The Spare Tire
Imagine it’s early morning and you’re driving to work or school and suddenly you hear a POP! You pull over and realize — oh man, I have a flat tire. Are you shocked? Do you stress? Do you have a panic attack? Of course, you feel these emotions, but it’s short lived because you remember that you have a spare tire. In this desperate moment, you remember that spare tire only when you have a need for it — otherwise, it’s a distant thought.
Similarly, we’ve turned God into the spare tire of our lives. We only think of God when we need him.
When life is good, we forget the one who has given us everything. We start getting a sense of “I”-ness and “my”-ness, our egos build up, and we believe everything good in our lives is because of our own doings. Being blinded by the veil of prosperity, we become ungrateful and fail to recognize who the true catalyst of our success is.
In the Ramayana, there is a story of Sugriva, who, in exchange for killing his tyrant brother, King Vali, promised Ram Bhagwan that he would do everything in his power to help find Sita. Once Sugriva was made king of Kishkinda, Ram Bhagwan and Lakshman resorted to living in a large dry cave during the monsoon season and decided to remain there until the rains passed. Months passed and Sugriva completely forgot about his promise. He became too attached to the indulgences of being a king. He forgot the person who gave him everything — he forgot God.
Lakshman went to Kishkinda and reminded Sugriva that Ram Bhagwan was the one who had given him the throne. Sugriva came to his senses and completely devoted himself to Ram Bhagwan. When life is going well, and we have a sense of contentment, sometimes we need a nail in the road to remind us of that spare tire we keep in the back of our minds. A nail is a small thing that can have such a tremendous impact, yet we fail to realize how ungrateful we are that we’ve been protected from so many other nails in our lives — until we aren’t.
In another anecdote, the elephant Gajendra decided he wanted to pick lotus flowers to offer to Bhagwan Vishnu. He went to a nearby lake and started picking flowers and, suddenly, a crocodile attacked him and caught him by the leg. Gajendra immediately went into fight or flight mode. He tried to free himself, but to no avail. The members of his herd even came to help, but it all went in vain.
Realizing death was approaching, everyone left Gajendra alone. Against all odds, he did not give up the struggle to escape. With his last bit of hope and energy, Gajendra offered a lotus flower high in the air with his trunk as an offering to Bhagwan Vishnu. Hearing Gajendra’s prayer, Bhagwan Vishnu rushed to the scene and ultimately helped Gajendra escape the grasp of the crocodile.
But why did Gajendra remember God only as a last resort? The spare tire was always there… it was just a matter of remembering this.
On the other hand, Prahalad was the son of the cruel ruler Hiranyakashipu. Prahalad was devoted to Bhagwan Vishnu; however, his father believed himself to be a god. Prahalad constantly prayed to Bhagwan Vishnu, which angered Hiranyakashipu. Hiranyakashipu gave him the ultimatum: either stop praying to Bhagwan Vishnu and accept him as a god or face death. Facing a life-or-death situation, Prahalad remained steadfast and continued praying to Bhagwan Vishnu.
Hiranyakashipu realized Prahalad wouldn’t budge and so decided that he must die. Hiranyakashipu tried many times to kill Prahalad, poisoning him, having him trampled by elephants, injecting venom into him, drowning him, and burning him alive, but each time Prahalad prayed to Bhagwan Vishnu, and Bhagwan Vishnu protected him. Eventually Bhagwan Vishnu himself manifested in the form of Nrusinh Bhagwan and killed Hiranyakashipu, saving Prahalad.
But why do we treat God as a spare tire? Is it because we lack faith? Is it because we have a lack of understanding of God? Or is it because our arrogance is too busy trying to complete a checklist of all our wants and needs that are unfulfilled? We keep God at the bottom of that same checklist when in reality, he should be at the top.
But why should we put God at the top of that checklist? Why is it important to think of him regularly? It is because remembering God gives us balance and peace of mind. Remembering God gives us courage and a backbone to fight the negativity that often fills our life.
Not once did Prahalad feel a sense of insecurity or anxiety, because God was at the forefront of his thoughts. His devotion never wavered, and he remained steadfast. Not once did Prahalad think, “Maybe my father is right! Maybe I am the son of God. I should enjoy these luxuries and riches.” On the contrary, he had full conviction of who God really was and knew who his father wasn’t. He understood the real reason why he was being saved all those times. And his ultimate want was to please God.
Now, going back to the analogy of a spare tire, when you get a flat tire, you’ll remember your spare tire out of desperation. At an opportune moment, you’ll get your tire patched or resort to a brand-new tire and put the spare tire back in its dusty compartment. We should not think of God in this same way, but rather, should remember that he’s always there for us. When life is running smoothly or when life seems to have some turbulence, we should always remember the comfort, security, and sense of hope that God provides. The ‘spare’ tire is always there to spare us!
Darshan Patel, Charlotte, North Carolina
Senior Data Analyst
