Regarding the duties of human beings, it has been said,

Tyajá durjanasaḿsargaḿ
Bhaja sádhu samágamaḿ
Kuru Puńyamahorátraḿ
Smaranityamanityatám.

“Tyaja durjana saḿsargaḿ”. Who is a durjana? It is a relative term. Durjana is one whose presence has a degenerating effect on others. What is degeneration? Degeneration here means deviation from the path of self-cultivation. According to the scriptures, that which leads to one’s physical, psychic and spiritual well-being is called “hita”; that which leads to one’s psychic and spiritual well-being is “kalyáńa”; and that which leads to one’s spiritual well-being is “kśema”. The person who has a degenerating effect on others is called a durjana.

Every human being has certain merits and demerits. Suppose a person has forty percent merit and sixty percent demerit: the resultant demerit is twenty percent. If a weak person whose resultant [[merit]] is forty percent comes in contact with a person whose resultant demerit is more than forty percent, he will certainly degenerate. Obviously, a thief will not be a durjana for a perfectly honest person because the latter will easily counteract the thief’s negative qualities. But for an ordinary person without any notable attributes, the thief will certainly be a durjana. Those with less psychic or spiritual power can easily be influenced by a wicked person. Those who are psychically and spiritually developed, however, are not so easily influenced and for them even a very wicked person may not be a durjana.

It is the duty of every human being to avoid wicked people. You may ask, “Can wicked people ever become virtuous?” Of course they can, but remember that only those people having greater psychic power than them should try to transform them. So what should you do? Instead of going alone, you should take five or ten friends with you so that your collective psychic strength will be greater than theirs.

“Tyajá durjana saḿsargaḿ”. There are many people who speak enthusiastically about improving the economic condition of the poor but have no intention of doing anything about it themselves. Even though it is evident that they are hypocrites, you should not confront them directly, but should be temporarily indifferent to them. How should you deal with such people? Instead of dealing with them alone you should take ten or twenty people with you and try to bring them to the right path.

“Bhaja sádhu samágamaḿ.” Who is a sadhu? A sadhu is one whose company leads to hita, that is, physical, psychic and spiritual well-being.

Játascha eva jagati jantavah sádhu jiivitáh
Ye punarneha jáyante sheśáh jat́haragardabháh.

The gist of this sloka is that only those who have been engaged in honest deeds since birth are worthy of being called sadhus. Other people, even though they appear to be human, are best described as “donkeys”! They have the form of a human – they were born to human mothers – but the mentality of a donkey.

“Bhaja sádhu samágamaḿ.” Spend as much time as you can in the company of honest people who have dedicated their lives for others’ welfare. This will enable you to develop your personal well-being and be in a better position to bring about the welfare of all created beings. This is the duty of an ideal person. You must avoid those who are sinful. The sinful people are not equally wicked to all, but the honest people are equally virtuous to all. In this context it has been said:

Satsaungena bhavenmuktirasatsaungeśu bandhanam
Asatsaungena mudrańaḿ yat tanmudrá parikiirttita.

The excellence of satsauṋga, that is, the uplifting company of the virtuous, is equally beneficial for all.

“Kuru puńyam ahorátram.” Ahorátraḿ means the twentyfour hour period from sunrise to sunrise. According to Indian astronomy, the period from sunrise to sunset is called “dinamána” and the period from sunset to sunrise, “rátrimáńa.” So one dinamána and one rátrimána together constitute twentyfour hours. According to the Western conception of time, the period from midnight to midnight makes twenty-four hours. It is in no way connected to the dinamána and ratrimána of the Indian system. The Western day begins from midnight and is thus fixed according to the time of the watch.

It is advised that one should acquire virtue (punyam) around the clock. Now the question is, what is virtue? By simply taking a dip in the waters of the Ganges will one acquire virtue? Of course not. Then what is virtue?

Aśt́ádashapuráńeśu Vyásasya vacanandvayam
Paro’pakárarah Puńyáya pápáya parapiiŕańam.

Doing good to others is virtue; doing harm to others is sin. In this world there is no shortage of wicked people who have an innate desire to commit atrocities and harm others. What should the virtuous people do? They should acquire virtue by doing good to others, to the society, to the country, and to the masses. Their actions should promote the socio-economic well-being of the people in a skilled way. This should be their main concern. Your good deeds may take society two steps forward, but if bad people are at work at the same time, they will take the society two steps backward and the resultant progress will be nil. Therefore, you must continue doing good to society, and at the same time must fight against the bad people to prevent them from taking a single step forward. On the path of dharma, one is not only to do noble deeds; one must also fight against the dishonest people – both are virtuous actions. There are many good people in the society – noble people engaged in noble deeds – who are not ready to fight against wrongs and injustices. This sort of passive benevolence does not really promote the cause of human progress in the world. What is desirable is to acquire virtue by doing noble deeds and fighting against all sins and crimes. Both are mandatory, both an integral part of dharma.

“Smara nityamanityatám”. You should always remember that although you have come to this world for a very short span of time, you will have to be responsible for doing so many different things, including social service. Thus you will have to equip yourself in intelligence and wisdom in all possible ways. And at the same time, you must fulfil your duties and responsibilities. Once your duties are over you will have to bid adieu to this world with a smiling face. In this regard, the words of Tulsi are worth quoting:

Tulsi jab tum jag men áye jag hansá tum roye
Aesii karnii karelo tum hánso jag roye.

[Tulsi, when you came to this world, it smiled and you wept. Continue your noble deeds so that when you die, you will laugh and the world will weep.]

When a child is born, the members of the family laugh joyfully, but the child itself cries. You should live such a benevolent life and do such glorious deeds that when you leave this world, smiles will blossom on your face while the people mourn your departure with copious tears. The people will feel bereaved at the loss of a person who truly helped them in their hour of need. All of you should take such a vow to do noble deeds as long as you are alive, and thus leave this world with a smiling face.