The fragrance of friendliness

Osho says friendship is a ship that sinks.

Friends meditating at OSHO International Meditation Resort

 A word used loosely and too often dilutes its significance. Take the word 'friend': now there are facebook friends, twitter friends or mobile friends. It creates an illusion that the world is full of friends but in the true sense they are just acquaintances. In the modern lifestyle friends don't come by easily for friendships need time and space to mature, just like an old wine does. It is the most unavailable species right now––I mean, the real freind. People are so hard pressed for time, how can they have the leisure and luxury of cultivating friends?

There was a time when friendship was treasured and nurtured; people were more humane perhaps. The modern man sees friendship as a tool to better oneself or using it for self gain. The proverbs like " a friend in need... " has stemmed from this mentality. Looking for people who will help oneself in the need is reducing the other to a commodity.

In this extrovert world having someone to whom they can trust and expose their hurts and wounds, who can guide them selflessly and be happy in their prosperity are a rare breed. Friend-ship has become a ship that sinks easily when the interests clash.

This is why Osho prefers the word friendliness to friendship. He says, "Friendship need not be addressed to anyone in particular; that is also a rotten idea, that you have to be friends with a certain person. Istead of creating friendship, create friendliness. Let it become a quality of your being, a climate that surrounds you, so you are friendly with whomsoever you come in contact."

Friendliness cannot be restricted to humans, it spreads like fragrance to the trees, flowers, birds and the whole of environment. The environment is crying for friendliness, seeking some healing and loving caress from more compassionate humans. But it is a forgotten language for the intellectual, mercenary human beings of today.

Please press the 'pause' button, stand still and look within. Do you see a glow of friendliness in the heart? It needs a heart as innocent and pure as children, that can rejoice in others' happiness, can share its own abundance. Meditation is the best way to purify the heart, weed out all the hatred and violence breeding inside and empty it to receive the new healing energy. This kind of heart can share its abundant love and friendliness. It will give without expecting anything in return, it will give without binding the other into a friend-ship.

Friendliness is a great privilege of mankind because it is not programed by biology. It needs a conscious resolution to rise above the narrow self-centeredness and evolve to a new level of consciousness.

Sadhana