Is This Real, Or Was That Real-Inward Journey Series
How long has it been? It seems like forever! The news about an entire city in China dealing with an epidemic and then it slowly spreading to different countries, and then, “boom”! It is everywhere and has affected everybody’s life. We have all been living in this disrupted reality for a long time now.
Or, is it all a dream? A nightmare! I have woken up on many mornings hoping it was all a nightmare and that everything is actually just the way it was. People going about their lives just the way they had planned. Those in the northern hemisphere looking forward to summer, and those in the southern hemisphere preparing for the winter.
All of us have wondered during those quiet moments at home : “Is this real, or was that real?”
Have you heard about the famous story of King Janaka’s Dream? Let me type down a condensed version of that story for you here:
King Janaka was a very learned and pious king of the kingdom of Videha in India. He was a brave king who was well versed in the religious texts, and led a spiritually enlightened life.
One night, KIng Janaka was awakened by the guards. The guard told King Janaka that the enemy had attacked the Kingdom and they had to start defending. He called the generals and the entire army and they went out to the war. The battle soon turned very ugly and King Janaka got captured and taken to the enemy camp. The enemy king decided to send King Janaka into exile. He was thrown out of the kingdom, hungry, wounded and defeated.
King Janaka walked for a long time, and reached the neighboring kingdom. He found a kitchen feeding the poor and the homeless. He was tired, unhappy, and depressed . He asked the staff there for some food, and was given the last bit of the food that was left in the kitchen. King Janaka sat in a corner to eat. But before he could eat it, a big bird that was circling in the sky , swooped down and knocked the bowl from his hand. King Janaka couldn’t take it anymore. He collapsed on the ground.
King Janaka cried out loud, and sat up on his bed.
The guards in the palace ran into his room asking him if everything was alright. That is when he realized it was all a nightmare.
King Janaka got very upset over the dream and kept asking “Was that real or is this real”. The king spent many sleepless nights and days. He kept asking everyone “Is this real or was that real.”
Sage Ashtavakra who was passing through the kingdom heard about the king’s confusion and decided to meet up with the king. He asked the king how he was doing and the king repeated his confusion to the sage.
The sage asked, “That horror, defeat, and suffering, is that here now?”
The King replied, “No.”
“And this power, army, kingdom and royalty etc, was this there when you were rolling in the dust there?
The king replied, “No.”
“Then O’ emperor , neither this. nor that is real.”
“Then, what is real?”
“Did you experience everything then? Are you experiencing this now?”
“Yes.”
“So then, neither that, nor this is real. YOU are real. You, the consciousness /awareness which is experiencing this and that is REAL. “
THAT THOU ART.
That was the beginning of the journey of true enlightenment for King Janaka.
When all of this is over and we start leading a life that is different from this, we will probably still wonder- “ Is this real, or was that real?”
Wishing everyone the wisdom of that collective consciousness that we will all discover in due course.
More From The Inward Journey Series:
Introduction
He Is Everywhere
Letting Go
Thank You
Relocation
Learn To Hiss
A Musk Deer
Speaking The Mind
Comments
Lovely Deepa!
Thought provoking….. which is the real thing?
Loved the story of King Janaka. Didn’t know about it before. 😊
Thanks Radhika. There are many such stories about King Janaka apparently.
It does seem like a never-ending nightmare. First we were supposed to be on lock down for two weeks. Then it was another month. Now it’s “Indefinite.” It is a new reality for sure, and a very bad one!
Yes it is..