The Chandogya Upanishad tells the story of a king named Janashruti. He was known for being charitable and took great pride in his generosity. It was said that his glory rose like a flaming fire, up to the skies. One evening, when the king was resting on the terrace of his palace, he overheard two swans flying overhead. The one in the rear said to the one flying in the front, ‘O foolish one! Be careful. The glory of King Janashruti is rising to the sky like a flame of fire. It will burn your wings.’ The bird in the front replied, ‘Who is this King Janashruti, of whom you speak as if he is equal to Raikva, the cart-puller?’
The king felt very humiliated. He had thought that he had achieved great glory through his charity, but now he was being compared unfavourably to a mere cart-puller. He could not sleep the entire night. In the morning, he called his ministers and asked them to find this cart-puller who was said to be greater than him. The ministers searched far and wide, but could not find a person called Raikva. When they were about to give up, they saw a person seated alone under a cart. When they asked him, they learnt that he was Raikva. They rushed back and informed the king of this. The king gathered gifts of gold, silver and cattle and went to Raikva. He offered the gifts and said, ‘Please accept these gifts and teach me knowledge of the self.’ Raikva said, ‘Take these gifts back. The knowledge of self is not for sale.’
King Janashruti was shocked that someone could refuse his generous gifts. He came back and kept thinking about this. After some time, he went back with more gifts and offered his daughter in marriage to Raikva. Raikva was still not impressed by the gifts, but he felt that the king was sincere and persistent in his pursuit of spiritual knowledge. He decided to make him a disciple. He taught the king, ‘The elements of creation—the wind, the fire, the life-breath—are all moved by a higher power, the spirit within. The spirit is not created by anyone, but it creates and maintains the entire universe. Do not let your acts of charity be corrupted by vanity or pride. When you give something away, do not think that you have given something that belongs to you. Understand that you have given away something that was given to you by the spirit to share with others. Give freely, but without ego. Give generously but not for the sake of fame.’ The knowledge given by Raikva to King Janashruti came to be known as Samvarga Vidya, which is a form of meditation.
