Miscellaneous - Religion   

Keep away from evil

CHENNAI : Association with the evil-minded is capable of changing the basic goodness of people and downgrading a person's integrity. Such a dangerous influence can even get one's priorities messed up as it happened in the Ramayana, when Kaikeyi met Manthara. The drastic change in the course of events that followed in the wake of this association illustrates the fact that evil consequences have immediate impact, said Srimathi Jaya Srinivasan in a lecture.

The poisoning effect of Manthara's company was such that there was a total transformation in Kaikeyi within a very brief period. She, who had special love for Lord Rama and had expressed such genuine joy at His forthcoming coronation, was now just the opposite. Manthara had turned Kaikeyi against Lord Rama to such an extent that she stood relentless and unyielding to any pressure from anyone as far as the two boons she demanded of Dasaratha were concerned.

A series of thoughts passed through Dasaratha's mind. He was aware of the ignominy that he would incur either way in this impasse. If he granted the boons, he would be accused of banishing his eldest son and heir apparent to the forest and of showing partiality to his second born. If he refused to grant the boons, he would be blamed for failing to keep his word, a trait that great kings took utmost care to cultivate and uphold.

Dasaratha's state was a pitiable one. Kaikeyi's two boons left Dasaratha visibly shaken. This highly esteemed ruler, whose fame and greatness had spread far and wide, now had to stoop at Kaikeyi's feet pleading with her to relax the intensity of the demands.

When she even threatened to give up her life if Dasaratha sought any relaxation in them, he guessed the imminent and the inevitable that would happen. He would not survive separation from Lord Rama.

Therefore scriptures caution against evil company and recommend the association with the pious (Satsangh). The grace of God is necessary for the spiritual aspirant to seek Satsangh that provides a chance for self-introspection. This leads to Viveka (discrimination) and Vairagya (dispassion) that help one to focus on the eternal and the everlasting rather than the transient and the ephemeral.

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