Saturday, January 15, 2011

True Devotion

There are jewels hidden from the harsh eyes of the world. One such jewel of a person is an elderly man in his 80s. Hunchbacked with a walk at the pace of a turtle, this man's will power is beyond his ability in age. He makes his way to the gurudwara sahib twice a day by bus even in the minus 30 degree weather of this city just to catch a glimpse of his true love, just to serve at the feet of the one that cherishes him. Today was one of those freezing winter days where he made his way by the transit bus but we were lucky enough to catch him going home before he had the chance to get to the bus shelter. "Baba ji! We can drop you off at home we are going the same way!". He was apprehensive to say the least but finally he hopped into the back seat of our truck. After reaching his home, he folded his hand in graditude to us and slowly made his way over to his doorstep. We waited to see if he would get in. 5 minutes had passed and despite his efforts in ringing the doorbell, no one answered. He frantically dug through the pockets of his jacket and kurta only to realize he had left his keys inside the house. "Baba ji! Come sit in the truck, its very cold...come to our house until your family comes home". Our pleas continued for at least 10 minutes but he wouldnt budge. "NO! I'm fine, I'm not cold", he argued, "I'm not worried about the cold, only the one above worries about the cold". Mind you, this man had on no gloves, no scarf, no longjohns. In this weather, one could suffer from frostbite within minutes of exposure. He continued, "The one above me takes care of me, only He worries for me, please go home now and stop worrying about me". There was still an hour before his family would come home from work. My heart sank, how could we just leave him here? What if he freezes to death? It was clear that he was getting very agitated with us. What could be done? His trust in Waheguru was stronger than any plea we could've made to him. Eventually, we left. I can't stop feeling guilty about leaving him but I learned a very valuable lesson today about trusting God even in the most difficult situations. And to respect my elders. Elder abuse should never happen...give your parents and grandparents rides people! They shouldn't have to take the bus while you ride around in your car like an asshole. It doesnt matter how much they refuse because they want to feel independent...its YOUR duty to make sure they get to places safely.