When one cultivates friendship without paying heed to any of the society strata, then he makes friends for life and friends who can give their own life for his sake. The same is very true to the gentle nature of friendship in Shri Ram where he made friends for life. Where the society was divided on the base of different sections, Shri Ram was the one who had no divisions and his friendship was above all the norms of the society.
Shri Ram was the main source of guidance for his brothers’ thus making friends right from home. He cared for them and loved them dearly and resolved conflicts between them. He shared his innermost feelings on Mata Sita with Lakshman treating him as his confidant and a friend. He was a dear friend to Mata Sita and showed that a husband is the most trusted aide a wife has.
Shri Ram never decided friends based on the community which he belonged to. Remembering his childhood friendship with the tribal king Nishad Raj, he fondly accepts his hospitality. He makes friendship with Kewat by respecting his profession and requesting him to ferry them across the river, rather than showing the authority as the price of Ayodhya. He accepts Shabari’s fruits just as a son and proves that a son is the greatest friend of a mother. Shri Ram put aside the society made norm that one had to develop friendship only with the people of their own clan, and removed all inequalities of the society with his noble behaviour towards all in the society.
In the Nava Vidha Bhakti, Firnedhsip too is a form of devotion. Shri Ram accepts this devotion when it came in the form from different genres of animal forms like the bird, monkey and a bear. He respects Jatayu’s friendship as his father and liberates him from the cycle of birth and death for his ultimate sacfrice. He wins back the kingdom of Kishkinda for the promise given to his friend Sugriv. Shri Ram regards Jambavant as his wise counsel and sought time to time advice from Jambavant in the strategies of war. For Shri Ram, it was never a question of concern that which genre did the friend belong to, the only concern was as to how he could help them out as a friend.
The most sensitive feature of friendship is trust. It is the quality on which a friendship starts nurtures and stands firm. Shri Ram gave respect to this quality by trusting a person from the enemy’s camp. He not only makes Vibhishan his confidant, but promises him the throne of Lanka for his virtuos nature. Shri Ram does not pay heed to his own life and saves Vibhishan in the battlefield from the disastrous blow of Ravan. With this Shri Ram set out an example that friendship should not be done on terms and conditions, but with trust on each other.
Shri Ram proves that friendship is the most valuable asset one can earn in life through his behaviour. Shri Ram did not seek friendship as an alliance or treaty or for any self-benefit, but saw to it that his friends were benefitted through him in their lives. He aptly proves that to make a friend, is be one.