Importance of Friendship and Friendly Relations in Life!

Ever wondered why we form relations with people around us?

Man cannot live on food and shelter alone; being a social animal, bonding and connecting with fellow human beings are very essential for his survival.

And of all the finest ways of bonding with people, friendship is perhaps the best one! And this is a fact backed by science, where numerous studies have showed that people with stronger and livelier social bonding have better physical as well as mental health as compared to people who lack good friendships in life.

This article is written with an aim to help you understand the importance of friendship in making relationships stronger and blissful.

Appreciating and accepting the real you!

Any relationship where you are not allowed to exhibit your true self, becomes toxic by default. Friendship however is a rescue from such suffocating relations.

The beauty of true friendship lies in the fact that there are no formalities involved. You can be yourself where you can speak your mind, share their deepest and innate secrets, crack silly jokes, cry your heart out without being judged.

It is said that life should be spend in the company of people who motivates us to become the finest version of ourselves! And who can do this better than a true friend!

A friend can always help in bringing out the best qualities in you, help you to discover the cause of your life sometimes as a mentor/guide, sometimes as an motivator and sometimes as a firm support system.

Inject friendship in every relation

Presence of friendship in a relationship makes it stronger by many folds. Be it among siblings, cousins, parents and their children, colleagues or husband and wife, a casual and friendly relation is often a desirable option as this can make such relations blissful!

Children, for example will always find it easier to express themselves to their parents, if parents maintain a friendly relationship with them, instead of behaving like an army officer. The fact that there can’t be a better and trustworthy friend as ones parents is something very obvious to us. And there are psychological reasons too why parents should not be too authoritative.  

Back in schools didn’t we feel an inclination toward teachers who were friendly compared to the ones who were bossy? In corporate world too, smart bosses are learning ways to increase productivity of the firm by maintaining a friendlier attitude with the subordinates!

Friendship can influence every little aspect of our lives and it is very important to find a best friend in the form of a life partner. No relation can ever get boring if we inject a high dose of friendship in it.

Marriages these days are seen more as an obligation and less as a pleasant journey; one obvious reason for this is the absence of friendship in marital life!

A Friend gives wings to fly

Friendship is a connection which knows no formalities; it always gives us wings to fly rather then holding and pulling us down. A true friend makes us feel loved, motivates us, heals our wounds, and makes us feel safe when we feel insecure.

When the path of our life gets gloomy a friend can shed light into it, when climbing a mountain becomes strenuous a friend can always be our support, when we feel broke a friend can fix us, when we feel low a friend can lift our spirits, when we need love and care a friend can provide us shelter in their hugs.

During the ups and downs of life, a friend can shoulder our burden and wipe our tears, when we feel happy a friend can always add to that happiness, the presence of a friend always spice up our lives.

Crossing the man made barriers

Friendship is unbound! Friendship doesn’t see any race or religion, caste or creed, age or gender; where there is friendship there is bonding and where there is bonding there is friendship, bonding and friendship goes hand in hand, without friendship there is no bonding be it with anybody, friendship binds us all together in one thread!

It is like connecting with someone on the subtle level of soul.

From a mythological point of view

A classic example of the role of friendship can be taken from Mahabharata. (Ref.2) Krishna is an example of a perfect friend who always shouldered Arjuna and supported him during his struggles and showed the path when he was lost.

Throughout the battle against the Kauravas, he protected Arjuna like a shield, became his smile, enlightened him about the true nature of life and helped him to know his true self.

In the form of Gita, Krishna gave Arjuna the divine wisdom of the universe which in due course of time helped Arjuna to overcome his insecurities and confusions.

He never tried to change Arjuna, but helped him to know who he really was. He mentored him not as a master but as a friend, for a master it’s always “my way or the highway”. But krishna’s attitude towards Arjuna was not that of a master but of a concerned friend.

Krishna knew very well that the best way to help Arjuna is by becoming his charioteer in the war and guiding him through the battle. It never pinched Krishna’s ego to become Arjuna’s charioteer, because in friendship there is no ego involved; by becoming his charioteer Krishna helped Arjuna to establish dharma (righteousness).

Krishna and panchali’s friendship is also no less exemplifying. Just as he showed Arjuna the path of divinity, he stood as a support system to Panchali in every step of her life. In one instance when she was insulted by Duryodhana and his brother in the court of Hastinapur kingdom and no one came forward to protect her dignity, it was Krishna again who came to the rescue.

So the inference that can be drawn from this reference is that though Krishna could have ended the battle in a twinkling of an eye, yet he deliberately made Arjuna fight the battle in order to make him understand the principles of Gita.

Thus instead of fighting the battle directly he guided Arjuna toward his goal. Krishna wanted Arjuna to understand that every individual in this world has to fight his own battles (struggles of life); nobody can walk our path for us! However with a right companion/partner/friend the journey becomes easy.

During the ups and downs of life, we all need a friend like Krishna in our lives who though won’t solve our problems directly, but will maneuver us safely to our destination by constructive criticisms, advice and feedback.

Over to You

Do you have a Krishna in your life?  How is your relationship with your spouse/parents/colleagues? Let us know in the comment box about your views on the importance of friendship in relationships!