crush him, and I will glorify him, I will fulfill him with long life, and I will show him My salvation.
Prayers from envy and evil people
O great saint of Christ, reverend mother Mary! Hear the unworthy prayer of us sinners (names), deliver us, reverend mother, from the passions that are fighting on our souls, from all sorrow and finding misfortune, from sudden death and from all evil, at the hour of separation of the soul from the body, otzheniya, holy saint , every evil thought and evil demons, as if our souls would receive with peace in a place of light Christ the Lord our God, as if from Him the cleansing of sins, and He is the salvation of our souls, He deserves all glory, honor and worship, with the Father and the Holy Spirit , now and forever, and forever and ever.
Oh, holy servant of God, Hieromartyr Cyprian, quick helper and prayer book for all who come to you. Accept our unworthy praise from us, and ask the Lord God for strength in weakness, healing in sickness, consolation in sorrow, and all that is useful in our life. Offer up your pious prayer to the Lord, may it protect us from our sinful falls, may it teach us true repentance, may it deliver us from the captivity of the devil and any action of unclean spirits, and deliver us from those who offend us. Wake us a strong champion against all enemies, visible and invisible. Grant us patience in temptations, and at the hour of our death show us intercession from the tormentors in our air ordeals. May we, led by you, reach the Mountainous Jerusalem and be honored in the Kingdom of Heaven with all the saints to glorify and sing the Most Holy Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
Oh, the great saints of Christ and miracle workers: the holy Forerunner and Baptist of Christ John, the holy all-praised Apostle and confidant of Christ John, the holy hierarch Father Nicholas, the Hieromartyr Harlampy, the Great Martyr George the Victorious, Father Theodore, the Prophet of God Elijah, Saint Nikita, Martyr John the Warrior, Great Martyr Barbara , Great Martyr Catherine, Venerable Father Anthony! Hear us praying to you, servant of God (names). You carry our sorrows and ailments, you hear the sighs of many who come to you. For this reason, we call to you, as our quick helpers and warm intercessors: do not leave us (names) as your intercession with God. We are constantly deceiving from the path of salvation, guide us, merciful teachers. We are weak in faith, affirm us, orthodox teachers. We will wretchedly do good deeds, enrich us, treasures of mercy. We always slander from the enemy visible and invisible and embittered, help us, helpless intercessors. Righteous anger, moved against us for our iniquities, turn away from us by your intercession at the throne of the Judge of God, to whom you stand in heaven, holy righteous. Hear, we pray you, the great saints of Christ, calling you with faith and ask your prayers from the Heavenly Father for all of us forgiveness of our sins and deliverance from troubles. You are more helpers, intercessors and prayer books, and we send glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit about you, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.
Rules for reading prayers
When pronouncing prayers, one should:
- to be in complete seclusion:
- mental state should be calm;
- discard any thoughts of revenge on the offenders;
- do not be distracted by extraneous sounds, thoughts;
- pronounce each word consciously, delving into each spoken phrase.
What are the similarities of envy, corruption and evil eye
When a person is constantly overtaken by failures, things do not go well, small problems are replaced by large ones and there are more and more of them, many people consider this an evil eye or damage. Indeed, even without the use of a witchcraft ritual, a person who is in a strong surge of envy and anger can direct negativity towards another person.
The evil eye is an unintended effect on a person. For example, someone accidentally said something to the interlocutor and thereby jinxed him, without suspecting it. But if someone wanted to cause damage, then this is a deliberate action using auxiliary items, conspiracies and rituals.
And what's with the envy?
Jealous, a person scrolls negative thoughts in his head. For example, he wants to possess something that his friend has, thereby wanting him to lose the existing goods and destroying the happiness and success of a person.
The main signs of the evil eye and damage
- frequent bouts of headache;
- constant weakness, fatigue, drowsiness;
- loss of interest in life;
- outbursts of anger, irritation, anger;
- inner restlessness;
- troubles in all spheres of life;
- hearing voices in your head, often telling you what, when, and how to do it;
- a sense of the world in black and gray;
- craving for alcohol, drugs, fornication;
- sudden depression;
- drops in blood pressure;
- the occurrence of serious illnesses;
- discomfort in the solar plexus.
Good advice for solving the problem and its “prevention” is given by practicing psychologists:
- outside one's own home, one cannot boast of the successes of the household and one's own achievements;
- if you feel the unfriendly glances of envious people behind your back, or if it is known that they talk a lot about you, thank the Almighty that your life is better than that of others;
- limit communication with ill-wishers to the maximum;
- engage in self-training: every day you need to give yourself the installation that your environment (colleagues, friends, neighbors) are the best and most friendly people.
Sorcery has flourished since time immemorial, drawing out human strength. Recently, there has been an increased interest in the witchcraft ritual due to the availability of magical literature on the shelves of bookstores. There is also a growing number of soothsayers, fortune-tellers, soothsayers who promise to improve the lives of the sufferers.
Prayer, in turn, does not pose a danger to a person. Aimed at the destruction of the evil eye, corruption and envy, it strengthens the spiritual world of man.
Fill the spiritual world with goodness and positivity, pray for your enemies, and then the evil envious people themselves will “weed out” from your life.
Envy
From the legacy of the Optina Elders
Envy is one of the heaviest passions, it disturbs the peace of mind and is accompanied by a storm of obsessive evil thoughts.
“The passion of envy does not, on any joyful holiday, under any joyful circumstances, make it possible to fully rejoice in the one whom it possesses. Always, like a worm, it sharpens his soul and heart with vague sadness, because the envious one considers the well-being and success of his neighbor as his misfortune, and considers the preference shown to others as an unjust insult for himself.
You can't please the envious
Comparing envy with other passions, the Monk Ambrose recalled the parable of the money-lover and the envious man:
“One Greek king wanted to know which of the two is worse - the lover of money or the envious, because both do not wish the other well. To this end, he commanded to call to himself the lover of money and the envious one, and he said to them:
“Ask me, each of you, whatever you please. Just know that the second will get twice what the first asks for.
The money-lover and the envious bickered for a long time, each not wanting to ask before, in order to receive twice after. Finally, the king told the envious man to ask first. The envious one, being seized with ill-will towards his neighbors, instead of receiving, turned to malevolence and said to the king:
- Sovereign! Order me to gouge out the eye.
The surprised king asked why he expressed such a desire. The envious replied:
- So that you, sovereign, order my comrade to gouge out both eyes.
This is how the passion of envy is harmful and mentally harmful, but also malevolent. An envious person is ready to harm himself, if only to harm his neighbor twice.
The elder explained that all passions are harmful to the soul, but in other passions a person can be calmed down with something, and envy cannot be quenched by anything:
“The proud can be honored! Conceited - to praise! Money-loving - give something ... etc. An envious person is impossible to please. The more he is pleased, the more he envies and suffers.
The first signs of envy are misplaced jealousy and rivalry.
St. Ambrose taught to notice the first signs of envy, which manifest themselves in inappropriate jealousy and rivalry:
“Envy is first revealed by inappropriate jealousy and rivalry, and then by zeal with annoyance and censure of the one we envy.”
To the question of the spiritual child, what is the reason for envy and jealousy, Saint Macarius answered as follows:
“You ask: why do you have such a hateful feeling when you hear praise from others, and how to get rid of it? What causes this embarrassment is already the passion that lies in you, arrogance ... And when you reproach and humble yourself, you will be healed. Of course, the reason for this temptation is pride, because jealousy and envy come from it.
How to deal with envy
Saint Macarius taught to fight the thoughts of envy at the very beginning, when they were still attachments, he taught to suppress these attachments while they were still “Babylonian babies”:
“For God's sake, do not allow this seed of Cain to grow in you, but suppress its small sprouts, kill the “babylon babies” while they are still babies. Depose them from the pretext by self-reproach and humility.
“She, like all other passions, has different sizes and degrees, and therefore one should try to suppress it and exterminate it at the first sensation, praying to the Almighty Heart-Knower God with Psalm words: “Cleanse me from my secrets, and spare Thy servant (or servant) from strangers Yours)” (Ps. 18:13-14).
Also with humility one should confess this infirmity before the spiritual father.
And the third remedy is to try in every possible way not to say anything nasty about the person we envy. Using these means, we can, with the help of God, although not soon, be healed of envious infirmity.
Saint Nikon also advised to pray for those to whom you have hostile feelings:
“When you feel dislike towards someone, or anger, or irritation, then you need to pray for those people, regardless of whether they are guilty or not guilty. Pray with simplicity of heart, as the holy fathers advise: “Save, Lord, and have mercy on Your servant (name) and for the sake of his holy prayers help me, a sinner!” From such a prayer, the heart is pacified, although sometimes not immediately.
Force yourself to do good
Saint Ambrose advised:
“You need to force yourself, albeit against your will, to do some good to your enemies, and most importantly, not to take revenge on them and be careful not to somehow offend them with a look of contempt and humiliation.”
Pray for those you envy and for those who envy you
Saint Joseph taught to pray not only for those whom you envy, but also for those who envy you:
Whoever you envy, pray to God for him.
"Pray for the envious and try not to irritate her."
How can one derive spiritual benefit from the thoughts of envy
The Monk Ambrose suggested how one can derive spiritual benefit from thoughts of envy by turning envious thoughts into thoughts of humility:
“You write that, seeing yourself worse than others, you tend to envy. Turn this feeling to the other side - and the floor at read favor. Seeing oneself as worse than others is the beginning of humility, if only a person reproaches himself for the admixture of nasty feelings and thoughts and tries to reject this soul-damaging admixture. If, however, you allow humility to settle in your soul, then, in proportion to this, you will receive peace from various spiritual hardships.
Also, there is nothing to envy for those who are externally secured. An example is before your eyes that even those who are rich do not enjoy the peace of their souls. This does not require external support, but firm hope in God. If this provision were useful to you, then the Lord would send you wealth. But it doesn't seem to work for you."
Be ready for the return of passion
Saint Macarius reminded us: sometimes it seems to us that we have conquered some kind of passion, but when the opportunity arises, it turns out that it has returned in its former guise. The elder advised not to be embarrassed by this, but to be ready for such a turn and, knowing your weakness, humble yourself:
“About your passion [envy], you thought that you were already free from it, but later, when the case opened, it seemed that you were not. What one should not be surprised about, but one must be ready to resist passion and, recognizing one's weakness, humble oneself. When humility and love reign, passions will also disappear.”
Through the prayers of our holy fathers, the reverend elders of Optina, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us!
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Hieromonk Chrysostom (Filipescu)
Envy, which weighs heavily on the heart, at first takes the form of slight dissatisfaction with the position that you have achieved, while someone else has succeeded more than you. Then this discontent grows and grows. A person possessed by envy watches with anxiety the one whom he envies, looking for a reason to condemn him. One can define this disease of the soul as an inability to realize the unity of being of all people as a whole, for the good of our neighbor should also please us.
Salieri's mistake. Salieri's mistake.or About how envy is born and how to deal with it
Sometimes envy is directed at objects that are completely strange. So, in the well-known ditty of the post-war period, with bitter irony, the absurd ability of a person to envy even someone else's grief was ridiculed: It is good for him who has one leg, He is given a pension, and he does not need a boot.
A word about envy during the second week of Lent A word about envy during the second week of LentSaint Elijah (Minyatiy)
Envy is the original seed of all evil, the first offspring of all sin, the first poisonous filth that corrupted heaven and earth, the first decaying flame that kindled the fire of eternal torment. The first one who sinned in heaven with pride was a dennitsa; the first to sin in Paradise by disobedience was Adam; the first to sin with envy after the exile was Cain. But the first cause of all those sins of the morning star, Adam and Cain was still envy.
Envy accompanies man throughout his history. Already in the fourth chapter of the book of Genesis, that is, immediately after the description of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise, the tragedy of their firstborn is told. Cain is jealous of brother Abel because God accepted the latter's sacrifice and "did not regard" his own. The continuation is known: Cain does not listen to the voice of God, lures his brother into the field and kills. As punishment, the Lord dooms the criminal to exile. What do the Fathers of the Church say about this truly murderous sin?
1. John Chrysostom
« Envy is worse than enmity, says the saint. - A warring one, when the reason for which the quarrel occurred is forgotten, stops the hostility; the envious will never become a friend. Moreover, the former fights openly, and the latter - secretly; the former can often indicate a sufficient reason for enmity, while the latter cannot indicate anything other than his own madness and satanic disposition.».
An example from life. Two people apply for a place with a good salary and career prospects. If the spiritual demands of these people are low, and the material needs are high, then, most likely, competition will arise between them, and against its background, an explicitly or implicitly expressed conflict.
On the part of the one who receives the coveted position, the conflict will be settled as soon as he takes the chair. But the “loser”, if he is at all prone to envy, will aggravate the conflict even more and will certainly fall into this sin - even when he finds another job, he will remember that this worthless person has taken HIS place.
Envy really resembles insanity in its most medical sense: an obsessive state. One way to get rid of an obsessive state is to try to rationalize it.
A person is successful, which means that God is glorified through him. If this person is your neighbor, it means that you are successful through him, and God is also glorified through you. If this person is your enemy, then you need to strive to make him your friend - already for the sake of glorifying God through him.
2. John Cassian the Roman
St. John Cassian the Roman categorically asserts that envy cannot be overcome by one's own strength. In response to virtue, the envious person only becomes embittered. Thus, the benevolence and helpfulness of Joseph further hardened his eleven brothers. When he went to feed them in the field, they decided to kill his brother - the idea of selling him into slavery was already a softening of their original intention ...
Old Testament history repeats itself at all times, albeit without criminality. In many teenage groups there are guys who will call an excellent student explaining difficult tasks to narrow-minded classmates a “nerd” - and it’s good if they don’t put chewing gum, or even a button, on a chair ...
You should not despair. St. John Cassian gives universal advice: to pray.
« So that the basilisk (devil) does not exterminate everything that is alive in us, which, as it were, is inspired by the vital action of the Holy Spirit, with one wound only of this evil (envy), let us constantly ask for God's help, for which nothing is impossible».
3. Basil the Great
Saint Basil the Great gives two very simple pieces of advice. First: to realize that there is nothing to envy at all. Wealth, fame, honor and respect are absolutely earthly things, which, moreover, must be learned to use correctly.
« Still unworthy of our competition - the rich for the sake of his wealth, the ruler for the sake of the greatness of his rank, the wise for the sake of abundance in the word. These are the instruments of virtue for those who use them well, but do not contain bliss in themselves ... And whoever is such, who is not amazed by the worldly as something great, envy can never approach him».
The second advice is to “sublimate” your envy into a creative transformation of yourself, the achievement of many virtues. True, this recommendation is suitable for dealing with a special kind of envy associated with ambition:
« If you certainly want fame, you want to be more visible than many and you can’t stand being second (for this can also be a reason for envy), then direct your ambition, like some kind of stream, to the acquisition of virtue. Do not under any pretense desire to get rich in any way and deserve the approval of anything worldly. For it is not in your will. But be just, chaste, prudent, courageous, patient in suffering for piety».
Even if you do not touch on high virtues, then the advice is more than practical. Suppose two young men are fond of playing the guitar. One becomes a rock star in his city, and the other plays three chords in the transition. For the second, it’s easiest to start envying a successful friend - it’s more difficult, firstly, to estimate the risks (Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix were colossally talented and wildly popular, which did not protect them from an ugly and terrible death, but only stimulated a tragic end), and secondly, to learn additional chords and go beyond the favorite transition.
A gradual increase in professionalism, tied to training and self-discipline, may not elevate you to Olympus, but it will allow you to develop, play and compose music for your own pleasure.
4. Theophan the Recluse
« Well-wishers, whose feelings of sympathy and compassion prevail over selfish ones, do not suffer from envy. This points the way to the extinguishment of envy, and to everyone who is tormented by it. It is necessary to hasten to arouse goodwill, especially towards the one whom you envy, and to reveal this by deed - immediately envy will subside. A few repetitions of the same kind, and with God's help, she will completely calm down.", - says St. Theophan the Recluse.
In other words, when compassion and sympathy for one's neighbor becomes a habit, there will be no place for envy.
Almost a textbook example: a lonely young lady, eaten by envy of successful gossips, suddenly finds out that her prosperous, married and rich friend has a drug addict husband, and all the well-being is ostentatious. If the process of envy has not yet been launched too strongly, the envious person (perhaps, at first, and not without gloating) rushes to help her friend ... and in the process of joint phone calls to drug treatment clinics, friendly conversations and mutual tears in the kitchen, she is so imbued with the grief of her neighbor that there is no more envy remembers. Compassion for grief is superior to envy for success.
5. Maxim the Confessor
« There is no other way to calm him down, except by hiding it from him. But if this is useful to many, but causes sorrow to him, then which side should be neglected? One must take the side of what is useful to many; but if possible, do not neglect it and do not allow yourself to be carried away by the deceit of passion, giving help not to passion, but to the one suffering from it”, recommends the reasoning approach of St. Maximus the Confessor.
He also notes that one should get rid of this passion oneself according to the commandment of the Apostle: “rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15).
The first is more difficult. Pitying the unfortunate is a natural movement of the soul. To rejoice in someone else's happiness is a conscious action and dictated by sincere love, when you truly treat your neighbor as yourself. Only the author of the famous "Hundreds of Love" could give such advice.
True, sometimes examples of his performance are found in life. A lonely woman in cramped living conditions worries for a long time that she does not have children, works with adoptive parents, begins to rejoice for happy children and their new parents ... And then suddenly, unexpectedly, circumstances develop in her favor, and she manages to adopt her child.
6. Gregory the Theologian
St. Gregory the Theologian believed that envy, oddly enough, is not devoid of justice - already in this life it punishes the sinner.
The fathers say that an envious person's face becomes withered, he looks bad ... In our life, an envious person is easy to recognize by pursed lips and wrinkles. He is dissatisfied with life, he always grumbles (especially at the object of his passion). I will say more: many diseases that are psychosomatic in nature, from pancreatitis to asthma, are aggravated precisely in the envious person. “It’s not fair that another is more successful than me!” - this thought eats the unfortunate, not only his soul, but also his body.
This is bad justice, infernal. This alone should turn a person away from such a pernicious passion.
« Oh, if envy would be exterminated between people, this ulcer for those possessed by it, this poison for those who suffer from it, this one of the most unjust and at the same time just passions - an unjust passion, because it disturbs the rest of all the good, and fair, because it dries those who feed her!' exclaims Saint Gregory.
7. Efrem Sirin
The word "agonality" is the same root as αγωνία (struggle). This word we call the near-death state, the body's attempt to fight for survival, the last convulsive breaths. This is not a coincidence - the struggle for life is a direct consequence of the presence of death in the world. And death was brought into the world by sin and the devil. Paradoxically, struggle, which in nature is a manifestation of life, in the human world itself is death.
This is especially obvious when someone "competes" not in real life values, but in the external, expressed in the primitive "I want to be cooler." Thus, a person becomes akin to the devil - the same “agonal” spirit with him.
« And whoever is stung by envy and rivalry is pathetic, because he is an accomplice of the devil, through whom death entered the world.(Wisdom 2:24), recalls St. Ephraim the Syrian. - Whoever has envy and rivalry is the enemy of everyone, because he does not want another to be preferred to him.».
The same saint emphasizes: the envious person has already been defeated, he is tormented by any other person's joy, while the lucky one who has escaped this passion is glad for the success of another.
Let not the comparison with death seem drawn to anyone. It is enough to look not even around, but inside yourself.
“Why does the neighbor have a new apartment and a car, and I work hard from morning to night - and I have nothing?” - a really hard-working person is indignant - and he does not have time to live behind these thoughts. Instead of spending the day off meeting with his mother, friends, girlfriend (not to mention going to church), he takes work home, works even more, but he doesn’t get an apartment or a car, and envy eating more and more...
8. Elijah (Minyatiy)
« And no one got any pleasure from it.”, - sums up the gloomy conclusion of St. Elijah.
The saint draws attention: the envious person does not see the good at all. Any positive example annoys him. Envious eyes, "if they see (good), are filled with tears and try not to see, as if involuntarily closing themselves." But at the same time, it is impossible to hide from them - the envious person watches his victim, cannot tear himself away from it, although it would be easier for him if he switched his attention to another object.
Indeed, an obsessive state.
9. Paisius Svyatogorets
The elder believed that envy is simply ridiculous and can be overcome by elementary common sense.
« A person needs to work a little with his head in order to overcome envy. Great feats are not required, because envy is a spiritual passion».
Indeed, you don't have to be an Einstein to understand that your longing for someone else's Mercedes is eating you up, and even a Toyota won't appear in your garage. Especially if you don't have a garage either. Stealing someone else's Mercedes is not only sinful, but also criminally punishable, so you should not envy, but work. And if the salary is small, be content with a bicycle. But the legs will be healthy.
But the most important thing that Elder Paisius draws attention to is that envy is a sin against one of the ten commandments. Even the most non-church person respects the Decalogue, if not on the natural, then on the cultural level. Killing is criminal, praying to idols is stupid, taking a spouse away from a family is immoral, stealing is disgusting... So, envy is also bad.
« If God said, "You shall not covet ... everything except your neighbor," then how can we covet something that belongs to another? What, we will not even keep the basic commandments? Then our life will turn into hell».
10. Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann
Above, we talked about agonalism - a trait inherent in European culture, competitiveness, which underlies, among other things, the passion of envy. Father Alexander Schmemann goes further: any comparison, from his point of view, is a source of evil. Comparison of one in favor of the other suggests that everything should be “justice”, or rather, everyone and everyone should be equal.
« Comparison never achieves anything, it is the source of evil, that is, envy (why am I not like him), then malice and, finally, rebellion and division. But this is the exact genealogy of the devil. There is nothing positive here at any point, at any stage, everything is negative from beginning to end. And in this sense, our culture is "demonic", because it is based on the comparison».
Comparison and envy abolish differences.
« Since comparison always, mathematically, leads to experience, knowledge of inequality, it always leads to protest, the theologian continues. - Equality is affirmed as the inappropriateness of any differences, and since they exist - to the fight against them, that is, to violent equalization and, even more terrible, to the denial of them as the very essence of life».
There is such an anecdote: in 1917, the granddaughter of a Decembrist hears noise in the street and sends the maid to find out what is happening.
“There is a revolution, madame.
- O! Revolution is great! My grandfather also wanted to make a revolution! Find out what the protesters want?
They want no more rich people.
- How strange! My grandfather wanted there to be no poor.
With all the absurdity, the anecdote is quite vital. Envy, driven to the limit, does not want happiness for itself, but misfortune for another. So that he was as bad as me. So that he lived on one salary. Therefore, Schmemann calls the very principle of equality and equalization demonic.
“There is not and cannot be equality in the world, that it was created by love, and not by principles. And the world yearns for love, not equality, and nothing - we know this - kills love so much, does not replace it with hatred so much as precisely this equality constantly imposed on the world as a goal and "value".
In short, there is no one to envy. You will never be like him. And that's great.
Envy accompanies man throughout his history. Already in the fourth chapter of the book of Genesis, that is, immediately after the description of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise, the tragedy of their firstborn is told. Cain is jealous of brother Abel because God accepted the latter's sacrifice and "did not regard" his own. The continuation is known: Cain does not listen to the voice of God, lures his brother into the field and kills. As punishment, the Lord dooms the criminal to exile. What do the Fathers of the Church say about this truly murderous sin?
1. John Chrysostom
St. John Chrysostom compares an envious person with a dung beetle, a pig, and even a demon. According to him, envy is direct enmity against God, who favors this or that person. In this sense, the envious person is even worse than the demons: they harm people, while the envious person wishes harm to his own kind.
“Envy is worse than enmity,” says the saint. - A warring one, when the reason for which the quarrel occurred is forgotten, stops the hostility; the envious will never become a friend. Moreover, the former fights openly, and the latter - secretly; the former can often indicate a sufficient reason for enmity, while the latter can indicate nothing else than his madness and satanic disposition.
An example from life. Two people apply for a place with a good salary and career prospects. If the spiritual demands of these people are low, and the material needs are high, then, most likely, competition will arise between them, and against its background, an explicitly or implicitly expressed conflict.
On the part of the one who receives the coveted position, the conflict will be settled as soon as he takes the chair. But the “loser”, if he is at all prone to envy, will aggravate the conflict even more and will certainly fall into this sin - even when he finds another job, he will remember that this worthless person has taken HIS place.
Envy really resembles insanity in its most medical sense: an obsessive state. One way to get rid of an obsessive state is to try to rationalize it.
A person is successful, which means that God is glorified through him. If this person is your neighbor, it means that you are successful through him, and God is also glorified through you. If this person is your enemy, then you need to strive to make him your friend - already for the sake of glorifying God through him.
2. John Cassian the Roman
The common opinion for the entire Holy Tradition is that it was out of envy that the serpent took up arms against Eve. It was envy of man's unique status as the image and likeness of God that forced him to make efforts to overthrow him. Moreover, the devil provokes the foremother Eve to envy: “You will be like gods, knowing good and evil.” It is the envy of these non-existent gods that pushes the first woman to violate the commandment of God. So, indeed, satanic vice.
St. John Cassian the Roman categorically asserts that envy cannot be overcome by one's own strength. In response to virtue, the envious person only becomes embittered. Thus, the benevolence and helpfulness of Joseph further hardened his eleven brothers. When he went to feed them in the field, they decided to kill his brother - the idea of selling him into slavery was already a softening of their original intention ...
Old Testament history repeats itself at all times, albeit without criminality. In many teenage groups there are guys who will call an excellent student explaining difficult tasks to narrow-minded classmates a “nerd” - and it’s good if they don’t put chewing gum, or even a button, on a chair ...
You should not despair. St. John Cassian gives universal advice: to pray.
“So that the basilisk (devil) does not exterminate everything that is alive in us, which, as it were, is inspired by the vital action of the Holy Spirit, with one wound only of this evil (envy), let us constantly ask for God's help, for which nothing is impossible.”
3. Basil the Great
Prayer is no less hard work than, for example, exercises in fasting. Not everyone is given it without proper training, and the battle with envy is necessary here and now. What to do?
Saint Basil the Great gives two very simple pieces of advice. First: to realize that there is nothing to envy at all. Wealth, fame, honor and respect are absolutely earthly things, which, moreover, must be learned to use correctly.
“Still unworthy of our competition - the rich for the sake of his wealth, the ruler for the sake of the greatness of his rank, the wise for the sake of abundance in the word. These are the instruments of virtue for those who use them well, but do not contain bliss in themselves ... And who is, who is not amazed by the worldly as something great, envy can never come close to him.
The second advice is to “sublimate” your envy into a creative transformation of yourself, the achievement of many virtues. True, this recommendation is suitable for dealing with a special kind of envy associated with ambition:
“If you certainly want fame, you want to be more visible than many and you can’t stand being second (for this can also be a reason for envy), then direct your ambition, like some kind of stream, to the acquisition of virtue. Do not under any pretense desire to get rich in any way and deserve the approval of anything worldly. For it is not in your will. But be just, chaste, prudent, courageous, patient in suffering for piety.
Even if you do not touch on high virtues, then the advice is more than practical. Suppose two young men are fond of playing the guitar. One becomes a rock star in his city, and the other plays three chords in the transition. For the second, it’s easiest to start envying a successful friend - it’s more difficult, firstly, to estimate the risks (Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix were colossally talented and wildly popular, which did not protect them from an ugly and terrible death, but only stimulated a tragic end), and secondly, to learn additional chords and go beyond the favorite transition.
A gradual increase in professionalism, tied to training and self-discipline, may not elevate you to Olympus, but it will allow you to develop, play and compose music for your own pleasure.
4. Theophan the Recluse
If it is rather difficult to resist an envious person with a kind attitude, as the Holy Scripture directly testifies (the above example of Joseph and his brothers, King Saul, who continues to envy David and persecute him despite his humility ...), then the envious person himself can and must overcome his passion through “I don’t want to” is precisely a change in behavior in relation to my “victim”. No matter how hard it is.
“Well-wishers, in whom feelings of sympathy and compassion prevail over selfish ones, do not suffer from envy. This points the way to the extinguishment of envy, and to everyone who is tormented by it. It is necessary to hasten to arouse goodwill, especially towards the one whom you envy, and to reveal this by deed - immediately envy will subside. A few repetitions of the same kind, and with God's help, it will completely calm down, ”says St. Theophan the Recluse.
In other words, when compassion and sympathy for one's neighbor becomes a habit, there will be no place for envy.
Almost a textbook example: a lonely young lady, eaten by envy of successful gossips, suddenly finds out that her prosperous, married and rich friend has a drug addict husband, and all the well-being is ostentatious. If the process of envy has not yet been launched too strongly, the envious person (perhaps, at first, and not without gloating) rushes to help her friend ... and in the process of joint phone calls to drug treatment clinics, friendly conversations and mutual tears in the kitchen, she is so imbued with the grief of her neighbor that there is no more envy remembers. Compassion for grief is superior to envy for success.
5. Maxim the Confessor
By the way, this advice has another side: if possible, do not give a reason for envy. If you do not want to be envied, do not boast of your success, wealth, intelligence and happiness.
“There is no other way to calm him down, except by hiding it from him. But if this is useful to many, but causes sorrow to him, then which side should be neglected? One must take the side of what is useful to many; but if possible, do not neglect it and do not allow yourself to be carried away by the deceit of passion, giving help not to passion, but to those who suffer from it, ”recommends an approach with reasoning, St. Maximus the Confessor.
He also notes that one should get rid of this passion oneself according to the commandment of the Apostle: “rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15).
The first is more difficult. Pitying the unfortunate is a natural movement of the soul. To rejoice in someone else's happiness is a conscious action and dictated by sincere love, when you truly treat your neighbor as yourself. Only the author of the famous "Hundreds of Love" could give such advice.
True, sometimes examples of his performance are found in life. A lonely woman in cramped living conditions worries for a long time that she does not have children, works with adoptive parents, begins to rejoice for happy children and their new parents ... And then suddenly, unexpectedly, circumstances develop in her favor, and she manages to adopt her child.
6. Gregory the Theologian
As we can see, the Fathers of the Church give monotonous advice on fighting envy: pray, rejoice for your neighbor, grow in virtue. None of the teachers of the Church conducts master classes on overcoming envy. Precisely because the birth of this passion can be traced from the Bible, precisely because it is obviously inexcusable as a direct offspring of the devil, the main weapon against it is denunciation.
St. Gregory the Theologian believed that envy, oddly enough, is not devoid of justice - already in this life it punishes the sinner.
The fathers say that an envious person's face becomes withered, he looks bad ... In our life, an envious person is easy to recognize by pursed lips and wrinkles. He is dissatisfied with life, he always grumbles (especially at the object of his passion). I will say more: many diseases that are psychosomatic in nature, from pancreatitis to asthma, are aggravated precisely in the envious person. “It’s not fair that another is more successful than me!” - this thought eats the unfortunate, not only his soul, but also his body.
This is bad justice, infernal. This alone should turn a person away from such a pernicious passion.
“Oh, if envy were exterminated between people, this ulcer for those possessed by it, this poison for those suffering from it, this one of the most unjust and at the same time just passions - an unjust passion, because it disturbs the peace of all good people, and just, because it dries feeding her!" exclaims Saint Gregory.
7. Efrem Sirin
The basis of envy is the so-called "agonal spirit" - the ability of a person to be in constant struggle, competition, rivalry, aggression. Agonality was a characteristic feature of ancient culture (hence a large number of games and competitions) and is present in modern life in a very primitive form: you can compete in whoever has a cooler iPhone or more fashionable clothes.
The word "agonality" is the same root as αγωνία (struggle). This word we call the near-death state, the body's attempt to fight for survival, the last convulsive breaths. This is not a coincidence - the struggle for life is a direct consequence of the presence of death in the world. And death was brought into the world by sin and the devil. Paradoxically, struggle, which in nature is a manifestation of life, in the human world itself is death.
This is especially obvious when someone "competes" not in real life values, but in the external, expressed in the primitive "I want to be cooler." Thus, a person becomes akin to the devil - the same “agonal” spirit with him.
“And whoever is stung by envy and rivalry is pathetic, because he is a partner in the devil, by whom death entered the world (Wisdom 2:24), recalls St. Ephraim the Syrian. “Whoever has envy and rivalry is an adversary to everyone, because he does not want another to be preferred to him.”
The same saint emphasizes: the envious person has already been defeated, he is tormented by any other person's joy, while the lucky one who has escaped this passion is glad for the success of another.
Let not the comparison with death seem drawn to anyone. It is enough to look not even around, but inside yourself.
“Why does the neighbor have a new apartment and a car, and I work hard from morning to night - and I have nothing?” - a really hard-working person is indignant - and he does not have time to live behind these thoughts. Instead of spending the day off meeting with his mother, friends, girlfriend (not to mention going to church), he takes work home, works even more, but he doesn’t get an apartment or a car, and envy eating more and more...
8. Elijah (Minyatiy)
This passion runs the risk of persecuting to death - either the envious person or his victim. In both cases, death is not a deliverance. An envious person who has departed into eternity in this sin will be condemned for him, and Cain is doomed to exile and contempt. St. Elijah Minyatiy tells the dramatic story of Empress Eudokia, the wife of Emperor Theodosius, slandered by envious people: unjustly accused of adultery, she was expelled and sent into exile, and her friend Pavlinian was executed.
“And no one got any pleasure from this,” St. Elijah sums up gloomily.
The saint draws attention: the envious person does not see the good at all. Any positive example annoys him. Envious eyes, "if they see (good), are filled with tears and try not to see, as if involuntarily closing themselves." But at the same time, it is impossible to hide from them - the envious person watches his victim, cannot tear himself away from it, although it would be easier for him if he switched his attention to another object.
Indeed, an obsessive state.
9. Paisius Svyatogorets
Elder Paisius the Holy Mountaineer has not yet been officially glorified by the Church, but his works and advice have already firmly entered the treasury of Holy Tradition. For a modern person, his recommendations may be the most useful.
The elder believed that envy is simply ridiculous and can be overcome by elementary common sense.
“A person needs a little head work to overcome envy. Great feats are not required, because envy is a spiritual passion.
Indeed, you don't have to be an Einstein to understand that your longing for someone else's Mercedes is eating you up, and even a Toyota won't appear in your garage. Especially if you don't have a garage either. Stealing someone else's Mercedes is not only sinful, but also criminally punishable, so you should not envy, but work. And if the salary is small, be content with a bicycle. But the legs will be healthy.
But the most important thing that Elder Paisius draws attention to is that envy is a sin against one of the ten commandments. Even the most non-church person respects the Decalogue, if not on the natural, then on the cultural level. Killing is criminal, praying to idols is stupid, taking a spouse away from a family is immoral, stealing is disgusting... So, envy is also bad.
“If God said: “Do not covet ... everything that is the essence of your neighbor,” then how can we covet something that belongs to another? What, we will not even keep the basic commandments? Then our life will turn into hell.”
10. Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann
Father Alexander Schmemann has not yet been glorified as a saint, and it is unlikely that his canonization will be a matter of the near future - this, however, does not prevent many, many Christians from listening to his opinion on many issues.
Above, we talked about agonalism - a trait inherent in European culture, competitiveness, which underlies, among other things, the passion of envy. Father Alexander Schmemann goes further: any comparison, from his point of view, is a source of evil. Comparison of one in favor of the other suggests that everything should be “justice”, or rather, everyone and everyone should be equal.
“Comparison never achieves anything, it is the source of evil, that is, envy (why am I not like him), then malice and, finally, rebellion and division. But this is the exact genealogy of the devil. There is nothing positive here at any point, at any stage, everything is negative from beginning to end. And in this sense, our culture is "demonic", because it is based on comparison.
Comparison and envy abolish differences.
“Since comparison always, mathematically, leads to experience, knowledge of inequality, it always leads to protest,” continues the theologian. “Equality is affirmed as the inappropriateness of any differences, and since they exist, to the fight against them, that is, to violent equalization and, even more terrible, to the denial of them as the very essence of life.”
There is such an anecdote: in 1917, the granddaughter of a Decembrist hears noise in the street and sends the maid to find out what is happening.
“There is a revolution, madame.
- O! Revolution is great! My grandfather also wanted to make a revolution! Find out what the protesters want?
They want no more rich people.
- How strange! My grandfather wanted there to be no poor.
With all the absurdity, the anecdote is quite vital. Envy, driven to the limit, does not want happiness for itself, but misfortune for another. So that he was as bad as me. So that he lived on one salary. Therefore, Schmemann calls the very principle of equality and equalization demonic.
“There is not and cannot be equality in the world, that it was created by love, and not by principles. And the world yearns for love, not equality, and nothing - we know this - kills love so much, does not replace it with hatred so much as precisely this equality constantly imposed on the world as a goal and "value".
In short, there is no one to envy. You will never be like him. And that's great.