Association
We hear this word tossed around like a banana in the fire sacrifice. But what does it really mean? How by association with other good and bad souls are we affected both materially and spiritually? Let us look at this point more closely.
(Note–What happens to great souls who by bad association (and Providence) become temporarily touched by sinful reaction? Vidura felt he was such a person due to his constant association with the Kuru family headed by Dhrtarastra and his sinful sons.)
Purport SB 1.3.17…
Vidura was undoubtedly a highly elevated and pious soul, otherwise he would not have taken his birth in the Kaurava family.
To have high parentage, to possess wealth, to be highly learned and to have great personal beauty are all due to past pious acts. But such pious possessions are not sufficient for obtaining the grace of the Lord and being engaged in His transcendental loving service. Vidura considered himself less pious, and therefore he decided to travel to all the great places of pilgrimage in the world in order to achieve greater piety and advance nearer to the Lord. At that time, Lord Kṛṣṇa was personally present in the world, and Vidura could have at once approached Him directly, but he did not do so because he was not sufficiently freed from sin. One cannot be one hundred percent devoted to the Lord unless and until he is completely free from all effects of sin. Vidura was conscious that by the association of the diplomatic Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Duryodhana he had lost his piety and was therefore not fit to associate at once with the Lord. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.28) this is confirmed in the following verse:yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ…Persons who are sinful asuras like Kaṁsa and Jarāsandha cannot think of Lord Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth. Only those who are pure devotees, those who follow the regulative principles of religious life as prescribed in the scriptures, are able to engage themselves in karma-yoga and then jñāna-yoga and thereafter, by pure meditation, can understand pure consciousness. When God consciousness is developed, one can take advantage of the association of pure devotees. Syān mahat-sevayā viprāḥ puṇya-tīrtha-niṣevaṇāt: one is able to associate with the Lord even during the existence of this life.
(Note—What has happened to iskcon for the past 40 years-the bogus guru takeover, changing Srila Prabhupadas books, and so many going along with it, changing the entire way the Deities of the Lord are to be worshiped, physically kicking sincere devotees out who had given their lives to serving Srila Prabhupada, molesting guru kula children for years and covering it up, and last and in no way least, the poisoning of Srila Prabhupada’s body in a final attempt to finally get rid of our Acarya and Founder. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Anybody who remains within that institution and supports and serves these people, is according to Srila Prabhupada in his purports and all the other previous Acaryas he quotes-unless they change it or leave- are daily becoming fit candidates for hellish life. And no sane person would ever associate for even a second, with such degraded, offensive and foolish people.)
Think this is too harsh or fanatic of a conclusion? Consider the words of our Srila Prabhupada and Srila Vyasadeva)
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.44.10
na sabhāṁ praviśet prājñaḥ sabhya-doṣān anusmaran abruvan vibruvann ajño naraḥ kilbiṣam aśnute
“A wise person should not enter an assembly if he knows the participants there are committing acts of impropriety. And if, having entered such an assembly, he fails to speak the truth, speaks falsely or pleads ignorance, he will certainly incur sin.”
(Note—So in many institutions today, especially the so called spiritual ones, there are many “acts of impropriety” going on and everybody in the temples or churches or congregations know this. And worse still, they do nothing about fixing these sinful problems.
I will give you one personal example. I used to live (some 40 years ago) in a large iskcon temple in Canada where the temple president was cheating their insurance company by lying to them about a certain very expensive BMW car they bought but had foolishly wrecked.
The temple authorities claimed the car was stolen so they didn’t have to pay repairs for the car which was totaled in an unreported accident. So they just shoved this car over some cliff and knowing it would never be found claimed it was stolen. I found this out years after it was done. This same person, who did all this , later left the temple, started selling drugs, got busted and went to prison. I never liked him much because one day earlier, he told me, “ you know Damaghosa you as sankirtan leader collect all the money and I, the TP , just spend it” So this kind of cheating mentality is eventually shown by those who are really not devotees but cheaters in the guise of devotees. Once we discover these types, if we continue to associate with them and their demonic mentality, then we become implicated in sinful activities. And if we don’t think this so called “association” rubs off on us, Then we are the greatest fools and have no faith or understanding in sastra of the bona fide spiritual master)
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.74.40
nindāṁ bhagavataḥ śṛṇvaṁs tat-parasya janasya vā tato nāpaiti yaḥ so ’pi yāty adhaḥ sukṛtāc cyutaḥ
“Anyone who fails to immediately leave the place where he hears criticism of the Supreme Lord or His faithful devotee will certainly fall down, bereft of his pious credit.”
Note—so what about the present day worldwide iskcon organization where disobedience to the wishes and orders of Srila Prabhupada go on as a daily affair?
One foolish follower actually wrote to me in an email trying to explain why Srila Prabhupadas method of deity worship was basically right but technically wrong, so he traveled and introduced all over the iskcon world a new system whereby God was worshiped first and His pure devotee last-completely the opposite of what the pure devotee of the Lord taught to us and him. Even the modern day Christians know that Jesus said “only thru me can the Father be reached !!” Yet this foolish person thinks he knows better than the Founder Acarya Srila Prabhupada and Jesus Christ as well. And this backwards system of worship still remains all over the iskcon world.
The point being made in the above quote is that if we recognize deviations in Siddhanta, and do not try to correct them, and continue to associate with such people, then our falldown is assured as we become bereft of pious credit.
Implicated in sinful activity– by association
January 11, 1977, Allahabad, India
Srila Prabhupāda: (aside:) … Crows will not like to live with the ducks and white swans. And white swans will not like to live with the crows. That is natural division. “Birds of the same feather flock together.
Jagadīśa: And honest men don’t like to associate with thieves and criminals.
Srila Prabhupāda: Yes, that is natural. We are not interested even with these daily newspapers. We are interested Bhagavad-gītā. We don’t keep any news. We know the dogs are barking. That’s all. But that does not mean we have to mix with the dogs.
Jagadīśa:If you know that someone is committing criminal activities, then if you associate with them, you’ll also become implicated.
Srila Prabhupāda: Yes. Saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ.
Aug5 1973-London—
Therefore Arjuna is considering, “How can I kill Bhīṣma?” But duty is so strong. Kṛṣṇa is advising, “Yes, he must be killed because he has gone to the other side. He has forgotten his duty. He should have joined you. Therefore he is no more in the position of guru. You must kill him. He has wrongly joined the other party. Therefore there is no harm, killing him. Similarly Droṇācārya. Similarly Droṇācārya. I know they are great personalities, they have got great affection. But only on material consideration they have gone there.” What is that material consideration?Bhīṣma thought that “I am maintained by the money of Duryodhana. Duryodhana is maintaining me. Now he is in danger. If I go to the other side, then I should be ungrateful. He has maintained me so long. And if I, in the time of danger, when there is fighting, if I go to the other side, that will be…” He thought like this. He did not think that “Duryodhana may be maintaining, but he has usurped the property of the Pāṇḍavas.” But it is his greatness. He knew that Arjuna will never be killed because Kṛṣṇa is there. “So from material point of view, I must be grateful to Duryodhana.” The same position was for Droṇācārya. They were maintained.
Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said that viṣayīra anna khāile malīna hayamana [Cc. Antya 6.278]. Such great personalities became darkened because they took money from them, anna. If I am provided by somebody who is too much materialist, then that will affect me. I will become also materialist. I will also become materialist. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu has warned that “Those who are viṣayī, those who are not devotees, do not accept anything from them because it will make your mind unclean.” So therefore a brāhmaṇa and a Vaiṣṇava, they do not accept directly money. They accept bhikṣā. Bhikṣā.
Some final Conclusions–-So even if such great personalities as Bhisma, a mahajana and Dronacarya became implicated in some sinful reactions, even as Krsna’s direct arrangement, what to speak of our lowly selves today? These great souls are Krsnas eternal associates and He puts them in such situations to teach us what to do and what NOT to do. We think we can just go to these so called iskcon temples,and their festivals, rub shoulders with the devotees and not become implicated in sinful karma? Some devotees do not believe these subtle points of the philosophy nor are even be able to understand them. But the reactions will follow such bad association even by our misunderstanding. Just as fire burns an innocent child not because he is innocent but because that is the law of nature. So ignorance or personal inconvenience is no excuse or a free pass from karmic reaction. The fire will burn, and by bad association we also will get burned, so subtle are these laws. If even such great personalities such as Vidura, Bhisma, Yudhisthira and Dronacarya get some reaction, then what to speak of ourselves? If we think , “oh Krsna will save me”, He knows I am not really like those “bad people” and I dont do what they do.” No…
So if fire burns Vidura, Bhisma, and others like them, why not ourselves?? Are we greater than them? Are we somehow immune to bad association?
These are some things to consider next time we consider who is good or bad association.
Hare Krsna
damaghosa das
March 4 1976 mayapur
Acyutānanda: If a man says, “I am giving you this donation because it is a spiritual organization,” but if the money is misused, does that man benefit?
Prabhupāda: If money is misused, then both of them become implicated. If it is not used for Kṛṣṇa, then both of them becomes under the laws of karma.
Acyutānanda: But that man is sincere.
Prabhupāda: Well, this word sincere, there is no meaning unless he is a devotee. Ei bala ei manda sab mano dharma: “These are all mental concoction.” There is no meaning. “This man is good. This man is sincere. This man is bad. This man is…” They are all mental concoction. Only good is he who is Kṛṣṇa conscious. Others all rascals.
