Kaa kar sakat kusang - What harm can bad company do

There is a famous couplet from a 16th-century Hindi poet, Abdul Rahim:

               “Rahim uttam prakriti, kaa kar sakat kusang

         Chandan vish vyaapat nahin, liptay rehat bhujang.”

Rahim Das Ji says: What harm can bad company do to a person of noble nature?

A truthful, virtuous, and noble-minded person cannot be influenced by bad company.

Their nature is so pure, strong, and steady that even a negative environment around them cannot corrupt them.

Rahim ji explains this with the example of sandalwood and the snake.

Sandalwood is known for its fragrance and cooling qualities.

It is said that snakes often coil around sandalwood trees, yet the snake's poison never enters the sandalwood, nor does its fragrance diminish.

In the same way, a person endowed with goodness and noble qualities does not get affected by negative surroundings or the corrupting influence of bad company.

Their purity and goodness are so powerful in themselves that they neutralize all negativity around them and, like sandalwood, they remain true to their own essential nature.

However, on the other hand… the opposite is also true.

           " Prakriti hi neech ho to, ka kar sakay Satsang

       Chandan syon lipta rahay par vish na tajay bhujang.”

Meaning: Even by staying in the company of sandalwood, the snake never gives up its poison.

You may feed a snake milk every day, but given the chance, it will still bite you. 

Thus, the real truth is that the fundamental nature of any being is more powerful.

Whether the company influences them or not depends on their inherent nature. 

Sandalwood does not lose its fragrance and coolness even when it's constantly in the company of poisonous serpents.

And the serpent does not renounce its poison even while staying close to the purity of sandalwood.

This analogy is about sandalwood and the snake — but the case of human beings is different.

Human beings are usually influenced by the company they keep — but this influence depends on each person’s willpower, inner strength, and inherent nature. 

It depends on whether they choose to absorb the influence of their surroundings, whether good or bad.

An ordinary or weak-willed person may fall under the influence of bad company and begin to decline.

On the other hand, with strong willpower and firm determination, a good person can remain pure, steady, and uncorrupted even in bad company.

Some people absorb the influence of good company and rise toward upliftment and well-being.

Yet there are others who, even while living among good people, never give up their inherent tendencies of hatred and hostility. 

Instead of using their authority and power for the welfare of others, they use it for selfish motives and self-gratification. And when given the chance, they can sting like a snake — causing pain and suffering to others without hesitation. 

Ultimately, every person is responsible for choosing their own path.

We must decide for ourselves what direction we wish to take —

whether we want to walk the path of selfish gratification,

or the path of truth, upliftment, and the company of the virtuous for the welfare of others and our own spiritual growth.

In the end, the choice is ours alone.

                                    " Rajan Sachdeva "