Come new year and we want to buy everything new. But when it comes to friendship, old is gold.
In the Bhagavata Purana, we find a saga of friendship, which demonstrates the fabulous way in which old relationships can be rekindled gently and ushered to the forefront of your life. Like Drona and Drupada, Sudama and Krsna were thick friends during their gurukul days.
Krsna went on to become Dwarakadhisha and Sudama remained a poor austere brahmana. Urged by his wife and considering the plight of their emaciated children, Sudama decided to approach his old friend. Though the household was bare, his wife managed to get a few handfuls of chipped rice from the neighbourhood which became the gift bundle Sudama carried to meet his old friend.
On his way to Dwarka, Sudama felt extremely ashamed at his decision of going to his friend to ask for a favour. He decided to not ask for anything at all. As soon as Krsna saw Sudama, he burst into happiness. He happily massaged Sudama’s tired feet while his wife Rukmini gracefully fanned him. Forcefully taking the chipped rice from the embarrassed Sudama’s hands, Krsna enthusiastically ate all of it. Then they spent hours revelling in fond memories of their younger days together.
Though Sudama hadn’t spoken a single word about his sad plight, Krsna intuitively heard the unspoken words of his friend. He silently sent vast riches and commissioned the building of an enormous palace for Sudama. Unaware of Krsna’s plan, the innocent Sudama walked out of Dwarka carrying only gratitude in his heart and absolutely no regret for not having asked his friend a favour.
True friendship is when love doesn’t change with changing positions in life. Loving dealings between friends cannot be purchased by money power. No matter how much you are ready to pay, you cannot make a fruit ripen faster. And no matter how much you try, you cannot make a friendship deepen faster.
When a hand pump isn’t used for a long time, to pull out ground water, some water has to be poured in from the top of the pump, so that the capillary action of the water in the pump attracts the ground water out. Similarly to revive old memories of old friendship, some new deposits of love have to be poured in. Humans tend to forget events with time but they seldom forget feelings.
In order to revive a long-lost friendship, one has to create an environment where the old feeling or emotion is rekindled. When there is no investment in a relationship in a long time, the old deposits tend to evaporate and the relationship becomes like an unused pump where love doesn’t flow out easily, rather weird unfamiliar sounds surface.
⦿ No matter how much you try, you cannot make a friendship deepen faster.
⦿ When Sudama met Krsna after a long time, he only exchanged love with him. He walked out carrying only gratitude for him.
⦿ True friendship doesn’t change with time.
(The writer is an author, Tedx speaker, story-teller, corporate trainer and visiting faculty in several premiermanagement schools)
