Envy Math Part 1: Envy, you never left my mind
Envy Math - Part 1
"ईर्ष्या तू न गयी मेरे मन से"
Background Opening
As a Grade 10 student, I first encountered a remarkable essay by the legendary Hindi poet and thinker Ramdhari Singh Dinkar.
The title itself stayed with me:
"ईर्ष्या तू न गयी मेरे मन से"
(Envy, you never left my mind.)
At that age, I read it as a lesson.
Years later, I began to understand it as a diagnosis.
Recently, I met someone I deeply respect.
He was my local guardian during my university days, a scholar from a generation where earning a Ph.D. was a rare achievement. He served academia with distinction and shaped countless students.
Naturally, I expected wisdom, inspiration, and warmth.
Instead, I witnessed something else.
Almost every conversation somehow returned to comparison.
"Aajkal koi bhi Ph.D. kar leta hai."
"Aajkal koi bhi Professor ban jata hai."
"Hamare zamane mein log lecturer hokar retire ho jaate the."
"Main do baar chief guest bankar gaya hoon."
"Hamne samaj ki burai lekar aap logon ko apnaya."
"Log milte nahin aajkal. Darte hain kahin unke sukh ko kisi ki nazar na lag jaye."
I listened quietly.
These were not the words of an unsuccessful person.
These were the words of a respected, educated, accomplished individual.
And suddenly Dinkar's essay came alive before my eyes.
I realized that envy is not a problem of poverty.
It is often a problem of perception.
Real Situations
In life, we frequently encounter people who possess far more than what most individuals dream of having.
They have education.
They have status.
They have recognition.
They have experience.
Yet they remain disturbed by someone else's success.
A promotion they did not receive.
A title someone else earned.
A house built by another family.
A business growing faster.
A student achieving greater heights.
A younger generation receiving opportunities unavailable in their time.
The mathematics becomes strange.
Their own blessings become invisible.
Others' achievements become magnified.
Dinkar beautifully observed:
A person affected by envy does not suffer because of what he lacks.
He suffers because of what someone else possesses.
That is the paradox.
Laws of Envy
First Law of Envy
People often become unhappy when they see others happy.
Their own happiness was functioning perfectly until comparison entered the equation.
Second Law of Envy
If I cannot achieve it, others should not achieve it either.
The desire quietly shifts from self-growth to preventing others' growth.
Third Law of Envy
The success of others feels larger than the success of self.
One's own achievements become ordinary.
Others' achievements become extraordinary.
Fourth Law of Envy
Envy converts admiration into irritation.
The same person who once inspired us begins to disturb us.
Fifth Law of Envy
Comparison grows faster than gratitude.
The more comparison increases, the less gratitude survives.
Sixth Law of Envy
Envy measures worth relatively, never absolutely.
Instead of asking:
"How far have I come?"
The mind asks:
"How far ahead are they?"
Seventh Law of Envy
Envy never reaches satisfaction.
There is always someone richer.
Someone smarter.
Someone younger.
Someone more famous.
The race has no finish line.
Eighth Law of Envy
Real-Life Reflection
Mathivation Insight
A New Envy Math Formula
Dinkar's Equation
Dinkar exposed envy's hidden formula.
Faulty Equation
My Worth = My Possessions − Their Possessions
This equation guarantees misery.
No matter how much you possess, someone will always possess something more.
Correct Equation
My Worth = My Growth
Growth can be measured.
Comparison cannot.
Growth creates peace.
Comparison creates restlessness.
Reflections
The most surprising lesson from life is this:
Education does not automatically eliminate envy.
Age does not eliminate envy.
Position does not eliminate envy.
Titles do not eliminate envy.
Money does not eliminate envy.
A person may conquer universities, institutions, businesses, and organizations.
Yet remain defeated by comparison.
That is why Dinkar called envy an unusual blessing.
A blessing that continuously produces unhappiness.
The person is surrounded by flowers.
Yet keeps counting flowers in someone else's garden.
Mathivation Insight
Envy Math Formula
Envy = Comparison − Gratitude
As comparison increases,
gratitude decreases.
As gratitude decreases,
peace decreases.
As peace decreases,
suffering increases.
The irony is beautiful and tragic at the same time:
Many people are not defeated by their problems.
They are defeated by other people's progress.
Takeaways
1. Audit Your Sting
Whenever someone else's success bothers you, pause and ask:
"What exactly is hurting me?"
The answer is often not loss.
It is comparison.
2. Lengthen Your Own Line
Dinkar offered a timeless solution.
Do not waste energy shortening someone else's line.
Use that energy to make your own line longer.
3. Replace Ninda with Nirmaan
Dinkar called slander the daughter of envy.
Every minute spent criticizing others is a minute not spent building yourself.
Construction always beats comparison.
Disclaimer
This article is not directed toward any individual.
The people and conversations mentioned here serve only as reflections of a universal human tendency.
Every human being, including the author, has experienced envy in some form.
The purpose of Envy Math is not to judge people.
It is to understand human behaviour and convert emotional confusion into self-awareness.
Closing Note
Ramdhari Singh Dinkar diagnosed the problem decades ago.
Time has changed.
Technology has changed.
Society has changed.
But envy remains remarkably modern.
Perhaps because envy is not a social issue.
It is a mathematical error of the mind.
The day we stop measuring our lives against others and start measuring our growth against our yesterday, the equation changes.
And when the equation changes,
life changes.
Honest Question
Before closing this article, pause for a moment and ask yourself:
Have I ever struggled more with someone else's success than with my own challenges?
Have I ever felt uncomfortable when another person received recognition, appreciation, promotion, praise, or happiness?
Have I ever compared my journey with someone else's highlight moment?
Have I ever reduced another person's achievement by saying:
"Anyone can do that nowadays."
"They were just lucky."
"Let's see how long it lasts."
If the answer is yes, you are not alone.
The purpose of this reflection is not guilt.
It is awareness.
Because envy loses much of its power the moment we honestly recognize it.
The question is not whether envy has ever visited us.
The question is whether we allow it to stay.
Mathivation Reflection
"When another person's success disturbs our peace, the problem may not be their success. The problem may be our equation."
Special Mathivation Message
Rakesh Kushwaha
Founder Mathivation Research Lab
Mathivation Thought
"Envy does not subtract from the successful person.
It divides the peaceful mind of the observer.
The mathematics never worked.
Perhaps it is time to change the formula."
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