English
13th May 2019
Keep serving the Lord under all circumstances.
Hari Bol to all the chanters! Today we have 554 chanters, not yet reached 600! So work towards the goal. Jai Sitai I just heard the announcement that today is appearance day of Sita Maharani. Jai Sitai! Today is Sita Navami. We pray unto Sita’s lotus feet that She should engage us in the service of Her Lord Sri Rama! Radha is Sita. Radharani expands and becomes Gopi and Radha further expands and becomes queens of Lord Krishna in Dwaraka. Radha further expands and becomes Laxmi. Radha further expands and Sita is Laxmi of Sri Rama. So like that, these are all Radha’s expansions.
So, Krishna also expands and becomes Rama, Radha also expands and She becomes Sita. So we are chanting Sita’s name everyday as we chant Hare Krishna. When we say Hare we say Sita or Sitai. Chanting of Hare Krishna,
namnamakari bahudha nijasarva shaktis (Siksastakam Sholka2)
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has said that there are so many shaktis, energies and Radha is one name of that shakti and Rukmini is another name of that shakti and Laxmi is yet another name and Sita is yet another name of that shakti. These are big shaktis, otherwise there are so many other shaktis, ultimately, we all living entities are shaktis. So especially Radha and Sita are His energies. They are Him, Krishna only, He has expanded in form of all these shaktis and have their names.
Like that Hare Krishna mantra is called mahamantra, the greatest mantra for or of deliverance. As we chant Hare Krishna, we are chanting or that chanting includes the names of all other incarnations and Alhadini shakti and spiritual potencies or pleasure giving potencies like Sita also. Rama Sita is included in this mantra, that’s why it is mahamantra.
We know as Radha serves Krishna in Vrindavan, Sita serves Rama in Ayodhya. Sita is so much attached to the association of Sri Rama and attached to the service of the lotus feet of Sri Rama. We could also say that She choose navami as a tithi for Her appearance as Rama also appeared on navami. So Rama navami and today is Sita navami. As in case of Sri Krishna also Krishna appeared on ashtami and so did Radha appeared on ashtami. We have Krishna ashtami and Radha ashtami, Rama navami and Sita navami.
Lord Rama accepted Sita as concert by garlanding in that Sita svayamvar. So many ladies those were watching Rama accepting Sita. They were happy, Rama was accepting Sita, but they were also not happy thinking, ‘only Sita? Why not us? When would He accept us also, make us His wife? Could we also be wives of Sri Rama?’ These were the thoughts of those ladies around, during Sita’s svayamvar. Of course that avatar, Sri Rama, He was going to take vow of ‘eka patni’, Rama is known for eka patni, only one wife. So He did not accept other; He read their minds, but He was not going to do that. Lord was setting another example for grihasthas, ‘one life one wife’.
So, Lord very kindly accepted these Avadha naris or Mithilavasi ladies as gopis in Vrindavan in Krishna lila. So there is one category, there are different kinds known by different names, different sets of gopis, one is Mithilavasini gopis from Mithila or Avadhadesh, all those who wanted to be Rama’s wives or accepted Rama as their beloved. Lord fulfilled that desire as He appeared as Sri Krishna in Vrindavan and they were Mithilavasini gopis.
So, as we chant Hare Krishna, this chanting is a prayer; we also pray at the lotus feet of Sita and Rama, They may accept us as servant at Their lotus feet. He has accepted so many, as Bhakti Vinod Thakur says, Lord You have delivered even demons. Why not me? Why are you leaving me behind, Oh! Lord please deliver me, accept me also into that universe, into that abode, into that world.’ So that should be our prayer while chanting our japa. This is one prayer.
And there is also prayer which says, I could say without doubt that without mercy of Radharani one cannot get Sri Krishna. So without mercy of Sita we cannot get Sri Rama. We need Sita’s recommendation. And we can extend that and say that without the mercy of our previous acaryas, without the mercy of guru-parampara, without the mercy of spiritual master, we cannot get or achieve Sri Krishna or Sri Rama. Jai Sitai!
Within few days there is appearance day of Rukmini also coming, on 16th in India, celebration of Rukmini appearance day. So Lord left for the forest. Sita could not stay behind and She followed Sri Rama everywhere. And that forest life, Sita was also forest dweller with Sri Rama and Laxman was also there. So, in that austere condition She kept serving Sri Rama. So this is the topmost example, how Lord should be served, Sita is the topmost devotee of Lord Sri Rama. No matter what She had to face or go through, She maintained Her determination, kept serving Lord under all circumstances. We could also follow that example, that we could also serve even in adverse situation or anti Krishna conscious elements or factors or situation which try to cause disturbance or distraction, we should push through, stick to our service as did Sita.
We know how Ravan was torturing Sita, not himself but through other agents or demonesses, he had appointed them, so that She would give up this Rama. ‘Who is this creature Rama?’, he would say. He would insult Sri Rama, trying to get Sita to accept him, Ravan. And he was trying and trying day in and day out. But there was no way that Sita would change Her mind and would give up Rama for Ravan, give up Lord for Maya, this mayavi Ravan. He was representing Maya and he was going to provide some lust, kama, as he was full of lusty desires. And other side, Rama providing love, prema, full of loving dealings. So Sita was in between, but She was not allured, not for a second. And She stucked to Rama consciousness, praying to Rama, wanting reunion with Rama, keep Ravan out.
So we are also caught in between. Of course Sita is not marginal energy like us. Sita is eternal potency of the Lord; we are marginal energy of the Lord. So certainly we are in between, Krishna at one side and Maya at another side. And Maya is in so many forms, there is Ravan, that time there was one Ravan, but so many Ravans around us now, they eternally exist. Ravan is a mentality, Ravan is representative of Maya. So those Maya’s representatives, Ravans are around us at one side and at other side we have Sri Rama, we have Sri Krishna, and that whole world. And choice is yours, choice is ours, but we know what did Sita chose and that should be our choice or we should pray to Sita that we make the right choice. Neti, neti, not this, not this, this is Maya, this is Ravan, this is lust, this is anartha, Oh this side this is Krishna,, Krishna’s name, Krishna’s qualities, Krishna’s abode, Krishna’s devotees, Krishna’s service, Krishna’s prasad. So we have to say no to Maya or no to Ravan and yes to Rama, yes to Krishna, yes to Krishna’s pastimes, devotees, like that.
So when Hanuman had come to Lanka and met Sita, and towards the end proposed, let us go where there is Rama. How to go? He proposed that he could carry, Sita would sit on his shoulders and he would take off and would drop Her off wherever Sri Rama is. But Sita did not approve that proposal. She said, ‘no, no, I could only touch Sri Rama. You are another person, another man.’ This is Sita’s chastity. ‘No I can’t touch your shoulders. You bring Rama here. Let Him accept me. Let Him show His prowess to gain me, back again.’ So that is what Rama and Hanuman did and finally the battle of Sri Lanka, Ravan was killed and finally there was reunion after long separation, reunion between Rama and Sita. But before Rama would accept Sita, She had to undergo scrutiny, She had to go through the fire and if She is pure, unadulterated, not touched by Ravan, not touched by illusory thoughts of enjoying something else or someone else other than Sri Rama then She would be in tact in the fire, fire would not touch Her, burn Her. So She had put through this test and She passed the test. She came out clean, untouched by the fire and then there was great union between Sita and Sri Rama.
Jai Sitarani Mahotsav ki Jai!
During the day, read Ramayan. You could also read, Shukadeva also done recitation of Ramayan in two chapters of ninth canto of Bhagavatam, I think chapter 10th and 11th. So you could read that summary. Summary of Ramayan is there, pastimes of Sita and Rama are there.
Jai Sitai! Jai Sri Rama! Jai Sri Harinama! Harinama prabhu ki Jai!
Hare Krsna
