Krishna and Satyabhama - The Lesson on Jealousy

Satyabhama stormed into Krishna's chamber, her eyes blazing.

Satyabhama: "I want to talk to you."

Krishna set down the scroll he was reading.

Krishna: "I can see that."

Satyabhama: "Why is Rukmini always by your side? Why does she get to perform every important ritual? Why does everyone say she's your favorite?"

Krishna: "And this bothers you?"

Satyabhama: "Of course it bothers me! Am I not your wife too? Am I not a princess? Am I not beautiful enough?"

Krishna gestured for her to sit. She remained standing, arms crossed.

Krishna: "Satyabhama, when you look at Rukmini, what do you see?"

Satyabhama: "I see a woman who has what I want."

Krishna: "And what is that?"

Satyabhama: "Your love. Your attention. Your preference."

Krishna nodded slowly.

Krishna: "And when Rukmini looks at you, what do you think she sees?"

Satyabhama paused. She hadn't considered this.

Satyabhama: "I... I don't know."

Krishna: "I'll tell you. She sees a sister. She sees a woman she admires for courage and spirit. She has never once—in all our years of marriage—said a negative word about you or any of the other queens. She has never competed with you."

Satyabhama: "That's because she's already won!"

Krishna: "Won what? Do you think my love is a prize to be won? A competition where someone gets a trophy and everyone else goes home empty?"

Satyabhama's anger flickered into uncertainty.

Krishna: "Sit,"

Krishna said again. This time, she sat.

Krishna: "Let me tell you about love, It is not like wealth, where if I give to one, I have less for another. It is like a flame. I can light a thousand lamps from one flame, and the original fire loses nothing. My love for Rukmini doesn't diminish my love for you. They are not in competition because they are not the same love."

Satyabhama: "But you do love her more."

Krishna: "I love her differently. She came to me through surrender—she gave herself completely, expecting nothing. You came to me through fire—you demanded, you fought, you challenged. I love her gentle devotion. I love your fierce spirit. Neither is more or less. They are simply different."

Satyabhama: "But why is she always—"

Krishna: "Because she asks for nothing, Satyabhama. And that is not a virtue—it is simply her nature. Your nature is to ask, to demand, to claim what you believe is yours. That is not a flaw. The universe needs both kinds of people."

Satyabhama was quiet for a moment.

Satyabhama: "So you don't love her more?"

Krishna: "I love you exactly as much as you allow yourself to receive. Rukmini allows herself to receive without measurement. You measure constantly—is it enough? Is it equal? Is it more than what she gets? And in that measuring, you lose the very thing you're trying to capture."

Satyabhama: "Then how do I stop measuring?"

Krishna: "By understanding that you are not in competition. Not with Rukmini, not with anyone. My love for you exists independent of everything else. It doesn't compare. It simply is."

He reached out and lifted her chin.

Krishna: "The question isn't whether I love you enough. The question is whether you love yourself enough to receive it without constantly checking if someone else got more."

Tears formed in Satyabhama's eyes—not of anger now, but of recognition.

Satyabhama: "I have been a fool."

Krishna: "No. You have been human. Jealousy is just love that doesn't trust itself. Learn to trust, and the jealousy will dissolve like mist in morning sun."

Satyabhama leaned into him.

Satyabhama: "Will you teach me?"

Krishna: "Every day, If you let me."