Vitahavya - The Awakened King

Rama: "Venerable teacher, you have spoken of sages in caves, crows on mountaintops, and kings who renounced everything. But what of one who must rule? Can a king find liberation while still bearing the weight of a kingdom?"

Vasishtha: "This is the most practical question of all, Rama, for it is your question. Let me tell you of King Vitahavya, who ruled a vast kingdom and attained complete liberation without renouncing a single duty."

Rama: "How did he accomplish this?"

Vasishtha: "Vitahavya was a just king who fulfilled all his responsibilities—waging war when necessary, collecting taxes, dispensing justice, celebrating festivals. Outwardly, nothing distinguished him from other kings. But inwardly, a transformation had occurred. He had realized, through self-inquiry, that he was not the doer of any action."

Rama: "How can one act without being the doer?"

Vasishtha: "Observe the sun, Rama. It causes seeds to sprout, rivers to evaporate, colors to appear in flowers. Yet the sun does nothing intentionally—it simply shines according to its nature, and effects happen around it. Vitahavya realized he was like this. Actions arose through his body and mind according to circumstances, but there was no personal 'I' claiming credit or fearing blame."

Rama: "Did he not make decisions?"

Vasishtha: "Decisions appeared to be made. Wisdom arose when needed. Courage manifested in battle. Compassion flowed to those in need. But Vitahavya did not feel himself to be the source of these. He described it: 'I am the space in which all this happens. The kingdom appears in me; I do not appear in the kingdom. Wars arise and subside like weather. Justice flows like a river. I am the unchanging awareness in which all these changes take place.'"

Rama: "What about attachment to his family, his queen, his children?"

Vasishtha: "Love remained, deeper than before. But it was love without grasping. He loved his family as one loves the sunrise—fully, appreciatively, without trying to possess it. When his son asked him about death, Vitahavya said, 'What is born may die. But you are not what was born. You are the awareness in which birth and death both appear. Know this, and death loses its sting.'"

Rama: "How did his subjects respond to such a king?"

Vasishtha: "They flourished. A king free of personal desire has no need to exploit or deceive. His decisions arose from what was needed, not from ego-calculations. His ministers found him impossible to manipulate, for he had no self-interest to appeal to. Enemies found him impossible to frighten, for he had no fear of death. The kingdom prospered because its ruler was a hollow flute through which wisdom played."

Rama: "This is the model for me, then—to rule as Vitahavya ruled?"

Vasishtha: "Yes, Rama. You will be a king. You will face wars, injustices, difficulties of every kind. If you identify as the doer, these will burden you. If you rest as the awareness in which all this appears, you will act decisively yet remain at peace. This is the jivanmukta—the one liberated while living. He walks through fire without being burned, moves through the world without being stained by it."

Rama: "I begin to see that liberation is not an escape from life but the full embrace of it."

Vasishtha: "Exactly. The unenlightened one runs from life's challenges or clings to its pleasures. The enlightened one neither runs nor clings—he responds appropriately to what arises, rests in peace when nothing demands response, and through all changes remains what he has always been: the unchanging awareness, the witness of the cosmic play, forever at rest even in the midst of action."