Palanisamy was a born second fiddler. The world is prejudiced against seconders.. They always cheer the flashy leaders. A leader is born no doubt. But a perfect leader will foul it all up if he or she does not happily chance to attract his or her perfectly matching follower. And a perfect second-in-command, if he or she does meet his or her leader, comes to grief. Rare is a leader and rarer, a real follower.
Palaniswami was fortunate to have come across Avinashilingam.
Avinashi had the knack of attracting Palanisamy types in many fields he worked.
Shudra means a man or woman who excels in service sector. A perfect air hostess is a real Shudra. Event managers, hotel managers, and such are perfect shudras. They know how to service and please. If you please with an eye on money you are a mix of Shudra and Vaishya.
To Palanisamy money was secondary. He got pleasure out of the trust he enjoyed from his leader, all successive leaders. He exulted in his loyalty. His loyalty was his wine.
He knew in his heart that service is for realizing the peace within. His intellect wouldn’t have the ability to express it. But his heart could say it with it’s own words.
Did thoughts of money enter his mind ? He entertained them lightly at times. But his heart said this is his place and this is his vocation. Then his intellect got its act together and supplied the reasons.
It listed the reasons of staying put. Progress may be slow here but sure. Things may not be flashy here but they are steady. People may not promise the moon here but they are solid and deliver whatever earthy thing they promise.
Perhaps he had had too many roller-coaster rides in his previous lives. A bit of steady quiet would do for this life.
After all this life style of his had made life modestly comfortable for his aged parents as long as they lasted, had kept his wife and son out of poverty and had put the whole gear of his surroundings in a steady santa bhava, a peaceful mode.
Peace was around him. No hot temper could ruffle him. So many different individuals, all with their own individualities, had interacted with him. He gave perfect service to all.
Whatever he was allowed to serve and give, he gave with that cooling ambience that he wore.
Greatness is seen in every little act of the great, says Swami Vivekananda. His great qualities hovered around him. But all greatnesses do now awe and overwhelm.
For, his was the greatness of a perfect servant. A service professional who served for the sake of service and love to his or her leader.
Can a follower or servant be consistently loyal if he serves a mere man or woman ?
He or she must see beyond human frailties to carry on with his or her loyalty.
Palanisamy’s surroundings helped him to have that sight. His heart saw the divine in his leader, in his surroundings and in all he served. His intellect couldn’t say it in so many fine words but his heart knew this.
This is as it ought to be. A perfect servant or follower is to serve and follow, not to give learned expositions on his or her service.
But beware of the perfect servant. A rub in the wrong way, a really too wrong a way, will bring his energies to an explosive head.
For his heart knows that he is after all a prince playing the part of a servant to get an award for a side role. He had won many awards playing the lead roles. So now, he, for the sake of it, wants to try his hand at a servant role.
His heart knows all this. But he won’t say it or doesn’t know that his heart knows it.
Loud talking compromises his role. Sweet, silent service is the act he has opted for, for now. He will review his performance at the end of it and decide about the next role or whether to quit acting. That time is not yet.
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