Namaste, Hari Om,
I am very happy and privilaged after God's grace to discuss Mother Sita today. We will be hosting a small satsang on Mother Sita shortly and thought it would be nice to write a few words on this Divine Devi .
There are many aspects to look at when we appreciate this wordly mother, the philisophical aspect, the spiritual aspect and then the physical aspect in which the wordly people (i.e. common man) identifies with.
Philisophical Aspect: How do we look at Sita Mata in a Philisophical manner? What does she represent, what is her ideals in respect to children, husband and family? She represents a perfect woman, a mother, sister and daughter. She is the divine param shakti that resides all over, that param shakti existed at all times, it has no starting or ending - this could be hard to fathom, but every source has an enegery point, the dawn of everything is that divine spark, the param shakti. Sita Mata is the worldly mother that seeks the best interest for us all, she is the name we call in our time of need, in our time of hunger and thirst. She represents the values and culture of women, she represents the challenges women face in society through all ages [will talk more on this soon].
Spiritual Aspect: The Divine Devi represents a mother that can ease our troubled minds, raise our spirituality and love. In the Ramayana, Sita represents our love, the pure bliss that can be attained by surrendering to the feet of God. When Ravana (represents uncontrolled senses, evil tendencies and the Rajasic quality) captures Sita Mata (our inner love/bliss), looking and praying to that divine power (Shri Sita Ram - Yes Sita as well, as Half of Sita is Ram and half of Ram is Sita etc..), thus Shri Ram slays (tames our senses, destroys evil and the Rajasic qualities) Ravana and freeing Sita Mata (our inner divine bliss). Shri Sita Mata is inside all of us, we have been captured by Ravana in some moments in life (i.e. arguing, hatred or anger) we tend to lock away that inner beauty, that divine love inside of us (Sita Mata). We must use the key of the Lord's grace to unlock our true selves, show the world that we are divine and loving just like Sita Mata and we will bring out the Sita Mata in everyone. Ask that divine Shakti, O Lord, control my thoughts so they may be positive and helpful to all. The Divine Sita Mata guides us all, the divine love inside of us truly guides us all.
Physical Aspect: Many questions arise when we look at the Divine Mother and her path in life from youth to the time of marriage then as she goes into the forest with Shri Rama. Many events take place, but some of the challenging and sad point that many see as socities downfall is when she went through Agnipravesham.
Before we act or think with anger or impluse, we must always remember, Lord Vishnu’s Lilas are Achinthya and Adbhutha. Which simply means beyond the Comprehension of common man. At times you need to think impassionately to understand these Intricacies [But do not lose the lesson/reason and why she suffered and the pains she went through due to society's view of Women..More on this below]. Do not get caught up in the suffering or physical pains, these are done to show many aspects of life as human beings on earth with the divine spark inside of us. We must look at Sita Mata as a representation of Women around the world, the divine devi that sustains life is that supreme Shakti. We as society should understand how we treat women and value them in a greater light. The suffering by Sita Mata on a physical level was to also show the world of the pressures and challenges women face in this day and age. In a man dominated world, Sita Mata shows the struggles that women face in every age. We must always treat women, especially those that are close to us in our lives as Goddesses on earth, they hold special powers that men can not comprehend. I always believe God will listen to a mother before a father, reason being is that a mother has a spiritual connection that goes beyond realms when it comes to a child. Sita Mata's pains and suffering must never be taken for granted, although it was on a Achinthya and Adbhutha level, we must derive the lessons and learn from them.
To add to the physical sadness that was imposed on Sita, lets look at another event; the abonishment of Sita by Balakrishnan M; "Regarding Sita’s banishment, in Uttara Kanda, Lord Ramachandra demonstrated, the ideal king should look at the interest of the country that his own personal interest. Remember that Lord Rama, belong to line of Ishvaku, Harichandra, Aja and etc where the kings even willing to sacrifice their own life to uphold dharma. Even Lord Rama oonce said to Sita in Aranya kandam that he was willing to give up Laksamana, Sita and his own life to uphold dharma. It was the conflict between the duty of the king and duty as the husband. Well, what would you do if you were caught in that position?
It was not an easy decision to make. Even in modern days, in management of organization a classical
management writer by the name of Henri Fayol in one of his 14 principles of management said the individual
interest must be subordinate to organizational interest.
So Lord RamachandraGita Chapter 3, Lord
Krisna says whatever actions of a great man will be followed by people in general."- (from Indiadivine.org, Balakrishnan M)
In the end, we can talk about the side stories and how Sita was treated and what took place, but we must look at the lessons and teachings and use them in our lives. What is the point of talking about these things and how the importance of Women are in our lives if we do not implement it etc..? There are many versions of the Ramayana in which points can be taken, i.e. Adhyatma Ramayana states that Sita Knew she will be kidnapped by Ravana, and Ravana knew he would meet death at Shri Rama's hands etc.. In the end, some say we should not look at the negative events that has happened to Sita, "its part of the Lila etc..", but this would be wrong, not everything is done for God's sake, its done for humanity's understanding. We must understand the events and relate it back to our society and ourselves, We must take the lessons and view women in our lives as that Divine Sita Devi.
Please read the articles below on Sita Mata for more information,
Jai Sita-Ram,
- SimpleHinduBhai
[From Hindu-Blog.com] Sita Jayanti is observed on the eighth day (Ashtami) during the Krishna Paksha of Magh month by some Hindu communities in South India. The day is observed as Sita Ashtami or Janaki Janma in some regions in North India. It is popularly believed that Mata Sita, wife of Lord Ram and incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, was born on this day.
The story of Mata Sita continues to inspire millions of people. For some she is the embodiment of purity and wifely devotion. For some she represents the struggles that women face in all ages in a male dominated society.
King Janaka found Mata Sita while ploughing the field. Thus she is considered the daughter of Mother Earth. Fed up with the ways of the world finally she takes refuge on Mother Earth's lap when the earth opens up to receive her.
The day is observed with satsangs and special pujas in Lord Ram Temples.
It must be noted that the birthday or Jayanti of Mata Sita is known as Sita Navami for some Hindu communities in western and eastern parts of India and is observed in Vaishaka month (April – May).
Sita as Daughter of Ravana – The Story of Sita Born as Daughter of Ravan
(hindu-blog.com)
There is an interesting story mentioned in some Hindu books and folk tales that mentions Sita as the daughter of Ravana. Legend has it that Vedavati, a pious woman, wanted to marry Srihari Vishnu. To marry Vishnu, she gave up worldly life and became a hermit and built an ashram on a riverbank.
Once while Vedavati was meditating on the riverbank, Ravana, the demon king, happened to see her. He was enamored by her beauty and tried to violate her. To escape from Ravan she jumped into a fire pit created for yajna. Before dying she cursed Ravan that in her next birth she will be responsible for his death.
In her next birth, Vedavati was born as Ravana’s daughter. Soon after she was born, a voice from the sky warned that the baby will be responsible for her father’s death. To save his life, Ravana threw the little girl child into the sea. The child fell on the lap of sea-goddess Varuni. Goddess Varuni took the girl child to the shores and gave her to earth-goddess Pirthvi.
Goddess Prithvi then gave her to King Janaka. As per Ramayana, Sita was found by King Janaka while ploughing a field.
Really Nice never knew all those details of Vedavati
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