Question: Could You please explain the story of King Janaka and the oil lamp?
Babaji:
We tell this story because always householders ask how they can live in the world. I myself chose to live the life of a monk, but actually apart from not having my own children, I still had to perform all the other duties just like any normal householder would have to perform. Swamiji told me to keep my mind on God. So without getting mentally disturbed, I simply went about my duties and kept the mind on God. If I was working in the kitchen, I kept my mind on the work I was doing and also thought of God. Just as Saint Kabir, who was a householder and a weaver, he would be weaving, but kept His mind tuned into the thought of God by singing of God as he wove the cloth.
The story goes that Shuka Maharishi, the son of the great sage Veda Vyasa, was a bachelor and a great Self-Realized soul, who always lived in his father’s ashram. King Janaka was a great king ruling a huge kingdom, but he was also a Self-Realized soul. Now Shuka was living in the ashram and always kept his mind tuned to God, but he began to think, “How can Janaka, who is a busy king ruling a kingdom, still keep his consciousness tuned to God ?” He asks his father, Vyasa, to explain this to him, but Vyasa says that because he is Shuka’s father, Shuka is likely to not take proper note of and pay proper attention to his words. So he suggests that Shuka approach Janaka directly with his question. Here in the story, the importance of a Guru and proper respect and attention to the Guru’s teachings, is emphasized. So Vyasa instructs his son to go to King Janaka and humbly ask for this teaching.
When Shuka first came to the court, Janaka tested his ability and dedication. He ordered that his servants shouldn’t let him in, shouldn’t offer any food, even water. He waited thus for 3 days. At this time, Janaka asked the servants how Shuka was behaving, and they said that he was standing quietly and peacefully and that there was no anger on his face, and that he had told them that he understood that they were simply following the king’s orders.
On hearing this, Janaka was very pleased, and went and welcomed the sage with all reverence as was usually done in those days, with the washing of his feet and the offering of flowers. Janaka took him inside the court and asked him what was his desire. Shuka replied, “It is appropriate that, as I have adopted you as my Guru, I should come to you to ask how you can attend to your duties, while still keeping the mind on God?” Janaka replied, “I will definitely answer your question, but just now I am caught up in some business of the kingdom and don’t have the time available to answer fully and completely such an important question. I will answer your question later, but just now, while I am busy, for a while, go around on a tour of the city and see how things are. Only I would ask that as you go, you should carry this oil lamp on your head, and be careful that you do not spill any oil, or let the lamp fall.”
So Shuka went off for his tour of inspection of the city, and when he returned, the king asked him, “How did you find the city?” To this Shuka replied, “How can I tell you? My eyes were watching the things going on in the city, but my mind was all the time on the lamp. I am unable to answer your question properly.”
King Janaka then said, “In the same way, I am able to tune into God consciousness, even when I attend to my worldly duties. The mind simply executes it’s duties.”
Swamiji used to tell us, “Do your duties, but keep the mind in God consciousness.”
