influenced by the mode of passion because every one of them is trying
to become the Lord of material nature to fulfill his individual
desire. But in spite of the individual mode of passion, there is
always the chance of being influenced by the other modes of nature by
association.
If one is in good association he can develop the mode of goodness, and
if in bad association he may develop the mode of darkness or
ignorance. Nothing is stereotyped. One can change his habit by good or
bad association, and one has to become intelligent enough to
discriminate between good and bad.
The best association is the service of the devotees of the Lord, and
by that association one can become the highest qualified man by the
grace of the Lord's pure devotees.
As we have already seen in the life of Srila Narada Muni, he became
the topmost devotee of the Lord simply by the association of pure
devotees of the Lord. By birth he was the son of a maidservant and had
no knowledge of his father and no academic education, even of the
lowest status. But simply by associating with the devotees and by
eating the remnants of their foodstuff, he gradually developed the
transcendental qualities of the devotees. By such association, his
taste for chanting and hearing the transcendental glories of the Lord
became prominent, and because the glories of the Lord are nondifferent
from the Lord, he got direct association with the Lord by means of
sound representation.
Similarly, there is the life of Ajamila (Sixth Canto), who was the son
of a brahmana and was educated and trained properly in the discharge
of the duties of a brahmana, but who in spite of all this, because he
contacted the bad association of a prostitute, he degraded to the last
position for a human being.
To associate with persons engaged in becoming the lords of material
nature means to enter into the darkest region of hell. One should try
to raise himself by the association of the great souls. That is the
way of the perfection of life.
- Srila Prabhupada Purport [SB 2.10.41]
Comments