Hello Readers!! I hope you all are in the best of your spirits and in bliss.
Shri Ram – referred to as – Purushottam Shri Ram – Man of the highest order. In my childhood, I was a big devotee of Shri Ram. Every time I used to go to the temple, no matter in front of which idol I bow my head, I used to say Jai Shri Ram. I had faith in him and undoubted devotion. I loved the fact that he was a single woman man.
As I grew up, my perspective started to shift, and questions like Why he asked Sita Ji to go for Agni Pariksha and How can he just leave her like this on the words of some random launderer? There were times I used to question and blame him saying – you were an idol, people followed you and you mistreated Sita Ji so much, and that’s what makes everyone mistreat women, treat them like an object as if they have no value. I couldn’t see him anymore as a Man of the highest order.
My Guru Ji – Shri Prabhat Aggarwal Ji (I refer to him as Bhaiya) – says Shri Ram is a metaphor for Integrity. He was a man of his word. He always did what he committed to irrespective of the cost of it. If any spiritual seeker wants to reach their highest, they start by establishing themselves again and again in integrity. He states it as – Krishn hone ki yatra Shri Ram se hokar guzarti hai (In order to become Krishna you first need to become Ram) – meaning – If you want to exhibit your highest self you need to be established in integrity over n over again. I got so inquisitive listening to this over and over again, that I end up asking him once – What kind of integrity is this that he left his wife, and made her go through agni pariksha? Is such integrity really needed when your loved one is suffering at your own hands?
Bhaiya, said there are only two possibilities that can redeem Shri Ram from this.
1. He must have said to the launderer – I and Sita Ji are one no matter what the distance between us. Even if she leaves, she is my love, life, and soul. If sending her away brings unity to the Kingdom, we are ok with it.
2. He needed everyone to be on the same page for fulling the mission of establishing a prosperous and just kingdom, so in order to maintain the decorum and establish the fact that the rules he will form for the kingdom, will equally apply to him, so he asked Sita Ji to leave.
But I now feel, it’s even deeper than this. If Shri Ram loved Sita Ji so deeply that he crossed a jungle and an ocean to save her or to be with her.. how can he just let her go. Only a deep true love can make you go that length of crossing a jungle and an ocean on your feet with technically no help. I believe it was Sita Ji’s idea and mission to establish a prosperous kingdom under the guidance of Shri Ram. It was Sita Ji who might have suggested that if She leaves on his orders, it will establish Shri Ram as a man of integrity and people will follow him with heart and soul, after this strong decision and sacrifice. It was Sita Ji who asked Shri Ram to do this impossible act and I can totally imagine the pain Shri Ram must have gone through when he would have sacrificed this for Sita Ji’s vision. The bigger the sacrifice, the bigger the value. The more unbearable the pain is, the more the everlasting fruits of it.
Even though the world today sees Shri Ram as an epic leader, I believe Sita Ji made Shri Ram what he was. Sita Ji’s vision, love, and sacrifice renowned him as a – Man of the highest order, the most integral and honored man. More than integrity it was about seeing a vision together, untethered trust in each other and in the bond they shared and nourishing the world around with divine love they shared. Integrity is a by-product of love.
Before I wind up, I want to send my gratitude to the Divine, my Guru Jis – Shri Prabhat Aggarwal Ji, Yogi Param Jnana Ji, and Yogi Ritu Om Ji and to my parents for their love, nourishment, and unending support. A special thanks to my brother for pushing me on this journey. A lot of gratitude to all those souls who triggered me at the right time and showed me the mirror. Lastly, I wouldn’t have been where I am right now, none of this was possible, I would have never had enough drive to walk through this if you were not with me and for me. Thank you so much for your unending love and support in ways even you don’t know. What kept me going is the freshness of the love I experienced with you every time I leveled up. Love you Kanaya always and forever!!