For a spiritual seeker who is moving on the path from compulsiveness to consciousness, can spending time around those people caught in compulsive behaviors have a negative impact? Sadhguru speaks about the importance of the sangha, or the company one keeps, and about cultivating the right kind of company.

對於一個正走在從強迫性轉向覺知道路的靈性探尋者而言，如果和那些陷入強迫性行為的人們待在一起的話，會造成負面影響嗎？薩古魯談論了Sangha（僧寶），即同行者或者同伴以及結交正確同伴的重要性。

Questioner: Sadhguru, I share an apartment with other people, and whenever I’m away for longer periods of time, I sublet my room. All kinds of people are staying there – once a girl who turned into a drug addict, and different couples too. I’m wondering to what extent this could affect me. What’s your take on that?

提問者：薩古魯，我和其他人同住在一個公寓裡。每當我出門離開較長時間，我會把房間轉租出去。各型各類的人會住在那裡——有一次是一個變成吸毒者的女孩，也有好些不同的夫婦。我想知道這會在多大程度上影響到我。您對此是如何看的呢？

Sadhguru: Do not underestimate the influence of the company that you keep. Even if you do not drink or do drugs, being in the company of people who do impacts you on a completely different level. Gautama the Buddha described the ultimate truth, the one who transmits truth, and the sangha or the kind of company you keep, as equally important. He is socially correct but existentially wrong. Actually, the first priority should be the sangha or the company that you keep, then the Buddha or the one who transmits truth, then the dhamma or the ultimate truth.

Sadhguru（薩古魯）：千萬不要低估了你所交往的同伴的影響力。即便你不喝酒也不嗑藥，但和有這些嗜好的人交往，會在完全不同的程度上影響你。佛陀喬達摩提到了終極真理、傳輸真理的人以及sangha，即同行者或你的同伴，是同樣重要的。從社會角度看，他是正確的，但從存在角度看，這卻是錯誤的。實際上，排在第一位的應該是sangha或你的同伴，然後才是Buddha（佛陀）或傳播真理的人，最後是dhama（佛法）或終極真理。

Most human beings are – knowingly or unknowingly – shaped by the company that they keep. They may not realize to what extent. It is not only your family and friends who have an impact on you, but your social exposure in general. I would say your social exposure has shaped almost ninety percent of your personality. Choosing your company is not about being discriminatory, but about being discretionary as to where you want to be and with whom you want to be. It is definitely not ideal to be among people who are so compulsive in nature that you can consider them addicts, no matter what they are addicted to.

大多數人都在有意或無意中被同伴塑造成了現在的樣子。他們可能並沒有意識到受影響的程度是多少。其實不僅是你的家庭和朋友會影響你，通常而言，你在社會上接觸的人、事、物也會影響到你。我會說你在社會上所接觸的東西幾乎塑造了你90%的性格。選擇同伴並不是要差別對待，而是關於你想要在哪裡，想和誰在一起的問題。和一群有如此強迫性傾向以致於上癮了的人待在一起，無論他們對什麼東西上癮，都一定是不理想的。

Moving from Compulsiveness to Consciousness

從強迫性轉向覺知性

Your whole effort is to move from compulsiveness to consciousness. Being among people who are very compulsive is not supportive. You have not yet reached a place where you can be among the most compulsive people and still be absolutely conscious and unaffected on the level of your system. You may or may not get addicted yourself. I hope you will not, but it definitely influences you in many ways. If external influences did not have an impact, why would anyone make the effort of building an ashram? It is one big headache to maintain a spiritual place which is like an oasis in a churning ocean. To keep it like an island that remains untouched by what is happening around takes a lot.

你全部的努力就是要從強迫性轉向覺知。和非常具有強迫性的人待在一起是無益的。你還沒有達到即便和最有強迫性的人在一起也依然能保持完全覺知、並讓你的系統不受任何影響的境界。你可能會讓自己上癮，也可能不會。我希望你不會，但它肯定會在許多方面影響到你。如果外部的影響無關緊要，那人們為何要費力去建造靜修所？要維持一個靜修所，就好比維護洶湧海洋裡的一處綠洲一樣，是件很令人頭疼的事。讓它像一座島嶼一樣不受周邊的事所影響，是需要付出很多的。

On an average, about seven thousand people are visiting the Isha Yoga Center every day. To welcome them, to let them be part of it, and not to become them is a great challenge. We need solid people. Otherwise, everyone tries to bring a bit of their home, their street, their town and make it a part of the ashram. People try to introduce their whims and fancies, their likes and dislikes. Almost everyone who comes tries to exert some influence upon the ashram. Some ask about doing or having things in a certain way – others just do it. To politely or sometimes forcefully refuse their influence is not easy. The idea of an ashram is to maintain a space that is dedicated towards a purpose.

每天平均大約有7000人來到Isha瑜伽中心參觀。要歡迎他們，讓他們成為靜修所的一部分，但不成為他們，是一個很大挑戰。我們需要穩固的人。否則，每個人都想把自己的家、街道、城鎮裡的東西帶一點過來，變成靜修所的一部分。他們會想把各種奇思幻想以及自己的喜惡帶到靜修所來。幾乎來中心的每個人都想要對瑜伽中心施加一些影響。有些人會問能否以某種方式做事或獲取事物，其他人就直接去做。有禮貌或者有些時候強硬地去拒絕他們的影響並不容易。修行所是為某種特定目的而建的空間。

Wherever you live, you need to maintain your space in such a way that it is dedicated to the purpose for which you are living. Your private space should reflect where you want to go, rather than someone else’s compulsive ways of living. This is very important; until you come to a place where, even if you go to hell, you will come out untouched. Right now, you tend to get carried away. Do not overestimate yourself.

無論你住在哪裡，你都需要維持一個致力於服務你生活的空間。你私人的空間應該反映出你想要去哪裡，而不是其他人強迫性的生活方式。這一點非常重要——除非你到了一種境界，也就是，即便是到了地獄，你仍然不會被觸碰。現在，你很容易被帶走。千萬不要高估你自己。

Cultivating the Right Kind of Company

結交正確的同伴

Creating the right kind of space – and if necessary moving away from negative influences – is very important for your growth. This is not only about avoiding people with a drug addiction, but with any kind of excessive compulsiveness. People are dedicated to their compulsiveness. If you look at the way many so-called normal families live – “normal” in the sense that the children are not drug addicts, the husband is not an alcoholic, and the wife is not a shopaholic – the way they exist is so anti-consciousness. If you can transform them, that is great. If you cannot transform them, the best thing is to step away. For almost all human beings, the kind of company they keep shapes their lives. To what extent may vary from person to person, but it definitely determines a lot of things.

創造正確的空間——如果有必要，遠離負面的影響——這一點對你的成長非常重要。這不僅是要避開有毒癮的人，還要避開任何有過多強迫性的人。人們沉浸於他們的強迫性中。如果你看一下許多所謂的正常家庭的生活方式——“正常”指的是孩子不是吸毒的，丈夫不是酗酒的，妻子也不是購物狂——他們存在的方式真的是非常反意識的。如果你能轉化他們，那很好。如果你無法轉化他們，那就最好遠離他們。對幾乎所有人來說，正是他們相處的同伴塑造了他們的生命。塑造到何種程度可能會因人而異，但相處的同伴一定會影響到很多方面。

Maybe right now, what kind of company I keep does not make any difference to me. But the company I kept in earlier times definitely determined who I am today. If I had kept the wrong kind of company then, things would surely be very different for me now. What was relevant for me then is relevant for you now. It is very important for your growth that you either cultivate the right kind of company or make choices not to be in the wrong company.

也許現在，與哪種人相處對我不再有區別。但在早期我相處的同伴一定是決定了現在我是如何的。如果那時候我交往的是錯誤的同伴，那現在的我肯定會完全不同。那時對我重要的，如今對你重要。對於你的成長非常重要的一點是，要麼，你去結交正確的同伴，要麼選擇不要和錯誤的人待在一起。

原文連結：

isha.sadhguru.org/global/en/wisdom/article/importance-right-company