A true friend is one who never deserts you. He sticks to you all the time whether it is the time of happiness or sorrow. He is an inseparable companion even in the midst of great distress, in poverty and in other forms of misfortune. False friends are fair weather companions. They always knock at your door when you are rich or affluent and have enough and to spare. They are with our intimates of good fortune marked by plentifulness and prosperity and desert in rough weather. True friends, like books, stay with you till the end of your life.  It is difficult to have a choice of a true friend. There are so many evil forces working in our society that one may easily fall prey to evil company and get spoiled. A true friend gives a direction, works like a beacon-light to move on the right path. You are known by the company you keep, the people you move with. Therefore, it is necessary to judge people correctly. True friendship is marked by a sense of honesty and unselfishness. A true friend is one who is prepared even to sacrifice his life for the sake of his friend and prepared to meet all kinds of dangers and difficulties. There should be no disbelief, no suspicion in friendship. Importance of True Friends: With great efforts you may succeed in getting a true friend to make him a lifelong companion. But it is very difficult to maintain friendship. What is necessary is patience, a sense of tolerance. You may not love someone and agree with him in all respects but can certainly afford to tolerate him. The things which form the basis of true friendship are, mutual trust and togetherness so that you forget your mutual otherness and come closer together, love from the deep hearts core, understanding and appreciation of each other’s views., fellow-feeling, sympathy, broad-mindedness, service and sacrifice. It is always difficult to cultivate these virtues but for keeping up friendship in the true sense of the term, it is desirable. Falsehood is such an attractive grap from outside that it is not always possible to know its true nature. Appearance is not always the reality. All that glitters is not gold. One cannot know the inside of somebody looking from outside. Most people are selfish by nature and tend to deceive others to achieve their objective, and gratify their self interest. It is necessary to guard against such persons and know who are true and who are false. A true friend works life God’s good angel and means good only. He makes a leap forward to come to your rescue even at the cost of his own life. A man should have a humanistic approach to life. He should try to be a friend to all and enemy of none. Friendship is a divine thing on earth that is nourishing and life-giving. It lifts you above smallness, pettiness and narrow, selfish considerations to realize the true meaning of life in togetherness.