Can You Give Some More Clarity About the Raaja Yoga Followed by King Janaka?

[A question by Shri Phani]

Swami replied: Rajayoga is a type of spiritual path. The word Raaja is related to quality called Rajas, which is the basis of the work (Rajah karmani...). Yoga means the attainment of grace of God by pleasing Him. Now, Rajayoga means attainment of grace of God through work. The work is of two types:- 1) Worldly work and 2) God’s work. You have to identify, which is worldly work and which is God’s work. You can attain the grace of God through God’s work only. Why God shall show grace on you if you are doing worldly work and not God’s work? But, before this, you have to clearly differentiate God’s work and worldly work.

Let us take king Janaka, who is attending the administration of his kingdom and an ordinary employee doing his professional work to earn livelihood for comparison. Administration of a kingdom is inevitable for king Janaka. Earning livelihood is also inevitable for the employee. The employee may not have backside ancestral property for livelihood so that he can do God’s work leaving the job. For him, job is essential to maintain life in his body. If life quits the body, he can’t do the God’s work, which is propagation of spiritual knowledge to bring peace in the world by which God will be immensely pleased. Hence, in his case doing job is also a part of God’s work only. We can straightly say that his job work is also God’s work. Let us take the case of another employee, who has sufficient support from backside due to lot of ancestral property. If he is also doing job, he has much desire to increase his wealth. Mentally, he is not fixed in God in complete sense. He is also doing God’s work in his leisure time. This employee is divided between world and God and his job work can’t be considered as God’s work because he is still attached to the worldly bonds like money and family. He is doing job to become richer and to make his family richer. Both the employees got the opportunity to do extra worldly work to earn more. If both leave God’s work and take up extra worldly work for more earning, for both, world is greater than God. Such extra worldly work is not Rajayoga and even the job work of the second employee is not Rajayoga. If both refuse the extra worldly work so that God’s work (propagation) is not affected, the first employee is 100% in God’s work only and the second employee is 50% in God’s work. There is a third employee, who never cares about God’s work and is always craving for extra worldly work to become richer and richer and to make his family more and more rich. Such fellow is totally materialistic and is 100% in worldly work and 0% in God’s work. Very careful analysis of all parameters is necessary to decide, which is God’s work and which is worldly work. Let us take the case of a special devotee, who is 100% involved in God’s work (propagation), you can’t say that he/she is 100% involved in God’s work by external observation. He may be doing God’s work to earn more money and fame. In such case, all his God’s work is worldly work only. The external work can’t say whether it is God’s work or worldly work unless the internal mind is analysed. Based on the internal intention, worldly work may be God’s work and God’s work may be worldly work.

King Janaka continued as king even in old age because he had no sons and he could not find a proper person for the kingship. Moreover, the public was very much rigid that only king Janaka must continue as king. The administration became inevitable. He was forced by public to do the administration. As far as possible, he was participating in spiritual debates and discussions of sages only. His mind was completely absorbed in God only. He was totally detached from the administration and with the blessings of God, he was functioning as an excellent king! He is totally detached to the throne and was living like a lotus flower in lake without affected by the external water (Padmapatramivaambhasaa— Gita). The sages conducted a test regarding his detachment. When he was present in a spiritual debate, he was informed that his city called Mithila caught fire. At once he replied “Let it burn, nothing of mine is burnt” (mithilaayaam pradagdhaayaam...). Such kingship of Janaka was also treated as God’s work only and not worldly work. The kingship was in the interest of good administration of the city so that sins are controlled and works of merit are encouraged and this is also for the pleasure of God. The kingship was not due to any personal interest. Inevitable good work to bring peace in the society is also God’s work. Such inevitable work shall not be left, which is also a part of propagation of spiritual knowledge only (niyatam kuru karma tvam... Gita). The intention of mind decides the colour of work and unless the intention is free of aspiration for any selfish-fruit in return, the word yoga can’t exist there and the person can’t be called yogii (Nahyasamnyastasamkalpo, yogi bhavati kashchana... Gita). If one is not Yogii, he can’t be called Rajayogii. If one is not a human being, you can’t call him preacher or Guru! This means that unless your work is not related to God either directly or indirectly, it can’t be called Rajayoga. When you are earning your livelihood, it is also Rajayoga because without that the life can’t be maintained to do God’s work. If you are doing God’s work with aspiration for some worldly fruit in return, such God’s work is not Rajayoga.

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