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word of this statement were to penetrate the saint’s mind, that
would be the end of him. Just one word will wash away all his
current spiritual stock.
People will drag one into sensual pleasures even when he
does not wish to. This is the fault of the company. There will be
no problem if he is in good company. He will find a rose with
good company and encounter thorns with bad company. If
someone forces you to drink alcohol, you will have to make a
big excuse or object strongly against it. Tell him that your doctor
has absolutely forbidden alcohol or that your wife will not let you
back in the house. One way or another you will have to
overpower the situation. As far as kusang is concerned it is best
to keep your distance.
How clever and shrewd the vitarag Lords must have been
to attain liberation through understanding! Those who cannot
bear the burning heat of worldly suffering have immersed
themselves in the ‘sticky mud’ which has a temporary cooling
effect (immersion in worldly vices). But the Lord has said, “It is
better to become strong through the heat of the suffering. You
are doomed once you fall into the mud!” The one who suffers
will eventually cool down, but when will the one immersed in
mud become free? Once you enter the sticky mud, you will
inherit a warehouse of kashays (anger, pride, deceit and greed),
but if you undergo penance of the burning heat of suffering, at
least your kashays will become less. If you keep the company
of the one who is immersed in the worldly mud (kusang), even
when you do not have many kashays yourself, the other
person’s kashays (negativities) will influence you and take hold
within. You must do a lot of pratikraman if you fall into the mud
even once, and make a firm determination that you will not fall
again. But if you fall into the company of ignorant people who
verily are laden with kashays, how can you escape without being
scathed with kashays, yourself?
A satsang that beats you all the time is still preferable over