The Teaching of Sage Yajnavalkya to King Janaka
The King asks: „What light does a person have?“
Yajnavalkya answers: „The sun... the moon...“
The King asks: „And when there is sun and no moon?“
Yajnavalkya answers: „The Fire...
The King asks further: „And when there is no fire?“
Yajnavalkya answers: „Then there is speech“
But the King is not satisfied: „What light is there in the absence of all those sources?“
The Dialogue has been moving backward to the close, inner and invisible.
The Self can`t be known through outer perception.
Now the King asks his real question: „What is the Self?“
Yajnavalkya says: „The Self is self-luminous, that illuminates the outer world and the inner world (Dreams).“
"No one who is a seeker after the Supreme Truth can affort to be unfamiliar with the teachings of Sage Yajnavalkya contained in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Being the most prominent among the ten major Upanishads, all aspirants, especially those following the path of knowledge, would have a knowledge of the whole Upanishad." -Swami Brahmananda Saraswati
The Philosophy of Sage Yajnavalkya
In Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Yajnavalkya is the Person (I,2,4), who explains the nature of Atman (the Self) to his Wife Maitreyi. Which is in the second Part(II,4,5) almost identically, repeated, and is called "Yajnavalkyam Kandam".
One by one, Yajnavalkya proofs his knowledge and wisdom (3.1-9) at King Janakas court, competing with 9 other well known counsellors. This are the main topics he is talking about to is fellows and King Janaka:
- Knowledge of the goal essential before going into the means of attaining it
- The Self in the waking, dream and deep sleep states.
- The Self is beyond all proofs, unattached and eternal.
- The state of death and transmigration
- Karma
- Desire - why actions do not result in desired results
- Knowledge of Brahman is the means for liberation
- Hearing, reflection and meditation are the means for realisation
- The Self (Atman) in all is the fearless Brahman.
