Once upon a time, there was a Sanyasi. He used to visit all the kingdoms and preach people how to attain Moksha-Salvation. He was very revered across the masses and the classes equally due to his lucid language and beautiful conceptual depth.
He propagated that in order to attain Moksha one needs to follow Vairagya i.e., complete detachment. The rules to do so are:
One needs to give away everything he owns.
He should not have any desire on anything.
He should not think of the next minute.
He should not store anything for future.
He should not tell who he is to anyone and should do dhyaana (meditation) with peace and no desire.
The preaching of the Sanyasi were very good, however, were very difficult for people to understand the real context.
The pious King of Magadha was inspired by the teachings of the Sanyasi. He gave away his kingdom and went to the forest for Tapa (penance) with Vairagya. In the same manner, Kaambhoja king was also inspired and went to the forest for the same. He also gave away his kingdom and everything he had.
Both the kings met each other in the forests, but they did not open their identities to each other. They both used to go for bhiksha i.e., ask for alms for their food. According to the rules, they used to eat the food that day itself without storing it for future.
One day, they got only ganji (rice starch or rice soup). Kambhoja king commented to Magadha king that it would be better if there was some salt for the taste. Then the Magadha king told that he had some. The Kambhoja king questioned him “where did u get the salt from?”. The Magadha king replied that he had picked small amount of it from some lunch program to which he was called. He had taken some with him in case he needed in the journey.
Then the Kaambhoja king told Magadha king that he has given his whole empire but was unable to keep up the rule that they should not store anything for future. The Magadha king replied that Kambhoja king who also left his kingdom with ease was not able to control his taste. Both were shocked realizing that they broke the rules.
After a long discussion they realized that they have probably not understood the teachings of the Sanyasi. They themselves managed a Bhagvad Gita copy for themselves and got enlightened about the teachings of the Sanyasi.
They returned to their duties as kings and ruled with love, peace and harmony. They carried out all their responsibilities as kings towards their countrymen. But because of their penance and learnings from the forest, they were never involved in the material pleasures of being a king and were totally detached.
This brings 2 important teachings in my mind.
- As Krishna said once to Arjuna,” only the real learned and enlightened can understand the real meaning of someone’s teachings or scriptures. In order to understand the real meaning of the concepts one need to meditate, take practical experience and think in all directions and then reach to a conclusion.
- As taught by Krishna to Arjuna before the war of Mahabharata, one doesn’t need to go to the forest and to do penance to achieve Salvation. He can achieve it while doing all his duties, by being detached from the fruits and material pleasures.
In the 6th chapter of Bhagvad Gita, Lord Krishna Quotes:
अनाश्रितः कर्मफलं कार्यं कर्म करोति यः।
स सन्यासी च योगि च न निरग्निर्न चाक्रियः॥
Meaning: “He who does his duty without expecting the fruit of action is sanyasi and yogi both, and not the one who has simply renounced the fire or given up all activity.”
Lord Krishna through his teachings in his lifetime and the Bhagvad Gita has left such wonderful pearls of wisdom for the generation to come. These pearls enrich the human life and help in situations of dilemma or confusion. Also the Bhagvad Gita is practical in today’s modern context too.
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