Humans should always be careful about the company they keep. What is the result of keeping good company? By spending time with good persons, a deep impression is imprinted on the mind, causing the desire to be good to rise in the mind. If, on the other hand, one chooses to associate with a drunkard, a thought will eventually come in the mind, “What is the harm if I drink a little wine?” And if one associates with thieves, one will think, “What is the harm if I steal something?”

To give an example, suppose a person is standing beside a tea stall. There the smell of the tea wafts to the person’s nose. The person will then say, “Give me a cup, too.” In this incident, the smell of the tea affects the mind. If that person had not remained near the tea stall, the smell would not have reached the nose and perhaps that person would not have taken tea for two or three days. This is the influence that association has on the mind.

Hence humans should choose their company very carefully, for a mistake in this will cause them to repent their whole life. Even parents who realize that they themselves are not good should send their children to live in a good student hostel, or keep them with some of their relatives who are good – lest their own influence cause harm to the children. One must be very strict about this. In Tantra it is said,

Satsauṋgena bhavenmuktirasatsauṋgeśu bandhanam;
Tasmádasatsauṋgamudrańaḿ sá mudrá parikiirttitá.

[Keeping good company leads to liberation, whereas the company of bad people leads to greater bondage. The mudrańam – shunning – of bad company is called mudrá sádhaná.]

The Tantric practice of mudrá sádhaná means to associate with good human beings in order to attain liberation. Here you must remember that salvation [or liberation] is not only spiritual, it is in all spheres of life, in all the strata of life. In all the spheres of life – social, economic, etc. – struggle has to be launched. Wherever there is no food, begin the struggle for it; if clothing is needed, then there should be struggle for it; if there is no irrigation system, struggle for it; if there is no accommodation, struggle for it. And the greatest [liberation] is to liberate the soul from all bondages – that alone is real liberation. Spiritual liberation is the only [ultimate] liberation, other liberations are not [the ultimate liberation]. This is because today one may become free from some physical bondage, but tomorrow it will come back again. Today one may be free from hunger, but tomorrow hunger will return. Spiritual liberation, though, is permanent liberation, eternal freedom. Good association results in salvation and bad association results in bondage. Hence evil company must be avoided.

In the Sanskrit language, mudrańam has two meanings. One is “to print”, and the other is “to shun”. The words asatsauṋga mudrańam here mean “to shun evil company”. But mudrańam also means “to print” – for example, pustak mudrań kará [to print a book – in Bengali]. By mistake people say pustak mudrita kará. In Sanskrit, mudrita does mean “to shun” – for example, Cakśu mudrita kará hala means, “One’s eyes shunned the world [by closing].” Pustak mudrita kará does mean, “to close the book”; [but pustak mudrita kará does not mean “to print the book”;] “to print the book” should be written pustak mudráunkita kará.

However that may be, Asatsauṋga mudrańa kará means “to shun evil company”, and this is the practice of mudrá sádhaná. Shankaracharya said that if you shun bad company and associate with very good people, you will be able to do good to society, and you will continue to do virtuous deeds.