OUR UNKNOWN FRIEND

He guides without coercing, hides without abandoning, watches without interfering, and loves without controlling.

by Gopīnātha Candra Dāsa

Before I entered into my teens, one of my predominant passions, which I can recollect, was for riding bicycles. I come from a middle-middle-class, more or less traditional rural family, and the major impediment to the fulfillment of this desire was the loving concern of my parents – “Will it be good for you?”, “Won’t it distract you from your studies?”, “See that you don’t hurt yourself,” etc.

Finally, when it was decided that we would buy a bicycle from the nearest town, 15 kilometers away, I was thrilled at the prospect of having the first major ride of my life through state and national highways while getting the new cycle home. Again, what came in the way was the ‘loving concern’ of my parents. But I was adamant – “I shall ride alone, and I dismiss any external aid. I want adventure.”

It was fun riding alone on the shining asphalt roads, being overtaken by a speeding automobile every few minutes. But the journey soon seemed to be lengthier than expected, until it seemed unending when the highway took an upward slope. My feet seemed to resist any more cycling motion. They preferred to walk instead, and I complied. Deep within, I wished that my father was by my side.

Just at that moment, a stranger who had been cycling all along, and whom I hadn’t noticed earlier, came forward and offered to help. I was pleasantly surprised to know that it was arranged by my father that he follow me from a distance. My father had foreseen my precarious situation.