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King Janaka of Mithila was a sishya (disciple) of sage Yajnavalkya. Though a king, he was totally detached in his attitude to kingship and its inherent advantages. He was hailed as a 'Raaja-Rishi', a sage and a king simultaneously. He performed his royal duties conscientiously and perfectly. However, he ensured that he did not develop any semblance of attachment towards anything attached to his regal position. He was truly a 'Royal Sage'!
Apparent preference for royalty
Sage Yajnavalkya liked Janaka very much. As the disciple was also a true speaker of spiritual knowledge, the preceptor went very much out of his way to impart all worthwhile knowledge to his favourite disciple. This was mistaken by the other sishyas who all thought, naturally, that Janaka was shown special preference only because of his exalted status. In their opinion, Janaka was no better than any of them in spiritual matters. They were all fretting and fuming and it became so obvious that the sage could not help noticing this. He could understand their feelings in proper perspective. All the same, he wanted to educate them properly. The sincerity and impartiality of the preceptor should never be doubted by his disciples. This was the lesson he wanted to impart to his disciples.
'Fire, fire!'
One day, when the sage was taking his usual class, a messenger rushed in, approached king Janaka and told him in a distressed voice that Mithila was on fire and the king's palace, his kith and kin, and all other possessions were in serious danger. King Janaka was unfazed and unmoved. He was not at all upset by this news of terrible catastrophe. He engaged himself in his spiritual pursuit with exemplary equanimity!
Disturbed disciples
The disciples, however, were quite disturbed. As their hermitage was very close to the city and the palace they felt that the raging fire, scalding heat of which they could already experience, would soon spread to the Ashram endangering life and property. Even though none of them had any property worth its name, they rushed out without so much as a 'by your leave, Sir!' They could only be obsessed with themselves and their interests alone!
Meaningless attachment and meaningful detachment!
Sage Yajnavalkya and sishya Janaka continued their discussions. Soon the disciples returned with shame writ large on their faces and conveyed to their guru that there was no fire at all, and it was only an illusion. They surmised that this illusion must have been created by their preceptor to test their true spirit. They had shown meaningless attachment to meagre possessions whereas king Janaka did not care less for royal property of inestimable value.
The royal-spiritual explanation
When Janaka was queried about his imperturbability in the face of apparent disaster he replied calmly, "Nothing belongs to me really. If there were fire, my ministers and attendants would have taken proper steps to extinguish it. What could I have done alone? I have no attachment to anything. I have faith in my officials. It is not as if I have abdicated my responsibilities. There is no way my kingdom could have caught fire so rapidly, so disastrously, without a cause too. The State is well protected. I did not trouble myself, therefore".
The sage looked at his sishyas meaningfully. They hung their heads in shame!
R Srinivasan
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