hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté
There is a story told about king janaka¹ with different accounts on how it is told. Yet the value in the story will be ( I hope) worthy of the read.
During court king janaka dozed off as he litened to a petitioner’s statement. Upon his sleep he dreamt he was a begger. It was quite vivid ( as the story goes).
He was aware of all his beggar relatives, their lives, and he knew his own life as a beggar in the same way. It was all absolutely real to him , completely convincing.
Upon his awakening, he looked to his guru ( one story says it was vaśiṣṭha-jī another yājñavalkya-ji) and said, am I a king or am I a begger?
To this his guru said , you are neither and you are both. He said, you are , and yet you are not what you think yourself to be.
You are because you behave accordingly; you are not because it does not last.
The wisdom is this - can you be a king or a begger forever? All must change. The guru said, you are what does not change.
He then asked the king, What are you ? The king responded , yes I am neither king or begger - I am the dispassioned witness of all ( Being).
Who are you ? yajvan; but for how long?
praṇām
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