King Janaka is considered to be one of the most virtuous kings that ever ruled one of the greatest Empires - Videha in the Indian subcontinent. He was highly revered and loved by his people. His people believed that he was the incarnation of God himself to rule as a sage. His saintly qualities such as non-attachment, knowledge of the scriptures, morality, and ethics, and his spiritual inclinations of Janaka made news across the contemporary Empires.
He always sought the guidance of realized souls such as Astavakra. Astavakra (Asta- eight, Vakra- contortions) was a guru-seer who had 8 contortions in his body, and therefore the name. He is a revered Vedic sage who was cursed by his grandfather furthermore parents’ guru when he was in the womb. It is said that Astavakra was a prodigy and had become the connoisseur of all the Vedas and its essence during his prenatal development.
King Janaka quite often sought spiritual guidance and Dharmic guidance as a King from Astavakra when needed. Astavakra regularly conducted spiritual discourses and Vedic sacrifices in his Ashram. Janaka always showed keen interest to be in presence of the great Sage Astavakra. The sage offered him a special seat next to him, on a slightly raised platform in front of all of his devotees and his disciples.
Upon seeing this, his disciples were a bit confused. Many thought that he was given undue importance for just being a King. On experiencing this repeatedly, the disciples grew restless and one of them asked the Sage, “ Oh! Lord, Why do you appropriate King Janaka a place to sit next to you while many of us who have been in the Spiritual journey for many long years no accorded any importance? Is it because he is a King and a ruler? We thought you would not give importance to wealth and power. We are bewildered! ”
The Blissful sage gently replied, “ The day will come and you will know the answer to your question.”
Days went. On a usual discourse morning, the gentle rays of the sun were falling on the faces of the disciples and the devotees. The air was crisp, and one could hear the pleasant chirping of the birds. The sage with his calm voice was expostulating the knowledge of Brahman. King Janaka was absorbed by the melody of Knowledge flowing through Sage’s lips.
All of sudden King Janaka could hear someone panting. He slightly lifted his head towards the right, raised his eyes, and saw his commander-in-chief terrified. He gently gestured to the commander, with a petite nod, to tell him the news. The commander gasping for breath said that the Royal Palace was blazing with fire and it needed his immediate attention. The King gently raised his hand and said, “ You go and do what is needed, I will come once the discourse is over.” As the discourse got over, the King left to undertake his work. Astavakra smiled.
After a month, while the discourse was happening the news came from one of the disciples that a pack of dogs was running away with their Dhotis- loose Indian trousers hung on the strings to dry. All at once, the disciples rose from their seats and hurried to snatch their trousers from the dog’s jaws. After the whole chaotic scene, the disciples came back to their seats. It took a while before the murmuring faded and the murmur, heavy breaths slowed down.
Sage Astavakra opened his mouth and said, “ Janaka is a King, his palace was on fire and was about to blaze into dust and smoke but he could remain peaceful and complete the discourse. His mind was in the state of samatvam - equanimity, and samah - equipoised amidst the most devastating time, the destruction of the greatest palace. And look at you, you ran for a piece of cloth. A piece of cloth took away your silence, it disturbed your spiritual practice. This is why he sits next to me.”
The highest quality of your work is to be detached from the fruits of your work, detached from possessions and power. One should remain aware of the inner truth irrespective of the outer happenings, and chaos. Humans achieve true freedom by clinging to the eternal aspect of existence that is deep-seated in ourselves. He is a true Yogi. When you are still clung to the outer movement of life, the ephemeral, superficial, something that wanes and wilts, you will suffer.