In plain words
Only through friendship does man either rise to a higher level or sink to a lower one!
Īśvara Himself, whose family is the universe, is teaching unity to the universe. So unity is essential. But unity in what? There must be unity in what is good. There must be no unity in bad feeling and bad deeds. Such bad things we must put far from us. There we want no unity at all. The reason is that we would spoil our own purity. Only through friendship does man either rise to a higher level or sink to a lower one. So they said, Tell me your company, I shall tell you what you are. Only according to the company we keep do good and bad cling to us. I have said this many times. Dust lies on the ground; if it makes friends with the wind, it goes up. If it makes friends with water, it goes down into a pit. It has no legs to go down and no wings to fly up. Such is the bond of friendship! For the people of today too, this friendship alone is the cause of rising to a higher level or sinking to a lower one. Today, in My view, there are no true friends, in the world! People make friends with their own selfishness and their own advantage in view. If they need any help: “Hello! Hello!” they say, and come close. The moment that job is done, they do not even say goodbye. So long as there is water in the pond, frogs come and gather in thousands. When the water dries up, not one frog stays there. So long as you are young and full of strength and ability, with plenty of money in your pocket and your father in a good position: “Hello! Hello!” everyone comes and gathers round. Suppose the paisa in your pocket has run out and your father has retired! Then no one will look at you. When you come along, they go off by another road. All of them make friends with you only for their own selfish ends!