Most of us claim to have friends. We feel proud of them. There is no doubt that friends are our best solace in difficulties. One who has no friend. He is not a normal man. But then question arises who is friend. One who stands by us in rain or sunshine is, in reality, a friend. He can be called a true friend. He does not desert us when we face a difficult problem or when we are in adversity. He is always there by our sides to help and guide us for our betterment. He is firm as a pole star. It is he in whom we can confide all our secrets. It is he who never exploits our weaknesses, Nor ever he blackmails us . In some ways, he is better than even a close relative. In certain situations even our real brother or sister can go against us, but a true friend never abandon us . Think of the story of our great epic, The Mahabharata. Karan proves to be a true friend of a Prince Daryodana. He refuses to leave his friend at the time when he needs him the most. He fights on his against his brothers. He even forgets the question of right and wrong. He wants to prove that he is a good friend, and he does it by sacrificing his life . This is the supreme example of self sacrificing friend. Lord Krishna washes the dust laden feet of his poor friend Sudhama who comes to meet him , even through he is a King and the Lord of the Universe. He manages to provide him all kinds of worldly comforts. But then , history is replete with examples of men who betrayed their friends in need. In modern world of materialistic values , it is difficult to find true friends . A rich man has no dearth of friends. But moments he loses his riches , all his friends desert him, Such friends are never trustworthy. They don’t deserve to be called true friends. They are selfish and mean. It is always better to have one or two real friends rather than have an army of false friends. You are really very lucky if you have even one real friend who is your all time well wisher.