It is known that the king of Mithila, Janaka, while fulfilling his worldly duties, such as governing the kingdom and caring for the needs of his subjects, found the opportunity to turn his thoughts entirely to the Divine.
At that time, the great rishi (holy sage) Shuka was teaching disciples in the forest near Mithilapur. Having learned about this, Janaka wanted to become Shuka’s student himself and attend his classes. He went into the forest, paid his respects to Shuka and said that he would like to be one of his many students and attend his lessons. From that day on, Janaka behaved like an ordinary student.
One day, when the king did not arrive on time, Shuka did not begin his lesson until Janaka appeared. He later told the students that this was the reason he delayed the lesson. However, when he asked the disciples to wait for Janaka, they began to murmur and whisper to each other that they had come to the great sage, confident that he did not give his special attention to kings and other powerful personalities. From that day on, their faith in the guru began to weaken; In addition, they were also jealous of King Janaka.
As soon as Shuka noticed their envy and jealousy, he decided to teach them a lesson. By the power of suggestion, he made them see that the whole of Mithila was on fire. Then each of them began to think about the consequences, about what happened to their homes. And they rushed into the city to at least save something. But King Janaka did not even move, did not move from his place. Shuka told him that the flames seemed to have reached the palace and he needed to run and save its inhabitants. Janaka just smiled, thinking that everything is in the will of God and no one can change it. The envious students, rushing into the city, saw that there was no fire and that all this was a fiction, a game of illusion. Returning back and telling Shuka about this, they were amazed at Janaka's fortitude. Shuka, looking at the students who were full of envy, said that it is better to have one student firmly committed to the truth than many who do not have steadfastness of mind.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru