It was a beautiful cloudy evening in January 1995 as beautiful it can get in Chandigarh.I was enjoying my drive towards SAS Nagar on Udayan Path as I did at least thrice a week to see a very dear friend who resided in Phase 7.Although not the shortest route it definitely used to be the one with much lesser number of vehicles in those days. It was about 1900 hrs. and there was hardly any traffic. On the road leading to where the AG colony stands today I saw a Maruti car parked on the opposite side of the road with five men standing around it waving for me to stop. Like everybody else I thought twice and opted to carry on but as I looked in the rear view mirror I could feel their frustration and I turned back from the next round about to the delight of these people. They were travelling to New Delhi to see off one of their fellow passengers who was to take a flight abroad later that night. At least two of them were a bit drunk but all of them were desperate as time was little. Their problem was a flat tyre but bigger trouble was that they did not have a spare or any of the necessary stuff to fix it. My ’77 model Fiat could be of little help even if I decided to loan them the parts and one of them requested for a lift to sector 42 where he lived to get all that they needed. I was not time bound and volunteered to help them in any way I could. Within the next forty-five minute we had the tyre changed somehow and after some warm hugs and whiff of alcohol in their breath they carried on their journey. I did not think much of this and days passed lazily as usual till it was July that year and I remembered this incident with frustration, anger and an argument.
Imagine yourself standing with a broken down car in the middle of the road just beyond the Railway Station crossing in the direction of Chandigarh .This being one of the busiest road at about 1730 hours my same old but dependable Fiat’s engine died down suddenly and the most I could do was get it next to the curb [thankfully ]. Although I had been driving for a long time I had no experience of the mechanism and even common problems of the car engine [this holds true even now].Such a busy road and I was certain there would be lots of people to help out and I started signalling selectively to only Fiat cars [there were still loads around in those days] to be fair really. In twenty minutes I found myself frantically waving down every vehicle passing and soon it came down to trying and stop cycles as well but nobody seemed to care. It was at this stage I was suddenly reminded of this particular incident. In anguish and frustration I told myself off for sticking to the old Fiat in spite of having been offered to change the vehicle by my father. Then under my breath I also said,” Guru Gobind Singh Ji this is not fair. I was made to help somebody and now when I need it, there is none.” And I just stopped waving down at the people and sat down on the bonnet of the car thinking about what to do next, a bit reluctant to leave the car there.
Hardly two minutes would have passed by when I saw a Maruti van stop beside my parked car and the front passenger leaning out of the vehicle requested me for directions to Gurdwara Sukh Sagar. Telling him vaguely about it in a disinterested tone I did not even mention my plight until the driver of the van himself asked me. The next moment he parked his vehicle in front of mine and the two of them were intently looking at my car’s engine knowing what they were doing. In no time he found the problem to be a wire from the accelerator which had fallen out of place and since it wasn’t broken he could set it right within two minutes! It was then for the first time that I noticed them to be in their twenties and wearing Siropas [small turbans] on their heads. There were other people in the van, some women and at least two other men all dressed in traditional Punjabi attire. What happened next made the hair stand at the back of my neck and gave me a cold sweat. After thanking them with all my heart we had already said Sat Sri Akal when one of them came back to me and offered me Parasad saying,” We are actually going around all the Gurdwaras in this region. We are coming back from Hem Kunt Sahib and this Parsad is from there.”
My earliest memories relating to religion are of my grandfather reading the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji especially on ‘Sangrand’ and it was absolutely necessary for all of the family to be present on this particular occasion every month. I remember, whether I wore a Cross in my neck or discussed about church all because I studied in a Christian school, there was no discouragement from my family and I was always taught that there is one God and all humanity is the same no matter what route is taken, the true message of Guru Granth Sahib. It was only later on that I developed interest in my parent religion and the more I read about it the more my faith grew. Some of the memories are also from the ‘Sakhis’ told and retold by everybody at home. I still do not understand much of what I read mostly because of lack of effort on my part and trying to balance the ‘other’ routine which becomes paramount as time goes by and one becomes entangled in survival leading to living , luxuries and hence competition. My faith has helped me at every step and fortunately I have family and friends who share my beliefs of Oneness of God and humanitarianism which keeps my faith alive all the more. We as a people [the ones who have gained so much] owe a lot to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, and it is our duty to spread The Message not as a religion but as a way of life, a routine, a commitment to humanity and environment, a responsibility to the building and rebuilding of society’s complicated fabric. Complicated because not all of us are in a favourable situation and it is important to bear this in mind before judging one’s character as is important to keep faith even in the worst of times.
Let us pray for all of humanity to be tolerant, compassionate, loving and understanding and starting at root level of our relationships build a way to perfection in our lifetime. We have the best of guide in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
Imagine yourself standing with a broken down car in the middle of the road just beyond the Railway Station crossing in the direction of Chandigarh .This being one of the busiest road at about 1730 hours my same old but dependable Fiat’s engine died down suddenly and the most I could do was get it next to the curb [thankfully ]. Although I had been driving for a long time I had no experience of the mechanism and even common problems of the car engine [this holds true even now].Such a busy road and I was certain there would be lots of people to help out and I started signalling selectively to only Fiat cars [there were still loads around in those days] to be fair really. In twenty minutes I found myself frantically waving down every vehicle passing and soon it came down to trying and stop cycles as well but nobody seemed to care. It was at this stage I was suddenly reminded of this particular incident. In anguish and frustration I told myself off for sticking to the old Fiat in spite of having been offered to change the vehicle by my father. Then under my breath I also said,” Guru Gobind Singh Ji this is not fair. I was made to help somebody and now when I need it, there is none.” And I just stopped waving down at the people and sat down on the bonnet of the car thinking about what to do next, a bit reluctant to leave the car there.
Hardly two minutes would have passed by when I saw a Maruti van stop beside my parked car and the front passenger leaning out of the vehicle requested me for directions to Gurdwara Sukh Sagar. Telling him vaguely about it in a disinterested tone I did not even mention my plight until the driver of the van himself asked me. The next moment he parked his vehicle in front of mine and the two of them were intently looking at my car’s engine knowing what they were doing. In no time he found the problem to be a wire from the accelerator which had fallen out of place and since it wasn’t broken he could set it right within two minutes! It was then for the first time that I noticed them to be in their twenties and wearing Siropas [small turbans] on their heads. There were other people in the van, some women and at least two other men all dressed in traditional Punjabi attire. What happened next made the hair stand at the back of my neck and gave me a cold sweat. After thanking them with all my heart we had already said Sat Sri Akal when one of them came back to me and offered me Parasad saying,” We are actually going around all the Gurdwaras in this region. We are coming back from Hem Kunt Sahib and this Parsad is from there.”
My earliest memories relating to religion are of my grandfather reading the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji especially on ‘Sangrand’ and it was absolutely necessary for all of the family to be present on this particular occasion every month. I remember, whether I wore a Cross in my neck or discussed about church all because I studied in a Christian school, there was no discouragement from my family and I was always taught that there is one God and all humanity is the same no matter what route is taken, the true message of Guru Granth Sahib. It was only later on that I developed interest in my parent religion and the more I read about it the more my faith grew. Some of the memories are also from the ‘Sakhis’ told and retold by everybody at home. I still do not understand much of what I read mostly because of lack of effort on my part and trying to balance the ‘other’ routine which becomes paramount as time goes by and one becomes entangled in survival leading to living , luxuries and hence competition. My faith has helped me at every step and fortunately I have family and friends who share my beliefs of Oneness of God and humanitarianism which keeps my faith alive all the more. We as a people [the ones who have gained so much] owe a lot to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, and it is our duty to spread The Message not as a religion but as a way of life, a routine, a commitment to humanity and environment, a responsibility to the building and rebuilding of society’s complicated fabric. Complicated because not all of us are in a favourable situation and it is important to bear this in mind before judging one’s character as is important to keep faith even in the worst of times.
Let us pray for all of humanity to be tolerant, compassionate, loving and understanding and starting at root level of our relationships build a way to perfection in our lifetime. We have the best of guide in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
