“A friend in
need is a friend indeed,” may be an old saying, but it summarizes friendship in
as simple a form as possible. Friendship is something we live on, it is what
sustains us and keeps us going. The best way of realizing the value of
friendship is to ask honestly of ourselves how life would be if every one of us
keeps to ourselves and refrains from sharing our thoughts and experiences with
others.
The bond of
friendship can be very strong if it is real. I say this because we are witness
to and also at times experience the withering away of so called friendships
when they become inconvenient.
When a person is
successful there he has a lot of friends. He is surrounded by “friends” who are
ready to do what he says. The same person becomes an untouchable for most of
these “friends” when he falls from grace.
Good friendship
flows from a genuine concern for others, a desire to help and, of course, good
breeding. It is a bond that is permanent and can be broken only by deceit and
breach of trust.
A friend is
somebody you can confide in, somebody with whom you can share your joys and
pleasures. True friendship is a relationship that knows no barriers and
obstacles. It is a relationship that is free from the desire of personal gain.
The only benefit one derives out of friendship is a feeling of companionship
and trust. It transcends all boundaries of blood relationship. To quote an old saying
once again, a friend is “a shoulder to cry on and a smile to lean against.”
Having said all
this, friendship sometimes is so close that it becomes blind to life’s demands
and even makes one compromise one’s own principles. The best example of such blind
friendship is, perhaps, found in the Hindu epic, The Mahabharata where Karan
sacrifices his principles and supports Duryodhan knowing that both of them are
going to meet their doom. A true friend is one who has the courage to caution
and advice when he sees that the other person is doing even at the risk of
incurring his wrath.
There is a lot
more that can be said about friendships and good friends. A good friend brings
a smile to our faces, and we are comfortable in his company. Let us thank
nature and Providence that the world is not all about commerce and money.
Friendships make this world a good place to be in.
