association

Association 

yadi santaṁ sevate yady-asantaṁ tapasvinaṁ yadi vā stenam eva | vāso yathā raṅgavaśaṁ prayāti tathā sa teṣāṁ vaśam abhyupaiti || 163 || 

By association with good people or wicked, with one that is possessed of ascetic merit or with thieves, one soon takes on the influence of the companion, like a cloth from the dye in which it is soaked. 

yādṛśaiḥ saṁvivadate yādṛśāṁścopasevate | yādṛg icchecca bhavituṁ tādṛg bhavati pūruṣaḥ || 164 || 

One becomes exactly like those with whom one lives, or like those whom one serves, or like those who are one's role models.

 jarā rūpaṁ harati hi dhairyam āśā mṛtyuḥ prāṇān dharmacaryām asūyā | krodhaḥ śriyaṁ śīlam anāryasevā hriyaṁ kāmaḥ sarvam evābhimānaḥ || 165 || 

Decrepitude destroys beauty; hope destroys fortitude; death destroys life; envy destroys righteousness; anger destroys prosperity; bad association destroys good behavior; lust destroys modesty; and arrogance — everything.

 mahān apyekajo vṛkṣo balavān supratiṣṭhitaḥ | prasahya eva vātena śākhāskandhaṁ vimarditum || 166 ||

 atha ye sahitā vṛkṣāḥ saṅghaśaḥ supratiṣṭhitāḥ | te hi śīghratamānvātān sahante’nyonya saṁśrayāt || 167 || 

And the tree that stands alone, though gigantic and strong and deep-rooted, can easily have its trunk smashed and twisted by a mighty wind. But those trees, however, that grow in close compact with others are capable, owing to mutual dependence to resist winds more violent still. 

evaṁ manuṣyam apyekaṁ guṇair api samanvitam | śakyaṁ dviṣanto manyante vāyur drumam ivaikajam || 168 || 

Thus one who is alone, however endowed with all the best qualities, is regarded by foes as susceptible of being vanquished like an isolated tree by the wind. 

 anyonya samupaṣṭambhād anyonyāpāśrayeṇa ca | jñātayaḥ sampravardhante sarasīvotpalānyuta || 169 || 

Relatives again, in consequence of mutual dependence and mutual aid, grow together, like lotus-stalks in a lake. 

asantyāgāt pāpakṛtām apāpāṁs tulyo daṇḍaḥ spṛśate miśrabhāvāt | śuṣkeṇārdraṁ dahyate miśrabhāvāt tasmāt pāpaiḥ saha sandhiṁ na kuryāt || 170 || 

Just as fuel that is wet burns along with that which is dry, so an innocent person is punished equally with the guilty in consequence of constant association with the latter. Therefore, intimate friendship with malefactors should be avoided.