The divine co-passenger...

Over this weekend, I was listening to a talk by an enigmatic woman, who has been one of Swami Sathya Sai Baba's lifelong devotees. In it she quoted many incidents and related many personal anecdotes of her close association with Swami. One of them goes like this...

One time, her two sons were fighting to sit in the front seat of the car, next to their mother. She didn't want to take sides and said that neither of them could sit up front, because that seat was reserved for Swami, who was always with them. This ended the matter. Of course, when she said it, it was more a means to end the fight rather than said with any real conviction. This happened in the US where she resided. Some years later, when she went back to India and went to visit Swami, he recounted this incident and asked her...you say that seat in the front was for me, but it was littered with so many cassettes...where was the place for me to sit? This was asked in jest, but proves His omnipresence. And a subtle reminder that God is always there, watching over us, in everything we do....

Chicagoland has been facing some pretty fierce snow storms recently. Tonight is one such night. It started by late afternoon and there was a light buildup by the evening. R usually takes the bus from the train station. This evening, he had to work later than usual. So he asked me to pick him up. Now I hate driving in the snow. I get real nervous about it, because of the little accident that I underwent with Buddy last year. I am perpetually afraid to skid even a little. Well, you get the idea.

Compunding my existing fears was the little recorded message on my cellphone, from the Mayor of our city, warning us all to drive very carefully, as there was a shortage of road salt and hence its rationing and the roads were bound to be more slippery than usual. Great! This message came in just as I was about to leave and I regarded it rather morbidly at the time.

Anyways, we set off, and sure enough, the road within our community already had some cover of snow and was slippery enough for me to have to go real slow. I began to tense behind the wheel, anticipating that sharp left turn I would have to make just at the entrance of our community to get onto the main road. I drove on, and there were already 2 cars ahead of me waiting to make the turn. It took a while, as there was oncoming traffic from both sides and in those few minutes of waiting, a sudden thought took seed inside me.

I had been pretty intent on my job behind the wheel, and saw nothing but the task of that left turn ahead of me, when this thought came from nowhere. I remembered the little incident that that devotee had narrated, and looked at the empty seat next to me and thought.....Could it be true? And from the same place that this thought popped up from, came the absolute conviction....Yes, it is true. And I suddenly knew that I was not alone anymore. The realisation washed over me like warm, loving waves on this cold windswept night, and I just sunk into the bliss of the company.

Just then, an object caught my eye. My mp3 player sat on the seat next to me. I hurriedly put it away, and cleared up another CD cover and a box of Thambi's snacks from the seat. For if that were true, then all these things had no place littering that seat. And in the few minutes that it took me to do all these things, Buddy inched to the front of the queue. I was now the first in line to take that left turn.

There was still a steady stream of oncoming traffic. And this particular left turn makes me uncomfortable always because there are no traffic lights to regulate the flow. Neither is there a stop sign. Its one of those left turns where you yield to the main road traffic and communicate with the drivers from the opposite road, just by way of understanding. So if I were to be the first one to arrive at that junction, I would have the right of way, even if the opposite guy was making a shorter right turn. There have been many a times when the opposite driver would make the turn even as I was making mine and at such a speed that we'd almost seem to graze each other. A most annoying and scary proposition.

Tonight, in the wake of my new found faith, there was no need to fear anything here. For the driver on the opposite side gave me full right of way, and turned only after I had safely completed mine. What a relief....one big hurdle crossed! The traffic on the main road proceeded smoothly and at a safe speed. No crazy lunatics and no impatient drivers suddenly coming into my lane. And at another main light, I got the coveted green left arrow. To me that's always better than standing in the middle of the road on a green light, waiting to yield to oncoming traffic before making the turn, a small gnawing fear always that a speeding car will suddenly appear out of the blue and ram right into me (as the result of another almost near accident scenario). Yes, yes, I know I have a lot of subconscious road fears. Seeing that green left arrow giving me precedence to turn, was the next major hurdle that was made easy. Somehow every little thing on this drive seemed miraculous. And even that recorded call from the Mayor seemed like a friendly reminder rather than the morbid aftermath it had initially left me with.

I arrived at the station in good time, with still 2 minutes left to go before the train arrived. I found a nice spot to park, where R could find us easily. And then I looked at the parking lot. It stretched out before me, a smooth, white expanse of road. All the road markings were completely submerged in the beautiful fresh cover of snow. Just like a big white field...I thought to myself inspiredly. And that's when it hit me....white field...white field...Whitefield!!! Whitefield!!!

And that became the very pinnacle of this drive of miracles for me. Thank you, dear Co-Passenger, for taking me through all the hazards on the road and all the devilry in my mind so comfortingly.