Divinity Accepts Service Done Both on Physical and Mind Level
Serving the Greatest Person
A simple village man once wanted to serve the greatest person. He approached the mayor of his town and asked to be given some work. While serving the mayor, the village man noticed the mayor giving tax money to a visitor. He asked who the visitor was, and the mayor told him that he was a representative of the governor. "Is the governor greater than you?" "Oh yes, he is greater than me," the mayor said. "Then I want to serve him," said the village man. The mayor appreciated the man's honesty and recommended him to the governor.
The village man served the governor for some time. Then one day a visitor arrived accompanied by some horsemen. The governor welcomed the visitor graciously and treated him with all respect. When he had a chance, the village man asked the governor who the visitor was. "He is the king's viceroy," said the governor. "And who is the king?" the man asked. "He is the ruler of the whole land," said the governor. "He is very great." "Is he greater than you?" the man asked. "Oh yes, I am just his servant." "Then I would like to serve him."
The village man was talented and so, to please the king, the governor sent the village man to him. The man served the king for some months, and then one day the king told him to ready the chariot. A great sage had arrived in the kingdom and the king wanted the sage's advice on how to rule. The village man watched as the king approached the saintly person and offered respect. The king then sat and listened to the sage discourse for some time. Then, as the king was preparing to return to his palace, the village man approached the sage and asked if he were the greatest person. The sage said, no, he was only a menial servant. "So please tell me, who is the greatest person?" "To find the greatest person, you must go to the temple of Narayana," the sage told him. Without a moments delay, the man set off walking.
It was evening when he arrived, and the temple doors were closed. The man knocked on the door for a long time. Finally a temple priest came and told him to go home and return the next day. Not having any place to go, the man lay down by the gate and went to sleep. Before sunrise, some brahmanas from a nearby village passed the temple and saw the man sleeping. They noticed that covering the man's body was one of the Deity's blankets. "He is a thief!" they said. In anger they woke the man and asked them where he got the blanket. The man was mystified and told them he did not know where the blanket had come from. The brahmanas then tried to open the temple door and discovered it was locked. They then realized that Lord Narayana Himself had placed the blanket over his servant to keep him warm while he slept. The brahmanas asked the man where he came from, and he told them his story. The man was then accepted into the temple and trained to serve the Deity. In this way the man came to serve the greatest person!
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