Seeta: Our Power, Glory and Richest Treasure

Seeta: Our Power, Glory and Richest Treasure

The Hindu world observes Seeta Jayanti today. Mother Seeta is revered as the consort of Lord Sri Raama and is a living source of power, glory and inspiration to all Sanaatanee Hindus. She lives in the bloodstreams of every Hindu who embraces Dharma. Her life in essence was a living and moving Yajna for the preservation of Dharma. She was the Saha Dharmini—the partner of Lord Raam for the Dharma Sansthaapana—Establishment of Dharma. When dissuaded by the Lord not to accompany him to forest exile, she argued that she was equal to Raam, and it was her duty to be his helpmate in exile. Raam had no choice than to allow her to accompany him to exile.

Mother Seeta was Mata Tapasvini—the Mother Ascetic—always in her full blaze of Self-Knowledge, prowess, and glory. It was in the Ashoka grove in Lanka that we saw her full glory as the Ascetic Mother. When offered the Kingdom of Lanka by Ravana, she responded, “Turn your mind away from me; take to those who are your own. I am the devoted wife of another, born of great family. It is impossible that I should do anything unworthy. How can another person’s wife be yours? Observe the conduct of the virtuous and act according to their example. You should protect the wife of others as you protect your own. Resort to your own; are there no good men here to advice you? Or, if there are, why do you not listen to them? The King who is not self-controlled is the ruin of his people and his country. Everyone will delight in your ruin. You cannot tempt me with sovereignty and riches. As the light is one with the sun, so am I with Rama. Restore me to Him. Rama is one whose friendship you should cultivate, if you want to maintain your position and avoid a terrible disaster. He is righteousness itself, and affectionate to all. Otherwise, ruin awaits you. You impotent Rakshasa! It was in the absence of Rama that you stole me. If you had seen Rama, or even Lakshmana, you would have skulked away like a dog before tigers. Hide as you may, you cannot escape Rama now”.

If Ravana did not lay his rough hands on her and was waiting for her consent, it was not because of his good sense, but because of Seeta’s inner powers. At one stage, she revealed, maybe unconsciously, that she had the power to reduce him to ashes. It occurs in the Sundarkand where Valmiki refers to her as tapasvini, a woman ascetic. She told Ravana: “My powers alone are enough to reduce you to ashes. If, despite that, I do not do so, it is because I have not Rama’s consent to do so. Moreover, I have to conserve the power of my tapas. I am the wife of the great Raama. You had no power to kidnap me. If, despite that, it was done, it was because the Lord ordained it for your destruction”.

Seeta said that it was to conserve her own tapas-won power that she was not reducing Ravana to ashes. Her tapas, it is believed, was suffering so that in fullness of time Raama might vanquish the forces of evil personified in Ravana for the Dharma Sthaapana, establishment of Dharma.

Seeta is unique. She is the very type of the true Sanaatanee Hindu woman, for the Hindu ideals of a perfect woman have grown out of that one life of Seeta. All that is best in Hindu culture and religion, Seeta embodies in the most dynamic manner. Even if all our mythology, Vedas, and our Sanskrit language many vanish, the story of Seeta will live on and continue to inspire men and women to great and noble deeds, for she is there in the bloodstreams of every Hindu. An examination of the world literature will reveal that none has created a Seeta, except the Hindu. Seeta has been created once and for all, even if Hindus have only dreamt about her.

We are the scions of Seeta. She is our power; she is our glory; she is our richest treasure. Seeta stands after those thousands of years still commanding the worship of Hindus. There she will always be, the glorious Seeta, purer that purity itself, all patience, all strength in all her adverse conditions; Seeta, the chaste and ever pure wife; the ideal of the people the ideal of the gods she will always remain.

Swami Vivekananda has said: “That nation which had created a Sita has respect for women above all other nations”.

Happy Seeta Jayanti to All!