Proper way of having association with others to avoid material bonding!
Association makes everything.
While associating with others, you should keep the following in mind:
(1) With whom we should associate?
(2) How to have association with others properly to avoid material bonding.
(Devotees Practicing alone or in Association – which is good for them? READ HERE!)
If you focus with these two aspects, your life will not be affected by association.
What is the proper way to follow the above two?
WITH WHOM WE SHOULD ASSOCIATE?
If your goal is to achieve financially in life, you should associate with rich and business people.
But, there is more possibility to get trapped into the material bondage in this case.
If your goal is to achieve getting God consciousness, you should associate with the Pure or atleast advanced/ matured devotees.
If one is really advanced/ matured, he will not claim that he is an advanced devotee.
(I am unable to have association with my friends from other religions? What to do? READ HERE!)
He will just show in his actions that he is an advanced devotee.
More advancement in devotion – less expression about himself.
Only half filled vessel will make noice.
Fully filled vessels will be silent.
Same applies in devotion too.
Select the devotees who focus only in the service to Krishna.
If one speaks more about himself and his skills and achievements, avoid close association with him.
There are gems of devotees who serve Krishna silently without projecting himself.
Select them and associate with him.
(How to deal with the Material Attachment, Detachment & Devotee Association? READ HERE!)
Atleast one in twenty devotees may have such symptoms of a matured devotee.
Search for them and associate with him.
He may not speak much. But, just their asssociation can make changes in your consciousness. They need not speak much.
Just get as much blessings as possible from such matured devotees.
This will make your life truly blissful and successful spiritually.
Ok, what is the right way to have association with others properly to avoid material bonding?
(What if the Association is misused by some devotees to love in temples? READ HERE!)
How to have association with others properly to avoid material bonding?
You should not discourage those devotees who are less qualified than you.
You should not envy at those devotees who are more qualified.
You should be friendly with the devotees of equal qualification.
This will be a proper culture.
Srimad Bhagavatham nicely explains this as a formula:
SRIMAD BHAGAVATHAM (4.8.34) says:
“Every man should act like this: when he meets a person more qualified than himself, he should be very pleased; when he meets someone less qualified than himself, he should be compassionate toward him; and when he meets someone equal to himself, he should make friendship with him. In this way one is never affected by the threefold miseries of this material world.”
By following this way, you can have association with others properly to avoid material bonding.
Clear?
(15 Tips to follow the right way of maintaining the association of devotees! READ HERE!)