Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Be a servant,not a master



23rd Psalm says,“The lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”  If we make God our custodian in a true sense, we will not be in dearth of anything. But God becomes your custodian only, if you accept the concept to serve others. That means, you have to follow the tenet to become a servant and serve others and pray to Lord accordingly. Some people from the very beginning of their existence follow this principle, whereas some others want to be always masters and dictate their terms. They take pride in those roles, ultimately causing conflicts, difference in opinion, ambiguities, clashes and then loss of peace. The inclination of becoming a servant to anybody and for anything may be practically not that feasible, but approaching this route and follow the similar pattern of thinking will be always a gleeful proposition in life. We know all these philosophical concepts of ideal living. But most of us wait for the fag end of the life to accept this philosophy. We live in a competitive and fiercely mud slinging environment, where powerful people want to dominate others. These powerful people by dint of their strength, money, fame, reputation and followers want to mollycoddle others and decide how the others will lead their lives. In short, they like to dominate others as their masters. Though the number of masters or the persons who always want to be masters are predominately more, but universe supports and like the people who serve others gladly without expecting anything in return.  In common terminology, we mean the so called servants as low class, menial workers and less qualified rather illiterate and poor people. Here the meaning of servant is altogether different. These people are the rich in their hearts and minds who unconditionally provide their services to others and their only mission is to serve others selflessly. Of course,their numbers are less. Most of the time, we find people who are very much inclined to serve others, but for that they expect a reward. There are people who like to serve others only for love. If these numbers get increased, then the society will be a haven of paradise. 

We all are devotees of God. We serve God, visit temples, chant hymns, keep fast and make ourselves busy in contemplative prayers. In the broader sense, we are the servants of God and have to bring happiness to others. When you present a gift to a person out of your affection, you are bringing a smile to his face. Further, when you show your sympathy or help  others who are in distress, when you guide some students to help them to pass in their exams and when you extend your nursing help to some ailing person; your all these  services for noble causes, are acts of good gestures. You are broadly a servant, but you are a hero, who deserves respect and love.  Why we call such types of people as servants?  On the contrary, we must extend our best wishes and paying them homage for the excellent work they do. These people carry out their services  without any ulterior motives.  They do what needs to be done in a particular situation. They do not want any kudos or accolades or medals for their selfless services.  They only think to render their services to others, whether the same are required or not from them. This “servant mentality” is one of the unique qualities of mankind. The people, who possess these qualities, are blessed with God’s profound blessings and they are always at peace and in love for others. People who counter this servant mentality because of their inflated ego and excessive pride for their name, fame, wealth and power, fall through many times during their tenure of survival in this world. They suffer miserably, but do not want to accept the fact to become a servant to others needs. 

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As stated,there are people, who have taken this “servant mentality” in their lives and serve people in their respective capacities. Those enlightened souls are, namely Swami Vivekananda and Ramkrishna Paramhans. They used to take pride to embrace upon the servant approach in life. In today’s glamorous and artificial world, there are many God loving people who continually battle against poverty, illiteracy and superstition,but they always feel happy. These noble souls exist, though not plenty are the real reasons for not our mass downfall. Because of these people and their good deeds, God is pleased and not shackling  us with terrible sufferings and pains. Further, God acknowledges the services of these noble souls and make this world a beautiful place, so that we are able to live cogently and peacefully. Some people always feel that they have a mission in life.  Out of these some people, a few discovers this truth at the fag end of their life, and the remaining paltry numbers  realize this fact at an early stage.  From the early stage of their life, they question “Can I serve others?”, “Can I bring little pleasure to some people while sharing my shelter, bread and clothes with them?” and “Can I help the people who are terribly sick?”  These services may not require an investment of considerable  money, it only requires  adequate mental power to serve others. If this approach does not come automatically, it is better to seek Divine grace to become a servant with an attitude to help others.  The concept must be to help the helpless so as to make them lifted upward. The human race has survived because of these people who engage in servicing others. Though they are very less in numbers, but this world does not survive because of the braggers who climbed the stairs of their lives  considering their own comforts and luxuries only. 

In today’s glamorous and malice prone society, we give more importance on achievement, power and positions. But this may not curb the motives of the people who are engaged in selfless services.  So, one should pray to God that let me have an aptitude and attitude to become a servant of someone in need. When these numbers grow means one becomes two, two become three and reach the level of infinity, we all will be servants to God. We all will follow the concept of servant mentality, and there will be no master.  In reality, this situation is remote, but if try and achieve an even smaller percentage of this desire, our this world will be a utopian society. 

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