Philosophical tradition speaks of two paramount philosopher-kings: Marcus Aurelius, emperor of Rome, in the West; and in the East, Janaka, wise and powerful ruler of Videha, a great kingdom in ancient India.

Although now part of the state of North Bikar with Mithila as its capital, in Janaka’s time the Videha region was a powerful realm unto itself.

Even more powerful, however, was Janaka's philosophical wisdom. Based on timeless truth, it continues undiminished to this day, preserved in part by stories and parables about his life and insights.

The following version of Janaka's perception of the unity of being is preserved in the form of a teaching tale. In the original presentation, Janaka achieves understanding through reflection alone, and his interlocutor is not Yajnavalkya but another great sage and advisor, Vasistha.

See Venkatesananda, S. Vasistha's Yoga. New York: State University of New York, 1993, pp. 204-22.

NARRATIVE

The great King Janaka had many important concerns before him day and night, but it was a part of his wisdom to open his court from time to time so that petitioners from among the people might be heard and receive both understanding and justice.

It was also a part of his wisdom to know that his own wisdom had its limits. Therefore he chose always to have his vizier, Yajnavalkya, a sagacious priest, with him at such hearings.

One afternoon, much fatigued by the doings of the day, Janaka dozed off for a second during a petitioner’s statement. In keeping with his nature as a warrior-king, however, he almost immediately recovered his attention. None other than Yajnavalkya could have noticed his brief lapse and Janaka came to a fair ruling in the matter before him with no harm done. But something strange had happened during that ever-so-brief instant when his attention varied -- something so important that the king spoke of it to his vizier just as soon as he could.

Janaka gave Yajnavalkya the following account:

There had been no ordinary lapse of attention. What had occurred was a startling shift of consciousness, in which Janaka was no longer a king but was and had always been a beggar. He knew all of his beggar relatives and the stories of their lives, and he knew his own life as a beggar in the same way. He had a wife and children and complete memories of their lives together. He had suffered great sadness and times of happiness, endured the loss of health and loved ones, survived onslaughts of men and nature. It was all absolutely real, completely convincing. Indeed, during that single second Janaka had lived an entire lifetime as the beggar.

After recounting this strange event Janaka inquired of his advisor, asking: “Tell me, O Yajnavalkya, am I the beggar or the king?” -- for truly he now knew himself as the one no less than as the other.

Yajnavalkya replied simply: “Lord! Thou art both -- and neither.”

And Janaka understood.

REFLECTION

Let us not go beyond this point just yet.

It is too common in our culture to move on before we ought to.

Stop now, instead, to savor the strangeness for a moment -- not only of Janaka’s experience but of Yajnavalkya’s reply, as well.

The savoring of strangeness is one way to allow a new attention within oneself. Let the strangeness have a little time to sink in a bit more. Let it make more of an impression on you in order to discover what comes of it..

We work very hard most of the time to ignore the strange, to discount it, or explain it away. When we attend to strangeness for what it is, however, it can help to wake us up from the dream of everyday life.

Try for a few moments not to see this teaching tale as just a story.

Instead, think of it as something which has just happened to you.

Many of us do have brief glimpses of something like this from time to time, especially just as we drop off to sleep in bed at night.

Janaka’s experience has just happened to you.

You can hardly deny it but you can hardly accept it either.

You have both reactions at once. It won’t fit your perceptual/conceptual framework--but having had the experience you can’t just ignore it, either.

Now just imagine being in that situation for a few minutes more before going further.

If you read on too soon, the interpretations which follow will tend to diminish your encounter with strangeness and color your own initial reflections.

It is better in fact to do nothing just now except to imagine Janaka’s experience as your own. Maybe it somehow already truly has been -- or someday will be.

Spend five or ten minutes with this exercise if you wish, and then move on.