Friendship

that you will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have done only good to you, sending you on your way in peace. And now you are blessed by the LORD.”

then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift, sent to my lord Esau. And behold, Jacob is behind us.’”

So God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters teemed according to their kinds, and every bird of flight after its kind. And God saw that it was good.

But it is you, a man like myself, my companion and close friend.

Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms.

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.

The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands and listens for him, and is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.

You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.

It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart. For in my chains and in my defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partners in grace with me.

The Gemara asks: How did they all know at the same time what had happened to Job so that the three of them came together? There are those who say that they each had a crown which displayed certain signs when something happened to one of the others. And there are those who say they each had trees and when the trees withered they knew that sorrow had visited one of them. Rava said that this closeness between Job and his friends explains the adage that people say: Either a friend like the friends of Job or death. If a person lacks close friends, he is better off dead.

The Gemara answers: These too, hospitality toward guests and visiting the sick, are in the category of acts of loving-kindness. A different version of that answer: These matters on the longer list are attributable to those, the matters on the shorter list.

Apropos this Sage, the Gemara cites another statement of his: Rabbi Yehuda, son of Rabbi Naḥmani, the disseminator of Reish Lakish, interpreted a verse homiletically: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Trust not in a companion, do not put your confidence in an intimate friend” (Micah 7:5)? If the evil inclination says to you: Sin, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, will forgive, do not trust it, since it is stated: “Trust not in a companion [rei’a].” And rei’a is referring to none other than the evil [ra] inclination, as it is stated: “For the inclination of the heart of man is evil [ra]” (Genesis 8:21). And “intimate friend” is referring to none other than the Holy One, Blessed be He, as it is stated: “You are the intimate friend of my youth” (Jeremiah 3:4). Lest you say: Since I am acting in private, who will testify against me? The stones of the house and the beams of the house of each person testify against him, as it is stated: “For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it” (Habakkuk 2:11).

Wherein (are found) the good and beautiful

Lovers, friends

And with them are those of modest gaze, companions

Narrated Abu Musa: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'The example of a good pious companion and an evil one is that of a person carrying musk and another blowing a pair of bellows. The one who is carrying musk will either give you some perfume as a present, or you will buy some from him, or you will get a good smell from him, but the one who is blowing a pair of bellows will either burn your clothes or you will get a bad smell from him

Narrated Hudhaifa: My companions learned (something about) good (through asking the Prophet) while I learned (something about) evil

Narrated Abu Musa: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "The example of a good companion (who sits with you) in comparison with a bad one, is like that of the musk seller and the blacksmith's bellows (or furnace); from the first you would either buy musk or enjoy its good smell while the bellows would either burn your clothes or your house, or you get a bad nasty smell thereof

To one who has conquered their lower nature with its help, the Self is a friend; but to one who has not done so, it is an enemy.

When a person attains Pure Reason, they renounce in this world the results of both good and evil. Cling to Right Action. Spirituality is the true art of living.

Godly qualities lead to liberation; godless ones lead to bondage. Do not be anxious, Prince! You have the Godly qualities.

Yama said: The good is one thing and the pleasant another. These two, having different ends, bind a man. It is well with him who chooses the good. He who chooses the pleasant misses the true end. The good and the pleasant approach man; the wise examines both and discriminates between them; the wise prefers the good to the pleasant, but the foolish man chooses the pleasant through love of bodily pleasure.

O Agni (Bright Being)! Lead us to blessedness by the good path. O Lord! Thou knowest all our deeds, remove all evil and delusion from us. To Thee we offer our prostrations and supplications again and again.

The Self is subtler than the subtle, greater than the great; It dwells in the heart of each living being. He who is free from desire and free from grief, with mind and senses tranquil, beholds the glory of the Atman.

If you find an alert companion, an attentive friend to live happily together, then, overcoming all adversities, wander with them, joyful and mindful.

It’s good to see the noble ones, staying with them is always good. Were you not to see fools, you’d always be happy.

Don’t mix with bad friends, nor with the worst of men. Mix with spiritual friends, and with the best of men.

For, by relying on me as a good friend, sentient beings who are liable to rebirth, old age, and death, to sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress are freed from all these things. This is another way to understand how good friends are the whole of the spiritual life.’ So, Great King, you should train like this: ‘I will have good friends, companions, and associates.’ That’s how you should train.

At Sāvatthī. Then Sāriputta went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him: “Sir, good friends, companions, and associates are the whole of the spiritual life.” “Good, good, Sāriputta! Good friends, companions, and associates are the whole of the spiritual life. A mendicant with good friends, companions, and associates can expect to develop and cultivate the noble eightfold path. And how does a mendicant with good friends develop and cultivate the noble eightfold path?

You can recognize a good-hearted friend who’s the same in good times and bad on four grounds. They tell you secrets. They keep your secrets. They don’t abandon you in times of trouble. They’d even give their life for your welfare. You can recognize a good-hearted friend who’s the same in good times and bad on these four grounds. You can recognize a good-hearted friend who’s a counselor on four grounds. They keep you from doing bad. They support you in doing good. They teach you what you do not know. They explain the path to heaven. You can recognize a good-hearted friend who’s a counselor on these four grounds.

I have my own friends; why should I go to the home of a stranger? My friends are imbued with the True Lord; He is with them, in their minds. In their minds, these friends celebrate in happiness; all good karma, righteousness and Dharma, The sixty-eight holy places of pilgrimage, charity and worship, are found in the love of the True Name. He Himself creates, establishes and beholds all, by the Pleasure of His Will. My friends are happy in the Love of the Lord; they nurture love for their Beloved. ||5||

Salok, Third Mehl: The friends who love the True Guru, meet with the Lord, the True Friend. Meeting their Beloved, they meditate on the True Lord with love and affection. Their minds are appeased by their own minds, through the incomparable Word of the Guru's Shabad. These friends are united, and will not be separated again; they have been united by the Creator Lord Himself. Some do not believe in the Blessed Vision of the Guru's Darshan; they do not contemplate the Shabad. The separated ones are in love with duality - what more separation can they suffer? Friendship with the self-willed manmukhs lasts for only a few short days.

Fifth Mehl: My joyful friend is called the friend of all. All think of Him as their own; He never breaks anyone's heart. ||2||

The sage has no invariable mind of his own; he makes the mind of the people his mind. To those who are good (to me), I am good; and to those who are not good (to me), I am also good;—and thus (all) get to be good. To those who are sincere (with me), I am sincere; and to those who are not sincere (with me), I am also sincere;—and thus (all) get to be sincere. The sage has in the world an appearance of indecision, and keeps his mind in a state of indifference to all. The people all keep their eyes and ears directed to him, and he deals with them all as his children.

When a reconciliation is effected (between two parties) after a great animosity, there is sure to be a grudge remaining (in the mind of the one who was wrong). And how can this be beneficial (to the other)? Therefore (to guard against this), the sage keeps the left-hand portion of the record of the engagement, and does not insist on the (speedy) fulfilment of it by the other party. (So), he who has the attributes (of the Tao) regards (only) the conditions of the engagement, while he who has not those attributes regards only the conditions favourable to himself. In the Way of Heaven, there is no partiality of love; it is always on the side of the good man.

When the intelligent and animal souls are held together in one embrace, they can be kept from separating. When one gives undivided attention to the (vital) breath, and brings it to the utmost degree of pliancy, he can become as a (tender) babe. When he has cleansed away the most mysterious sights (of his imagination), he can become without a flaw. In loving the people and ruling the state, cannot he proceed without any (purpose of) action? In the opening and shutting of his gates of heaven, cannot he do so as a female bird? While his intelligence reaches in every direction, cannot he (appear to) be without knowledge? (The Tao) produces (all things) and nourishes them; it produces them and does not claim them as its own; it does all, and yet does not boast of it; it presides over all, and yet does not control them. This is what is called “The mysterious Quality” (of the Tao).