NARAD BHAKTI SUTRA
Shun bad
company
Excerpts from Gurudev’s discourse
on the Narada Bhakti Sutrastalk to them, discuss your problems and
when you come back you feel lighter, feeling
all your negativity is just an illusion. That is
good company.It is easy to get into bad company. There
are people who fuel negativity. You say, “this
is hopeless”, they say, “Yes, yes, it is not
hopeless, it is horrible.” That is bad company.
In good company when you discuss your
problems you move away from them feeling
lighter, feeling that the problem is really not
that big - it is nothing, it can be solved.By all means, shun bad company. Because it
is the company that you keep that builds you
up. Dusangah sarvathaiva tyajyah - what does
bad company do? It creates feverishness
and obsession in you, brings more and
more desires in you, more lust, anger and
delusion. Finally, you find yourself in hot
soup - far away from love. It is like being in
concrete negativity, frustration personified -
that is bad company.In the beginning, it will seem to be nothing.
But, it sucks you in and when you get
sucked into that type of company, it is like
a hailstorm. You are unaware; without your
knowledge you just sit in the darkness of
negative company and start saying, “Oh,
he’s bad, he’s no good.” The other day,
someone said, “So-and-so is so jealous of
me!” Come on! Even if someone is jealous
of you, you don’t recognize it! You know,
recognizing someone’s jealousy pulls you
down. If people are jealous, it is up to them.
Thinking they are jealous of you gets you all
worked up. “Everybody is picking on me!”
Such an illusion!Don’t think anyone is bad. We say, “Oh thatBAD
COMPANY
Dusangah sarvathaiva tyajyah
Shun bad company. What is bad company?
That company which fuels negativity is bad
company. Suppose you go and sit with a
friend and pour out all your negativity and
you come back feeling even worse. That is
bad company. One who makes you believe
in your negativity more strongly is bad
company. You go and sit with some friends,