Introduction: A Man with a Weak Heart
Rameshwar Prasad was not poor. He wasn’t ugly, nor was he a failure when his life began. Born in a modest family in Bihar, he had a roof over his head, a small inherited grocery shop, and a circle of friends who trusted him. Yet, hidden inside his heart was a venomous seed—jealousy.
Unlike others who found joy in celebrating others’ victories, Rameshwar found a strange discomfort. The slightest news of someone’s progress—a neighbor’s son getting a government job, a cousin opening a new shop, or even a friend buying a new bicycle—would burn him from inside.
That burn never healed. Instead, it grew stronger every day.
The First Sparks of Jealousy
It began with his closest friend, Mahesh, who cleared the state clerical exam. When villagers celebrated Mahesh’s success with sweets and garlands, Rameshwar forced a fake smile. Behind closed doors, he whispered to others, “You don’t know how many bribes he must have paid. These government jobs don’t come without corruption.”
Soon, his words spread like wildfire. Mahesh ignored them, focused on his new career, and moved to Patna. Rameshwar, however, kept chewing his bitterness, convinced that by spoiling Mahesh’s name, he had won some invisible battle.
A Habit That Grew Like Cancer
Years passed. Rameshwar’s grocery shop remained the same—dusty shelves, limited customers, and outdated accounts. Meanwhile, his cousins and neighbors expanded their businesses, bought lands, and even sent their children to cities for higher studies.
Every success became a dagger to him.
- When a boy from his lane became an engineer, he told people: “He cheated in exams. Mark my words, he will never succeed.”
- When his niece married into a well-to-do family, he spread rumors: “The groom’s family must have demanded crores. Such marriages never last.”
- When his own younger brother opened a wholesale business, he muttered: “It will collapse in a year. Just watch.”
But none of his prophecies came true. Instead, his targets grew richer, happier, and more respected, while Rameshwar stayed stuck in the same circle of bitterness.
The Village Watches in Silence
The remarkable thing was that people understood his nature. They listened to his gossip, smiled politely, and then ignored it. Nobody confronted him. Nobody wasted their energy in arguments.
The villagers were clever: “Why fight with a snake that bites itself?” they often said behind his back.
And truly, while they worked harder, invested smarter, and built relationships, Rameshwar wasted his hours whispering conspiracies at tea stalls and marketplaces. His shop suffered, his savings dwindled, but his envy never left him.
Family Suffers the Poison
His wife, Kamla, bore the brunt. She begged him:
“Why don’t you focus on our shop? Other men are building homes, buying land, and securing their children’s future. Why are you always busy talking about others?”
But Rameshwar silenced her with anger. “You don’t understand the world. If we don’t expose others, they will climb over our heads.”
His children, embarrassed by his constant bitterness, avoided him. His eldest son refused to join the shop, choosing instead to leave for Delhi as a laborer. His daughter, once bright and ambitious, was married off in haste because no good family wanted to tie themselves to “the jealous man’s household.”
Slowly, his home too began to reflect his hollow life.
The Illusion of Winning
For decades, Rameshwar lived in the illusion that he was smart—outsmarting others by attacking their reputations. Each time he whispered a rumor, he felt victorious.
But what he didn’t realize was this: while others faced temporary gossip, they were too busy moving forward. Their success became their shield, while Rameshwar’s life stood still.
His shop, once enough to feed his family comfortably, fell into debt. Competitors rose around him, and his regular customers shifted to better stores. Yet, he never admitted his own failures. Instead, he blamed fate, corruption, and dishonesty of others.
The Turning Point: Loneliness
Old age crept in silently. His hair turned grey, his health weakened, and his friends—those who once tolerated his gossip—stopped visiting him. Even at family functions, people exchanged pleasantries with him out of courtesy but avoided deep conversations.
One day, sitting alone outside his empty shop, he saw Mahesh, the same childhood friend he once envied, return to the village. Mahesh, now retired, had a respectable pension, grown-up children settled abroad, and a serene face glowing with satisfaction.
Rameshwar forced a smile and asked, “So, Mahesh, did you enjoy your corrupt job?”
Mahesh chuckled warmly and replied, “Rameshwar, I enjoyed my honest work, my family’s love, and the peace of living without poisoning others’ lives.”
Those words pierced him deeper than any insult ever could.
Introspection: The Mirror of Truth
That night, Rameshwar lay awake. He replayed his life like an old film reel:
- The faces he slandered.
- The friends he lost.
- The opportunities he ignored.
- The family he neglected.
And he realized the cruel truth: while he spent decades pulling others down, everyone else had gone far ahead—socially, financially, and emotionally. He had wasted his one life not in building, but in destroying.
He whispered to himself, “I am the biggest fool… I fought wars that never existed and lost the only battle that mattered—my own life.”
The Final Days
In his last years, he became a man of regret. His children barely visited him, too busy surviving their own struggles. His wife, tired of years of bitterness, lived in silence beside him.
When he finally passed away, the village remembered him not for his shop, not for his family, not for any kindness—but for one thing alone: jealousy.
Nobody wept deeply. Nobody recalled any great contribution. The whispers at his funeral were not of respect but of relief: “The jealous man is gone.”
Moral of the Story
Jealousy is a fire that burns the one who holds it. By conspiring against others, you don’t pull them down—you only drag yourself into the pit of failure. True success lies not in gossiping about others but in building your own path.
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