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DISCOURSE 82
131
have a thorough knowledge of your friends and to develop intimacy only with those who are real friends. A friend in need is a friend indeed. Those who are prepared to make some sacrifices for us and who can bear with some difficulties or sorrows, for our sake, are our true friends.
LALAJI'S STORY
Lala Lajpat Rai was in the first rank of the great Indian leaders who fought for India's freedom from the British imperialism. I will narrate here an incident that took place in the life of Lala Lajpat Rai when he was a student. In Lalaji's class there was another student by name Gauriprasad. The two were very good friends. Gauri was an intelligent student. In the class, always, he used to secure the highest marks in all the tests and examinations. Lalaji used to get the second place. Lalaji desired to secure the first place and he began studying very hard.
There were two months for the annual examination. Gauri's mother fell ill. There was no one to attend on her except Gauri. Gauri did everything he could to serve his mother, yet his mother's illness did not abate. He spent two months in serving his mother. So, he could not prepare for the examination. The teachers and the other students thought that Lalaji would get the first place in the examination. But when the results were announced, Gauri himself had secured the first place. Lalaji had secured the second place. The teachers reviewed the answer papers of both the students. They found that Lalaji had left half the questions unanswered. They asked Lalaji why he had not answered all the questions. Lalaji said, “Dear sirs, Gauri is a poor student. He could not find time to study for the examination because he had to attend on his mother. If I secure the first place, he will not get a scholarship and he will not be able to continue his studies. So, I did not answer some questions, though I knew the answers. Kindly do not tell Gauri all this .... Gauri is my friend”.
The teacher's eyes were filled with tears of joy. He affectionately embraced Lalaji.
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