A good family and partner are very essential in life. The value of a good friend is no less. There are times when we need to share our lives, our ups and downs with members others than our family and relatives. A good friend is always there for us. He is kind, reliable, thoughtful and considerate. We can bare our darkest side to him and yet he remains with us and does not spread tales about us. A good friend is a great confidant and our secrets are safe with him. However good a person may be, however kind or understanding he may be, if he cannot hold secrets he is no friend. The story of the king and the three statues illustrates this truth:
Once, a king was holding court in his palace when a messenger came to him from another kingdom. He bowed low to the king and offered him a package. It was a gift from his master – the king of the neighboring kingdom. The king opened the package. There were three beautiful statues in it. They looked identical. The messenger told him: My king sends you his regards and asks you to accept his gift. He has instructed to inform you that even though the three statues look alike, they are different. Please choose one and return the other two back.
Hearing this, all the ministers and courtiers became curious. They all looked at the statues in wonder. The king studied all the three statues but was not able to note any differences in them. He was definite that there was some hidden meaning which he was unable to see. He requested the messenger to leave the statues with him for a day so that he could study them well and select one of them for himself. The messenger agreed and left the court.
The royal prince was an intelligent boy. He went up to his father and offered to help him. He would study the statues and see what the differences were and select one for his father, the king. The prince spent the rest of the day and night studying the statues. He performed many tests but did not get any results. Just as dawn was about to break, an idea suddenly occurred to him. He took three bowls of water and put a statue in each of them. He noticed small bubbles rise in the water. He checked the statutes again and found the answer. He got dressed and ran to the court.
Everyone looked at the prince eagerly when he entered the room. He asked them to watch carefully as he demonstrated the differences in the statues. He picked up one statue and passed a long slender needle through one ear and it came through the other side. He said: Some people listen to one thing with an ear and let it go through the other ear. Such a friend does not really listen to our problems. My lord, your friend, the king wishes to tell you not to keep the company of such people.
Then the prince picked up the second statue and passed a needle through its ear. This time, the needle came out through the mouth. He said: O king, this statue is like people who listen to a thing and go and tell it to others. Such people are hard to trust and they do not make good friends.
The entire court was watching in pin drop silence as the prince picked up the third statue and passed a needle through its ear. The end of the needle did not come out at all. The prince said: O king, this statue is like those people who listen to what we confide in and do not speak it out to others. Your friend, the neighboring king says this is the best kind of friend to have!
The king picked up the statue and gave it to his son. He was pleased with the wisdom of the young boy. He told him to keep it as a reminder to always be a good friend.
In life, we can be a good friend. We may or may not find a good friend. The best friend we can possibly get is God. We can speak our heart to Him, our pains, pleasures and failings. He shares our joys and sorrows. He listens to us and shows us the way out of our trouble. And He does not tattle behind our back. Let us do our SitaRam mantra, meditation and follow the teachings of the Guru and be a good friend and make God our best friend. Life is so much sweeter when Divinity is with us at all times to share our life.
