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PRAVACHANS - TALKS

Company We Keep
 

Human beings generally enjoy being in company of friends rather then being alone. Living in company of close friends, his life is influenced by the kind of people they are to a great extent. It is said that “If you put your head in a sack of coal, your face will undoubtedly turn black however cautious you may be, you will definitely get stains and smudges. In the same way how ever hard you try not to be effected by your company you will still be influenced by them without realizing it.

There are people of many different characters in this world and your personality reflects the kind of friends you keep. You should not live under the false impression that you have a totally unique personality and you will not be affected by your surroundings. All the incidents in your life do not happen according to your wishes a lot happens due to the pressure of society you live in. You cannot also believe that you can live a life on your own with no one around you. You always depend on people for a lot of things, and they in turn need your help in some other ways, that is what life is all about.

People with negative attitude effect your growth; they come in way of your success. You have to keep away from them; they cannot be your friends if they drag you downhill with them. The kind of people in whose company you grow, and they bring love, joy and enthusiasm to move ahead in life should be considered worth keeping friends with.

Water reflects the vessel in which it is stored, similarly your personality and character starts to get molded according to your company. If you are in company of lazy, slack and crooks you too start becoming like them and in doing so justify that it is ok to be so. On the other hand if you are in close connection with knowledgeable, pious and ethical people then the qualities of forgiveness, compassion, love and purity start to emerge out of you. The goodness of your qualities not only brings about a change in you but also help others that surround you.

There is a holy verse in Sanskrit written by Chankya-

Ayuktaswamino yukta yukta chasya dusharam
Amritah rahve mrithuvishya shankarbhu sharam.

Meaning- A worthless thing placed near a Swami becomes worthy and precious but even a very valuable item from an evil person becomes worthless and can be harmful to one who may receive it. When poison entered the throat of Lord Shiva it became an ornament around his neck, but even nectar could not save Rahu from death.

Human thoughts and emotions are greatly influenced by his company. Negative thoughts and emotions from negative influences effect very quickly. If you are so particular about your food you consume and clothes you choose to wear, then why not choose some good books to keep by your bedside, read them, churn the knowledge and underline the most important and inspiring lines. The short summary of these lines when read again and again help you purify your thoughts and furthermore the fragrance of your pure thoughts also bring fragrance in life of others around you, just as a crushed rose within the pages of a book does. Bear loneliness without any friends rather than keeping friendship with wrong kind of people. Putting down holy and pious people, being cruel, inhumane and immoral is a sign of being in bad company.

One who thinks that it is not wrong to steal but wrong to be caught stealing, one who is not ashamed of being a criminal is the kind of person who is responsible for bringing evil in the world. Innocent people can easily get trapped without realizing what they are getting into by such people. It is said that twenty years of good upbringing with great values cannot make a child like Lord Rama, but twenty days of bad company can turn a child to Ravan. Such is the influence that bad company can have, so always be aware and cautious of the kind of friends you keep.

The word ‘Kusung’ means company of sinners and those who do not believe in ethics. ‘Satsang’ on the other hand means company of truth, goodness, knowledge and religion. Always make a conscious effort to keep yourself away from ‘Kusung”. Kusung takes away your peace, hinders your growth, bereft you of mercy, calmness, purity and stability. It steals your intellect, silences your conscious, looses your sense of forgiveness and takes away the glow from your face. These are all God given gifts and they are all snatched away by Kusung. If you start becoming accustomed to such a nature you keep on lowering your self to nothingness until there is no sincerity left in you.

The total downfall of an individual is bad company. Kind and noble Kekai got into bad company of Manthra and her whole attitude changed. Shree Ram was very dear to Kekai but due to her bad company she started getting revengeful and the whole of Ayodhya state had to mourn because of that. One bad person can ruin not only their family but the whole society and largely the whole country. Kekai became a widow after her wrong doing and spent fourteen years in mourning after that.

Alcoholics, gamblers and crooks don’t take long to trap innocent people in their group. The biggest downfall in a gamblers life is his first win. Whether it is ‘Manthra or ‘Shakuni’, one is enough to bring a total downfall for the whole family. It is a great misfortune to come across one such person then everything comes tumbling down. There are many ‘Manthras’ and many ‘Shakunis’ out there so save yourself from downfall because bad company snatches away your name, fame and glory.

‘Kusung’ is always appealing, let’s analyze what ‘Kusung’ is. It is something that takes you away from your own self. Something that always looks comforting in the begning but brings sorrow later on, that which takes away your peace from you is ‘Kusung’. If you meet an alcoholic and start drinking with him it may bring happiness at first, but later you can’t live without him. The path in this direction itself is your downfall, if you yourself are not stable and in control then everyone else will make you dance to their tunes, they will make promises and later fail to fulfill them. The company that suffocates and kills your conscious is ‘Kusung’, and the company that revitalizes you conscious is ‘Satsang”

People have various moods and by meeting them we too get affected by their moods and thus their auras too have the same effect. When we meet people in happy and positive mood even if we were in a sad or depressive mood we cheer up and start smiling, on the other hand when we are in a good mood and we meet people who are in negative state of mind our mood changes to irritation and anger. “Satya ka Sang”- The company of truth is very essential for each and every person as the true nature of soul is peaceful and everyone seeks peace and anand (joy). You should leave all the rest of things to attend a satsang whenever you get an opportunity, because only satsang can lead you to the right path.

Whenever there is grace of the Almighty Lord he does not grant us wealth he grants us with a holy saint or a Guru. It is only the grace of the Almighty that we get connected to Satsang, but to stay in bad company is in our own hands. In reality we cannot choose our parents and relatives, we accept them for who they are but we have been given freedom of choice where friends are concerned, so make friendship with caution.

Any one who speaks very sweetly but encourages you to get into bad habits cannot be a friend but one who helps you quit your bad habits by being firm is a good friend and is worth having a long friendship with.

There is no evil in a little child, all children and infants are pure and innocent, they don’t have any pride, dishonesty or bad habits but as they start growing they start developing their character according to their company. Children get more influenced by their company that is the reason why they do not listen to their parents. Before they made friends they would only do as they were told by their parents, but once their friends come in their life they start to build up their character accordingly.

During the years of development in a child, bad company should be definitely avoided. Vidhurji tried his best to understand Dhritrashtra but when he realized that he will ruin his future, he left his home and went away on a pilgrim, he did not want to remain in ‘Kusung’. Satsang sharpens the awareness of real self, so that we stay detached by our ‘Sang’ our company. Bad company can only lead us away from light to darkness.

It is said that a melon changes its color according to the other melons in the heap, just as a contagious disease is caught by touching an infected person, similarly goodness is also passed by staying in the company of good people. If you get a chance to be near someone who has chosen a path to reach the highest point of truth and goodness, then do not loose this golden opportunity, give up everything else to be in that company.

Every person has an aura and auras clash with other people’s aura in close proximity. Holy men have a very strong, pure and positive aura, you do not have to go and hear a whole sermon from them, but just by being in their presence or in the circle of their aura can also bring peace and positivity. Many people who have a very negative attitude about everything have benefited in such a way that have changed their entire life.

Human form is a very precious form, so do not waste it on the glitter and glamour of this world. Move away from ‘Kusung’ to ‘Satsang’ and bring a new purpose to your life.

“Dusht sang na kiya karo, sajno sey gun liya karo,
Joh duniya ka Malik hai naam usee ka liya karo.

Do not keep bad company but get good qualities from good people and lisp the name of the creator of this universe always on your lips.