Once there lived a spiritually awakened king in Mithila kingdom of India. Though he had lots of wealth and power, he always remained away from getting indulged in their misuse. Once a sage came to meet him. The king welcomed him and asked the reason for arrival to royal court. The sage said, "O Great King! I have heard that even though you are living in this big palace in midst of all luxuries and comforts, you do not get carried away in getting indulged in them. I did so much meditation in Himalayas. I also visited pilgrimages. But, I am not yet able to conquer my desires. How you achieved this perfection even after living inside the palace?"
The king replied, "Respected soul! I am sorry but this time is dedicated for my official activities. I could only give reply to your question after sometime. Till then, why don't you do one thing? Take this lamp and visit the palace and see the beauty of all rooms. But please take care of one thing, the lamp should not extinguish. It is very difficult to reignite the lamp in case it is extinguished, and you might also find it difficult to return in the darkness."
The sage took the lamp and went for seeing the palace. After few hours, he returned back to the royal court. The king asked, "Respected soul! So did you visit all the rooms? How was it? Did you enjoy seeing the palace?" The sage said, "I visited all the rooms and saw everything, but did not feel any pleasure." The king asked, "Why so?" The sage replied, "My mind was preoccupied with the lamp. Though I was seeing everything, my conscious was focused towards the lamp that it should not get extinguish."
The king said, "That is the same way I am doing my duties. I do everything but does not feel attached towards them. My all attention is focused only on the Almighty God and whatever I do is only for God. I know if my focus is distracted even a little from this light of knowledge, it would be very difficult for me to get back to the path of righteousness in the darkness of ignorance. I want to do everything for welfare of the people because I love God and God loves humanity."
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