Potomac, Maryland
When You Walk with Trash...
From Canto 11 of the book, Bhagavatam, I spoke on the Chapter ‘Aila Gita’, which details the teachings and realizations coming to an affluent king, Pururava. Oh, how in love he was with his lady, Urvasi, a heavenly beauty! At one point in the relationship, deciding to terminate it all, Urvasi left him, and the separation for him was too much. Time lapsed and he realized just how attached he was to this world and to his body, a mass of marrow, bones, sinew, blood, etc. "This body," he reflected, "is like that of a worm."
Eventually, the king came to terms with reality, and felt that he had to get spiritual, and to accomplish that, he needed to get serious about the company he was keeping. Sangha is what he required—spiritual people. Most of us who are more experienced understand that one’s company determines one’s destiny. We get shaped by the friends we keep. Painful as it is, we may have to cut ties with those who constantly lower our consciousness.
In this regard, I really like some famous quotes about the company we keep, some of which i shared with the morning class:
"Friendship is genuine when two friends can enjoy each others company without speaking a word to one another."
"When you walk with trash, you end up smelling the same."
"Make sure everybody in your "boat" is rowing and not drilling holes when you're not looking."
"Some people around us are energy vampires while others are energy boosters."
Sri Chaitanya, the monk, expressed that ‘spiritual life starts with saintly company’.
May the Source be with you!
3 km
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