Question:

Di, there is tremendous change in the society in India…everyone is so much into alcohol and stuff. There are special afternoon get together of females where all of them go to pubs…I am always the odd one out not going or not drinking…as a result I feel cut off from the social group. Which sometimes makes me feel left out. That’s the reason I have to go out with them sometimes.

Answer:

Narada Bhaktisutras teaches “Dusangha sarvathaiva tyajaha – Drop bad company from all sides.” What is bad company?

• Watching too much TV is bad company,
• indulging in pornography is bad company,
• gossiping is bad company,
• indulging in criticism of others is bad company,
• being lazy and lying on the couch all day is bad company,
• stimulating the nervous system unnecessarily with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, etc is bad company,
• wasting time mindlessly on Facebook, twitter, internet surfing is bad company,
• manipulating others to get your way out is company of bad thoughts.
• lying to others and not accepting what you did is company of bad thoughts
• playing political games is company of bad feelings…….
• acting out of your likes [passion, want, obsession] and dislikes [jealousy, anger, hatred] is company of bad feelings….

Are you getting what I am saying? All this harms you definitely without a doubt in the long run. It may appear to give you short term pleasure but it is long term misery. How? Let’s take a few examples:

• Sense of taste was given to be able to distinguish between poison and food. You use it for craving for tasty stuff and feverishly running behind satisfying your taste and in the long run you are blessed with extra health that brings along high cholesterol, high BP, etc.
• Sense of sound was given so that we don’t walk into the ocean in the middle of the night thinking it is a puddle and save ourselves from drowning by hearing the sound of the waves. You use it for troubling yourself by replaying in your mind somebody’s criticism. Or if you are your biggest enemy, you use sense of sound for manipulating others with your words as the manipulation/pain you cause to others actually leaves a pinch of guilt in you and that little pinch becomes a huge agami karma for YOU!
• Sense of sight was given so that you don’t hit into a tree while walking. You create new cravings and thirst for possessing objects and people that you see, you indulge in pornography, you run after beautiful cars and houses.
• Sense of touch was given to able to understand the difference between hot and cold as the body cannot survive outside the temperature range of 95 – 110 degrees. You use the sense of touch for indulging in carnal pleasures of the skin [sex, pornography, etc].
• Sense of smell was given to identify an unhealthy and unsafe situation. You use it for indulging in perfumes, etc.

This is the effect of Maaya! And the mind loves to drown in this Maaya again and again. Recognize this tendency of the mind and start training it. You will one day thank yourself that you are no more a slave of the senses. But until you become the master you must keep practicing to drop the raaga [likes] and dvesha [dislikes] created by the 5 senses. There is no other permanent solution! This is the only way!

Question:

I work in an office where I sense a lot of negative energy from a couple of people. They are disrespectful and talk negatively about others. I do not have raaga or dvesha with them but I do have an option to move away from that situation. Am I creating agami karma?

Answer:

Narada taught us – Dusangha sarva thaiva tyajaha – shun bad company from everywhere (home, work, friends) at all costs. Because bad company spreads negative energy and if you realize that it negatively affects you, it is a satvic tendency to move away from the negative environment. You are not creating Agami karma if you do not have any Raaga or Dvesha when you move away. But if you have raaga and dvesha, you will create agami karma. Remember Narada taught us to shun bad company at all costs being devoid of Raaga and dvesha. Always remember this sutra, it is like a life jacket, it prevents you from drowning into Maaya!