The Driver

I waited a long time to post this, to keep it anonymous. The story was so impactful to those around me, that I felt it needed to be shared. It speaks to the depths of which Waheguru acts; the intricacies of every interaction. We meet people we are meant to meet, at the exact moments, and there is something so perfectly coordinated about it. 

I was out of town. It was a beautiful day and I wanted to go to the Gurdwara, which was an extremely long way from my hotel. I sat there on the bed debating whether to take multiple buses, the train, or a taxi. I had this singular thought that today someone really needs this money, so I decided to take a taxi. As soon as I got into the car, he told me “It is a rare person who thinks of another as you have.” I was shocked right-away as I hadn’t said anything to him yet and somehow, he had read my mind as this being the reason I took a taxi instead of a train. He went on to explain that the money spent on a trip like today, isn’t about this life, but about the spiritual life. He said he wasn’t sure if I believed in that, because he thought about 1:1000 people perhaps understood that singular statement and even believed in a spiritual life. 

He was an older Muslim man. He asked me about Sikhi, commenting about the love between Hazrat (Sian) Mian Mir and Guru Nanak Dev Ji. I was happy to explain the tenets of Sikhi, and we shared and learned about each other’s religions. It was great learning for both of us and lasted for a great deal of time. He spoke of the pains of a community so deeply affected post 9/11. Already up until then it had been an enlightening trip. Towards the end of the trip he asked me what I do. I said I was a doctor. He asked a request of me, he said to try to help those who are poor. He said in the Canadian system he understands perhaps we don’t really work for “free”, but to give then those earnings to those in poverty. I said of course. I didn’t think twice of his request, this is what I have set out to do with my life, serve the underserved. We regularly pool our money as a family for specific projects for impoverished families like medications, education, helping young women get married, etc. I didn’t think too deeply of what he said in the moment. 

As the drive was over, we pulled over. As the taxi stopped, he fell into the most painful sobs that broke my heart. He explained that his father had died when he was just a child as they were living in poverty and could not afford his treatment. Oh, how he remembered his father! I cried with him. We were no longer Sikh or Muslim. The tears rolled for the stories untold like his. He told me he had waited for so long to tell this to someone, but he told me because I was a doctor and I could do something for those families. He asked me to make a promise, and on the day of death that he would remember me and make sure I followed through on my promise. He would challenge me then if I did not. I promise, I promise, I promise.