Chapter 17
Yajnyawalkya stepped into the inner chamber of Janaka’s palace after the attendant had announced his arrival. Janaka got up to receive him and led him to the seat specially arranged for him. Janaka looked at Yajnyawalkya. There was no sign of humility in Yajnyawalkya. He walked with a steady step and sat down.
Janaka viewed Yajnyawalkya with an intrigued curiosity. He was eagerly waiting for a sign of psychological debility in Yajnyawalkya's demeanor which might possibly give him the right moment to start the process of unveiling the man.
Janaka cast a glance in Yajnyawalkya's direction. Both looked at each other at the same time like adversaries ready for a duel. Janaka, obviously, was the more relaxed of the two, since the privilege of the initiative was with him.
They exchanged no pleasantries, not even a smile. Janaka got up and paced up and down the room to relieve the tension of the grim silence. He eyed Yajnyawalkya once again before speaking. He found him sitting unmoved but alert.
“The last symposium had ended rather on an inconclusive note; don't you think so?' he asked.
“What kind of a conclusion did you expect?”
Yajnyawalkya asked in return.
Janaka realized once again that this man could be elusive without being evasive.
“Is it possible to know 'Brahma,’ the Ultimate?”
“Have you come across anyone who professes to know?”
“Yes, there have been several! In fact, all those who argued with you at the symposium, have been interviewed by me individually and have been asked the same question.”
“What did they say?”
“Well, they all tried to explain to me what they knew.”
“Does that not entitle you to say that you know 'Brahma?”
Janaka laughed; it was not a mocking, derisive laughter. It was the laughter of a man who finds himself at ease because he no longer has to put up a face. It was the laughter which a man enjoys only in the company of a kindred soul! Yajnyawalkya realized it. But he also knew that camaraderie struck in such desultory moments becomes a mockery of itself unless an attempt is made to give it a purpose.
After a brief moment of introspection Janaka said, 'It is always possible to imagine what one cannot see directly.'
'Well, that entitles me to opinions, not knowledge; does it not?' Yajnyawalkya said.
Janaka reflected upon this and said, 'There must be a region of consciousness where I should be able to affirm what I know to be true. Tell me Yajnyawalkya, have you reached that region?'
“We do not have to reach it. It is there in all of us. In fact, you are speaking to me just now from that very core of being. You may doubt everything else, but you do not doubt the “I” in you.”
Janaka’s eyes travelled along the edge of the mattress where Yajnyawalkya was seated. Then he eyed him probingly. How different he seemed from the Yajnyawalkya of the symposium! He was himself, inimitable in his awareness of himself!
The royal impulse to subdue the opponent drove Janaka to think of a suitable stance to dislodge him. But restoring to a stance would have been confessing to his own defeat. A stance can be defeated by a stance, a self cannot be.
Janaka felt amused when he realized that one cannot unmask others unless one removes the mask from one's self, and one is not prepared to remove it unless one is sure that the other is not wearing one either.
Janaka smiled and said, “Yes, I do sometimes! Sometimes I do doubt the “I” in me. I go on removing one mask after another only to find a fresh one growing underneath. At this rate, I fear, I may end up in a void instead of reaching the 'I'.
Yajnyawalkya looked up. He found Janaka gazing steadily at some invisible point. There was no anguish, no spiritual uncertainty in his eyes. Yajnyawalkya held his breath and continued to watch. There was no forlornness in Janaka's voice. There was an amused nonchalance as though he had played a game long enough and mastered it, but secretly yearned to give it up. There was no conscious attempt at communication, not even an awareness of another's presence; it was as though he had absorbed it into his own. For a moment, Yajnyawalkya felt something loosening in his own heart. Janaka suddenly collected himself and turned to look at Yajnyawalkya. He expected a silent mockery from Yajnyawalkya, but was a little surprised to find an alert listener. In an unguarded moment the marks fell and it was difficult for both to don them again. It was like entering into the solitude of an inner chamber and suddenly finding oneself face to face with another entrant there.
Janaka tried to pick up the thread of the conversation anew, but he could not do it without getting up and going a little nearer to Yajnyawalkya. He extended his hand to him. Yajnyawalkya got up and took it in his own. They stared, trying to read deeper into each other.
Janaka said simply,”I want to learn from you. Will you teach me what you do know; not what you have to accept as true because it is thought to be true. I want you to speak to me about what you know of the Self.”
Yajnyawalkya disentangled himself before making any answer. This was not the bland dialectics of the symposium, to be resolved by logic. He folded his hands across his chest and mused.
“I cannot solve your problems for you, and I am sure you don't need my help in solving them. I can merely give you the equipment for knowledge. I will not give you knowledge, because it cannot be given. I will teach you, if this can be called teaching, but not if you expect me to go down on my knees before you. Do not expect me to be your protege or serf. You don't have to elevate me to the pedestal either. Stay beside me as a friend.”
“Agreed,” said Janaka.
After Yajnyawalkya was gone, Janaka realized that it was Yajnyawalkya who had scored a victory once again.
Yajnyawalkya agreed to stay with Janaka as his preceptor on condition that he be allowed to go back to his hermitage when he felt that he had fulfilled the purpose of his stay at Videha and was no longer needed by Janaka.
His meetings with Janaka were unscheduled and infrequent. They both learnt to respect each other's separate identity and ego, but an imperceptible barrier still separated them.
Yajnyawalkya had to spend most of his time in answering the questions of the priests regarding the protocol of the various types of rituals of the sacrifice. He grew tired of bartering and trading in knowledge. He felt he was being used by various types of people. Janaka used him as a tool for analysis. He asked Yajnyawalkya to sit with him through long sessions of negotiations with the envoys of other kingdoms. After the sessions he would consult Yajnyawalkya about the advisability of trusting them.
Janaka's capacity for observing and storing what he saw was amazing. But more amazing was his ability to recall and synthesize what he had stored in memory.
Mostly his own evaluation of a person would not be at variance with that of Yajnyawalkya. But Janaka was more interested in watching Yajnyawalkya's mind engaged in observing, analyzing and reflecting upon experience.
Yajnyawalkya never reasoned with his emotions, nor did he allow them to cloud reason. His imagination had the accuracy of an expert marksman taking a shot in the dark. But he did not relish the power that came with this ability. Janaka would have sacrificed his whole kingdom to acquire such intellectual prowess.
Janaka's engrossment with the statecraft kept him away from Yajnyawalkya for long intervals in spite of his will. Yajnyawalkya had made a commitment to an emperor. So he had to stay on to honor it, no matter whether its purpose was fulfilled or not.
It was a strange captivity, without the captive being dependent on the captor. There was freedom; yet he could not use it. He was neither fettered nor confined; yet he had to submit to a power, however friendly.
Sometimes, when alone, he used to doubt if he existed to himself. He found no difference between himself and a professional ambassador who used the gift of speech to obtain benefits, not for himself, but for his master.
Disgust, exasperation, weariness: all mingled to produce a profound distrust of what he was doing with life. He struggled in vain against the necessity to submit.
Yajnyawalkya stepped into the inner chamber of Janaka’s palace after the attendant had announced his arrival. Janaka got up to receive him and led him to the seat specially arranged for him. Janaka looked at Yajnyawalkya. There was no sign of humility in Yajnyawalkya. He walked with a steady step and sat down.
Janaka viewed Yajnyawalkya with an intrigued curiosity. He was eagerly waiting for a sign of psychological debility in Yajnyawalkya's demeanor which might possibly give him the right moment to start the process of unveiling the man.
Janaka cast a glance in Yajnyawalkya's direction. Both looked at each other at the same time like adversaries ready for a duel. Janaka, obviously, was the more relaxed of the two, since the privilege of the initiative was with him.
They exchanged no pleasantries, not even a smile. Janaka got up and paced up and down the room to relieve the tension of the grim silence. He eyed Yajnyawalkya once again before speaking. He found him sitting unmoved but alert.
“The last symposium had ended rather on an inconclusive note; don't you think so?' he asked.
“What kind of a conclusion did you expect?”
Yajnyawalkya asked in return.
Janaka realized once again that this man could be elusive without being evasive.
“Is it possible to know 'Brahma,’ the Ultimate?”
“Have you come across anyone who professes to know?”
“Yes, there have been several! In fact, all those who argued with you at the symposium, have been interviewed by me individually and have been asked the same question.”
“What did they say?”
“Well, they all tried to explain to me what they knew.”
“Does that not entitle you to say that you know 'Brahma?”
Janaka laughed; it was not a mocking, derisive laughter. It was the laughter of a man who finds himself at ease because he no longer has to put up a face. It was the laughter which a man enjoys only in the company of a kindred soul! Yajnyawalkya realized it. But he also knew that camaraderie struck in such desultory moments becomes a mockery of itself unless an attempt is made to give it a purpose.
After a brief moment of introspection Janaka said, 'It is always possible to imagine what one cannot see directly.'
'Well, that entitles me to opinions, not knowledge; does it not?' Yajnyawalkya said.
Janaka reflected upon this and said, 'There must be a region of consciousness where I should be able to affirm what I know to be true. Tell me Yajnyawalkya, have you reached that region?'
“We do not have to reach it. It is there in all of us. In fact, you are speaking to me just now from that very core of being. You may doubt everything else, but you do not doubt the “I” in you.”
Janaka’s eyes travelled along the edge of the mattress where Yajnyawalkya was seated. Then he eyed him probingly. How different he seemed from the Yajnyawalkya of the symposium! He was himself, inimitable in his awareness of himself!
The royal impulse to subdue the opponent drove Janaka to think of a suitable stance to dislodge him. But restoring to a stance would have been confessing to his own defeat. A stance can be defeated by a stance, a self cannot be.
Janaka felt amused when he realized that one cannot unmask others unless one removes the mask from one's self, and one is not prepared to remove it unless one is sure that the other is not wearing one either.
Janaka smiled and said, “Yes, I do sometimes! Sometimes I do doubt the “I” in me. I go on removing one mask after another only to find a fresh one growing underneath. At this rate, I fear, I may end up in a void instead of reaching the 'I'.
Yajnyawalkya looked up. He found Janaka gazing steadily at some invisible point. There was no anguish, no spiritual uncertainty in his eyes. Yajnyawalkya held his breath and continued to watch. There was no forlornness in Janaka's voice. There was an amused nonchalance as though he had played a game long enough and mastered it, but secretly yearned to give it up. There was no conscious attempt at communication, not even an awareness of another's presence; it was as though he had absorbed it into his own. For a moment, Yajnyawalkya felt something loosening in his own heart. Janaka suddenly collected himself and turned to look at Yajnyawalkya. He expected a silent mockery from Yajnyawalkya, but was a little surprised to find an alert listener. In an unguarded moment the marks fell and it was difficult for both to don them again. It was like entering into the solitude of an inner chamber and suddenly finding oneself face to face with another entrant there.
Janaka tried to pick up the thread of the conversation anew, but he could not do it without getting up and going a little nearer to Yajnyawalkya. He extended his hand to him. Yajnyawalkya got up and took it in his own. They stared, trying to read deeper into each other.
Janaka said simply,”I want to learn from you. Will you teach me what you do know; not what you have to accept as true because it is thought to be true. I want you to speak to me about what you know of the Self.”
Yajnyawalkya disentangled himself before making any answer. This was not the bland dialectics of the symposium, to be resolved by logic. He folded his hands across his chest and mused.
“I cannot solve your problems for you, and I am sure you don't need my help in solving them. I can merely give you the equipment for knowledge. I will not give you knowledge, because it cannot be given. I will teach you, if this can be called teaching, but not if you expect me to go down on my knees before you. Do not expect me to be your protege or serf. You don't have to elevate me to the pedestal either. Stay beside me as a friend.”
“Agreed,” said Janaka.
After Yajnyawalkya was gone, Janaka realized that it was Yajnyawalkya who had scored a victory once again.
Yajnyawalkya agreed to stay with Janaka as his preceptor on condition that he be allowed to go back to his hermitage when he felt that he had fulfilled the purpose of his stay at Videha and was no longer needed by Janaka.
His meetings with Janaka were unscheduled and infrequent. They both learnt to respect each other's separate identity and ego, but an imperceptible barrier still separated them.
Yajnyawalkya had to spend most of his time in answering the questions of the priests regarding the protocol of the various types of rituals of the sacrifice. He grew tired of bartering and trading in knowledge. He felt he was being used by various types of people. Janaka used him as a tool for analysis. He asked Yajnyawalkya to sit with him through long sessions of negotiations with the envoys of other kingdoms. After the sessions he would consult Yajnyawalkya about the advisability of trusting them.
Janaka's capacity for observing and storing what he saw was amazing. But more amazing was his ability to recall and synthesize what he had stored in memory.
Mostly his own evaluation of a person would not be at variance with that of Yajnyawalkya. But Janaka was more interested in watching Yajnyawalkya's mind engaged in observing, analyzing and reflecting upon experience.
Yajnyawalkya never reasoned with his emotions, nor did he allow them to cloud reason. His imagination had the accuracy of an expert marksman taking a shot in the dark. But he did not relish the power that came with this ability. Janaka would have sacrificed his whole kingdom to acquire such intellectual prowess.
Janaka's engrossment with the statecraft kept him away from Yajnyawalkya for long intervals in spite of his will. Yajnyawalkya had made a commitment to an emperor. So he had to stay on to honor it, no matter whether its purpose was fulfilled or not.
It was a strange captivity, without the captive being dependent on the captor. There was freedom; yet he could not use it. He was neither fettered nor confined; yet he had to submit to a power, however friendly.
Sometimes, when alone, he used to doubt if he existed to himself. He found no difference between himself and a professional ambassador who used the gift of speech to obtain benefits, not for himself, but for his master.
Disgust, exasperation, weariness: all mingled to produce a profound distrust of what he was doing with life. He struggled in vain against the necessity to submit.
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