Yogananda: Past life versus present

Outward environment and the company you keep is of paramount importance. The specific outer environment of early life is specially important in stimulating or stifling inner instinctive environment of a child. A child is usually born with a pre-natal mental environment. This is stimulated if the outer environment is like the inner environment, but if the outer environment is different from it, the inner environment is likely to be suppressed. An instinctively bad child may be suppressed and made good in good company, and vice versa, while an instinctively good child placed in good company would, no doubt, increase his goodness.

Paramhansa Yogananda