“Eka eva suhrda dharma nidhane apyanutatiyah” – “Dharma is the only suhrda (a type of friend) who remains with you even after your death.” In Saḿskrta there are several terms for the English word “friend”.

Atyágo sahano bandhu
Sadaevánumatam suhrda
Ekaḿ kriyaḿ bhaven mitram
Samapráńah sakhá smrtah.

“Atyágo sahano bandhu” – the person who cannot tolerate separation is a “bandhu”. When the tie of love is so great that a person cannot tolerate any separation from you, he or she is called your bandhu. The tie is called bandhanam in Saḿskrta. It is so strong that the person cannot remain away from you, cannot tolerate separation from you.

In this world anybody and everybody can tolerate separation from you. When a person dies, what feelings will his mother and father, his brothers and sisters show? They will cry aloud, but after two or three days, normalcy will return. They will resume their normal mundane duties. And after a few days more or a few months they will forget the person. In societies where a widow’s marriage is accepted by people, the widow will remarry. In India, in upper-class Hindu society, a widow’s marriage is not accepted, but in a major portion of the world, even in India in some cases, a widow’s marriage is accepted by others. So you cannot say that any of your relatives is your bandhu. Nobody is your bandhu, or friend, in this respect. According to Indian custom, parents having only one son may adopt another child, who is then called bandhu. But Jagat Bandhu is the only real Bandhu. Parama Puruśa is the only real bandhu. He loved you in the past; He will love you in the future. He alone is Bandhu. His name is Jagat Bandhu.

Another term for friend is “suhrda”. Suhrda means “those with whom there never was, and never is, any difference of opinion”. In the worldly sphere there are always differences of opinion with your wife or husband, mother or father. But in the case of Parama Puruśa, He nods His assent at whatever you do; and He goes on nodding. Why does He continue this nodding? He is a true friend. In the physical sphere He does nothing, and in the psychic sphere He gives you guidelines. In the physical sphere He does nothing directly; this is why He is suhrda for the bad person and for the good person. He is always suhrda. “Eka eva suhrda nidhane apyanuyatiyah” – He is the only suhrda that remains with you even after your death.

After your death your friends will carry you to the cremation ground. After being burnt, the body is rendered into ashes. Your friends will spray some water on the ashes of the funeral pyre, and then go back home. As long as they are in the cremation ground, they remember you. After that they forget you. But dharma remains with you even after your death, and what you did for dharma in this world is never forgotten. Therefore, in your worldly life, you are to strengthen the hands of dharma, and in the world, dharma will strengthen you. So it is the duty of intellectuals and intelligent people to strengthen the hands of dharma. If you strengthen the hands of your friends, your friends will also strengthen you in case of urgent need.

“Mitram”. When the nature of the duty of two persons is the same, they are mitram. Suppose there are two physicians, two pleaders, two businessmen. They are called mitraḿ, because the nature of the duty is the same. Two thieves are also called mitram. In Saḿskrta, the word “mitra”, when used in the masculine gender, means “the sun”. When used in the neuter gender it means “colleague”. In the neuter gender the term is mitram.

In the case of sakhá, the position is that there are two physical bodies, but the mental body is the same because there is so much love. Such people are called sakhá. So nobody other than Parama Puruśa can be sakhá. Krśńa was the sakhá of Arjuna.

Thus in this world, out of these four words for friend, only Parama Puruśa can be bandhu, suhrda and sakhá. In this relative world you can only find a mitram, not a bandhu, suhrda, or sakhá. For Him you may use the word bandhu, suhrda, or sakhá: He is your everything. You cannot do without Him. Your relationship with Parama Puruśa is like the relationship of a fish with water. So it is futile to forget Him; try to remember Him always. This remembering Him always, in all spheres and all strata of life, is called “dhruvásmrti”. Don’t forget this for a single moment. By dint of your sádhaná, try to develop dhruvásmrti and be one with Him, and in peace, for infinity.