Beware of false friendships

It is often said, ‘Laugh and the world laughs with you; cry and you cry alone.’ Very true! However, what one must understand is that not everyone who laughs with you is also happy for you. Some of them could be enemies under the guise of friends, finding a way to jeopardise your joy.

A story from the Hitopadesha by Narayan Panditha captures this dimension of human mentality with a simple tale.

Once upon a time, a large pipal tree in ancient Ujjaini housed many nests of birds. One hot day, a weary traveler decided to rest under the tree. Towards the afternoon, the sun shone on his face. A swan that was perched on one of the lower branches noticed this.

He felt compassionate towards the sleeping man. So he positioned himself above the traveler’s face, spread his wings, and shielded the person’s visage from the hot rays of the sun. The man continued to rest peacefully.

An hour passed. A crow noticed the open wings of his friend. He perched himself beside the swan. He was amused by the swan’s activity. He teased the water bird. However, the swan continued to extend his unsolicited service. The crow became jealous of his thoughtful friend. The sight of the contented man irritated him. He shuffled the branches restlessly and returned to the side of his friend. In a while, the man woke up. He stretched and yawned.

The crow seemed to have been waiting for this opportune moment. He quickly relieved himself on the man’s face and flew away in a trice. The swan was appalled by the act. Even before he could gather his wits, the enraged man looked up. He saw the swan fold his wings. He assumed that the swan was responsible for the disgusting happening. He stoned the avian to death.

It feels so unfair that the swan had to pay with his life for being unconditionally kind and thoughtful to an utter stranger. Superficially, the reader also feels a kind of righteous anger towards the traveler who killed the very bird that took care of his needs so very graciously. However, the author points out in a relevant shloka that it was the company of the crow that killed the swan. Hence, we must be wary of whom we befriend, lest we land in a soup.