Life is a dream – Story
Janaka Maharaja was sleeping one night.
He then had a dream in which he dreams of being a beggar in great difficulty. In his dream, he was suffering.
Then it didn’t seem like a dream to him. It was like reality.
Startled, he screamed “Narayana”.
Then, he woke up.
When he woke up, everything had changed. The man who was a beggar a few seconds ago was now a king.
This continued for several days.
He strives not to become a beggar in his dreams every night when he sleeps.
If he wakes up during the day, he will be a king with all the comforts.
A great doubt dawned on the king Janaka.
“Did I dream of being a king and a beggar?
Or am I dreaming of being a beggar and now a king?”
He asked many people like Minister and Rajaguru. No one knew the answer. That doubt was gnawing at his mind.
“Am I a beggar or king?” he kept asking.
Then he made an announcement saying that he would give a great reward to those who would solve their doubts.
All the scholars from the country came. Scholars, sages and sellers of the Vedas all came from distant lands. No one could answer.
A sage came to that country from a distant place
His name was Ashtavakra Maharishi. His body is curved in 8 angles. That is because when he was in his mother’s womb, his father, who was an immatured person, would recite the Vedas with mistakes.
Then the great wise child in the womb could not bear to hear it and turn its body. In this way the body was turned 8 times and the name “Ashta Vakra” was given.
Ashtavakra Maharishi came to Janaka’s court after hearing Janaka’s question.
There was a large gathering of scholars in the hall. No one knows the answer
“Is there no one to answer my question?” Janaka asked in agony.
“I say,” said Ashtavakra.
The entire court looked back at him.
The pundits started laughing the second they saw him dwarf, black, etc,.
What would it be like if someone came to the church with a crooked body? Everyone fell over laughing.
Ashtavakra stood silent until the laughter broke out.
“Tell me if you know the answer to my question,” asked Janaka eagerly.
“I tell you. Before that, the leather merchants in the council,
“Send the butchers out too,” said Ashta Vakkar.
“What do you mean? This is a council of scholars. There is no butcher or leather merchant here,” said Janaka.
“There is no such thing as a scholar here. All the people here are butchers and leather traders,” said Ashtavaka.
The congregation was furious.
“What’s so arrogant about this monkey?” Rajaguru shouted.
“Wash this man who insulted the scholars of the Vedas,” shouted everyone.
“Why did you say that?” Janakar asked sympathetically.
“Shall we call learned scholars butchers?” he asked.
Ashtavakra replied in a loud voice.
“Oh man! I said I will answer your question. The whole congregation laughed at me. Why did they laugh? Did they laugh at my lack of wisdom? Did they laugh at my misinterpretation? No. They did not laugh at this. They laughed at my image. They judged me and my knowledge by the color of my skin and the shape of my body. Are they leather traders who determine my worth by my skin? It is the leather trader who fixes the price of the goat’s skin based on the color of the skin. It is the butcher who estimate the price of a goat by its image. They also judged me in the same way. That’s why I called them leather traders. What is the business of leather traders in a council where there should be pundits? That is why I asked them to go out,”
Ashtavakra explained nicely.
The humiliated Pandits bowed their heads and left the congregation.
Janaka also knew that the visited person was a great sage. With great humility he sat at his feet and asked for the answer to his doubt.
Ashtavakra’s preaching to Janaka is known as Ashtavakra Gita.
Janaka who received that instruction became a great sage from that day. What was Maharishi’s explanation that solved Janakar’s doubts?
Simple. Life is a dream. He explained like this:
“It’s a dream when you sleep. The life is a dream. Both your royal life and beggar life are not true. Do not be happy to be a king. That happiness goes away when you sleep. Don’t feel sorry for being a beggar. If you die, that regret will disappear. He said this life is too unstable to scream to be the same at any stage.”
(DISABLED HEART – STORY! READ HERE!)