one is what the company he keeps

गवाशनानां स शृणोति वाक्यमहं हि राजन्श्चरितं मुनीनाम्।

न तस्य दोषो न च मद्गुणो वा संसर्गजा दोषगुणा भवन्ति॥

श्री शुकः

gavāśanānāṁ sa śṛṇoti vākyamahaṁ hi rājanścaritaṁ munīnām|

na tasya doṣo na ca madguṇo vā saṁsargajā doṣaguṇā bhavanti||

śrī śukaḥ

ഗവാശനാനാം സ ശൃണോതി വാക്യമഹം ഹി രാജന്ശ്ചരിതം മുനീനാം|

ന തസ്യ ദോഷോ ന ച മദ്ഗുണോ വാ സംസര്‍ഗജാ ദോഷഗുണാ ഭവന്തി||

ശ്രീ ശുകഃ 

There are two parrots. One is in the company of eaters of cow's meat.  The second (the narrator here) is always in the company of ascetics.  The former is always hearing the conversation of those people and the invectives contained therein. The latter is always listening to the expostulation of scriptures and lofty thoughts by the learned sages.  In due course the former parrot spews out the garbage it has listened to and the latter is talking quoting great thoughts.  The parrot confesses that his colleague is not uttering garbage because of any inherent evil in him or that he himself is repeating great words not because of any inherent merits of his own.  The company of the evil people makes the former to utter bad words, and the company of  the learned seers makes him utter great words.  It is only the effect of the company one keeps.

संसर्गजा दोषगुणा भवन्ति    samsargajaa doshagunaaH bhavanti  is an oft-repeated quote.  This is the full  form of  the narration.

In the contemporary context, one should find it difficult whether it is evil to eat cow's meat.  But the Indian of the yore respected and worshipped the cow as a goddess and mother.  My  apologies if it does not  seem palatable to anyone.  But the fact remains  that company of the bad makes one bad and vice-versa.

--

।श्रीकृष्णो रक्षतु।
|śrīkṛṣṇo rakṣatu|
Have a nice and happy day
with profound respect and warm regards
K V Ananthanarayanan
(kanfusion)
blog   http://kanfusion.blogspot.com/
त्यजन्तु बान्धवाः सर्वे निन्दन्तु गुरवो जनाःI
तदापि परमानन्दो गोविन्दो मम जीवनंII
let all my relatives abandon me, let the great people insult me, still I am in supreme bliss since my life  is GOVINDA alone.
Iकृष्णात् परं किमपि तत्वं अहं न जाने"I
लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु।
lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu|