The Driver Who Was Not Afraid to Die

Recently, I was assigned an elderly driver, nearly eighty years old. Right away, he started saying that he never uses a seat belt. Not in the city. Not on the freeway. Not ever.

I asked him why.

He said calmly, “I haven’t worn one for forty years. I can’t get used to it.”

So I asked what seemed obvious: “Aren’t you afraid of a crash?”

He looked at me seriously and replied, “I would rather die than live mutilated for the rest of my life.”

Then he added, almost matter-of-factly: “Old age is misery. Diabetes. No sleep. Always running to the toilet. The body becomes suffering.”

There was no drama in his voice. Just clarity.

Krishna consciousness does not teach us to hate the body, nor to worship it, but to see it in real light: useful, temporary, and not fully under our control.

The driver was not eager to die. He was simply no longer under the illusion that the body could guarantee dignity or security forever. He was pretty convincing; he had some realization at least on this level.

It was a quiet reminder that real fearlessness does not come from controlling outcomes, but from understanding what we truly are beyond them. Yes, the spirit soul is above rules and regulations, yet it requires a convincing realization and a safe footing in the spiritual world identity.

Still, I tuck in my seat belt. I am afraid. Rakhe Krishna mareke, mare Krishna rakheke.