Three Minutes Late

When Dr. V. K. Gokak finished his triumphant tour as Bhagavan’s ambassador to the Sathya Sai Centers of America, his California hostess, Elsie Cowan, scheduled his flight back to India for 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 7, 1974. But, for the first time in his life, Dr. Gokak was late and the plane departed minus one distinguished Indian passenger.

How could this be? Couldn’t Baba have delayed the plane for three minutes? Or could He not have prodded Hislop, the driver of Dr. Gokak’s car, to speed up a bit and gain a few minutes on the drive to the airport? Or, on the other hand, could it be possible that Baba put obstacles in the way of the driver in order to make Dr. Gokak late?

Some would say that missing the plane was just an accident. But what is an accident and why does an accident happen?

Mr. Hislop had resisted Mrs. Cowan’s proposal to leave Santa Ana at 5:30 in the morning, saying it was far too early for a short, 35-mile drive. And, indeed, there still should have been plenty of time to get to the airport. Even though Hislop and Dr. Gokak overslept a bit, Mrs. Cowan and Mrs. Hislop were up bright and early with coffee ready, and the party got away by six a.m.

The trip started out fine and for the first fifteen minutes the car sped along fast and easy. But then the trouble started. First traffic got as thick as glue. The highway became a huge parking lot filled with cars inching along a few feet at a time. The minutes and half-hours passed and the car made little progress. Each time the passengers looked at their watches, their temperatures rose another few degrees. The driver berated himself for not heeding Mrs. Cowan’s 5:30 a.m. starting schedule. Although the passengers were polite, it was easy to see that they had the same thought as the driver.

The slow pace became intolerable and the driver decided to leave the eight-lane highway and take a chance on unknown side streets. What a relief it was to get off the highway. The first side street was almost empty and the spirits of the passengers rose along with the higher speed of the car. Suddenly it seemed they would get to the airport on time.

But soon after the sigh of relief, a new, never-imagined obstacle arose. First, earth-bound highway vehicles had stopped all progress. And now the heavens themselves moved swiftly to maintain the level of resistance to the car’s progress. Southern California is a desert—dry, dry, dry. September through October is the dry brush-fire season. Yet, despite the season, it suddenly started to rain, not just rain—it poured down in torrents from a canopy of thunder and lightening flashes. The roads quickly became dangerously slippery and the opportunity to drive fast was immediately lost.

Still, at least the car was moving—but not for long. Now they had reached the inner city with its traffic-light system. One block of driving was followed by a red stop-signal. Another block and another stop-signal. Two minutes were lost at each stop-signal with miles still to go and only twenty minutes to plane departure.

By now even the calm Dr. Gokak was urging. “Speed up! Speed up!” And Mrs. Cowan urged, “Make the signals, I’ll pay the fine if a policeman stops you.” The fifth passenger, a delegate from Hawaii warned, “Talking to a policeman will take longer than the traffic signal.” But the driver, throwing caution to the wind, did step on the gas and the last few miles of his driving behavior was surely no model for law-abiding citizens.

At last they reached the airport. Dr. Gokak and Hislop left the parking of the car to the others, took their luggage and ran. Porters at the outer doors said, “Stop. You can’t make it.” The ticket officer, however, shouted encouragement, “Run! You may make it—even though I doubt it.”

As soon as the boarding ramp was in sight, the runners shouted, “Wait for us! We are here.” But the officers at the gate shook their heads, “Too late. The plane moved away from its mooring three minutes ago.”

Well, that was that. Dr. Gokak turned to the information office and asked the time of the next departure. Armed with this information, he and Hislop made their way toward the passenger lounge to sit down and wait for the others of the party to arrive.

Just at that moment, a man came running up and, somewhat out of breath from hurry, said, “Oh, Dr. Gokak, you are here. Thank goodness I caught you before you got on your plane. I have a letter from me to Baba and I prayed to Him that I would be able to make it to the airport in time to give you my letter to take Baba. Baba helped me. The highway traffic was terrible, but Baba must have cleared the way because I have got to you in time!”

Dr. Gokak and Hislop looked at each other and then broke into laughter. Dr Gokak said, “Well, here is the reason we missed the plane; here is the man responsible for it!”

The newly-arrived devotee started to ask questions. By this time the other three members of the party arrived after parking the car and heard the story. One person said, “What Baba will not do in order to please a devotee.” And someone else responded, “Yes, Baba will go to any length for a devotee, even to the extent of delaying other devotees!” This remark caused another round of laughter. Then everyone went to the airport cafe for breakfast and had a very pleasant and enjoyable visit talking of the glories of Baba and of His leelas. At ten a.m., the next plane was ready for departure and Dr. Gokak was wished an easy flight for his homeward trip to distant India.

~Hislop
 Source: Sanathana Sarathi, January 1975