The Value Of Good Association Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

Tell me, who your friends are,
"I'll then tell who you are? "
This saying almost everyone knows,
But how many people follow this?

A calf in the company of pigs,
What it'll eat is a wild guess.
But a thread that makes garlands
Also smells like those flowers.

The rain that drops in one's palm
Becomes fit to be taken by him,
But when it falls into a gutter,
Fits not even to wash his feet better.

It'll evaporate with no use,
When it falls on a hot surface,
On an oyster, it becomes a pearl,
And on a lotus, it shines beautiful.

"Associate with men of good heart, "
So said Swami Vivekananda on his part,
"That'll give you an experience to gain
Of your own inner transformation."