Man Always Becomes Good or Bad by the Company He Keeps

Western education has had a tremendous influence on our conduct and culture. Our people have become decadent. All our traditions have dried up completely. People have changed their dress and other habits. They are not happy to speak to their own mothers and wives. They think that it is wrong to respect the code of conduct of their elders. This has become a fearful situation. What shall I say about the condition of Bharat? Her citizens, like the elephant which does not know its own strength, do not know the strength of their culture.

Man’s life is a bed full of bugs. It is a hot-bed of all diseases that flourish in the world. To feel happy and to see happiness in one’s life, one has to travel a long way. Students, boys and girls, our sacred country Bharat is a beautiful country full of so many languages, traditions, and excellent culture. The number and variety of languages and religions that flourish in Bharat is not to be found in any other country. In order to introduce changes and reform this great country, ancient saints and rishis have given us the sacred Vedas, itihasas, and puranas. The true background of this country and its culture are reflected in the stories of Bhagavatam and Mahabharata.

We have been listening to the story of Bhagavatam for the last fourteen days. In fact, we must realize that this is the story of our great culture. Vemana said that salt and camphor look alike, but they taste so different. Brass and gold look alike when we look at them, but when we let them fall down, the sound they produce is very different.

In the same manner, when the aspect of divinity takes a human form, we find the actions of such a form and ordinary human beings are superficially the same. Yashoda, the mother, put Krishna to sleep and while singing a lullaby, she was immersed in that ecstasy. She tried to put Krishna to sleep for a long time, but in spite of all her attempts, He would not sleep. She was wondering why Krishna was unable to sleep and she was even praying to the goddess of sleep to come to her help. All actions which are selfless and sacred can be regarded as leelas of the Lord.

After some time, she found that Krishna was sleeping, but in fact, He was pretending to be asleep. She told the servants to remain quiet. She addressed Krishna and said, “You have the entire world encompassed in You and how can anyone build a mansion for You? You shine with the effulgence of a million suns and how can anyone show any light to You? How is it possible for us to know You when You Yourself contain all the creation within You?”

However, Yashoda was the mother and even if Krishna was Paramatma, the mother’s affection would still show up. No one can understand the effects of maya. Foolish human beings are born in maya, they grow up in maya, and they cannot understand the aspect of maya. All the lives are simply the result of maya. The births and deaths are a result of maya. All attachments are results of maya. Life is full of maya. One can wake up a person who is asleep in a moment and one who is awake need not be woken up, but how can anyone wake up one who is pretending to be asleep? In a similar manner, Yashoda was addressing Krishna and saying, “How can anyone wake You up, if You are pretending to be asleep? You must stop Your pretence.” The Devas and devatas were looking at this conversation and were telling themselves that Yashoda was the fortunate person, because she was able to play with the Lord.

On another occasion, when Krishna was just getting up in the middle of His sleep, 
she came and sang a lullaby…

“I have made the four Vedas as the four corners of 
Your cradle and
I have made the nine precious stones decorate Your
cradle. The king of cobras is guarding You
in Your cradle.
This is the cradle of Omkara and in it, 
I have made a bed for You in the form of
‘Tat-tvam-asi’ (Thou art that).
You symbolise all the seven worlds and they are united in You.
In such a cradle, You should sleep soundly.”
Telugu song

The mother knew very well that Krishna was God almighty and yet, she was often steeped in such maya. Gradually, Krishna was growing up in the house of Nanda and He had learned to move about the house and play. The mother was, at all times, attached to Him and was looking after Him. On one occasion, when some gopikas came to His mother to inquire about His welfare, Krishna went to a mirror and was pretending to feed butter to His own image in the mirror, as if He was very innocent. The mother was greatly surprised to see how innocent Krishna was.

All actions of Krishna appeared as if they were being performed by a very young, innocent person, but yet, they caused a great deal of surprise. Krishna used to come and ask His mother why His hair was not growing as nicely as His brother’s hair. In order to satisfy Him, His mother always used to tell Him that His hair would also grow nicely if He drank a lot of milk and ate plenty of butter. After some days, He came to His mother again and asked why His hair was not growing, although He was drinking plenty of milk and eating butter. The mother gave a somewhat harsh reply to this and said, “Your brother’s drinking well-boiled milk and eating butter, only if he is given them, but he does not steal them. You are always impatient and You snatch away the milk as soon as I milk the cows, and even before the butter is ready, You cry for butter. Your brother is very patient and quiet, while You are not!” She thus admonished Krishna. From that day, Krishna was determined not to ask His mother for milk and He used to go to the neighboring houses and ask for milk. Because He did many unusual things, like killing rakshasi Pootana, He endeared Himself to all the people in the village and they all used to love Him. He used to be freely welcomed in any house that He went to and from that day, the thefts also increased. The gopikas used to complain to Yashoda.

One day, Yashoda caught Krishna and admonished Him by saying, “You do not eat what is given to You, but You go to the houses of the other gopikas and steal butter and milk. You are a small boy and yet, Your entire mouth is smelling of butter and the whole village has been complaining about You.” In this manner, the gopikas were always complaining about Krishna. We must understand the inner meaning of the actions of Krishna. The words navanita means a pure heart. Pure butter here is compared to a pure heart. Ksirasagara means the ocean of milk, and the samsara (life death cycle) is sometimes described as an ocean. Here, we should interpret Krishna’s actions by saying that He steals the pure and clean hearts of people who are steeped in the ocean of samsara. In this manner, Krishna’s actions have deep inner meaning.

On one occasion, He came crying to His mother like an ordinary child. When the mother asked why He was crying, He replied that He was unhappy because His brother Balarama was always quarreling and not playing properly with Him. There was some kind of disagreement between Krishna and Balarama. While playing, Balarama would always ask Him if He was truly the son of Yashoda and he used to humiliate Him in the presence of other children, by saying that He was actually purchased by Yashoda from some other mother and that He was not truly the son of Yashoda. This used to hurt Krishna and He would always assert that He was the son of Nanda and Yashoda. Balarama would then retort and ask why Krishna was dark if He was truly the son of Nanda and Yashoda, who were of fair complexion. He used to argue that if Krishna was really the son of Nanda and Yashoda, He should also be fair.

Krishna used to bring such arguments before mother Yashoda and start crying. At this, Yashoda was deeply moved and she told Krishna that Balarama was always jealous and hence, keeps on cooking up such stories. She asserted that she was indeed the mother and He was the son. Here, we must notice that she did not say that Krishna was her son, or that she was His mother. Here, Balarama was in doubt. Friends were taking the information from her and Yashoda was accepting the authority of affection. We should see that the essential evidence based on truth coming from dharma or the Vedas, has not been used. Each one has been using his own pramana as the case may be. However, the main authority should be based on pratyaksha-pramana, involving the experience of all the senses. Krishna demonstrated to the world that only pratyaksha-pramana was reliable and important.

Man always becomes good or bad by the company he keeps. If therefore, we get into sacred company, we will also acquire sacred qualities. There is a small example for this. If we look at a snake at any place, we regard it as harmful and we try to kill it, but if the same snake is in the company of Isvara, we begin to worship it and respect it, because of the company it keeps. The upanishats have taught us that both good and bad qualities really come out of the company that we keep. If we find a rat in some corner, we immediately try to trap it and kill it, but if the same rat is seen as the vahana (vehicle) of Vinayaka (Ganesha), we make obeisance to it. We do so because of the company it keeps.

Bad qualities are also like this. If we take a big pot full of milk and add even a few drops of liquor into it, the milk itself will become bad. In a similar manner, fire which is regarded as a sacred entity, gets hammered when it is in contact with a lump of iron. Thus, by bad company, we get several troubles and sorrows and by good company, we get good results. If we take a piece of iron and throw it in the dust, it will rust and lose all its value. However, if the same iron is put in fire, it loses its impurities and acquires a bright shining color. In this way, man changes because of the company that he keeps. If dust comes in contact with wind, it will go high up, although it has no wings to fly. The same dust goes down to the lowest depths when it comes into contact with water. It has no legs to go down, or wings to go up. Thus, the company we keep determines whether we go up or down.

As we know, good company results in a calm and peaceful life. That is why elders tell us that we should keep good company. Although Balarama and Krishna have both the aspects of divinity in them, one follows the path of jnana, while the other follows the path of bhakti or devotion. Between Balarama and Krishna, both paths are demonstrated to the world. That is why there is sometimes so much contradiction in Their actions. The jnana-marga (path of wisdom) relates to one’s wisdom, while the bhakti-marga (path of devotion) is related to one’s heart.

On one occasion, Krishna wanted to give Subhadra in marriage to Arjuna, but Balarama did not agree to this. The actions of Krishna are such that He shows the harmony between one’s thought, word, and deed. It has been said that the proper study of mankind is man and Krishna always establishes such a harmony. He had always been addressing Arjuna as His brother-in-law and He felt that He should not go on calling Arjuna His brother-in-law, without actually making him His brother-in-law by a marriage alliance. In that context, if you simply come on a platform and address everyone as brothers and sisters, it will be a very shallow statement and will not reflect the truth. Only when you really regard one and all as brothers and sisters, should you address them as such. The feeling of anxiety that you will have when your own brothers and sisters are in trouble must be reflected when anyone gets into trouble. If an unrelated person looks at your sister with some bad intentions, it will cause you a great deal of pain and unhappiness. You should feel hurt in the same manner when these other brothers and sisters are humiliated or insulted.

The words we utter with our mouths must be put into practice and we should experience the same in our thoughts. The students today should strive to promote such harmony between their thought, word, and deed. The leelas of Krishna were such that He was putting His thoughts into practice. Krishna never had any impure ideas in Him. He never had any worldly thoughts in Him. He had no blemish in Him at all. He always had pure thoughts. Krishna is an ideal example and we should end up becoming one with Him.