Q. 248. WHAT IS THE OUTCOME OF MATERIAL ASSOCIATION ?
A. BY SRILA PRABHUPADA.
kāma-krodha-moha-smṛti-bhraḿśa-buddhi-nāśa-sarva-nāśa-kāraṇatvātSYNONYMSkāma — of lust; krodha — anger; moha — bewilderment; smṛti-bhraḿśa — failure of memory; buddhi-nāśa — loss of intelligence; sarva-nāśa — and total loss;kāraṇatvāt — because of being the cause.TRANSLATIONMaterial association is the cause of lust, anger, confusion, forgetfulness, loss of intelligence, and total calamity.(Narada Bhakti Sutra).PURPORTOne may wonder why Nārada is dwelling on the effects of bad association after having discussed advanced subjects in bhakti-yoga. But who else will heed the warnings except those who are serious about crossing the ocean of birth and death?Even one who is practicing devotional service in the renounced order can fall down. As stated in Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka:-niṣkiñcanasya bhagavad-bhajanonmukhasyapāraḿ paraḿ jigamiṣor bhava-sāgarasyasandarśanaḿ viṣayinām atha yoṣitāḿ cahā hanta hanta viṣa-bhakṣaṇato 'py asādhu"Alas, for a person who is seriously desiring to cross the material ocean and engage in the transcendental loving service without material motives, seeing a materialist engaged in sense gratification and seeing a woman who is similarly interested are more abominable than drinking poison willingly."And so the advice against bad association is intended for all, including those transcendentalists who wish to progress without impediment.In the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa analyzes the soul's downfall due to bad association:-dhyāyato viṣayān puḿsaḥsańgas teṣūpajāyatesańgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥkāmāt krodho 'bhijāyateSYNONYMSdhyāyataḥ — while contemplating; viṣayān — sense objects; puḿsaḥ — of a person; sańgaḥ — attachment; teṣu — in the sense objects; upajāyate — develops;sańgāt — from attachment; sañjāyate — develops; kāmaḥ — desire; kāmāt — from desire; krodhaḥ — anger; abhijāyate — becomes manifest.TRANSLATIONWhile contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises.krodhād bhavati sammohaḥsammohāt smṛti-vibhramaḥsmṛti-bhraḿśād buddhi-nāśobuddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyatiSYNONYMSkrodhāt — from anger; bhavati — takes place; sammohaḥ — perfect illusion; sammohāt — from illusion; smṛti — of memory; vibhramaḥ — bewilderment;smṛti-bhraḿśāt — after bewilderment of memory; buddhi-nāśaḥ — loss of intelligence; buddhi-nāśāt — and from loss of intelligence; praṇaśyati — one falls down.TRANSLATIONFrom anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool.Bad association (duḥsańga) brings out the stored karmic tendencies for sin, thus activating one's lower propensities. If an aspiring devotee hears the hedonists talk of lusty enjoyments, he may easily become agitated, since until he becomes pure he has many tendencies to enjoy worldly pleasures.As soon as he begins to think about the objects of pleasure, he will begin to desire them. Then he will attempt to fulfill his desires, and on being frustrated he will become angry.Thereafter he will lose his discrimination, become deluded, and so on. By keeping company with nondevotees, therefore, bad habits crop up one after another, and good qualities become ruined. As Lord Kapiladeva states in the Srimad Bhagavatam):-yady asadbhiḥ pathi punaḥśiśnodara-kṛtodyamaiḥāsthito ramate jantustamo viśati pūrvavatSYNONYMSyadi — if; asadbhiḥ — with the unrighteous; pathi — on the path; punaḥ — again; śiśna — for the genitals; udara — for the stomach; kṛta — done; udyamaiḥ— whose endeavors; āsthitaḥ — associating; ramate — enjoys; jantuḥ — the living entity; tamaḥ — darkness; viśati — enters; pūrva-vat — as before.TRANSLATIONIf, therefore, the living entity again associates with the path of unrighteousness, influenced by sensually minded people engaged in the pursuit of sexual enjoyment and the gratification of the palate, he again goes to hell as before.satyaḿ śaucaḿ dayā maunaḿbuddhiḥ śrīr hrīr yaśaḥ kṣamāśamo damo bhagaś cetiyat-sańgād yāti sańkṣayamSYNONYMSsatyam — truthfulness; śaucam — cleanliness; dayā — mercy; maunam — gravity; buddhiḥ — intelligence; śrīḥ — prosperity; hrīḥ — shyness; yaśaḥ — fame;kṣamā — forgiveness; śamaḥ — control of the mind; damaḥ — control of the senses; bhagaḥ — fortune; ca — and; iti — thus; yat-sańgāt — from association with whom; yāti sańkṣayam — are destroyed.TRANSLATIONHe becomes devoid of truthfulness, cleanliness, mercy, gravity, spiritual intelligence, shyness, austerity, fame, forgiveness, control of the mind, control of the senses, fortune and all such opportunities.Mental speculators, impersonal yogīs, jñānīs, and voidists may all adversely influence a devotee and turn him toward nondevotional paths. Bhagavān Ācārya, a follower of Lord Caitanya's, insisted that he was immune to contamination because he was a fixed-up devotee of the Lord. But Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī replied that hearing talks on Māyāvāda philosophy "breaks the heart and life of a devotee" and should not be indulged in.Śrīla Prabhupāda writes:The Māyāvādī philosophers have presented their arguments in such attractive, flowery language that hearing Māyāvāda philosophy may sometimes change the mind of even a mahā-bhāgavata, or very advanced devotee. An actual Vaiṣṇava cannot tolerate any philosophy that claims God and the living being to be one and the same. [Cc. purport]Considering the dangers of duḥsańga, even for a fully engaged sādhaka, we can see that Nārada has not exaggerated these dangers or given a warning only for neophytes.It is stated in the Narada Bhakti Sutra:-tarańgitā apīme sańgāt samudrāyantiSYNONYMStarańgitāḥ — forming waves; api — indeed; ime — these; sańgāt — from material association; samudrāyanti — create an ocean.TRANSLATIONRising like waves from material association, these bad effects mass into a great ocean of misery.PURPORTThe deluding potency, māyā, is the Lord's own energy and can thus overcome even a powerful sage. As Lord Kapila declares in the Srimad Bhagavatam:-tat-sṛṣṭa-sṛṣṭa-sṛṣṭeṣuko nv akhaṇḍita-dhīḥ pumānṛṣiḿ nārāyaṇam ṛteyoṣin-mayyeha māyayāSYNONYMStat — by Brahmā; sṛṣṭa-sṛṣṭa-sṛṣṭeṣu — amongst all living entities begotten; kaḥ — who; nu — indeed; akhaṇḍita — not distracted; dhīḥ — his intelligence;pumān — male; ṛṣim — the sage; nārāyaṇam — Nārāyaṇa; ṛte — except; yoṣit-mayyā — in the form of a woman; iha — here; māyayā — by māyā.TRANSLATIONAmongst all kinds of living entities begotten by Brahmā, namely men, demigods and animals, none but the sage Nārāyaṇa is immune to the attraction ofmāyā in the form of woman.One should not flirt with māyā, thinking that one can transgress a little and then pull back later if it gets too rough. Until we are completely liberated we maintain seeds of destruction within us, and we should not allow them to grow by bad association.Once Śrīla Prabhupāda learned that some of his initiated disciples had indulged in their former habits of smoking marijuana. Srila Prabhupāda said that this was due to bad association, and he gave the example of bedbugs.During winter, bedbugs seem to disappear from your bed, but in due time they emerge and again bite you and grow fat on your blood. Similarly, a transcendentalist's kāma may seem to be entirely subdued, but it is actually present in a very reduced state. If given a fresh opportunity, his material desires will strike again.On another occasion, Śrīla Prabhupāda referred to "hippy seeds." Having noticed one of his brahmacārī disciples with long hair, he said the disciple's old hippy tendencies were now sprouting in the form of long hair.So it is good to be afraid of even a little bad association and avoid it at all costs. But one may question whether this attitude is at odds with the compassionate mood of the preacher.If the preacher associates with materialists, won't he become like them? The answer is that a preacher must be strong in his Kṛṣṇa consciousness to prevent becoming contaminated. If he follows the rules and regulations of bhakti-yoga — including association with devotees, chanting and hearing the Lord's glories, avoiding sense gratification, and so on — then he will be able to preach without falling down.Acting as the spiritual master of Lord Caitanya, Īśvara Purī gave him instructions that in truth are directed at us:-nāca, gāo, bhakta-sańge kara sańkīrtanakṛṣṇa-nāma upadeśi' tāra' sarva-janaSYNONYMSnāca — go on dancing; gāo — chant; bhakta-sańge — in the society of devotees; kara — continue; sańkīrtana — chanting of the holy name in assembly;kṛṣṇa-nāma — the holy name of Kṛṣṇa; upadeśi' — by instructing; tāra' — deliver; sarva-jana — all fallen souls.TRANSLATIONMy dear child, continue dancing, chanting and performing sańkīrtana in association with devotees. Furthermore, go out and preach the value of chanting kṛṣṇa-nāma, for by this process You will be able to deliver all fallen souls. (Sri caitanya Caritamrta).Similarly, Śrīla Prabhupāda instructed his disciples to be compassionate preachers:-One who is not very expert in preaching may chant in a secluded place, avoiding bad association, but for one who is actually advanced, preaching and meeting people who are not engaged in devotional service are not disadvantages.A devotee gives the nondevotees his association but is not affected by their misbehaviour. Thus by the activities of a pure devotee even those who are bereft of love of Godhead get a chance to become devotees of the Lord one day. [Cc.Ādi purport]Śrīla Prabhupāda sometimes told the following story to illustrate how one may mix with nondevotees and yet keep one's devotional integrity:Once a crocodile invited a monkey in a tree to come and ride on his back. The foolish monkey jumped down from the tree and soon found himself clinging to the crocodile's back in the middle of the river.The monkey asked the crocodile, "Where are we going?"The crocodile replied, "I'm going to take you home, where my wife will cut out your heart and we will eat you for lunch!"The monkey replied, "But I left my heart back on shore in the tree. Will you please let me get it?"The crocodile thought this was a good proposal and allowed the monkey to touch shore. But the monkey jumped into his tree and refused to accept further invitations from the crocodile.The moral of this story: You may associate with the nondevotee, but don't give him your heart.
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3. SHRI GURVASTAKAM. (eight prayers to the Spiritual Master).
4. TWO PRAYERS FROM SHRI VRINDAVANA MAHIMAMRTA.
5. TWO PRAYERS FROM MUKUNDA MALA STOTRA.
6. SIX PRAYERS FROM SHRI BRAHMA SAMHITA.
7. THE EIGHT YUGALASHTAKAM PRAYERS.
Everyday read them.
1. Select a question and answer.
2. Read it. Re-read it.
3. Little by little, memorize the verses and translations.
4. Learn also the word-for-word meaning.
5. When you have done this with one question and answer,
do the same with the others. Take your time.
6. As you engage in this spiritual study daily,
Lord Krishna showers blessings upon you.
I wish you success in your studies.
With love and best wishes.
Take care. Bye.