The more I become aware of inner self-the more I see a correlation between my personality and the way I drive. What I have tried to do here is to share experiences of some friends and myself.
I would start the drive to work by listening to English pop and rock. After a few minutes I was on a high, my body all charged up, thoughts jumping from one issue to another. I would feel excited and a release of toxic chemicals into my system. I used to drive fast, change lanes frequently and honk if the car in front of me was moving slowly. I would enter office either in high spirits or very irritated. My secretary Anita observed that sometimes I walked in briskly or otherwise.
Times - perspectives change, age catches up. I started experimenting with different types of music. From Deep Purple and Dire Straits, moved on to English instrumental, Indian classical, evergreen melodies by HMV and discourses by Swami Parthsarthy. Unexpected things happened. The music had a soothing effect; I became relaxed, drove at an ok pace and stopped getting unnecessarily irritated. My mind would be at peace, I began to think about the previous day at work, what went wrong; corrections required and subconsciously prepared a To Do list for the day.
The serenity made me more aware of my inner self. It made me think clearly and remove the veil of ignorance. I became content, began to enjoy the 10 kms drive and accepted Mumbai’s traffic jams as a part of the city’s lifestyle. Now, I walk into office with evenly paced strides and a relaxed look. With time, my brightest ideas have come to me while driving.
Quoting a friend “You listen to rock music when you are younger because you do not want your blood to pump. It’s almost sexual. Driving fast then becomesaway to release that energy - which in turn pumps more adrenaline. I think all this is latent sexuality that wants its release in various forms”.
Another friend said, “One day I was driving down Marine Drive. I wasn't angry, just normal. Then some idiot swerved in front of me, not to be outdone I drove aggressively. For the next 1 km, I was angrily muttering under my breath, cursing the driver and got worked up. A friend asked why I was burning my own blood. Instead of
being aggressive in return, I should just let these bad/aggressive drivers pass. I would remain "shaant-cool".
The next time someone was aggro, I let it pass. And I was amazed by how calm and peaceful I was. I said to myself "what an idiot that driver is. Some day he will die”.
Another friend does not drive faster than 40 kms. He is cool nothing ruffles him. One of the reasons that he drives slowly is the fear of having an accident if he were to drive fast.People change lanes for various reasons. One could be that they are impatient by nature and in a hurry, like to reach their destinations quickly. Two is they are blatantly opportunistic by nature; they will grab anything that comes their way scruples be damned. Three is that they are actually in a hurry and use an indicator to indicate their genuineness. Four is that they are confused; they are not sure in life what they want to do, keep oscillating like a pendulum. Surely there are many more.
Display of Aggression.
Let me share my evolution. My first car was a Maruti 800. While wriggling my way through Mumbai’s traffic jams, overtaking I would first see which car was coming from the other direction. If it were a car that was more expensive than mine I would go straight ahead aware that the owner of say an Opel Astra would never risk hitting my car. But whom was I scared off? A Premier Padmini, an Ambassador or a Contessa. Aah, if it were one of Mumbai’s B.E.S.T. buses I would keep a safe distance.
As a reflection of my personality it said that I would take the battle into the enemy’s camp if I were on a stronger wicket but was practical enough to give in when the opposition was tougher than I was. If I were fighting an enemy as a member of the Indian armed forces, would think differently, however. There it is a matter of national pride.
Disturbed state of mind
There have been times when I was upset or disturbed yet drove the car. In hindsight those were dangerous times. I would drive very fast and break signals often. A couple of times I missed having an accident by a whisker.
Distracted Mind
Driving is very easy if we are to concentrate on it. Take this example. The advertisement on the hoarding seemed interesting. While driving I began reading the hoarding. The next thing I knew was that I had hit a Contessa head on damaging my car’s bonnet badly.
What I lacked was the power of concentration. As I realized, lack of focussed attention leads to lower productivity at work. Thanks to hefty garage bills and the power of Yoga, things have changed.
Am I a Decisive person – breaking a Red Light?
This thought arose from a recent observation. There were two cars racing to cross the signal that had turned yellow about to turn red. The first driver was uncertain whether he should break the signal or stop. I saw him slowing down when the green sign changed to yellow but then suddenly, there was a rush of blood and he crossed the signal. Poor guy, by the time he had made up his mind, the signal was red and was fined by the cops thereafter. The second driver used his judgement to know how much time it would take to cross. Having done so, he moved into the fifth gear to cross in the nick of time.
What this observation showed that driver 2 is a risk taker. He is not a speculator but careful, sensible who would take a decision only after evaluating the pros and cons of the matter. Having taken a decision he would empower himself and move ahead for the kill. There is a possibility that he might fail but he was prepared for both failure and success. On the other hand, driver one comes across as indecisive, averse to taking risk wants to be there but lacks what is takes to do so. He is the type who moves back and forth without the necessary confidence. If you had to hire either of these gentlemen, who would you? Do you think the type of job would effect your decision?
Buddy, this analysis and paralysis of the subject is fine, but how must I drive?
Dear, there is nothing like this is the best way to drive. My thoughts –
While driving to work I listen to English or Indian instrumental music, melodious songs of the types of Lata Mangeshwar, Hemant Kumar, discourses of a Guru or mantras like the Gayatri. It makes my mind calm and I look within. I begin the day with an uncluttered mind. What was a problem last evening gets resolved easily today. I am relaxed and content with Mumbai’s crowded roads, the attitude being that Mumbai has good power, telephone, and public transport facilities but bad traffic. Accept the city in totality because we cannot get everything we want in life. I walk into office with even strides and a relaxed look.
I do not drive too fast or too slow, average 60 kms per hour. Change lanes only after looking in the rear mirror and use an indicator. I am so involved with the music that getting upset with a co-driver is a rarity. I listen to different types of music so that I do not get bored. Surely when the roads are empty, I do zip once in a while.
My secretary, Anita is unhappy now. Earlier she could figure out the mood I was in every morning. Now!
While driving back home, I am invariably tired or stressed out. If its only the former I cheer myself up by listening to English pop, rock or some R D Burman / Shammi Kapoor numbers. If it is the latter, am back to some instrumental / classical music.
Earlier, when I was on a high would listen to loud music or drive fast. Since one cannot be on a high forever, I used to feel low soon thereafter. Now, I always try to drive at the same speed indicating my desire to be in a state of perpetual happiness unaffected by success and failures in life.
A reasonably suitable analogy would be the three Gunas, Sattwic, Rajas and Tamas corresponding to driving speeds of 60, 80, 40 kms per hour. Simply put, sattwic is the balanced type at 60 kms, rajas is the high energy; activity type at 80 kms and tamas is the dull, exceedingly cool type at 40 kms.
