Based upon the scriptures,most Hindus have believed for centuries that Shri Rama expelled Mata Sita from the royal palace because the people of Ayodhya had serious concerns about Mata Sita’s fidelity given she had remained in close proximity to Ravana for so many months. This part of the story from Ramayana really made me upset as a teenager as it was difficult to see Mata Sita’s agony as she was pregnant when she was expelled from the royal palace and sent to the forest.
In order to know what actually happened in Treta Yuga, there are two ways. One could be that Lord Narayan or Goddess Lakshmi tell us what actually happened or if someone could travel back in time through meditation to know what actually happened.
To all my readers surprise, I would like to share that both the events have happened during this blessed time on earth. It was Divine grace alone that I came to know about the two books, first one was “A Thousand Seeds of Joy: Teachings of Lakshmi and Saraswati written by Ananda Karunesh” and second one was “The Untold Story of Sita: An Empowering Tale of Our Times written by Dena Merriam”.
Ananda Karunesh had a Zen awakening around the age of 19 and then reading and meditating for next 25 years until he turned 44. But everything changed one October evening in 2007, when he started having conversations with Goddess Lakshmi. Goddess Lakshmi told him that this book was not the first instance of his working with her. He had incarnated in other lifetimes and had done prayer work, mantras and channelings to spread her message. The messages came to him slowly around the time of his father’s death in October 2012, but as his devotion to Goddess Lakshmi grew, he began to receive answers to his questions directly from her. The answers came to him as a strong sense of knowing or the gift of clairsentience, especially when he would be in a joyful surrender to her energy.
Let us go through few of their conversations in the book regarding Lord Rama abandoning Mata Sita from royal palace and after reading it you will know the truth.
Ananda Karunesh : Are you saying that Rama did not ask his brother , Lakshmana, to take you to the forest and abandon you there because of a “rumour” about your infidelity that Rama heard from a washerman ?
Goddess Lakshmi : This story must be put to rest once and for all. Rama turned away from all rumours of this kind and did not listen to those who were speaking ill of me. Rama knew that I was the chosen one; not just the chosen one for him, but also the chosen one. The washerman story was a metaphor for those who liked to gossip, but Rama would have none of it.
The timing of the original story was also changed. This gossip that you are asking about occurred much earlier during the time when Rama was searching for me. It might surprise you that Ravana was not seen in a negative light until he was defeated by Rama-he was actually seen as a great King and I was seen as the unchaste one because I had been put away for whatever reason. A women was sequestered in those days for various reasons and not always of her own volition. Rama’s task was difficult one, for he was considered to be of a holy nature, but he was searching for me – a person who was rumoured to be “unchaste”. Such is the nature of human gossip!. This gossip was manipulated into the fictional washerman story by the male authors of the Ramayana who added new verses and new chapters to this epic many hundreds of years after Valmiki wrote it.
These authors reasoned that if a Goddess like me could be thrown out of my own house, it would set a great example for ordinary women to not commit adultery and thus make them “behave and be dutiful” towards their husbands, always. Similar changes were made in the scriptures of other religions around that time as well.
Ananda Karunesh : So, what happened after you returned to Ayodhya ?
Goddess Lakshmi : We were fully enlightened when we met after Rama’s victory over Ravana , and we lived happily until time came to lay ourselves down. I chose to be connected to the forest and would often take our children to be with nature away from the palace. Our sons, Luva and Kusha , grew up feeling the sacred connection with Mother Earth and were also taught by the learned sages who lived in the forest. Rama was close to our sons, but I spent much time with them in the forest. There was no leaving. There was only love.
Ananda Karunesh : Why in forest ?
Goddess Lakshmi : Let me repeat , Rama and I were united in all our chakras and nothing was hidden from us at this point. The forest was the true paradise that we wanted our sons to experience, but Rama was more engaged with his brothers and his subjects in the running of the kingdom. I enjoyed raising Luva and Kusha and my meditations with them in the forest. There was coming and going from the palace to the forest, and Lava and Kusha grew up with a deep connection to nature and to the wisdom of sages. Since we spend much time away from each other physically, this was misunderstood to mean we were not together as a couple.
After knowing the truth from Goddess Lakshmi herself, the reader of this blog ,now you know that Lord Rama never expelled Mata Sita from the royal palace. What is said by Goddess Lakshmi is confirmed by another author Dena Merriam, who saw instances in her meditation that confirmed the claims in the first book. Both the authors never knew or met each other. Let us know a little about the author of the second book (The Untold Story of Sita: An Empowering Tale of Our Times) Dena Merriam. She began meditating in the 1970s under the guidance of her Gurudeva Paramahansa Yogananda. Over the course of her life, she has recalled events from numerous past births, but those births have been relatively near in time, going back a mere few hundred years. She has recorded these experiences in My Journey Through Time: A Spiritual Memoir of Life, Death and Rebirth. One day on a pilgrimage to Vaishnav Devi and then visiting Raghunath temple in Jammu, when she bowed before the central images of Shri Ram and Mata Sita, she was immediately drawn from this world and taken back in ancient past. She saw herself as a five-year-old leaning towards her mother’s leg and watching her father speak to one she knew immediately to be Shri Ram himself. Her father explained to Shri Ram that from the time she was very young, each time they passed the palace she would call out “Mata” and try to escape his arms to run to the palace gates. Then Shri Ram looked into her eyes and said she was one of the servants who came with Sita from Mithila. She loved Sita very much. Shri Ram placed his hand on her head and said to her “There will always be someone in every life to bring you back, to point you in the direction of your true home”. The memories of the Sita story unfolded over a period of seven months after she returned to New York, drawing her back into a past and to a region for which she felt great love and deep attachment.
Now, I would like to summarize the incident that Dena Merriam saw and heard in her meditations and wrote in the book “The Untold Story of Sita”. Sage Bhrigu had two wives . His first wife was Sage Khyati. They had a daughter together called Bhargavi who was an incarnation Goddess Narayani or Mata Mahalaxmi. His second wife was named Usana who was mother of Shukracharya , a learned sage and guru to asuras. During that time, there was great war between the devas and asuras over control over physical realm. Seeing her son’s disciple in such a disarray , she granted them refuge. As Narayan was on his way back to take Narayani back to celestial realm , he heard argument between devas and Usana. He appeared and cautioned her to let the battle take place, come what may. Usana looked at Narayan and said that it is her time to leave this physical form and it is her desire to leave by his hands. At that time , Narayan reached down and gently lifted her spirit from her body and freeing her from pain of inaction. Sage Bhrigu came out of meditation. Arriving at the scene and seeing his dead wife ,he broke down and said that whoever has done this , he cursed him that he too will know the pain of separation from his beloved. Feeling Sage Bhrigu’s suffering Narayan stepped out of shadow and said “I take your pain onto myself and accept your curse , sage”. Realizing what he had done, he fell at Narayan’s feet and cried “Prabhu, Please help me revoke this curse” . Gently lifting him, Narayan said that he will ease his pain and take into his own heart at some future time when Narayani and he are both in human form . A sage’s curse cannot be undone. Sage Khyati then said but it can be softened . Let there be partial separation and let it manifest at a time of your choosing when it will benefit the world .
Mata Sita reveals other reasons for living in the forest that are mentioned in the book. She wanted her children to grow up as she did, with the freedom to roam in the forests, unhindered by palace regulations . She wanted to give them early training and this was not possible in Ayodhya. She wanted her children to learn humility , service and love for natural world. After growing a certain age, Lord Ram met Luv Kush in the forest and said “Your mother has taught you well. Had you been raised in the palace, your upbringing would be very different and you would not have had the benefit of her wisdom in the quite the same way ” . Mata Sita also had to fulfill the vow she took long ago, the vow to end the power of curse . To achieve this, she must experience its effect herself. Lord Ram said to Mata Sita since Sage Khyati weakened the curse , she will feel his touch. Lord Rama said to Mata Sita “I will never leave you and you will never leave me. No being has power to break our unity.” Mata Sita taught Luva Kusha meditation and recited stories of different Sages. Mata Sita helped the people around the forest with knowledge of various medicinal plants and how it could cure their disease.
There is an instance given the book, where husband of Anusuya( author’s earlier incarnation) living in Ayodhya told a story that his father told him. He told her that unlike what people say, Maharani Sita never left Ayodhya, even after she retreated to the hermitage. Her presence was felt here and every now and then people would catch sight of her. A number of years after the birth of Luv and Kush, Maharaja Ram’s ministers and handful of sages had gathered to talk about the new gurukulum that was being established for the training of young boys. Everyone was seated but there was a empty chair beside Shri Ram. Everyone was surprised at his message , which was the need to set up a gurukulum for girls. One by one they shook their heads, unconvinced. They said it would bring disharmony to our society as it had not been the tradition.
Suddenly Shri Ram paused in the middle of the discussion and asked everyone to wait patiently before taking up the topic again. After an hour, several rishis along with Maharani Sita in her royal garments took seat beside Shri Ram and smiles at all the people in attendance. She first ask the rishis to speak. Rishi Vasistha said that had had his wife not educated in sacred texts , she would not receive the gift of Kamdhenu, who fed so many in the time of need. Had his daughters not been educated, they could not have created the beautiful world they formed for their mother when was in despair at the loss of her sons. Then Sage Atri spoke and said that had his wife not been educated in the sacred texts, she could not have gained entrance to celestial world and seen the Mandakani River, which she later brought to earth to nourish the drought stricken region. Then Sage Agastya explained that had his wife not been educated in the sacred texts, she could not have held at bay the rakshasas who ruled forests in the south, threatening every hermitage. Then Shri Ram spoke. He said had his wife not been educated in the sacred texts , perhaps she would not have been able to withstand the torment of Ravana during her time in Lanka.
Then Shri Ram said that there was some traditions that should be maintained because they link us to the past and carry a universal truth. Such is the recitation of the Vedas and sacred mantras. But other traditions must adapt as society and the human mind develop. Traditions that are no longer useful are like empty vessels. Clinging to the them holds back the progress of the society. Sages must know the difference between what is essential and what can be discarded because it has outgrown its use. His words had an impact and there was visible change on the faces of many who seated in that hall.
Then Maharani Sita spoke about the women sages who had taught her in Mithila and many women sages who came to her aid in Lanka. She said that the wives of the great rishis offered me the fruit of their tapasya, tapasya that was as intense as any male sage could perform. And this is what sustained me , this and the women of Ayodhya, the mothers who are the strength of the society. Our future mothers must receive education for the sake of the whole community. She then said that Ayodhya was growing rapidly and unless the women could keep up with the changes, the kingdom would not be able to advance. When she was done, not one voice opposed her. Without Rajkumari Sita’s intervention , establishment of gurukulum for girls was not possible.
The readers of this blog now know the entire truth of what happened in the treta yuga , why Shri Ram should not blamed for Mata Sita’s stay in the forest and also Mata Sita’s contribution to the society. I offer this blog to Shri Rama and Mata Sita who were incarnations of Lord Narayana and Goddess Lakshmi. Jai Siya Ram!
I am sharing the amazon links of the two books I talked about in this blog so that readers of my blog benefit from it by buying and reading them:
2. The Untold Story of Sita: An Empowering Tale Of Our Times written by Dena Merriam
Comments & Discussion
7 COMMENTS
Please login to read members' comments and participate in the discussion.